It's a small world after all...

I was recently home in the US and was able to spend some time with some of my Rwandan friends who are currently living in Little Rock. Above is a picture of me with some Rwandan friends…right in my sister’s living room. It is so crazy to think of my connections with these individuals that originate from half-way around the world! The boy standing to the left of me is my dear friend Egide, whom my family has become very close to in the past year. We have “adopted” Egide into our family, having him for holidays and other family events. He is an incredible young man who was bright enough to be chosen as a Rwandan Presidential Scholar, getting a full-paid college scholarship to the US. At Christmas, Egide shared his story with me and asked me to connect with his family when I got back in Rwanda. Since then, his family in Rwanda has become my Rwandan family. His brother, Ronald, lives just down the road from me and calls me every day to check on his “sister.” Ronald recently got a job working for Russell Rainey, who just moved to Rwanda to start a ministry through my home church, Fellowship Bible Church. They are working to train entrepreneurs and develop businesses in the area. Egide’s two younger sisters are now attending Sonrise School, so I see them almost every day as well. I tell Egide that we are just trading families for a while, and I will give hugs to his family in Rwanda if he will give hugs to mine in America:)

My Rwandan family...

My friend standing to the right of me is one of the best friends I have made in Rwanda. I met William on my first day in Rwanda, as he was a tour guide well known around the country. William is one of the most genuine, caring, and humble people I have ever met but is probably the toughest person I have ever met as well. William is a former RPF soldier, which is the force that stopped the Rwandan genocide in 1994 led by President Kagame. While in the RPF, he literally lived in the bushes of the Congo and Rwanda for several years, sharing the mountain forests with the mountain gorillas (among other wildlife). He is just plain tough. He was in Rwanda the first few months that I lived here and took me in as a little sister, giving me advice on every aspect of living in Rwanda. He was fortunate enough to guide the President of Arkansas Baptist College around Rwanda, who saw the uniqueness in William and offered him a full scholarship to ABC in Little Rock. At 37 years of age and with no formal education in over 20 years, William enrolled in a US college in January of this year. I tell William all the time that he has way more to teach Americans than he will ever learn from them. I think everyone who has met him feels the same way. His girlfriend Tanja was visiting from Switzerland and is with us in this picture.

The student on the far left is a new Rwandan Presidential Scholar student that just moved to the US to attend college. He is living with a family for the summer who happens to be some of my sister’s best friends.
I have told my students at Sonrise that I have a vision of someday many of them sitting in my living room while I am hosting them in my home country. I think it is possible. After all….it is a small world.