KICS Faces

Kyla's soon to be colorful and fun classroom. Look how bright it is! Kyla will be teaching 8-10 students.



One of our KICS students. Kate has been very helpful.



Sharon, our pre-school teacher getting the library ready for business. We do have a long way to go!



KICS family members. The two families represented are new to Kigali. Their husbands are working to provide micro-loans to Rwandan citizens who would like to start a small sustainable business. What wonderful people, I am glad to serve their children!



Kyla with two of the Jenkin's kids. Timothy and Ruth are two of our KICS students!

KICS

KICS is really coming together!

Here is a short list to sum up a books worth of praises:

1. We have our 6th American Certified teacher!
Lauren, a recent college grad from Maryland has just been signed on to KICS. She came at the last minute and will fill the position of the K-2 grades. A couple of years ago Lauren felt that the Lord was calling her to Africa. So, she started saving money. Lauren was just added to the faculty today and already has 16,000 dollars. We are very excited to welcome her to KICS and have another young teacher friend. She will live with Kyla and me this year.

2. The US has approved KICS as an option for Embassy families to send their children.
This approval is already giving embassy families the opportunity to enroll their children. We just received 3 embassy applications in the past few days!

3. KICS now has six licensed teachers on board.
Kyla and myself. Lauren. Sharon, is married to the engineer who is building the new US Embassy. Sharon will be teaching the pre-school class. In the states Sharon actually works as a corporate writer in Chicago. Brenda Jackson is on the board of KICS. Her husband, Dwight, is the country director of Food for the Hungry. Brenda will be our Secondary teacher. We have another teacher on her way to Rwanda in the Spring. In addition to our Amerian faculty, KICS will also hire a couple native teachers to serve as teaching assistants.

4. We have great resources and connections.
Do to the diverse population of people involved in KICS we are blessed to have many people who are offering their services to KICS. An ex-pat from the states, Shannon, has offered to contribute her academic expertise to the young teachers as well as provide help in Math and Science. Shannon is also starting a community wide book club for all children in the areas International Schools.

5. I could continue to list so many fun and exciting things happening in KICS.

6. We have 26 students grades P-11 enrolled in the school.
We expect to have quite a few more students enroll in the next couple of weeks.

7. Parent involvement is looking good.
Parents are very eager to get involved. Next Suday we are going to have a barn raising event in which we will all join together as a community to prepare KICS for the school year. We have a lot of work to do for the opening day. September 14!

Please pray that our school will meet the needs of the families in Kigali. The work each family is doing is so essential and their child's educational needs must be met. Without good schooling families would be forced to leave the country.

No Light

At the moment I am writing this I am learning to be very thankful for internal lap top battery power. My new Kigali home looks out across a valley to a neighboring hillside. The hillside is sprinkled with homes and shops and a road or two. The buildings differ in appearance. Some are nice and large and occupied by Rwanda's richest. Other homes are small and run down and are evidence of the obivious fortune and missfortune that seperate two populations in Kigali. I've only lived 23 years, but I continually recognize the seperation that money brings upon societies world wide. Rwanda, is a prime example of the power of seperation and horrors of that concept. Rwanda's dream is to be ONE and tonight we all join eachother in experiencing ONE great missfortune. Tonight, the city of Kigali unites together and grieves our loss of light. Power and energy in Kigali is really a hit or miss. In the evening I usually enjoy the view of the city lights outside the porch windows, but tonight there is no view.

It's been an hour or so since I wrote the above paragrah. The city power just came back on, my view is back and the sound of bumping discos and night clubs can be heard once again. Funny that the first song playing in the distance is "Freedom" by one of America's past divas. Freedom has been a word circulating in my head since I have been in this country. Christ used many symbols and objects to make his point about the Kingdom. He often refered to light. I am living in a country that is united with a dark past. Amazingly, this darkness affects all people of all economic levels. Just like our short power outage, pain, sorry and grief cannot be prevented with any amount of money. In the past 6 days I have met a variey of people who are working to restore LIGHT and freedom in the hearts of Rwandans! Please pray for Rwanda. Pray that LIGHT can be restored. Pray for the workers. Pray for Rwandans. Pray that light and freedom from sorrow and seperation will be Rwandas new story.

Below are a number of photographs of Kigali. Kigali is a city of hills. It's surprisingly clean and much calmer than Nairobi or Kampala. The first photo is a picture of the Jenkins home that Kyla, myself and a fellow KICS teacher will be housesitting until January. It's a great place. The other photographs were taken in Kigali. It's dry season at the moment, so everything is not at it's greenest.

Click on the photo to view a larger image. The last photograph is the view from our school.

My first Sunday!

This morning we woke up early and attended the New Life Bible Church. The church is one of a couple of English churches in Kigali. The Jenkins and Beards are attending New Life until the church plant of our own takes off in March. The pastor at New Life Bible is so excited about the church plant is very encouraging! How wonderful it is to partner and not compete. Service was awesome. The singing was great and full of energy. I love worshiping African style.

After church the Jenkins drove Kyla and I around the city. The city rests on eight hills and the roads really have no direction and structure. I think it will take me a while to learn my way around Kigali. I also hope to become good at dodging pot holes!

Later in the afternoon we stopped by the Beard's house. We visited with them about ministry in the city and we also made a plan to take a team retreat to Gisenyi this weekend. Gisenyi is a lake side town on the Congo border. I am looking forward to bonding with the Jenkins and Beards. Pray that the Caleb and Jenny Beck, prospective team members, will find the supprt and be able to move to Rwanda as soon as possible!

Around 4 this afternoon, Kyla, Dave and I attended a Bible study with several college students. Dave read an African version of the Good Samaritan and we had good discussion.

Tomorrow we will begin the long process of obtaining work permits. Pray that that process will go smoothly and without much hassle! In the afternoon, Kyla and I will be meeting with a couple ladies who want to start a Book Club for KICS!

I have decided to join Kyle and Luz Beard in taking Kinyrwanda language lessons. I feel that this would be a wise decision and hope it will connect me greater to the people of Rwanda.

Oklahoma Christian University recently welcomed 10 Rwandan Freshman to their school. The students selected were among the top 25 scoring students who sat for the Secondary National Exams. You can read about their lives and what they want to bring to Rwanda by visiting this site. http://intorwanda.blogspot.com/ Find the entry "Chosen" in recent posts and see pictures and descriptions of Rwanda's best and brightest!

First two days!

Well, today was my first full day in Kigali!

We arrived yesterday afternoon after flying from Little Rock to Detroit to DC to Rome to Addis Ababa to Nairobi and finally to Kigali!

After we got off the plane, I was the first person to walk to the baggage claim station. I looked over to my right and noticed a family that looked like the Jenkins family. The Jenkins are some CoC missionaries who are members of the KICS board and our hosts for the next 6 months. I waved to them and they walked over to me only to say. "We thought you were coming on Tuesday! We just got off the plane from Nairobi! What are you doing here?" Coincidence? Luck? I doubt it!

On Friday afternoon the missionary community swims together at a local Hotel. The Jenkins took us to the Hotel to meet the families we will be working with. What a great experience. We met so many awesome families involved in anything from orphanage work, micro loan banking, trauma counseling, Embassy construction, law education and well known organizations like Compassion International. I even met a famiy who recently moved from Little Rock. There were several young couples. Most of these families will be sending there children to our school. Rwanda truly has a unique gathering of workers! Everyone I met today is involved in such awesome activities. I sense that everyone has a heart for approaching Rwanda holistically by meeting physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

I am so excited about serving these families by teaching their children.

After meeting 10-15 families and their kids, the Jenkins took Kyla and I out for dinner. We sat and talked about the history of Rwanda, her people, and the vision for KICS.

Today, Kyle and Luz Beard came over to the house for lunch. The Beards have two young children and recently moved to Rwanda to join the mission team. Kyle has just been named the Head Coach for Rwanda's ladies soccer team. He is using his passion for sports to serve Rwanda.

Later, Jana Jenkins and another lady in town took Kyla and I out to see the school house. What an adorable and great facility. The building is yellow and has several rooms that will be used for each grade cluster. The school sits up high on a hill in the city. The view is of the city and some farm land in the valley. A great view. I love the school a lot!

We participated in a lot of "teacher talk" and made plans to get the school ready for opening day on September 15.

I am adjusting to urban African life. A life much different that living in the village in Kenya. I am very impressed with Kigali. The city is super clean, safe and beautiful. In fact, the Rwandan government just issued a no motorbike rule. Today was the last Saturday of the month. On the last Saturday, driving and working are prohibited until 12 noon. During the morning citizens are required to clean the area around their business and house. Pretty great!

Rainy season will begin soon and the trees and grass will ignite in bright and deep greens!

Thank you for your prayers.

Please pray that...

1. Kyla and I will settle into our new home, city and environment with ease.
2. KICS will spend the next 3 weeks in good preparation.
3. I will find my place in Kigali and in ministry.
4. My class will be a community and I will provide them with worthy instruction.


Love you all, Amanda

PS I am seven hours ahead of Central Time.

Here are my contacts:

Amanda Moore
c/o Dave Jenkins
B.P. 6612
Kigali, Rwanda

SKYPE / AIM / I-CHAT username: missamandamo

Phone number: 501-588-2287
I purchased a local area code using SKYPE. Call anytime or anywhere for the price of a local call!

I'll send photos soon!

Saying Goodbye

I am writing this Blog in the Washington DC airport. Yesterday I was scheduled to leave for Houston, but the flight was cancelled. I was rerouted to Detroit then to DC. Last night I arrived in DC and lugged my 4 trunks, 1 suitcase and a bike to the Hotel. This morning ran smoothly and now I am waiting to board my flight! I feel like I can relax now that everything is checked in.

Saying Goodbye to friends was very surreal. The reality of my departure became much more clear as the days until departure became less and less. I am sad to leave friends and family, but so ready to look down from my window seat at the beautiful hills and farm land that cover East Africa.

On Sunday, Kyla and I attended a great send off party at Downtown Church. I enjoyed saying goodbye to so many people that I love and appreciate. We were surrounded by prayer and sent with words of encouragement. What a fun event.

I'll write more when I arrive in Rwanda!!