Finding Sisters in Rwanda

I have had the privilege of meeting some incredible women on the World Race. Getting to understand what it looks like to be a disciple of Christ through the eyes of my sisters in Christ around the globe has been such a treat. Obviously, I’ve found some of these sisters on my Squad. I first discovered life-long friendships on Squash Sisters with Claudia, Anna-Stewart, and Claire. These three have seen me go through some of the highest highs and lowest lows and will forever have a huge piece of my heart. Next, I built beautiful connections on Golden Girls with Dana and Sarah-Katherine, both of whom I respect and adore deeply. I’ve learned so much from both of these women and have had some of the most amazing conversations with them. Then there are the girls that I just clicked with. Sav and I were both Team Leads during our time in Latin America. She is so incredibly trustworthy, fun, and easy to talk to, so we bonded super quickly. At the moment, I’m actually editing her manuscript for a book. Thanks to these amazing women and more, I know that I’m going to come home with a whole new community that will hold me accountable and encourage me in my faith walk.

Our adventure weekend in Lesotho was definitely one to remember!

Look at these cuties! And no, I’m not talking about the elephants.

I’ve also made some incredible connections outside of my Squad. I’ve been able to stay in touch with at least one person from almost every country we’ve visited. Here in Rwanda, I’ve had the honor of finding some very special women who will definitely have a place in my heart for the rest of time.

Denise

I was so excited to have Denise design my dress! Right off the bat, she was incredibly sweet and just wanted me to be happy with the design and the fabric. Despite the language barrier, we hit it off immediately. I loved being with her every step of the way and getting to watch her in action. She is extremely talented when it comes to sewing and even helped some of the other girls with their work. Getting to see her present her work and talk about how much she enjoyed making both of our dresses was so heartwarming. She was so proud of her creations and rightfully so! I pray that her tailoring career will take off after graduation. Getting to see her nearly every day has been such a highlight of my time in Rwanda. I can always count on an extra-long hug from her.

Asumpta

Towards the beginning of our stay, we spent one of our ministry days doing house visits to men and women who had formerly been part of HopeRwanda’s programs. The last house we stopped at belonged to Asumpta, a mother of two and former tailoring student. She was incredibly excited to see Glenda again and was so very kind to the rest of us. We all squeezed into her front room and began to ask her questions about how she and her kids were doing. Her daughter, Kevina, was doing exceptionally well in school and growing into a wonderful young lady. However, the conversation slowly began to shift. Asumpta started talking about how work was difficult to come by and that she was really struggling with loneliness. My heart broke for her, but it wasn’t until Sarah-Katherine prompted me to share my story that I realized how much alike we were. Through our amazing translator, Alain, I told Asumpta all about my journey to discovering abundance from the Lord and learning to live in it. I told her about when I went through an extremely lonely phase in college and God promised to send me ducks to remind me of His love. The more I talked, the more I felt connected to this woman I had met only half an hour before. I felt emotion bubble up and words that I never planned to say spill out of my mouth. My heart went out to this beautiful, brokenhearted woman and I promised her to keep her in my prayers always.

Debra

When it came to our Beauty for Ashes retreat, we knew that we would need a good translator. Luc, the coordinator for the women’s program, does an incredible job when it comes to translating for us, but he wanted to get us a female translator for this event. He reached out to New Life Church and found Debra, one of the singers on the worship team, to help out. Let me tell you, Debra is absolutely incredible. Not only did she do an amazing job translating, but she jumped right into the retreat and got involved in every activity. She opened up with the rest of us and shared a lot of her testimony with the whole group. Within those three short days, I absolutely fell in love with Debra. Her kindness and selflessness is beyond apparent. Her love for the Lord is the core of who she is, and it just pours out of her as she loves everyone around her so deeply. I love getting to see her at church and she even came over to cook us an authentic Rwandan meal a few nights ago.

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I’m so incredibly grateful to have met these three amazing women. My two months in Rwanda have been some of the best on the Race and getting to know all the wonderful people along the way has definitely made it unforgettable. We will be leaving HopeRwanda next week and I probably won’t see any of these women again. However, that doesn’t mean that I won’t carry them with me in my heart for the rest of my life. We’ve bonded as sisters in Christ and there’s no connection that’s stronger than that. I may not be able to see them in this life again, but I know for certain that I’ll get to spend eternity with them.