Faith, Life, and Lessons

According to When Helping Hurts , humanity is based on relationships, and there are really only four types: to God, to self, to others, and to the rest of creation. Because of the fall of humanity, all four of these categories have been damaged, although not destroyed. Therefore, poverty is the effects of these broken relationships. In other words, every human on earth is impoverished in some aspect, although maybe not materialistically. For instance, many North American Christians are wealthy in a monetary sense, but they may be impoverished in their relationship to self, leading to pride or self-consciousness or impoverished in their relationship to others, leading to isolation, loneliness, or idolatry of friendships. In reality, every problem on earth can be traced to the brokenness of our relationships in these four categories. We form our culture out of this discord, and our culture forms us. Gender roles, oppressive hierarchies, bondage, and all other types of pain are a result o...

So… the idea of driving down to Lake Kivu for a weekend (24-hour period to be exact) sounds like a great idea when the bus ride is only 3 hours each way right? Well, let me tell you what…  Last weekend, the entire KIVU group decided to travel to Lake Kivu as a weekend get-away, leaving on Saturday morning and returning Sunday afternoon. My Saturday morning began like any other, with me sluggishly turning off my music alarm clock (I refuse to wake up to angry beeping) and getting ready with a light breakfast. Don’t let go of the sight that my breakfast was light this particular morning; it will come back into play. Anyways, after about 20 minutes in the car, I arrived at the Kigali bus station, joined the group, and hopped on the bus. Although at first the group nodded approvingly at the bus, which was like the type of tough and rickety van you would take to a mission trip to Haiti or Mexico, we quickly realized that it was going to be more crowded than expected. After we all ...

I’m currently re-reading one of my favorite books: When Helping Hurts (by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert), and a passage I just read about the exile and rebellion of Israel really struck me because of its relevancy in Christian America today (and really in modern religion everywhere). Like most people, I’ve always believed that Israel’s main rebellion was their idolatry (which is definitely part of it and can be taken as a conviction for our modern mis-prioritization). However, many passages in Isaiah paint a slightly different picture of the infamous nation. In Isaiah 1:10-17, the prophet describes the hypocrisy and fake piety of Israel; although they upheld and excelled in keeping the Sabbath, offerings, fastings, and even prayers, they neglected the poor and needy and had no care for justice. Their actions did not line up with their words. Because of this, God was disgusted with them and said that their “evil assemblies” of worship repulsed Him. God is clearly not a fan of inconsis...

For our internship here in Rwanda, Madi (another Gap Year student) and I are interning at a large coffee exporting business called Rwanda Trading Company (under the umbrella of Westrock Coffee in the USA). The business is an interesting mix of business and humanitarian ideals (they were originally started as a social experiment to see if other countries could begin corporations in Rwanda to create economic activity). They employ nearly all locals both in the office and out farming in the fields. Additionally, they provide all their farmers with agricultural training and agronomy advice, cows for nutrition and additional income, clean drinking water in the community, and immediate cash payment with receipts. Starting out with some excitement, Madi and I spent our first day on the job traveling about two hours out of the city of Kigali (where I live with my host family) to a washing station, which is basically a place where coffee farmers meet to sort and wash their raw beans and to sel...

Well, today was my first actual day in my host home and at my internship; the jet lag recovery period is officially over, and I’m ready to begin my new routine. Anyways, because my time at my internship, Rwanda Trading Company, was only an orientation, I had plenty of time to hang out with the nanny and baby Ramya (14 months old) at my host-home in between exploring the city and visiting Blair, who is within walking distance. Still acclimating to the culture and more specifically the people and routine of my home stay, I chatted with Doreen, the nanny, and helped looked after the adorable and rambunctious Ramya. Luckily, Doreen speaks near perfect English, and she was very open and enthusiastic in sharing her story with me. I could tell she deeply appreciated spending time with someone else who could use intelligible words (although Ramya does try very hard). Understandably, I think she’s a bit starved for quality time with adults. Having worked in Rwanda for about a year and a half, s...