CHOOSE CONTENTMENT!

There are some things we must do!

We must choose contentment ....

whether we are

alone.....

                                         or in a group!


Our Women's Bible study group just started a study on Hospitality... and how it relates to the Trinity.

Our leader, Mimi Wilson... (no not the Mimi Wilson from Penn Hills)  said her life 

was not full... until she simply chose 

contentment in everything!  She is a blessed

woman with much wisdom and she has Parkinson's. There are so many things i'd like to tell you that she said... but she began with this...

Choose Contentment!  She calls it her holy habit.

No matter what your circumstances...

 No matter if the storm clouds are closing in on you...

 No matter if things seem a little hazy and you can't think clearly...

 No matter how heavy your burdens seem to be.

 No matter if you are "on the mountain top"...

 No matter how mirky, rocky, rutted....or just plain....awful life is....

                                                                          (don't be offended)...it is part of life!  

 CHOOSE CONTENTMENT!!!  

        Oswald Chambers says today...."Add to your faith virtue"... II Peter 1:5

"ADD means there is something we have to do.   We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does and that God will not do what we can do.  We cannot save ourselves nor sanctify ourselves.  God does that; but God will not give us good HABITS.  He will not give us character. He will not make us walk aright.  We have to do all that ourselves, we have to work out the salvation God has worked in.  'Add' means to get into the HABIT of doing things and in the initial stages it is difficult.  To take the initiative is to make a beginning, to instruct yourself in the way you have to go!  

We have to get into the HABIT of hearkening to God about everything, to form the HABIT of finding out what God says.  If when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, 
we know that the HABIT has been formed!" 

I think this is what Mimi means when she says Choosing Contentment is a holy HABIT!  

She has formed the habit by choice.  

We DO get to choose how we relate to the life we have. 

This is one of the little ones from the children's home!

Happy Habit Forming!  

love,

margie

A Plug for Electricity!

Our gate that allows us to come and go into our house or property had almost come to a standstill!  It had gotten so hard to "roll open" that I couldn't even move it.  Since we moved here it has always been a little hard to open.. you really had to push and pull it with a lot of muscle to get it to opened or closed!  But this weekend... not even the guys could move it without nearly "busting a gut"!  

So, we called the landlord and after a couple of days she sent these two guys---who literally have changed our lives! 

After sizing up the situation, they left to bring the right parts and tools.

This was the first wheel they installed!  It even raised the gate a couple of inches.  

BUT this is how they did it.  When the older guy came to the back porch outlet 

to "plug in" the electric equipment I nearly died.  I said.. Where's the plug?  You are going to get electrocuted!"  He smiled and said, "It's ok".  

And he proceeded to do exactly what you see here. 

He didn't get electrocuted.  hmm....

So, i went out to the gate to check out what was going on there. The younger guy was already soldering on the gate latch at the bottom of the gate. 

And THIS is how the soldering iron was connected!  There was not one plug

on any piece of electric tool that they had.... All of it was hot-wired! 

I mean, really, who needs OSHA when you can stand on a ladder like this 

and solder (at least with goggles on!) with a hot-wired tool????
(While the other guy holds onto the metal)

And even better if you can do it with a container of WATER in your other hand.  

I was having heart failure because i don't even know how to call an ambulance here. 

A storm had been threatening all day.... the electricity went off for about an hour so finally they were getting done. 

In the meantime....  the mower guy was spinning away with his machine that runs on gas!

He got out little yard done in a little under 2 1/2 hours.  Now we have to rake!

And this little baby flitted down and sat on the "hot-wired" box that they guys were

working from.  Innocent brought her in to show me and then set her in the palm branches.

She didn't stay there long though.... She was very tiny and just free-fell to the driveway. 

I never saw her again so i hope her mommy got her.

MEANTIME...

by late day, the gate was done...... and no one was dead or injured.  I was so relieved and seriously, I'm not kidding.   And it didn't rain until both the gate and the yard were done! 

( A real blessing)

BUT THE GATE!!!   It can now be pushed back and forth with one finger.  

It is SO very wonderful.  What a gift!  

BUT i didn't get to Bruce fast enough when he can home that day and he flung the gate open with his usually intensity... and it flew right off the rail, it went so fast.  

Not to worry.. he and Bob ( visitor from the US to CMU/Rwanda) got it back in-line! 

It was a very industrial day at this "no address" house.... but i do hope that someday 

Rwanda will put a plug on every tool!  

And THAT is my PLUG for electricity!

Oops, the electricity just went off.. HA!!!!  

Our neighbors generator is whirling!

That's life in Rwanda!  It keeps us all grinning.
love,
margie

CHURCH, BOARDING SCHOOL and the PLAY!

SUNDAY WAS A HUGE AND REWARDING DAY! 

We visited William Coffe's Grampa's Church where he is the pastor. 

The church was up a steep hill after going through a village on some

typically bad mud-rutted roads.  But once we arrived it was wonderful. 

Grampa--the Pastor met us at the door and escorted us ahead of the whole church to

some special seats where the pastors and teachers were sitting.  The service started 

at 8:00am and all these folks were there. 

Our car was the only one... everyone else had walked.

They began building this church in 2008 and it isn't quite done.  They are in the building

so i guess they don't need permits....just one inspector! 

May 7th---O. Chambers says..."All that we build will be inspected by God...

Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God.  Jesus takes us over for His enterprises!

His building schemes entirely and no soul has any right to claim where he shall be put!"

The sermon was on the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
They had arranged for an interpreter
so he was with Bruce and William filled me in as grampa preached!
  William said that his grampa likes to use lots of scripture verses and that he did!
He had a very strong preacher voice and in addition to the big hand mic...turned as high as could be....  well, Tim...the truth is
you couldn't have even come close to his volume!   It was great!
And his sermon was filled with the Spirit! (like Doug and Tim's)

William Coffe, me, Grampa, Bruce and Gramma
outside after the service. They have raised William
since his parents are no longer alive. They have done a terrific job.

                   

The church has 6 choirs.. Amy can you imagine?  There are 3 for each service and since the service was from 8-10:30 you can imagine that there was a lot of music!

The Spirit was alive and well!  

                                                                           This guy reminded me of Andy Collins.  

                                                                             He just had his same energy!  

And then there was this little boy! 

 As the choir was singing.... he checked out the sound board 

and then made his way behind the choir to the 

other side of the church, near us. 

 Where he proceeded  to collect all the cell phones
of all the choir members!!   LOL!!!

 He then decided he needed a place to put them all so he
grabbed a purse and slung it over his shoulder.
About this time the choir started to return and they
all rescued their property.... grinning the whole time!
It was too cute.

Then the pastor asked all those baptized last week to come
down front to proclaim to all that they had chosen to follow the
Lord Jesus!  After this the 3rd choir sang a special song to them
about now belonging to the King.

 These two never lost track of us... during and after the service and
they followed us down the road a long way as we were leaving.

 Going down and around to tour the whole building.

THIS is the Sunday School Room where the children meet on Sunday

 and the Adults meet during the week. Kids, we have it pretty great in Sunday School... This room had no chairs, a brick floor and a blackboard!  But people are learning about Jesus and who he is right here in this room.

 One of the choirs preparing before the 2nd service.

                   

 And another choir in another spot.  Our house is down and
across the valley and up the hill.

 

Driving back through the village.

              Isn't this the most restful, peaceful picture? 

        Taken on the way home from church.

Nothing stops on Sunday here.. 

There are always needs to be met 

and strong men to meet them!

And all of that happened BEFORE 10:30!!!

After church we headed off to St. Bernadette's Boarding school 

about 1/2 hr. away where Synthia is in school now.

This is Synthia attacking me to say hello as i'm trying to take
a picture of her and her brother, Serge.  She was so happy
we all came to see her.
The kids are allowed one visit a month for a short time in the
afternoon!

 William found a friend from Kagugu (where we live)
and Igor and Serge with Synthia!

 This is Diana, Synthia's Mom and her brother again.
She, too... lost her Dad 3 years ago so her mom is her sole provider.

And this is us with her, too!

William borrowed my camera and took the next couple shots.
14 year olds!

 Igor in Serge's shadow. The way it is!

Once Bruce showed the boys the GPS they were all over him! 

A lot of these girls were from Kagugu and when i showed them
pictures of their old school on my camera they went crazy talking about
memories and teachers that they had had "last year"!  

Igor, Bruce and William studying just exactly where we were located.

 This was the most astonishing thing about the boarding school!

THIS WAS THE PARENT MEETING!

Can you even imagine if we had this many parents at a PTA meeting?
There are about 1000 kids --both male and female on location and i
think at least 1 parent was represented for each of them.
We had been outside and a teacher came and said "are you here for the meeting?"
We replied sort of.. so he ushered us into the meeting and made people move
over so we could sit down..about 5 rows from the front!!!   Bruce was so pleased.
The meeting was at least 3 hours long.  We only got here for the last 45 min..but we still ended up leaving before it was over.


It was great to see Synthia and all the kids here miss her very much.  She is sort of the  girl who holds all the village kids together!  William is doing that now!

We got home at 4pm.... in time for a nap and to get ready to go see the local church school K-12 perform "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe!"
B. couldn't go so i took the kids from the village.

None of them had ever seen a play, a drama or anything on stage.
THEIR EYES WERE ALIVE watching all the action even though most of
them don't speak a word of English!  It was fun and a great and exhausting day.



When we came out of the church where the play was we saw this.. Well, the moon was huge and what we saw was way better than this picture.  There's something on the news about the moon being bigger visually right now.  Right?  
It certainly seemed to be the case! 

It was an illuminating conclusion to a wonderful day!

love,
margie