Dr. Sammy and Mr. Price! What??

I have been wanting to post for a while but there has been so many things that I thought would be best not to mention. Sometimes my life as a missionary is just too hard. Too much to mention.

Anyways as we are getting closer and closer to Christmas I often think.. would it really be so wonderful to be in the states for Christmas? Would I rather spend time away from my own bed in cold weather eating what ever I want sitting around a Christmas tree thinking man there are a ton of gifts I would like to unwrap and then wrap back up without anyone seeing??? Naaa Christmas with our charlie brown tree and our 80 degree weather is just fine with me. We have made our home here and this is where I want to be. (today that is) The other day I would have been on a plane without luggage!

There are 4 days until Christmas. I finally found more wrapping paper and some fun little gifts for the kids. Even here they are probably getting too much stuff!

Okay so I almost fell over today. Seriously when I saw that big sign that said Mr. Price my friend Jeana almost had to pick me up. We finally have our first real clothing store here in Kigali. Yesterday I found Dr. Sammy which almost taste like Dr. Pepper and now a clothing store. Plus we have a cool food court in this new mall thingy. I say thingy b/c it is still not really a mall but is acting like one. They even have highchairs in the food court. Plus the bathrooms were awesome. Today was a good day! Jeana and I laughed during our whole lunch b/c we were in shock.

Friday we are having some friends over for a birthday party for baby Jesus. we are grilling out hotdogs and having some other fun festive foods. of course some great desserts as well.

Luke and Abby have been working on their garden just about every other day. They love it and have been waiting for it to produce their veggies. Well... a monkey has been stealing their corn. I know it might sound a little funny but Luke is really upset about it. I think it has eaten most of the corn now. boo for monkeys!!!

Okay here is a description of the pic.
- the man through the window. This guy had on a best buy jacket. I thought it was pretty funny
- me and a lady at our church
- yes it's an authorized apple store
- our new clothing and home good store
- me and santa chillin... like bob dillon

Okay all for now. love all y'all and remember......... Jesus is the reason for the season (man I should like my mom) loll

April

update and some prayer requests

It has been a while! We have been really busy the past month... or so. A few weeks ago we are invited to a field retreat with our new field. East Africa Field. We are very excited about this change and we are really looking forward to seeing how God will be using us with our new boss, leaders and new Countries.
Retreat was awesome. We went to a game park about 7 hours from Nairobi. It was great meeting our other team mates and also relaxing a bit. Luke was in heaven! He was able to go on 6 game drives not including the drive in to the park and the drive out. The lodge was awesome and we had an amazing view. We actually we able to see elephants from our porch. Plus.... lol.... while me and the 2 older kids were on a game drive Spencer decided to take a shower while Silas was sleeping in his bed. When he got out of the shower he heard something and walked into our room to see about 8 monkeys eating our snacks!!!! Crazy! Only in Africa.....

The drive back to Nairobi was a little scary. Our van was overheating so we pulled over. Along with the other 3 vans in the carpool. The van we were in had a water reservoir in the seat behind the front passenger. 2 other the missionaries felt the cap and it felt cool and since it was the overflow decided it was safe to open. Well... as soon as it opened HOT water starting pouring out. When I say pouring it was like a huge fast flowing water fall. Unfortunately Abby, Silas and I were on that row where the water was flowing. Abby started screaming and trying to get out of the van with her seat belt on. I was screaming and laying on top of Silas trying to get him out. I couldn't get him out! I was too frazzled to think and I was too busy laying on him. The water was HOT. It was so hot that it burned the back of 1 missionary from Uganda and burned our new boss from Kenya on his hand. They were trying to get Abby out and also to block the water. Wheww..... it was scary. Silas was finally pulled out by a missionary from Kenya. He was thinking a little bit more than I was. Apparently the car seat was tied in and I couldn't get it loose.
All in all it was okay. I really feel like God has protected our kids from SOOOO much. I really believe HE was there and protecting them. He is so good!

Last week we hosted about 21 DS's and leaders from DRC, Congo Brazzaville, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, South Africa and Kenya. It was good but very busy.

We are coming home in just a few months. I really am having a hard time getting excited. I know we will love our time in the States but all I can think about is that long flight and the traveling we will be doing. Not fun for me! Luke is not excited about coming home either. He actually cried. Our kids love school so much they don't want to miss any of it. BUT I know once it gets closer we will get more excited. We will be home for about 5 weeks. We have meetings in KS and we are taking some vacation time.

Okay here are some prayer requests:
1. - The mission compound, local church and district office is trying to be taken from a lady who is saying her mother in law had no right to sell the property back in 1998 when we purchased it. She won the first court case!!! Not good. I will update you on the next court date. Of course we appealed!
2. - Spencer leaves for Kenya today and comes back on Saturday. Pray that I can function as a single mom for a bit! lol
3. - Transition for us and our leaders on our new field.

Okay I love all y'all and remember.... if you freeze KFC in Kenya it will still be frozen when you get home in Rwanda! Boooooyaaaa!

April

a busy life

I just got back from a tot's group. This is a group of mom's that bring their babies and toddlers to different houses for a play date. I am new to this group : ) It has been a lot of fun. Silas loves it and it give me a chance to hang out with other ladies. Plus... I get to go to all of these fun houses. Yes I get a little envious but who wouldn't when you see all of the play toys some of these kids have. Okay don't get me wrong we are very blessed with a nice house and lots of "junk", it is just some people have things that were obvious brought from their home country. Things you can't buy here. Anyways I am meeting a lot of interesting people.

SO in a few weeks we will be starting the first English church in Rwanda. Actually it is the first English church on our field (FEF). I am excited to be able to hear a good sermon in English for the first time in a loooong time. Yes Spencer will be preaching. This has been a long time coming and we along with the District Superintendent is excited. I will let everyone know the official date as soon as we nail it down. (most likely it will be September 18th).

Today I met a lady that calls herself Bifal. It will be interesting to see how our friendship grows. I met her at the tot's group. She is from America but is married to a Rwandan and she is actually having a ceremony today to celebrate her becoming a Rwandan. Interesting! One of the things that I love about being a missionary is all the different people I get to meet. People from all over the world.

Okay here is the schedule for this week and next... just in case you are wondering what I am up to.
Thursday - tot's group, PTO meeting
Friday - Luke going to a sleep over (friend from Kenya), Abby going over to a friends house after school(Rwandan), pizza night with friends
Saturday - ahhhh Saturday
Sunday - church, pot luck with friends at 4 (discussion of new church will be happening)
Monday - Luke starts French lessons after school, Abby starts Ballet
Tuesday - Ladies bible study, Luke starts Tae Kwon Do
Wednesday - open house at school
Thursday - tot's praise group (different from the regular tot's, will have a bible story and music for the kids), Barney and Joyce arrive!!!
Friday - interview with RAC

Above when I mentioned the nationalities of our kids friends. I mentioned it because our kids see everyone the same. The don't just have American friends at school. They are so blessed to be a part of other cultures and other nationalities and they love it.

Okay it is time for my afternoon tea.

love all ya'll and remember.... artichoke hearts and feta cheese with a little Italian dressing go very well together! (Maybe I need to go to Greece)

April

ahhhh hard tacos for lunch!

today was the first day of school. luke is now in the 4th grade and abby is in the 2nd. abby woke me up this morning ready to go at 6:30. she didn't want to eat breakfast she was so excited. silas is now 14 months old and is as loud as a 2 year old. he is getting 8 teeth at once. not sure if a child his age should have so many teeth! i think this makes 16 teeth for that boy. crazy days in the baggott household!

the team from lakeland, florida left last friday. it was sad to see them go but they did leave behind some really great snack foods! for some reason they thought they would be eating rice and beans for every meal so they brought some great goodies for us to eat! i think from now on i might give that impression to teams so this can happen again. heehee!
the team was such a blessing to us and to Rwanda. they began construction on a primary school which is now called "Highland Park Nazarene School". they also built a bathroom for our guard and his family as well as a lot of painting and repair work on the compound we live on. this place looks really different!

spencers parents come in a few weeks. we are very excited since this is our first visit from family in the 3 1/2 years we have been in africa. we are looking forward to sharing our life here with family!

do you ever feel like something is about to happen? well today i am having this strange feeling like God is really up to something. so i sit here listen to music and try not to get anxious about my feeling.
maybe its just the hard shelled (thanks to the HPN team) tacos that i will be eating for lunch today! : ) can't wait!!!!

okay i love all yall and remember.... Jeremiah 29:11 (and a plan for tacos too)

me

cheick... or how ever you spell his name

Sometimes all it takes is praying. friends, family, food….. can’t replace the peace you can get by just praying. I wonder why I wait until I am so frustrated with “stuff” that I then take it to God in prayer? Hummmm I guess I am just distracted with what I think I can do and handle. Praise god he is waiting for me. Wait to give me that daily peace I need.

Spencer was gone all day the other day out in a village called Mbare. We will begin construction on a school there in a couple of weeks. I am so excited for the team from Lakeland, fl to begin this project. They really have no idea what they are getting themselves into ☺ o yes I can’t wait. They will have to take a bus to the village then take moto’s down a foot path just to reach the church. they are really goona experience Africa in a way most people don’t.

Some days I dream of the water. I just know one of these days we will live by the ocean. Ahhh! Maybe I am just in need of a vacation. We are planning on taking one in October. The kids will be on a break from school so we are gonna take that week and do something. Who knows where we will go. We would love to either go to south Africa or Kenya but it all depends on what that will cost. The hard part about living here is trying to find a place for vacation. It costs an arm and a leg just to get a way… but we are gonna try and do it. We need it for sure!

The other night we got a phone call from our old guard in Senegal. When he said his name I was in shock. I couldn’t believe that it was him calling. What an exciting call to receive! We sure do miss him. I just pray that the seeds we were able to plant in his life will one day change it. He is a Muslim.

So today I pray for mercy. mercy on cheick’s life. I pray that he will find God.

Okay I love all ya’ll and remember……go lions beat the panthers!

oooops it was MSG instead!

there are just some days where i would rather just be in the states. yesterday was one of those days. the church next door played their loud music for hours and yeah just one of those days. the kids were driving me crazy and i was just in one of those blaaa moods. thank goodness for friends who understand those times. my friend jen called and told me she was picking me up for the novetel. the novetel is a nice hotel with a spa and gym. she is a member there. anyways i enjoyed an hour massage and a steam room. i am now thinking about having those bad days more often.... if you want to know how you can sponsor one of these bad days just let me know!!!!!
so today luke and spencer went to a church about 2 hours away. luke was so excited b/c he was able to take the moto taxi into town for a 2 hour bus ride. i packed some water and a baggie of cereal. abby, silas and i are staying home. so now i am trying to listen to some good music for worship today. (while silas is taking his morning nap). this afternoon our mechnic is picking up our truck for some much needed work done on it. they are repairing some body work and then painting it. then we will get some new tires! it was be a new truck. can't wait to get it back.... especially since they will have it for about a week. good thing we have a scooter now.

so today i choose to have a good day. i choose to be thankful for our call.
i love all ya'll and remember....... just because it looks like salt in a bag it just might be a bag of MSG!! ewww

no title

So life seems more and more normal living in Rwanda. sometimes i can't imagine living in america with my kids. it's weird. that's all i have to say about that. we love the sounds, smells (most of the time), the people, our friends, the food etc....

we finally got our scooter. i absolutely love it. we are so thankful for Ridgecrest Church of the Nazarene in Ridgecrest, CA for raising the funds for us to purchase it. I don't know if they really understand how they have really helped us. The scooter saves us tons of moula in gas. it also comes with free parking everywhere in town and it is wonderful for stress. you can get anywhere really fast. no - i'm not driving crazy fast in it. well just a little. traffic is sometimes bad and you can most of the time get to the front of the line :)!

so life has been a little busy. lots of things going on! God is good and it seems as if we are finally getting back into the swing of things.
in a couple of weeks we have a team coming from lakeland, fl! it is the church i grew up in. we are very excited. luke has a friend that will be coming with the team. he is i think 8?! the team will be building a school. this school is out in a village called Mbare. the whole village is excited and the government is actually helping supply the teachers when the school is finished.

the ONU team that was here in May helped with building a church in Gitarama. this church is on a hill top where they were worshiping in an open field.
God things are happening in Rwanda!

tomorrow the kids and I will be visiting the local nazarene school. it has been a few weeks since we have been able to go so we are ready. between me being sick, the truck breaking down and a conference held here on the mission compound it has been a few weeks since we have been able to read to the kids. as they would say in Senegal.... enchalla! God willing we will there.

my life as a missionary today consists of: finishing up the finances for the mission, doing personal finances, watching our friends children (a missionary couple with YWAM) while they go visit a site for a water project, looking to find milk (the stores near by have been out of the good milk for a few days), looking for mosquito nets for the team coming, taking back my curtains to be fixed (they are not straight), laundry, and all the other stuff of the normal life here in Rwanda. the '"unknowns" that happen so often here are becoming "normal". what i mean is, things happen everyday that would probably make you think "what? did that just really happen?" well those things are more normal than not normal. if a normal day happens here it feels kinda weird. maybe i'm not normal? yeah that's probably it. i admit it!

okay i love all ya'll and remember........ happiness is contagious... eat more salsa!

yep that's right... i finally posted!

So it has been forever since I have posted. I have no excuses. well i guess just being a mother of 3 (sometimes 4) is a big enough excuse. not including our crazy home assignment travels and..... everything else.
anyways life is good. we have settled into our new home (the house next door) and are getting back into the swing of things. 1 week after we arrived back home in Rwanda a team of 16 from ONU came. We had a great time with these students. but life was a little crazy for a while. I am really gonna try to blog more now that my desk is clearing off.

Oh - Spencer finished his Masters! yay! i actually am thinking of making me a certificate of graduation. I think it will read something like this: "Masters of putting up with husband during his studies". actually i think i may just throw myself a party. that's it i am doing it!

The kids are now on summer break. when we arrived back into country we decided that the 3 weeks left of school was worth putting them back in. they were happy about that. but now it is summer.... booooo! i just got them back in : )

Okay so here is what is on the agenda for the weekend and week.
Saturday (today) - birthday party with friends at a local hotel pool and pizza restaurant, finish getting the rooms ready for the PLNU students that are staying with us for one night, hang my new curtains (after the lady delivers them. they were made for the whole amount of 2,000 RFW which is about $3.33)
Sunday - church, rest (my parents always made me lay in bed on Sunday afternoons growing up and now... i just can't stop)
Monday - daily/weekly shopping, bank run for Rwanda finances
Tuesday - find material for bedroom curtains
Wednesday - Luke and Abby begin volunteering at a local Nazarene preschool. they are reading and singing to them.... in english
Thursday - find a scooter or moto to buy!
Friday - who knows!
Saturday - SILAS turns ONE!!!! wowzers
Okay so everything is subject to change. that is the flexibility of living in Africa!
okay all for now. i need to get busy while Silas is sleeping.

love all ya'll and remember........ your hands will smell like cheese... if you don't use a knife! (for all you tv watchers)

april