2013: What a Year!

As I look back at this past 365 days, I realize that it has been a year full of change; the biggest for me being the birth of Rachael and my first child. As I write this, my baby son is sleeping peacefully in the next room. The past few months seem like an absolute blur of activity, but not everything was easy peasy. At first, we debated having the birth in Rwanda for many reasons, not the least of which being financial. Thanks to the generosity of our families, they made the decision to come back to America a no-brainer. This was fortunate as we learned early in the pregnancy that the baby only had a two-vessel umbilical cord, which could lead to growth restriction (and an early delivery). Returning to the U.S. for the birth ensured that Rachael could maintain the perfect diet for baby’s growth. The ability to have a more diverse diet also would prove critical as Rachael learned late in the pregnancy that she had gestational diabetes. The hardest part (for me anyway) of this whole pregnancy was that Rachael and I were separated for eight weeks in her third trimester. We have promised each other that we shall never endure that kind of separation ever again. The pregnancy and childbirth ended in a C-section, which was followed by a second surgery to stop internal bleeding caused by the first. Fortunately, while all this was going on, Beau was healthy and we had our families right there with us (in fact Rachael’s mother is an L&D nurse at the very hospital where we delivered; she was working when Beau was born and helped in his delivery!). 

During Rachael’s time away, I moved us into a new house. Moving is always a stressful ordeal, but doing it in a developing country has to be the most stressful. Thanks to our friends here in Rwanda who were more than willing to lend a helping hand, the move was made very brief and painless, which is amazing considering there is no such thing as a moving truck here. We now feel very blessed in our new home; a perfect place for Beau to begin life. We are very happy to be back in Rwanda, where there were many people anxiously awaiting Beau’s arrival. After having a very blessed time at home (in Washington) with minimal distractions from just being together as a young family and soaking up time with our families and friends, it was hard to jump right back into work, but there are many things to be optimistic about as we move into 2014. 

The program continues to grow and develop. We now have four Church partners as we added the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches in 2013. We also had a wonderful staff retreat in December, where we recounted the many blessings the Lord has shown us over the year. The field staff (employees of the Churches) has never seemed more committed to the work that they are engaged in and willing to use the program to impact people’s lives on a spiritual, social and economic level. At the Rwanda head office we are getting ready to bring on two additional staff members to continue to make the program the best it can be and to hopefully move the program closer and closer to the goal of self-sustainability apart from HOPE. The testimonies of what the savings program has done in people’s lives continue to flow.  Of course, this is the most rewarding part of my work!  I’m really excited to see what God has in store this next year. As I reflect on all the changes it is encouraging to know that no matter what happens, it is all for the best. Being confident that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. – Philippians 1:6

Happy New Year!!!