Living an Abundant Life
“Mfite ubuzima buzima.” I am living an abundant life. These words were spoken by Fiona*, a woman we have walked with for the last six years. We talk about our vision for abundant life for women all of the time, but to have these words being spoken without prompting from a woman who has endured […]
WMF Field History: Rwanda
WMF Field History: Rwanda After her time at university, Shelbye Renfro started as an intern in the WMF International Office. She knew world missions were the undertone of her story and that God had a unique plan, but the future seemed blurry to her at the time. After learning, exploring, and growing during her time as an intern, […]
Holy Wounds (As Featured in The Cry)
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus ), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my […]
Making Room (As Featured in The Cry)
As we navigate community with those on the margins, we experience all of the complexities of life–the highs and lows, joy and grief. Our community in Kigali recently walked through grief and hardship together as we held a memorial service at our ministry center for a member of one of our savings groups who passed […]
World Refugee Day 2018
Kiziba Refugee Camp resides in the hilltops of Karongi District in western Rwanda. Over 17,000 Congolese refugees live in the camp, many of whom fled unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo twenty years ago, and many others who were born in the camp and have spent their entire lives there. The residents of […]
The Land of a Thousand Hills
At some point life overseas becomes “normal” and I feel like there isn’t anything new or profound to write about. Some days are full of joy and it would be easy to write about all the reasons to shout praises to God, but I get caught up in the celebration and don’t take the time […]
True Fasting
Waiting is not always fun. Waiting for something that is completely out of your control, and trusting that God is in control, is not always easy. In fact it can be extremely difficult. As I waited and prayed for my visa, I also prayed for my friend trying to get his visa (which he got […]
The Start of Something New
We are excited about what God is doing here in Kigali, Rwanda. We’ve been working with vulnerable women in one of the communities here now for a year. The first several months seemed pretty rocky at times. The group began with 20 women starting a savings and credit group, but it took some time for […]
Planting Roots Takes Courage
I try to begin each day with the morning prayer from Common Prayer. This liturgy has become a vital part of my daily rhythms over the last year, offering peace to my morning and a solid foundation for my day. This prayer from a few months ago was, amazingly enough, the prayer on my one […]
Travel, Transitions, And All Of The Things
Well I arrived safe and sound here in the Land of a Thousand Hills with NO complications at immigration! (Can I get an AMEN?!) It has been a pretty busy week. Traveling/getting to know the city, bible studies, shared community Rwandan meals, and a welcome dinner! Did I mention how thankful I am that Shelbye has been […]