Kids Small Groups

It is hard to believe, but the Road to Rwanda is now officially on its "downhill."  In fact, right this moment the SK 2011 Rwanda PEACE Team is no longer in the Land of a Thousand Hills.  Let's catch the highlights though of their last few days in Rwanda:

Tuesday was primarily a travel day as the team departed Kibuye to head back to the capital city - Kigali.  They arrived safely and enjoyed time bonding as a team...honestly, in all the years of Saddleback Kids PEACE Trips this is truly one of the most bonded teams ever.  Every student and parent gels well together in small talk to getting ministry done.  It has been an incredible process to watch.  After a refreshing lunch and settling back into Kigali, the team was able to spend time with some key members of Christ Gospel Fellowship.  The highlight was getting to spend time with Dorothy Mutabazi.  She is Pastor Francis' wife and our lady of PEACE when it comes to Children's Ministry.  She just returned from several weeks of training/teaching in Indiana and was blessed to be able to spend a little time with the team. 

Wednesday brought about the FINAL farewells and slowly but surely began the reentry process.  As I mentioned last time it was a mix of emotions.  Some are ready to begin the journey homeward.  Others could not believe it was over.  Overall, everyone expressed heartfelt change because of what they saw and did in Rwanda.  Prayerfully this spark will ignite a fire of passion and action as they return to the US.

The team has safely arrived in Nairobi, Kenya where they are fast asleep as we speak.  This also signals the end of blogging and updates as the team goes "dark."  Basically, this is an invaluable time for the team to be fully separated from communications to take in all they experienced in Rwanda.  It is not an easy process, but so valuable and vital.  So, please continue to uplift the team in prayer as they fully engage in the debrief process.  There will be many tears and many laughs as they reflect upon this LONG Road to Rwanda that began back in September 2010 and is now coming to an end.  Pray for safe travels as they return home to LAX Sunday evening.  If you are a support member picking up a team member at LAX and don't have the flight information, please feel free to email me directly at lizag@saddleback.com so I can get it to you.  Otherwise, we'll update everyone upon the team's return home regarding the SK 2011 Rwanda PEACE Team Reunion in which you are ALL invited to hear the stories and see the pictures for yourselves.