27 days!

I simply cannot believe the day is so near!!  I'm very excited to come home, but I can already taste that these next four weeks will definitely be filled with bittersweet moments.  I'll be saying good bye to some people for about 6 weeks (about 12 KICS people are going to be able to come to our wedding-- 5 of those are in one family), wishing so long to others until next August when I return, and then bidding farewell to others who I may never meet again.  It all seems very surreal.  


In all of the craziness that is the month, we are still doing the normal things that we feel so much passion for here in Kigali.  One of the favorite things is our weekly trip to the orphanage.  I know I have written about this on various occasions, but I can't ever step outside of that gate without becoming deeply affected.  I'm grateful that I never become numb to this place, a nice orphanage where children play in rocks, suck on them, and hold them protectively as their possessions.  If they have scored a pair of shoes, you better believe no one is going to get those off of their strong feet.  Yesterday there was a new favorite "toy" to play with.  Picture a smaller hula hoop, only made out of sharp metal. YES!  Let's play with that!  These things would be highly illegal in the States, yet here everyone seems to remain fairly safe.  At times we intervene, but then we remember that as soon as visiting hours are over, they will retrieve their new found treasure.  There's only so much we can do.


Although this is true, there is SO much MORE that others are doing!  God is calling people to adopt from Rwanda and through many miracles they are able to do so.  For the first 6-7 months that I was here, this country wasn't allowing any adoptions to go through.  At Home of Hope there were babies and small children waiting, and families eagerly wanting them, but no chance of connection.  Finally, after many things going through with the government (I wont pretend to know anything about this process) adoption is now possible.  Praise the Lord!  The last couple of Sundays when we go to the orphanage there has been proud parents holding precious little babies.  Extreme excitement is undoubtedly an understatement when I think of orphans having families!  What a beautiful thing that God can provide for all of these people.  It was incredible to witness uniting after many years of prayer and waiting.  


Happy new beginnings are a gift from God!