Day 1 and 2

(I am asking for grace in the delay of blogging. The internet has been unexpectable and I haven't been able to update you all since we've been here.)

Muraho! (Hello in Kinyarwanda)

We have finally arrived here in Rwanda. After traveling nonstop since Friday- we are all exhausted. We have officially boarded and unloaded 5 different planes. So far we have been to: Chicago, London, Nairobi (Kenya), Bujumbura (Burundi), and finally.. Kigali, Rwanda! Every time we stepped foot onto a plane, the time zone would be changing on us yet again. Adjustments were made, sleep deprivation happened.. but, our hearts stayed lined with the vision in why we were going. And that, was beautiful..

Six hours in and we've already been able to experience so much. Let's start from the beginning, shall we? Can we say culture shock galore?! However, these people are to die for. We were instantly drawn to their presence. It was a weird feeling to see how African New Life Ministries was ready to serve us instead of us serving them. After all, we are here to be the hands and feet of Christ. Right? Some of the most genuine and caring people i know..

I shared with Connie earlier how God had been reminding me how to trust Him. For as long as I can remember- when I am on a plane, I try to get seated as close to the window as possible. Taking off and landing my eyes are glued to the transpartent windows. God had a different lesson to teach me this time around. From London to Kenya, we were on the largest of the four planes we had taken. I was seated in the middle of the very middle of the plane. Three on the left, three on the right, and three in the middle. Where was Miss Paloma seated? I guess some can consider that I was the meat of a sandwich. I remember sitting there thinking about how badly I wanted to look out that window seat. I began to pray for patience and trust.. immediately God gave me a vision of what I was missing by not being able to look out those windows.

Well, it's almost 1:00 a.m. here and I should be getting to bed. God is doing crazy things in our hearts. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, as you are in ours.

You are LOVED,
Nikki

Photo I took at the Dream Center.. beautiful place, beautiful people! Random fact about Rwanda: It is illegal to take photos of the people, but not the children. If you would like to take photos of the adults, you must ask first. Of course I have already gotten in trouble, for I am like an Asian tourist that just saw New York City for the first time. Haha.. few will get that ;)