Joel and some buddies watching a game at RVA

Many thanks to all who have been praying for us, and for Joel in particular. The surgeon was pleased with the repair of the ACL and recovery seems to be going well. Brendan and I returned to Rwanda on Tuesday and Brendan is back at school. Joel started with a few classes on Wednesday and expects to be back full time by Monday. He sees the surgeon on Tuesday next by which time we hope he will be off crutches and back in the dorm. Val is due to return to Rwanda on Tuesday. We are very thankful to the Lord for making it possible for us to be together as a family through this time. Thanks to Rwandair for their half price deal, to the small group at Valleygate Vineyard for their faithful support, to friends at Karen Vineyard in Nairobi and to Rift Valley Academy for providing an apartment for us during our stay there.

"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."  Rom. 8:28

Seeing Joel off on August 27th

As many of you will already know Joel is due to have surgery at Kijabe Hospital in Kenya next Tuesday to repair a torn ACL. We feel that this is a good opportunity for us to be together as a family to continue the healing of the trauma we went through in South Africa last year. Rwandair have a very generous half price deal on Saturdays and Tuesdays so we are taking advantage and Val, Brendan and I are leaving for Kenya on the 4.00 am flight tonight. In order that you can follow our journey and pray us though to a blessed outcome; here is our proposed plan:

Saturday 4.00 am: Val, Brendan and Pat fly to Nairobi

6.30 am: Jules from Karen Vineyard to pick up and bring us to her Friend Gabbie's house. Bless them.

10.30 am: Meet Joel who is on a weekend pass and is getting a ride into Nairlbi. As Joel will miss his mid-term break because of surgery, we will spend the day in Nairobi and have lunch and take in a movie. We spend the night with Gabbie.

Sunday am: Praise and Worship and Thanksgiving and all the other good God stuff you can think of at Karen Vineyard

Sunday pm: Jules is arranging some form of transport for us all to get to RVA (Kijabe) which is about 1hr and 15 minutes from Nairobi. We will all stay at the apartment on campus that the school has made available to us until Joel's surgery and for his recovery until he is able to return to the dorm.

Monday: "Normal" day at RVA. For Joel anyway.

Tuesday am: Dr. Mendonsa will fix Joel's knee. Amen

Tuesday night: Joel and Pat will stay at Kijabe hospital.

Wednesday: Joel returns to the Student Health facility at RVA for recovery.

Friday: Almost everyone leaves RVA for mid-term break to return on Tuesday evening.

Weekend: One of the nurses at RVA is around for the weekend. Pat or Val will stay at Student Health overnights with Joel. We may try to find some kind of bird in Nairobi to bring to RVA to do a thanksgiving meal (as we will have much to give thanks for).

Tuesday: Pat and Brendan fly back to Rwanda at 8 in the evening. We are hoping to get a ride into Nairobi with someone who is bringing kids back after mid-term. (Item for prayer)

Val is due to fly back to Rwanda on the 19^th in the evening. We will see how Joel is progressing and change that if necessary. We so appreciate all your prayers for us during this time. Pray for Antoine and Florence also who are doing an amazing job of pastoring the church. To God be the Glory.

 

 

Thanks for the Vehicle

Amidst all the hard stuff that is going on with Joel in Kenya, some good things are happening. One of the good things is that we have been able to find a Vehicle within our budget that will work for us. It is a 1998 Nissan Pathfinder and it handles the dirt roads quite nicely. We were able to trade the Corolla which served us well for the first month or so in Rwanda. Many thanks to everyone who contributed towards the purchase of the vehicle. 

Leaving church after meeting

Having just managed to manoeuvr the ruts in the dirt road to Muyange we arrived at church in the little Toyota Corolla which we have until we can find a more suitable vehicle for the back roads of Rwanda. The building which is about 7 by 6 meters was packed but still bright and airy as the 8 windows do not yet have glass.

Hakiza led worship with a guitar that Pat used to busk with more than 30 years ago in Holland in the bad old days. Worship was lively and a number of women danced despite the cramped conditions. Antoine spoke on the dangers of consulting self proclaimed prophets who have set up business delivering "messages from God". Unfortunately many people are being deceived into paying money to these "prophets" who behave more like fortune tellers than followers of Jesus, as they claim to be.

We were so blessed to see so many old faces and we were very warmly welcomed. It was great to see the result of all the hard work that has gone into the building and to see a healthy vibrant church praising God for his love and care. There remains much to do and we are trusting God to bless and grow his church

Good to be home

We arrived in Kigali to a very warm welcome from friends on August 16^th. The Lord blessed us at Heathrow Airport when Pat left a laptop next to an elevator and did not notice for over 30 minutes. After much prayer and running around we got it just as they were putting it on a trolley to take to the Lost Property that did not open till the next morning. Praise God. Antoine and Florence had decorated our house with welcome home signs and friends helped with luggage. It feels good to be home.

Brendan started school on Tuesday morning and he is settling in nicely. There are 5 other MKs (missionary kids) in his class who are friends from when we lived here before.  They are having their first sleepover on Friday night.  

Joel too is connecting with some old MK friends, some who are also going to RVA in Kenya next Friday. We had a little panic when we could not find name tags for his clothes. After a number of calls to Kenya and England (the company who make them could not get them made in time) we prayed and within minutes we found a bag full of name tags that were surplus from his first time at RVA. It was really the proverbial needle in a haystack. God is good. We were also very blessed by a good friend in England who has agreed to cover the rest of the boy's school fees for the remainder of this year. Please keep next year's school fees in your prayers.

We are looking forward to meeting everyone at church on Sunday and we will post an update and some pictures next week. In the meantime it is back to unpacking suitcases and the boxes that were packed up last year. It will take a while to get settled again but to quote Simon and Garfunkel: "Gee but it's great to be back home".

Visiting Brendan's birthplace of Cambridge

We are on our way home!!!

After a longer than planned furlough we are very grateful to be travelling back to Rwanda and getting back into a 'normal' routine again. Following 5 surgeries to fix the initial 'mistake', Val has been given the all clear. Joel's knee is healing well from his injury and 2 surgeries. Joel's unexpected second surgery caused him and Val to stay behind in Canada while Brendan and I travelled on to England. We are now all together again and enjoying the company of old friends in England.

This weekend we are in Scotland visiting with the folks at the Almond Vineyard in Edinburgh. We look forward to sharing with them about what God is doing in Rwanda with the help of Vineyard friends.

We will spend our final days in England with our friend Maggie at her house in Taunton where we hope to get some rest and relaxation before the trip to Kigali on August 15^th. We have been so blessed during our furlough with God's wonderful provision through our church family in Sackville and elsewhere. We look forward to God's continued provision and to new supporters coming on board to help us continue His work among the poor. Blessings.

Patrick

End of a Chapter

Val had her 5^th and final surgery 3 weeks ago and as you can see from the picture of her and the boys on Easter Monday in Victoria Park in Truro, she is doing well. It required 5 surgeries to fix the surgical mistake made in February 2009. We are so grateful to God for bringing us all through this year of turmoil. This is the end of a chapter that finds us in a better and stronger place spiritually than when this all began. Praise be to God.

We are now getting into 'transition' mode as we look forward to returning to Rwanda in July. Thanks for your prayers and please continue to pray for a smooth transition back into life in Rwanda with all its challenges and joys and for increased financial support for the Vineyard Rwanda Mission.