Kids Small Groups

The team arrived home safely eager to hug their loved ones, grab their luggage and take a nice, warm shower.  After almost 48 hours of straight travel from Akagera to Kigali then three separate flights everyone was ready to be back in the comfort of their homes.

BUT while the actual trip is over the impact will last a lifetime.  This picture is worth a thousand words, reflective of all the team experienced and felt - joy, connection, love, fun, silliness, memories, faith, hope and MORE.  There are literally thousands of images that the team came home with so be sure to connect with one of the 12 team members or join us for their reunion in August. 

The team has officially begun their long journey home as their flight out of Kigali International Airport made its first stop in Entebbe and is Brussels-bound.  Just a quick reminder that they do come home THURSDAY 7/10 in case there was any confusion.  Feel free to contact Liza at lizag@saddleback.com if you have any questions about the team's return home.  Otherwise, we'll look forward to seeing many of you at LAX in about 24 hours!!!

Sorry for the delay, but the team went "dark" for a little as they debriefed.  And what a debrief it was.  I won't share all the details as we want each of your beloved team members to be able to debrief, process and share with YOU when they arrive home.  Let's just say it was a POWERFUL time of reflection and rest as God moved through the Land of a Thousand Hills.

And soon enough you will get to hear their stories as the team is at Kigali International Airport.  Pray for safe travels as they begin the LONG journey home.  Pray for time to rest and reflect still as they unwind from all they experienced these two weeks in Rwanda.  Can't wait to see them all soon!

The team can still hardly believe that their two weeks in Rwanda is already wrapping up.  Today was a wonderful celebration of the relationships that have been built so quickly and deeply.  First, they attended church at CGF Busanze getting to spend more quality time with the abana.  Let's just say there was LOTS of children, LOTS of energy and LOTS of memories from this final church Sunday in Rwanda. 

After lunch, afternoon ministry took the team back to CGF Kimironko with more of the children they served with at the beginning of the trip.  Being reunited with familiar faces was bittersweet as the team will only have one more full day of ministry before the debriefing process commences.  Nonetheless, they soaked up every tiny hand and hug they could.  It was a fitting Sunday to begin to wrap things up after starting so high last Sunday. 

Though the planned ministry is wrapping up in the next 24 hours, pray for the ministry opportunities that God has ordained ahead for the team.  Pray that they can begin to process and reflect upon all the joy they have experienced in this last action-packed week.  Pray that their lives are forever changed because of the things they saw, heard and experienced.

Sorry for the delay in updating...three ACTION-packed days of ministry and more.  Here are some highlights on the past three days:

Thursday 7/2:  Lighthouse Preschool was thrilled to receive the team back for more fun. And the team was ecstatic to teach these precious children more about Jesus. FUN! After a little lunch the team was off to Christ Gospel Fellowship Busanze to work with more kiddos. Lots of laughter, Bible stories and more!

Friday 7/3: The team enjoyed a FULL day at CGF Busanze. LOTS of abana (children) again in the morning and afternoon for a FULL day of children's ministry at CGF Busanze. Everyone participated in teaching about WORSHIP throughout the day. The most powerful moment was when Maya closed out the day with forgiveness and Simon (one of the CGF Pastors) asked if anyone wanted to receive the forgiveness Maya shared about. As a result 30 kiddos came to the front of the church to ask Jesus into their lives. What a powerful moment for the entire team to be a part of. Praise God!

Saturday 7/4:  The emotional moments continued today as Cindy, Kris & Mickey trained 15 children's leaders in their ministry; the discussions were rich and inspirational. At the same time, the rest of the team worked with more than 100 children playing football, games, crafts and more. Today was extra special as the team was invited to a Rwandan wedding. What a beautiful event for the team to be a part of. They were truly blessed and honored to sit front-and-center as part of the CGF family with a wedding. The team even got to share a special prayer of blessing. Such a celebration of God's love; thank You, Lord, for the chance to be a part of the celebration.

Thanks for your fervent prayers as they are being felt 100% thousands of miles away in Rwanda. We love and appreciate each of you!

If you are wondering what "Abana" means it means children.  And that has been the major theme of each and every day for the Saddleback Kids Rwanda PEACE Team.  Today was no exception as they started off at the Lighthouse PEPE Preschool.  PEPE is a church-based preschool program.  Bottom line, these sweet 3 & 4 year olds were SO well-behaved and attentive.  Honestly, the team had never seen such well-mannered, sweet little kiddos.  And they were so cute and smart!  I think the team was most impacted by the beautiful combination of education and God's foundation at this preschool.  But the team definitely had its impact as the school begged them to come back tomorrow to teach the children more lessons about God and His love. 

Did I forget to mention that today was EXTRA special as the team celebrated Ashley Johnson's birthday!?!?  They were sure to celebrate in Rwandan style with a cake and a delicious lunch "party" at Sol de Luna.  Happy Birthday, Ashley!

And the afternoon brought the same abana the team has been blessed to work with at Christ Gospel Fellowship.  Tristan and Alicia stepped it up by taking the lead on today's lesson.  They did a spectacular job with the team's support as Maya and Ashley shared their testimonies.  Through all of the teaching and lessons the coolest part has been seeing special relationships form between the team and special kiddos.  Tomorrow's ministry will take them to a branch of CGF which the team is excited for the new adventure but will miss the friendships they have made at CGF Kimironko.

Pray for continued good health, energy and spirits for the team.  Pray for continued strength as their hearts are continually broken by the connections they are forming in the Land of a Thousand Hills.  Praise God for the changed lives on the team and throughout Rwanda.  Amen!

It was a LONG and impactful day of ministry at Christ Gospel Fellowship and Saddleback Kids PEACE.  Everyone on the 12-person team got to share and model God's love throughout the day of ministry.  They shared with lots of children in the morning, then were refreshed/refueled over lunch wtih another full afternoon on kids ministry AND teaching for 2-hours at Bible Study.  Thankfully no one's voices disappeared or strained with all the teaching, talking and sharing the team did.  Everything was about LOVE as they shared literally about fellowship, the Good Samaritan and serving others to share God's love.  What an incredible job the team did as they ministered to children, children's leaders and the congregation of CGF.  Great full day of ministry!

The team started off with a visit from Emmanuel from the Rwandan PEACE Office.  He and Dorothy Mutabazi provided an introductory orientation to Rwanda & PEACE.  The team learned so very much from their wisdom, experiences and hearts.  It was a touching time to get to know them, the story of Rwanda and the power of PEACE.  Great way to start their day. 

After a delicious Rwandan lunch at Chez Robert, the team had some much-needed prep time.  They organized, prepared and prayed over God's ministry for the later afternoon and days to come.  And they were ready to roll as Kris, Mickey & Cindy ministered to about 15 Children's Ministry leaders.  They challenged them in their faith and ministry to children.  Well done!  At the same time, the rest of the group taught about 75 kids about what it means to GROW in their faith.  Ultimately, both young and old were challenged to grow in their walks with Jesus. 

Now the team has finished up another yummy Rwandan meal at their hotel and are preparing for a FULL day of ministry tomorrow to leaders, children and more.  The team's spirits and energy are high as they get in the groove of things in Rwanda.  Excited to hear what God has in store for an action-packed day of ministry tomorrow!

What a FULL first day our Saddleback Kids Rwanda PEACE Team enjoyed.  Here is a FULL update on our 12-person team:

*  Saturday night the team arrived all safe and sound AND with all of their luggage.  Think this is a first in the history of Saddleback Kids PEACE Trips.  Praise God for His provision!  After a LATE night dinner the team hit the hay hard eager to rest up before a full day of ministry

*  Sunday morning the team was blessed to praise and worship alongside the Christ Gospel Fellowship (CGF) family.  They were thrown right into ministry as the team divided up amongst different age groups to serve in Children's Ministry CGF.  And they had a blast teaching, leading, sharing, singing and dancing.  Tristan, Ashley, Maya & Alicia stepped up BIG time sharing about WORSHIP.  Alicia even shared her personal heart story, inspiring the Rwandan kids.  The team's highlight was teaching the kids Jana Alayra songs and then the Rwandan children would teach them songs.  What a special time of WORSHIP back-and-forth.

* Despite fighting fatigue, the team pushed through with their first full-fledged Rwandan meal experience.  Let's just say lunch at the New Cactus was not typical fast-food like they are used to here in the States.  They fully enjoyed the time to sit back, relax and dine together over Rwandan pizza.

*  The afternoon was more of an emotional challenge as they visited the Genocide Memorial.  The team is processing all they saw and heard, but left the memorial site speechless.  It was a truly impactful time to see what the people of Rwanda endured and how far they have come from 20 years ago.  The power of God's forgiveness is incredible!

*  As we speak, the team is unwinding over dinner back at their hotel.  They are debriefing on their first full day of ministry.  They are preparing for what God has in store for Monday.  And they are restoring still recovering from long travels.

Day one, it's a wrap!

The SaddlebacK Kids 2014 Rwanda Team officially landed safe and sound on-schedule at 6:40 pm Saturday evening.  As you can imagine, everyone was tuckered out so upon retrieving their luggage they all hit the hay.  Pray for a restorative night of sleep as the team gets ready to kick off their trip with church services.  Sunday church promises to be a great kickstart to the trip!

The team is back on US soil with plenty of stories memories to share. Pray for safe travel and no traffic.
They will be back at MO2 by 6:30 pm.

The team had an incredible first full day of ministry yesterday.  They got their hands dirty painting at Door of Faith Orphanage.  And they got to do ministry as Jesus would simply in being with other people.  The time the team spent with the children of Door of Faith Orphanage was priceless.  Smiles, hugs and laughter abounded.  They even experienced a unique time of relationship building in the evening as they worked at Rancho Sordo Mudo.  What an eye-opening experience for the team as they ministered to deaf children who attend this boarding school.  It was an action-packed day of ministry, for sure.

Now the team is up and at em again.  The breakfast team arose bright and early to make a delicious french toast meal for the team and the children of Door of Faith.  It was a YUMMY start to the day.  As we speak, the team is praising God in Ensenada, Mexico.  Pray that their worship experience continues to open their hearts, eyes and minds to all that God has in store for them today.  Looking forward to another incredible, life-changing report later today.

Hooray!  The SK 2014 Mexico PEACE Team officially arrived to their destination at 6:15 pm this evening.  A little behind "schedule", but let's be honest, is there really a schedule on a PEACE trip?!?!  :)  Seriously, though, the team arrived in great spirits eager to eat and begin their PREPARATION (their first night's theme/focus).  God is speaking through Cortney (as we speak) as she challenges the students to prepare their hearts, minds and souls for His ministry that lies ahead this weekend.  Pray for a great night's sleep and that the PREPARATION for what God has in store begins NOW!

And they are OFF.  The SK 2014 Mexico PEACE Team is on the road headed south-of-the-border.  They have reached their final US potty stop to stretch and get ready to enter Mexico.  Pray for safe travels as they prepare for what God has in store for them this action-packed weekend.  Pray that their hearts and minds can remain distraction-free as they focus on His mission for them.  Pray that lives are changed in and through the team.