“Let’s hope that God will talk to them through our mouths”

In the past two months, I (Lane) have had occasion to have many meetings with people to discuss difficult things, such as: Meetings with a branch of the Rwandan government to negotiate a memorandum of understanding; meetings with another branch of the government to resolve issues with our organization’s registration; etc. But, prior to one recent, difficult meeting, one of my Rwandan staff, in response to my request for corporate prayer, stated: “Let’s hope that God will talk to them through our mouths.”

That struck me as profound, and as something I deeply wanted not only for the next meeting but for all my interactions with people. How cool and impactful would that be for people to feel blessed, challenged, edified, loved, rebuked in love, wiser, etc., after each interaction with us. It reminds me of a Jim Elliot quote: “Lord, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.” Let it be.

Anyway, a month or so later IJM Rwanda had one of those days that causes great celebration. 

First, on Friday, March 30, a Rwandan judge convicted a man who had raped an IJM client named Dahlia* and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. We celebrate because the system has clearly stated that Dahlia matters, and we celebrate that, in spite of numerous issues in this case though very well could have prevented it from even going to trial, God brought justice for Dahlia in a Rwandan court. IJM Rwanda has now assisted in securing four convictions of child abusers in 2012 against a goal of 10 for the year.

Second, after many months of prayer and work to secure our re-registration as an international non-governmental organization (INGO), on Friday we secured our registration certificate! I’ve never given birth but this six-month process of trying to get re-registered is as close as I’ll ever want to come to being with child for 9 months and giving birth. Thank you for all of your prayers in getting to this point.

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Greetings from Kigali! April is the annual memorial or mourning time from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. The genocide started on April 6, 1994, when the then President of Rwanda’s plane was shot down. 

Every year, the entire country spends a week in mourning and remembrance of what happened in an effort to make sure it never happens again. 

As you think of it, please pray for the people and leaders of Rwanda as they continue to heal and move forward after such a desperate tragedy.

Joshua - 5 months old

 On the home front, Joshua is now five-months old and is beginning to pull himself around on the floor as well as showing off his first two new little teeth.

 

Caleb and Abigail had a new experience this week. Due to the Memorial Week, the kid's school is off for break the entire week. So, we decided to take some field trips around the city. 

One of those outings was to a place called Dancing Pots, where the kids got a first hand try at making pottery. Check out my blog post here for more about that experience and more pictures!

IJM's Global Prayer Gathering starts Friday!

Click here to watch GPG session live online.  Join hundreds of IJM supporters gathered in Washington, D.C., and thousands more from around the world. 

Click here to download the GPG 2012 Prayer Journal with specific prayer requests from each field office (including Lane's office in Rwanda!!)

IJM's Global Prayer Gathering 2012

We gather with a singular purpose – to engage in the work of justice through the work of prayer.

Through storytelling, worship and reflection, we will celebrate God’s faithfulness throughout the past 15 years of IJM’s work…and we will ask for his continued intervention to bring rescue and restoration to those who are still being oppressed.

Throughout the weekend, IJM staff from Africa, Latin America, India and Southeast Asia will share the miracles of God’s intervention and care they have seen on the frontlines. We will hear of the urgent challenges in their field offices and cities. We will pray together corporately and also have the opportunity to rotate among country rooms during breakout sessions of focused prayer for IJM needs around the world. Several survivors who have been served by IJM will share their own stories with us.

We will be led in musical worship by Sara Groves, Sharon Irving and others.

Excerpt from the GPG 2012 Prayer Journal

Kigali, Rwanda 

Casework Focus: Child Sexual Assault 

Director: Lane Mears 

Office Established: 2008

PRAISE

• Praise God for granting IJM Rwanda success in its first year of focusing exclusively on combating sexual assault against children. In 2011, IJM Rwanda was able to secure its first four convictions against child abusers, and more than 50 children have been receiving aftercare services from IJM counselors.

• Praise God for granting IJM Rwanda the opportunity to train Rwandan judges and prosecutors on how to investigate and prosecute cases of child sexual assault. Nearly one out of every five judges and prosecutors in the entire nation participated in IJM’s first training last year.

PRAY

• Ask God to allow IJM Rwanda to build a trustworthy working relationship with the Rwandan National Police. This critical partnership will enable IJM to more consistently and productively work alongside the police to protect Rwandan children from sexual violence and ensure that rapists are held accountable under the law.

• Pray that three safe houses will open in or near Kigali City, where children who have been sexually abused can live when their own homes are not safe. Ideally, at least one of these safe houses would be government-run and have enough beds for all of IJM’s clients.

Pottery making in Rwanda

The outdoor workshop

I got a recommendation from my friend Jennifer Jukanovich about a pottery making place that she took her kids to for lessons. So, this is what we did today and the kids, except Luke, really liked it.

This is the workshop on the outside of the building.  Notice the man sitting up on a platform. This is the potter's wheel. I think the only one. One rod through the middle with a small wheel on top and a large wheel on bottom. He moves the bottom wheel with his feet and his hands form the pottery piece on the smaller wheel. 

 

Waiting to get started. 

Caleb sat up here to make his pottery piece.  Abigail is further down the picture with the women. 

Caleb began to make a bowl or the beginning of a pot. But, I am not sure what happened. I can only speak a few words of the Kinyarwandan language, and the folks at the pottery place only spoke a few words of English. So, most everything was using hand gestures. A lot of smiling, pointing, laughing, trying again and again. 

Caleb trying out the potter's wheel

Abigail with the ladies making a bowl

Abigail sat down with the ladies and they gave her some clay to begin making something.  She helped to make a bowl with one of the ladies.  Someone made an anteater for her and she liked that, so she made one herself. 

Abigail had fun getting her hands dirty!

Caleb learning from a master

I love this! Hands on learning for Abigail

Women making pottery in front of us

I wish I had a picture for something I will never forget that happened today at the pottery place.  In this picture you see a baby being held by a young girl. I think she must have been a sister of the baby or something, because I kept asking who was the mother to the baby and eventually, I figured it out. She wasn't sitting with the ladies when I took these pictures, but she came and sat with them later and took the baby in her arms. Then after a few minutes, I saw her nursing the baby. I asked how old and I think they said the baby was 6 months old.  My baby Joshua is now 5 months old and was with us today for our visit to this pottery place.

Pots waiting to be painted with a Rwandan hillside
in the background

After being there a while, Joshua was getting hungry, and so I discreetly began to nurse him.  The women knew exactly what I was doing and were so surprised to see me nursing my baby just like they did! Granted, she just did it in front of all around and was not shy about anyone seeing her breast at all. I on the other hand, use a blanket to cover myself and the baby when I nurse in public.

This lady kept making silly faces to make Joshua laugh!

When I finished nursing one breast, the lady pointed and motioned for me to nurse the other side too.  I nodded yes, but stopped to burp Joshua for a moment. Come to think of it, I never saw her burp her baby, I wonder why. Maybe since they carry their babies upright and on their backs most all day the baby gets burped that way. Is that just a western culture thing? I don't know, maybe I should look into that.  The lady in this picture kept making these silly faces to make Joshua laugh. Then she asked about how long the baby sleeps in the baby carrier and I told her it was a baby seat for the car to be safe while driving. I told her it was not for sleeping really, because he has a baby cot at home, this was for the car. I don't think she had ever seen a baby car seat before. 

It was such a neat experience for me. The nursing mother and this mother kept pointing to me and smiling and giving me a "thumbs up". I don't know if they had ever seen a white woman breast feed a baby before or what, but it was apparently a really big deal. I wish I could describe it better, but it was amazing to me. I felt like I bonded with this woman, who I could not speak a single word with, but yet we knew there was something similar in our lives.

We both had a baby almost the same age and we knew that we had something we could give the baby.  It was like I instantly became all of these women's friend. We crossed over some barrier of color and became just two woman with a child.  I really wish I had a picture of the two of use sitting on the dirt floor nursing our babies at the same time, but I don't. It will just be a picture in my mind forever.

Anyways, the crowd that was standing around had pretty much left by now except the women and me and my kids.  Luke began to feel more comfortable and let go of my leg and began looking inside a bunch of the large pots nearby.

Caleb proud of his Star Wars Death Star creation

During this time, Caleb had been working on something of his own. He was making a round shape.  I think Caleb was making a ball, but then I told him once the clay dries and they cook it in the oven it will become hard and break if he tries to kick the ball. So, he changed his game plan to make the Star Wars Death Star instead.  Of course!   There was a Rwandan boy watching him and kept asking if Caleb was making a ball, a "futbal" or soccer ball. He saw the soccer ball on Caleb shirt and kept pointing to that.  I don't think the boy knew what Star Wars was or ever understood what Caleb was making and the best I could do was to say it was a moon, and he pointed to the sky as to understand that word.

Then, Caleb did the same as Luke and started looking around the pots but came back with black paint on his hands. One of the other boys came over to help show Caleb where to go to wash off the paint. I could see Caleb washing his hands several yards away and when he came back, he smelled like gasoline.  I told him he just washed his hands with petrol (or gasoline) the same as for our car and he was really surprised about that!

Finally, after about an hour, we waited for Abigail to finish making a dragon with clay. When she finished we said our "Murakoze's" (thank you) and paid the Mzee (older grey haired man) for our time there. And waved good-bye. It was a fun experience for the kids to try something new and learn about pottery making.  Now, I hope that as we drive by the outdoor flower shops with these large pots for sale they will remember this day and how these pots are made. I on the other hand will have my own sweet memories from today.