First Week of School

It's been a wonderful first week of school for all six Davenports! Brinson and Aiden are enjoying the rhythm of the school week, loving their classes and teachers, and making some wonderful new friends. Sheldon and Pierce's first ever taste of sitting in class and being away from the home for such an extended period has been incredibly smooth.  Their teachers are such blessings!  I'm thankful that I'm able to check in on them throughout their day and sit with them at lunch, although it doesn't seem necessary because they have jumped right in and enjoy it so much.  It's reassuring and encouraging to know that other adults besides us are pouring the Father's love into our kiddos.  All  four boys are excited each night to be returning the following day-always a good sign.

Entering on the First Day

Welcoming Students

I'm honored to be part of such an incredible team of missionary-educators united under the vision of "impacting the world for Christ."  The spiritual leadership of the school and the momentum that God is stirring up makes this an exciting time to be here.  It will be fun to watch what He has in store for the year.

Our motley crew is comprised of about 8 nationalities, but when the countries where our teachers grew up are considered, close to a dozen countries are represented.  Enrollment is at an all-time high with about 220 students K-12 coming from 27 different nations.  

I was flabbergasted when a show of hands was asked for at the elementary assembly indicating which country the students were born in.  Rwanda was well represented as the majority but several hands went up from Australia, numerous hands from other African countries, several from Europe, more from South America, a handful from Asia, and several from North America.  Every continent besides Antartica was well represented by the 100+ K-5th grade students.  Such a rare and rich experience!

Each morning, for about 25 minutes, the secondary students gather for Mission.  It's a time dedicated for Bible study, worship, or small group discussion depending on the day of week. I get to hang with seven 7th graders. I'm looking forward to getting to know these young men who come from various parts of the world and different world religions.  Lots of opportunity to learn from them and pour into them!

Water and Birds

Water is a scarce commodity in Africa. Conservation is key.  When considering whether to flush, the consistent message we hear from everyone is "yellow let it mellow; brown flush it down."  Ha! Takes some getting used to but it makes a lot of sense.  

Most homes in Rwanda don't have running water and so our having a personal water tank places us in exclusive company.  We feel very blessed.  A water pump pumps the water into our home.  We've been told that the city pumps water into the tank two or three times each week during the dry season (not sure what the schedule is during the rainy season), but so far it's been fairly inconsistent. Some of our neighbors have gone a week without water but so far the most we've gone without is three days.  It was a sweet sound that third day to hear the echo of water flowing into our tank.  The video shows Aiden climbing up to gauge the depth. 

Laundry, dishes, and showers use up the water pretty quickly and, of course, when the water is gone each of those tasks come to a halt.  The little black ants, that are virtually impossible to keep out of kitchens, have a field day with the dishes when there is no water.  

Aiden checking the water tank

Birds
Apparently there's a substantial flock of birds which sleeps in the trees outside of our window. They make the most beautiful sounds as they wake up each morning.  Their symphonic sounds are so loud it's as though they have speakers with amps.  The only trouble is they wake up at 5:42AM.  It's the craziest thing.  It's like clockwork!  Wendy and I suddenly find ourselves wide awake as soon as the birds begin to sing. I look at my watch. 5:42AM.  Every time. And then at 5:46AM the sound suddenly stops.  Four minutes of song and then silence.  Since we are at the equator the sunrise and sunset occur at the same basic time year round, each occurring a little before 6AM/PM. Twelve hours of light and dark each day.

Rwanda: Her Land and Her People

Rwanda is sometimes called the land of 1,000 hills and, as you can see from the video below, that description is quite accurate.  Although the country is located just below the equator, Kigali's elevation of 5,100 feet keeps temperatures in the low 80s year around, and even in these last remaining weeks of the dry season the countryside is green.

Rwanda's population is estimated to be around 12 million with one million people living in the capital city of Kigali.  It's population density is among the highest in Africa.  Most Rwandan people do not have running water in their homes so someone in the family walks to the nearest water source each day (in the video you'll notice the yellow containers used for this).  

One thing that has struck me is how friendly and quick to smile the people are.  Whether walking down the sidewalk, driving in a car, or shopping in the market, people are quick to make eye contact with each other and to give or return a smile and a greeting.

A drive through the Rwandan countryside.

The Hill

"The Hill" is located in the northern part of the city of Kigali.  During the years surrounding the 1994 genocide it was a bush area serving as the center of witchcraft and demonic activity in the country. The local Christians, led by one brother in particular, began praying regularly over the hill asking the Lord to break the stronghold and raise up a church on that spot.  He prayed diligently for seven years.

Then, at the turn of the century, as part of Rwandan President Kagame’s vision 2020, a planned community complete with homes, a green area, school, and community center was planned and built upon The Hill.  Regular prayer continued for seven more years while the school building and community center sat vacant following their completion.   

In 2007 the facilities were purchased by a group of Christian missionaries.  The community center became a church and the school facilities became Kigali International Community School (KICS).  The prayers had been answered, the strongholds broken, and an outpost for the Kingdom now shines the Good News from the top of The Hill. 

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. - Mt 5:14

A view from The Hill.  Looking out across the city of Kigali from a stairwell at KICS.

Arrival and.....Retreat! (huh?)

Travel

Our journey began in Dallas with a 2:00AM alarm clock on Thursday, July 23. We were warmly welcomed at the Kigali airport at 3:00PM Friday, July 24 by the McNatt and Thomas families and driven to our new home having completed 30 hours of travel.  Dallas—Toronto— Addis Ababa, Ethiopia— Uganda—Kigali. 

Flying is never fun, especially for those of us with long legs. 21 hours of flight time requires some follow up recuperation. Traveling across the world with children under the age of 7 can be trying at times, although they did great. Traveling across the world with twenty-one 50 lb. bags plus backpacks is an ordeal, although they all made it in one piece. However, we went from Texas to Rwanda in 30 hours! {with personal entertainment systems at our disposal and hot meals served regularly} Compare that with the travel journals of missionaries and world travelers in the decades and centuries prior to us and we had a quick and luxurious trip.

Retreat

Two days after our arrival we, along with all the new staff at KICS, drove six hours west to attend a camp/retreat at Lake Kivu (beautiful!) on the border of Rwanda and the Congo.  The camp is an annual event for any and all missionaries in Rwanda and has occurred every year since the 1940s.  

Although our house was still largely unpacked and our bodies still largely jet lagged, the five day retreat was an incredible introduction to Rwanda and God’s mission to her.  Our eyes were opened to the beauty of the land and the life of the people during the six hour drive, and we had the opportunity to meet, listen to, and learn from those who have been working here, some for years and some for decades.  In total there were about 130 at the camp including kiddos.  It was a little odd to enter the country and immediately “retreat”, and we had a sense that we didn’t quite belong among those who had already learned so much about Rwandan culture and done so much for the kingdom in the country.  But everyone was extremely welcoming and we quickly realized that the retreat was indeed an ideal place to begin our time in Rwanda.  To hear about the long and rich history of missionaries who had come before us and to begin to find our place among them was just what we needed.  We met some incredible people.  Everyone has a different role and different type of ministry but it all works together and God is given glory. The boys also enjoyed meeting and romping around with the other children, many of whom will be classmates.

The house is now unpacked and just about organized.  I begin work on Monday and school starts in two weeks.  Life has begun for the Davenports in Kigali.

We're Blogging...

Our family is transitioning from life in China to life in Rwanda.  This blog will chronicle our growth, ministry, happenings, laughs, and struggles as they occur via pics, video, and words.  In case you missed it and are curious you can take a look at our team’s China blog:  http://pritchport.blogspot.com/

You may also want to subscribe or like the Brother Alliance pages and follow the boys’ adventures as they explore and report on life in Rwanda and life in the Davenport clan. 

https://www.facebook.com/brotheralliance?ref=br_rs

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtED7fLifldeYwkb6pGMDfA

And so we begin.....