We were thrilled to finally begin our work in Rubavu today with our partners and friends at Shalom Community Development Ministry. We will be here for the next 8 days.
Heath, Nutrition and Kitchen Gardens: Today our team met with the leaders from 5 women's groups in Rubavu who have learned about making kitchen gardens near their homes to improve family nutrition. Eighteen months ago I brought 5 pencil like cuttings of a plant called Chaya to the Shalom office in Rubavu. Chaya is a Mexican plant often called a spinach tree because it is a perennial shrub which produces a continuous crop of highly nutritious leaves which are prepared like spinach. One Chaya bush planted by a home can provide a significant change in the nutrition and health of an entire family. The Shalom staff has grown on the original cuttings and now have 5 large bushes which are providing cuttings for many new plants.
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| March, 2016 |
Today I shared about the benefits of Chaya with this group of women leaders. "Chaya is a new food God has provided for you just as he provided manna, which people had never seen before, for the Israelites in the wilderness." Then we gave out cuttings to each participant to be planted at their homes.
After that we were given a tour of the large demonstration garden and tree nursery Shalom has developed as a way to educate the community. This is all a continuation of the hygiene and nutrition training brought to Shalom by our teams in 2013 and 2015. We taught about the importance of eating a variety of foods including fruits and vegetables. What really MADE MY DAY was what I saw as we were leaving the gathering after our lunch of rice, Chaya greens, plantains and beans. I saw this lovely young mother scooping up fingers full of rice and greens and feeding them to her baby. That means the learning has taken root and been accepted by the women as something good they want to do for their families. That was really encouraging. 
Transformation: This young woman is named Francine. She and her baby had suffered at home from loneliness and depression from early traumas in her life. She was invited to a healing and reconciliation workshop last April, run by Shalom, where she experienced God's inner healing and also discovered the joy of finding community with other women. She is now employed by Shalom to maintain the kitchen gardens and assist with future workshops. In this picture she is proudly holding the government insurance card which she has purchased with her own earnings for $5 each. She is excited about the future for herself and her child. Reconciliation work is at the heart of everything Shalom does. Today we also ran into Marie Chantal. This young girl and her mother were present at the 2015 gathering we had with several mother's of children with significant disabilities and their children. Marie Chantal has major physical challenges, but she is very bright and has learned to write with her feet. Shalom has helped to grow in confidence and she is now very verbal and the Shalom staff refer to her as an advocate for the disabled. When she discovers there is a disabled person, especially a child, in a home, she enters right in and encourages them to live life as fully as possible. More transformation. Bright Hope for the Future Our afternoon was spent with local high school students who have formed Shalom (Peace) Clubs at their school. Though they have all come from very difficult backgrounds (lots of alcoholism, abuse, bitterness and ethnic hatred in their homes) these students meet regularly to think together about how they can serve their fellow students and the surrounding community. They perform drama and poetry about peace making, they improve their schools by planting kitchen gardens and placing trash bins around the campus. They have painted classrooms and rebuilt broken desks so more students can sit during class. They were extremely well spoken and confident as Sandy led our team in getting to know them. We all saw Sandy's giftedness in working with young people shine! Dee and Sue were by her side. We shared from I Timothy 4:12 about youth being an example to those around them and also from Deuteronomy 31 where old Moses is giving charge of the people to young Joshua saying "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. The Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Rwanda's future is bright because God is transforming lives at every level, and he is allowing Shalom to be his instrument in that transformation.
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| Students as we told them we had brought 6 laptop computers given by our friends, including other high school students from our church. That really made an impression!
Thanks to each one of you who have helped to make this trip possible through your love, support, donations and prayers. We are here on behalf of all of you.
Sally, Sandy, Sue, Susan, Deb, Dee and Peggy
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