Rugby....Kiwis for the win.

Rugby is big here. And by big, I mean, every NGO talks about it. NFL? Nah. Basketball? No. Rugby World Final? Everyone's talking!
Today I spent the morning at the local UN (United Nations) Restaurant here in town watching the Rugby World Cup played by France-New Zealand. Since I have a Kiwi friend (and my friends here were cheering for NZ), I was cheering for New Zealand to win.
Too bad I had no idea what was going on half the time. ;)
With the help of my friends, I was able to follow the game and hey, Rugby isn't too hard to figure out....and it's a LOT of fun to watch! Much more physical than any other sport I've seen which obviously makes it more entertaining.
What was even more fun is that a lot of the NGO's have French people working for them, so I was cheering on NZ surrounded by the French who were cheering on France (duh.). It was great seeing them get all fired up when France would make a good play. Sometimes it's more interesting to watch the faans than the game itself because they are so competitive.
All together, I'm pretty sure Ill be keeping up on Rugby now. Much better than most of the other sports I've been watching in America.
My one question is, Why isn't Rugby popular in the U.S.? We must be crazy not to like this over NFL (sorry friends!).
I've converted. Woo, go team!

Maranatha.
-Kelly

In Response to the recent LRA confusion

For the past day, there has been a lot of hype on the internet, between friends, and coming from home about the LRA and Obama sending troops over here to Sudan/Uganda/DRC. I'll tell you straight up, Rush Limbaugh had it wrong.
The LRA is a deadly and terrible rebel group that pillages and destroys villages- they rape, murder, and scar their victims leaving most for dead and others so traumatised that it is horrible to describe the atrocities that befell them.
Here are a few links to blog posts and websites having to do with the LRA and what they mean here in Congo.
-> MAF blog
-> LRA Victim Responds
-> LRA Victim Story (Warning: This website has 2-3 pictures that are startling)
-> General LRA Info (This one is opinionated)

Feel free to check those out and comment to tell me what you think! I just thought I would clear the air a little and give you all a bit more information so you can base opinions for yourselves. I am still a bit astounded at what Rush Limbaugh said pertaining to all of this.

Maranatha.
-Kelly

Nyankunde Hill

This weekend, we took a nice overnight to Nyankunde to visit friends and hike the hill. It was a great time and I got some amazing pictures from it! Hiking the hill was absolutely exhausting (I'm sooo in shape, you know...haha.), but worth it when we reached the top and could see for miles and miles. The beauty around this country that i keep seeing has blown me away.
Last Sunday, I spent the day with a Congolese family celebrating the ordination of Bisoke, the father of the family, into the Anglican Church. It was a beautiful service and we were all very excited for him. The service was nearly 3 hours long! Afterwards, I returned to their home with them and helped with the last minute food preparation (they had been preparing for 2 days!) and then headed to the reception party for Bisoke. Bisoke has been in process of becoming an ordained minister for around 5 years; this event was very big within the community and the family. I was blessed to be able to share in their joy.

Maranatha.
-Kelly

Bisoke signing his ordination document

Trip to Nizi

After a few weeks of regular day-to-day routine and sickness, I am finally back to blogging. For the past month I've mnaged to go through a cold, allergies, and a sinus infection - one right after another. Thank goodness I am finally getting over all of it!

I've still been teaching at the school and am happy to say that everything is going well- the kids I teach (Grades 4, 5, and 6) are very quick and listen very well to what I have to say, whether they completely understand it or not. I've been picking up a bit more language and now know to ask,"Nini?"when I am unsure of a word in French or Swahili (Nini is Swahili for What). The kids love to volunteer to come and write words on the board and instead of just raising their hands, they typically raise their hand and start snapping their fingers at you until you call on them. 

Today I was able to get out and take a 1-hour drive to Nizi to see the gold mining that happens there. The drive was beautiful and we were able to get a few good pictures (above: landscape from the top of a mountain where a school is located, children from the school who followed us over to where we were taking pictures, the river beneath us). We did not see much mining due to some flooding from the rain (they stop mining when it floods), but we were still able to see where they do everything and the equipment. It was absolutely beautiful in the area and it was also interesting to see how many people knew our driver, Furaha's father (Furaha is the headmistress at the school I teach at). Furaha's father grew up and went to school there. It was amusing every time he would see someone he recognized and they would greet each other with a very firm handshake and big smiles. 

I will be back home in the United States in six weeks! I can't wait to see family and friends. Please pray for health, continued energy, empathy, and enthusiasm (Thank you, Ms. Yahr!) for teaching at the school, and guidance for the future.

Maranatha.

-Kelly