Sunday, June 18
We got to sleep in today. I was able to sleep until about 5:30. I thought about sleeping a little longer, but…oh yeah, the sunrise! So I got out of bed, found some coffee, and read my Bible to an amazing sunrise. As I heard the rooster crowing, suddenly a change in attitude came over me: before I thought of the rooster as an annoyance; today, it suddenly became God’s way of calling all of us to enjoy the beauty of the sunrise.
Some of us went to the college and career group and helped the teacher, John Africa, teach the class. They have been dealing with important matters of career and training, or college, but he was concerned that they were forgetting to put God first. Our group leader shared some thoughts about where one’s treasure was, their heart was also. Then we broke into groups. Now, a quick backtrack to the beginning of Sunday School: they had a time of singing first. The singing was amazing, and loud! Now, back to the groups. I began by asking them questions.
It took a while for them to begin answering. When they did talk, they were very quiet. Before too long, we worked on a rhythm of me asking a question of them, and then they asked a question of me. The question that really got me going emotionally was when one of the young men asked me what motivated me to keep following Jesus. I thought back to the fact that I had accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was eighteen. I pointed out that I had followed Him all these years since then, 42, and that in all that time, He has been more than faithful in protecting me and guiding me. He saw us through so many bad times, and good times. I finished by asking, “How could I not be excited about following Him each day and seeing what He has in store for me.” Ok, I cried in class, ok, one of the students offered me a tissue. But what an amazing God we serve!
Then came worship. In an African church. Really. I mean REALLY!!!! I thought I had taken a short video of one of the songs, but I didn’t do things right. I didn’t want to detract from worship to play around with my phone, but let me tell you that the song part of the worship service was amazing. There is no way I can describe the joy of worship nor the power of the Holy Spirit working through the worship service, so let me just say that you need to start saving money so that you can make this same trip yourself. I’d really love to bring a team back here. The lyrics in one of the songs used the words, “I am rich.” Some of the people singing that were muzungu like our group that was rich enough to fly across the ocean to be there; others were people who lived in dirt houses without electricity or running water. They could sing “I am rich” because of the amazing grace that God has given them. The only complaint that Lucy and I have had about this trip is that we are missing three Sundays at our home church, and only getting one Sunday at church in Kigali. 
We had a guest preacher this Sunday, and while we would really have enjoyed hearing Pastor Charles preach, we didn’t miss a beat with this white preacher. Pastor Charles noted that he could bring it like an East African, and he wasn’t wrong. He did an amazing job of blending his sermon in with upcoming events in the church and his message resonated well with our discussions in Sunday School. 
After experiencing this heavenly worship, we went to Heaven to eat. Well, that was the restaurant’s name. After eating, we shopped there at Heaven, and then two other shops. While at the first shop, I started greying out. I had experienced this in Kageyo just before we met our African daughter. When she came, the feeling disappeared. I originally thought it was low blood pressure, but now wonder if it’s oxygen deprivation. Kigali’s elevation is over a mile high at points and with other medical issues, going up into certain areas might cause that problem. I’ll have to be careful in upcoming days. We bought a few things, and in the one store that i let Lucy go in unsupervised, she picked out something for me!
We got home early because most of us were tired. There was another market we were thinking of going to, butI don’t think I could have handled it. I had a great conversation with Je Je, our guide and translator about how God saw us through Lucy’s cancer battle. Then, back at the guest house, I had the unique opportunity of seeing my writing through the eyes of another person as Mandi, one of our team members read my devotional and trip record. Hearing her laugh at the right parts made me smile. We haven’t had dinner yet, but I’m going to post this a little early today just because I can. Please continue to pray for us!