Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Arrival!

It's March 30th and today is my first day in Rwanda!!! I arrived around 7:00 last night and God knocked me out of my socks when I saw how beautiful this place looked (that's right even at night this place looks amazing.) My first thought of this place was that it would look a little like a third world country, but boy was I wrong. I have never seen so many lights before and seeing them from the airplane made me speechless. They call this place the land of many hills, and for miles I could see hill after hill, I prayed to God telling Him how amazing this place is and how thankful I was for Him leading me here. I met Sam and his wife Jackie Mugisha at the airport in a hilarious way. When I got my luggage, I walked out to seeing so many people with most of them holding signs for the people they were meeting. I stood there for about ten minutes looking for them and at one point I even thought I saw them because this couple looked at me for the longest time, only to walk away blushed in embarrassment because it wasn't them. After finally walking out of the airport I found them by the collar the priests wear, so after 15 minutes, we found each other. Sam and Jackie are very sweet and I was happy to see people with the same enthusiasm as me. It took us about 20 minutes to leave the airport because Sam's car died, so we had to get a Taxi driver to help us jump-start the car, but I wasn't upset at all because I was just staring at the city itself. After driving for 15 minutes they had taken me to the place I'm living in for the next three months called "Mercy House" and I was in awe of how beautiful this house was. Now it isn't an American Dream house with a white picket fence, but if I wanted a house to live in.....this would be it. The backyard has a view that goes for miles, and waking up to it this morning......you would be speechless. The room I'll be living in for the next three months is very nice because of three things:

1. A Very Comfortable Bed which comes with a Mosquito Net
2. Three Closets
3. And last but not least......ONE POWERFUL FAN!!!!!!

Now it ain't a Holiday Inn, but I already feel at home, and the Lord has already been showing me how awesome He really is. He has provided me the things I need, and I am already thankful for having a place to call home. America is a blessed nation, but from seeing the things we have there such as air conditioning, hot showers, cabinets full of food, and a nice 52 inch plasma screen TV, we tend to value those things way too much. I finally understand and appreciate what Matthew 6: 25-34 talks about because the Lord does provide for us the THINGS WE NEED. I mean when He talks about clothing the grass of the fields, it made me think.......How impatient and selfish I really am for wanting what I WANT. Now as I close out for this day.....I want you to sit down and write out a list of the things that you have right now, ranging from the house you live in to even the smallest things in a house such as cleaning materials. After you write it, just see how blessed you are and pray to God today thanking Him for supplying you with the things that help you live on a day to day basis.

I love every single one of you, and my main prayer request I ask from you is that my Heart can become more open to God during this mission trip, and also that I do not become over whelmed of the new environment I'm in. I love you all, and if you have any prayer requests....just holla at me on Facebook.

John 16:33,
Adam Turnipseed