I'll be hooome for Christmas!

Hey people,

This is my last posting from the continent of Africa. I am leaving for the airport very earlier tomorrow morning. Sadly that is the only time I could get a ride I didn't have to pay a lot of money for but my flight doesn't leave Cape Town until after 10 pm so I will be sitting for a long time before I can even check in. I arrive in London on Monday morning and after another long flight I will then be in Boston:)

Amidst prayers for safe travels I would appreciate it if you could mention an early as possible check in and that the time will just fly by (no pun intended). Thank you guys for what a tremendous support you have been in this time of my life. I have definitely been impacted during this school and I am looking forward to getting home and sharing some of that with you. It is a time of very mixed feelings; I want to be with my family for Christmas but I'm sad to leave very good friends. I will be grateful for a chance to rest but I will really miss working with the people here. Anyway, speaking of rest I should go sleep while I still can. I love you all!

Isimbi Johanna

Nqobisitha

The first time I saw him he was sitting next to his father under a tree on a hot sunny afternoon. I was tired. I had just walked 2 miles to get back to where we are staying but some things make you forget exhaustion. I had never seen trachoma in person before but Nqobi is already at stage 4 so even with my little training I could recognize it as soon as I knelt down in front of him. Have you ever seen an 8 year old who has given up on life? This kid has. He would barely lift his shoulders to look at me even though I was right in front of him; partly because the light hurts his eyes so much. They were swollen and crusty with discharge. He can barely see at this point because of the gray film over his pupil. Needless to say Nqobi impacted me.

On top of his eyes he is so malnourished that he is the size of his 4 year old cousin. His mother died when he was 2 and although his father loves him he can't take care of him because he has to work. Nqobi stays with some cousins who are struggling to provide for themselves. Over the next few days after I first met him our team visited his home to begin treatment on his eyes. It was a dramatic improvement just by washing them.

On Monday Nqobi is coming to stay at the base we are living at. They have a home for orphans there and they will temporarily take care of him while we continuing treating his eyes. We can clean them up but we can't cure his blindness. We do, however, serve a God who can and therefore we are expecting and asking for a complete recovery. The most important treatment we can give people as a medical team is prayer.

I wanted to share Nqobisitha with you because he is the reason I did this school. I could tell you all about the primary school we do health teachings/health care at or the home visits we make to the community members. I could tell you about how we got permission from the chief of the community to do a community-wide teaching on HIV/AIDS last Saturday. For me, though, it comes down to people like Nqobi. People who need help from someone to show them that life is not hopeless, that there is a God who loves them and created them, and that they do not have to die from something we can prevent.

I have been in Zimbabwe for just a short time but it will certainly affect the rest of my life. In a week I am going from the bush to the bush-bush or in other words we are traveling farther into Zimbabwe to work in a village. Obviously, I will have no internet connection so I will talk to you in December. Thanks for your prayers and support! I love you guys!

Isimbi Johanna

Prayer for Political 'Stability'

Continue to pray for the political landscape of the country of Zimbabwe which has had such a convoluted history in recent months, years and decades. The unity government of the past year appears to be dissolving and that could in turn lead to political violence and further turmoil and hardships for the population of the country. See the following Reuters story for further detail.

Zimbabwe!!

Hello all,

So this will be my last post before I go to Zimbabwe which means I don't know when you will hear from me again. Hopefully, I can find a computer to use to let everyone know I'm still alive sometime this week.

We are leaving tonight at 7 and will reach Johannesburg around noon tomorrow. We stay there overnight and then continue on to Zim; we should arrive in Bulawayo sometime on Thursday.

Concerning prayer, just keep it coming! The base prayed for our team this morning to send us off and you can never pray too much. Zimbabwe needs prayer for sure but I believe God has great things in store for turning this country back to Him and I am excited to see a glimpse of it in the coming months. We are praying for safe travels of course and then some things to keep in mind are unity amongst our team, wisdom in our words and actions, and most importantly that God would use us to glorify Him in Zimbabwe. We may be going there as a health care team but really God can use us however He wants.

As for me, I am so excited to be going. I love seeing new countries! Time goes by so fast and I want to make the most of the 2 months I have in Zim. Before I know it I'll be going back home for Christmas. I look forward to seeing you all in December and I will write to you from Zimbabwe. Bye!

Isimbi Johanna

A certified South Africa First-Aider!

Hello all of you,

I wanted to give you a bit of an update about what is going on in my life here but please I also love knowing what is happening in your lives so any time you want to write me or leave me notes on Facebook or something please do.

This past week our school was learning First Aid. Really cool subject even though it was mostly review for me. I did an EMT-Basic course two years ago and learned all about keeping people alive. My certification just ran out in May though so this was great timing. It is surprising how much you forget when you aren't using it. I passed my CPR exam this morning so I am now officially a First-Aider in South Africa anyway. I really loved the whole week because our teacher was a great man; very experienced but very humble and he is a fully alive Christian. I've never had medical teaching that goes hand in hand with Biblical truth before and it definitely makes a difference. Every morning our class has either worship or intercession together and our teacher this week joined us for that before teaching.

Next week, we are focusing on outreach into the local community. We are finding out tomorrow morning what exactly we are doing but one thing I know is that this Wednesday afternoon we are presenting a health teaching to a group of kids in a really poor community near us. We decided to teach on personal hygiene and it should be a lot of fun. Also this Friday night there is a youth concert that is being run by a worship leader for the young people of Worcester. I am very excited for this because these youth face so many battles and I mean intense ones. They are living a country with the worst crime rates, high HIV/AIDS infection, and wrong mindsets left from apartheid. If you happen to think about it please pray for this Friday evening (it would be earlier in the day in America). Pray that the youth will have the courage to respond and that they will hear the Truth when they come and recognise it. I plan to attend it mainly to be there and pray for them as it is happening. I am excited to see what God has in store for the young people of South Africa.

Alright, I have a book report due in a week (on a book I haven't read yet:) and a teaching plan due Monday so I am going to work on that. See you later!

Isimbi Johanna

I'm alive!

Hi you guys,

Don't worry I haven't perished of a strange tropical disease. I have a lingering cough but other than that I am doing very well. Thank you all so much for your prayers. Here at the base I got prayed for in English, Afrikans, Portuguese, and French so I was pretty well covered. The flu bug thing is going around here and lots of people are getting sick.

I just found out today that I thought I had payed all my school fees but actually I have to pay another 12,000 rand for outreach. Bit of a downer of course but it is actually rather awesome the way God has already begun to provide that for me. I have had people offer to support me earlier this week before I knew that I would be needing this and I found out that I have a 401K check coming from one of my jobs in Montana. I think it is so cool that God knew I was going to be needing to pay this and started to prepare for it before I knew.

Here's how the rest of this school is going. We have 3 more weeks of teaching and then we are going to another part of South Africa where we will be working at a long term care home for paraplegics, quadraplegics, and elderly. Our job will be mainly helping with washing in the mornings and getting them breakfast. We are there until the end of September then we come back here to Worcester for some last minute teaching then off to Zimbabwe. We will be in Zimbabwe from October to December mostly in Komayanga village. After graduation I fly home for Christmas.

I have kind of flopped when it came to fund-raising for this school which I apologize for. Many of you have expressed a desire to support me financially and I am sorry I didn't organize this better for you. I was planning to put off fund-raising until I came back next year when I could do a really good job and send out stuff to make it easier for people. I will still do that but if you are sensing God leading you to not wait until then you can send a check to my home address which I will provide [See blog heading] or give it to my lovely parents if you are in NH. May I just tell you that I already appreciate your prayers because they are the greatest most powerful support you can give me.

Thank you all tremendously! Ndagukunda cyane. I am heading to Cape Town with friends (someone is letting us crash at their house for the weekend) so I will talk to you later.

Isimbi Johanna

Fever, fever, fever

Hi all,

So I am just letting you know that I could use some extra prayers for health at the moment. I came down with some sort of flu bug over the weekend that has knocked me flat. I've been coughing my lungs out just about and I keep swinging back and forth with a high fever which is unusual for me. I spent the day in bed on Sunday since my fever was 39.4 C [102.9 F*] and I thought that would be the end of it but the next morning it was back. I took medicine and was doing better most of the day but then the fever was back up over 39 [102.2 F*] by last night. Besides just feeling awful and not being able to hear or smell because I am so stuffed up I am really ready to be done with this fever. People here have been great with praying for me and giving me time to rest but I figured the more prayers the better. Hopefully, I can stay fever free tonight, get some rest, and be fully restored in the morning.

Isimbi Johanna

P.S. It has been funny in class the past two days because we are talking about the eyes, ears, and nose. I felt like a walking demonstration of all the infections you could get.

What will I do?

Hello people,

You know how when people learn about the Holocaust they tend to say things like "If I were in Germany at the time I hope I would have done something or said something." They also tend to say things like "I guess I'll never know since it's over and all..." Well, I have decided that I will not wonder that about myself. When I was in Rwanda I would often think about what I would have done if I had been there during the genocide in 1994. I was thinking about that again tonight.

I just watched this movie called Yesterday about a woman from a village in South Africa who has HIV and her husband is dying of AIDS. It's a good movie and I would recommend it but it let something loose in me tonight. After it was done I walked out to the field here and sat down in a far corner.It is dark here right now so I was quite alone. I just started sobbing and crying; something I am not prone to do. I was brokenhearted over this issue of HIV/AIDS. It felt like I was grieving for everyone I know who has it and all those millions of unknowns. Maybe like the tiniest reflection of the way God feels about it. This is what God was showing me. I may not have been in Rwanda during the genocide but I am here in South Africa right now during the deaths of millions due to HIV/AIDS. I have been to multiple countries in Africa by now and met many people infected with HIV. So what will I do about that?

I don't have all the long-term answers to that right now but I guess I just wanted to share with you the things God uses to shape my heart. James 1:27 says "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble..." Please think about this because if you have not been taking care of orphans and widows you should be afraid. Seriously, look it up anywhere in the Bible; God is fiercely protective of them and He really warns about not looking after them. According to this verse in James looking after them doesn't mean sending them some money, or getting together at your church to talk about how you can help the world's poor, or even praying for them. These things are all great but it says GO to them and visit them in their trouble. There are widows and orphans (which the Bible defines as children who are fatherless) on the other side of the world or 5 minutes down the street from you no matter where you live and no matter what your income level you are able to visit them.

Anyway, I am off to Cape Town tomorrow on a class trip so I'll be going now. I love you all but I love God more:)

Isimbi Johanna

Introduction to Primary Health Care

Hi everyone,

How are you all? For those of you from MCC who are about to leave for Rwanda I am soooo excited for you and I will be praying that you have a life-changing time there. It is a beautiful country with fantastic people. Imana iguhe umugisha!

So I wanted to explain a little bit more about my school for you. I didn't have a lot of details for you before I left and a lot of you were asking me why I didn't just go to nursing school in the U.S. My school is a second- level school with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) called Introduction to Primary Health Care. As far as medical schools go it is very basic but what makes it unique is the emphasis on health care in developing nations where sometimes you are all people have. There a eight main areas we focus on:

-Food and nutrition
-Water and sanitation
-Disease control
-Mother and child health
-Curative care
-Essential drugs
-Health Education
-Community resources

We have one teacher each week who comes in and focuses on some aspect of those eight issues. Some of the teachers in the school are medical professionals while others are lay health workers with a lot of hands on experience. My school leaders are all from different parts of Africa and they have a great deal of wisdom to impart to us. We have a small class with 3 Americans, 1 Canadian, 1 Nigerian, 1 Ghanaian, 1 from France, and 1 from New Zealand. We have been in classes now for a month and we have two months left before we go to really start learning by experience. In September we are going to a different part of South Africa where we will be assisting in a long-term care home for two weeks. After that we are off to Zimbabwe. We are going to a village in Zimbabwe called Komayanga. We will be working some of the time with a clinic in the area and some of the time we will set up a temporary clinic under a tree somewhere so people can come to us for help.

I am really enjoying this school but it is most definitely challenging as well. Not only is the school itself quite time consuming but the topics are really heavy. This past week we were learning about HIV/AIDS. Let me tell you, learning about it while you are in South Africa is sobering. 26% of the population in SA is HIV positive. Most of southern Africa is over 20% and in some places over 30%. As a health care worker here you face HIV/AIDS as a daily reality. The other thing is just the simple responsibility that comes with this school. I am scared at the mere thought of a desperate mother bringing her severely malnourished child to me and expecting me to save them. But I will most likely face that and more in Zimbabwe.

Obviously I can use prayer for this! We also have no idea what we will have as far as medicine when we get there because the current situation in Zimbabwe does not guarantee much of anything. Fortunately I serve a God who provides. Well, that is a little about my school...Talk to you in a few days. Bye!

Isimbi Johanna

A Quick Update

Hi all of you,

Sorry I haven't been writing in a while. I had a bunch of stuff due today so I have been busy. They really waste no time in this school. We have another lecture tonight after supper to fit in everything we need to this week.

I have at least settled in more here so I feel a little more at home although I really wish it wasn't so cold here. We started work duties today, which we have to do on top of all our schoolwork :), and the days are going to go by very quickly now. Last week we were talking a lot about mother/child health and nutrition. Our teacher was great and I am so glad that I came to do this school. I know that God will be teaching me a lot this year. This week we are talking about counseling and how to get people to talk to us. Oh, and I have started going to a nearby gym. Really fun and really hard work since I'm not used to it. I enjoy weight-lifting the most. I go with two of the girls from my school and a guy on staff here at the base who used to work in a gym back in Colorado. Us girls are barely able to move at the moment.

Please pray if you think about it for the three students we are still waiting for. One is a guy from Liberia and then two women from Nigeria. They are all having trouble getting visas but we are really praying that they will make it in time.

OK, I have dinner soon and then lectures so I should go. Talk to you later!

Isimbi Johanna

Mailing Johanna!

For those who wish to send Johanna correspondence please use the address below (extra postage is required). Yes, those notes and cards ARE appreciated!!

Johanna Beachy (IPHC Student)
YWAM Worcester
P.O. Box 926
Worcester 6849
South Africa

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The First Few Days

Ok hello everyone,

Yes so I am here on Worcester alright although I think I will forever dislike the Johannesburg ('Jo-burg') airport. The way it is set up you have to go get your checked bags when you get off your plane and you go to the exit and then check back in again for your connecting flight. I got to the check-in counter finally at almost midnight and they were closing up and told me I couldn't check in until the morning. The guy there was telling me that I would have to stay at a hotel so he showed me where to go because the airport one was full. At first I thought he meant that I would have to find a hotel in Joburg somewhere which is not that safe. But he just pointed to the Intercontinental Hotel that was across the road and told me to go there. So I left the airport in Joburg in the middle of the night and went across the street (don't freak out Mother or Laura obviously I am fine) to the hotel but as I was walking up to it I noticed that it looked really nice which was not good for me. Yeah, they wanted over 3,000 Rand for the night which is over $400. At that point I only needed the room for 4 hours anyway. I just said no thank you and walked back across to the airport. I went back to the check-in counter at sat down on some stairs across from it. I was the only person around other than the cleaning guys. One of them had seen me leaving and he came back over to me and asked if I found what I was looking for and I told him I couldn't afford it. I sat there for a few minutes and then he came back and told me that there was a 24-hour coffee shop downstairs where I could go. He showed me the right lifts to use and what floor to push and as I was getting on he said "Because you looked very nice sitting there you know and the others they would harass you" and then he walked away. I did find the coffee shop which is where the other passengers were waiting. I was just reminded of how much God protects me when I am traveling by sending me people like that young kind cleaning guy to help me. Then when I got to Cape Town the guy who was suppose to come pick me up didn't come; these two other guys came but they were 30 minutes late. I tried to subtly ask them questions before I would go with them and they passed so I went:)

When I got here to Worcester yesterday I was really struggling with being homesick for Rwanda and my family. I haven't spent very much time with my family in the past 2 years and the month I just had with them was not nearly enough. I also really didn't want to leave Rwanda because it feels natural and good when I'm there. I miss my friends in Kigali of course but it is more than that. I don't know if God will use in Rwanda long-term but I am sure that I will continually visit at least.

One of the staff for my school here is a young woman from Ghana and I was talking with her when we found out that she was at the YWAM base in Tema, Ghana at the same time that I visited it with Mercy Ships in 2006. She remembers our team coming. We live in a small world. My room here is very tiny and cold but there is hot running water for showers. So far the other students I know are Bernard from Ghana, Ginny from Texas, and Lissia from France. The last two are my roommates. There are some others coming in the next few days. I saved the best part for last...we are going to Zimbabwe for outreach!!! I have been praying that we would and today Lissia told me she has been praying that as well! Please keep praying that it doesn't fall through because I believe that is where we need to go.

We have registration at 4 so I will talk with you later. Bye!

Isimbi Johanna

A holy God who answers prayers

Muraho!

I am sitting here at Ninzi Hill in Kigali, one of my favorite places to go and hang out with friends, talking with Laura about the challenges of having your first official teaching job be on another continent. I got to visit her classes yesterday and it is clear that God gifted her to teach but all the same God can gift us to do something without making it easy to do.

The two things that I have been learning a lot on the past week would seem to contradict each other when you think about. But then I guess that is part of what makes God awesome; that He can be both. Some of my friends are in a book group together and I am going to join in while I am here. So I decided to read the book they are studying right now. It is called 'The Holiness of God' by R.C. Sproul. I would warn you to read it and be prepared to get scared and uncomfortable. As the book talks about God is absolutely holy; that is to say He is utterly pure and wholly set apart from us. So much so that we can not ever fully know Him or look upon Him as a result of our sin. Any relationship between us and God must be initiated by Him. It just seems incredible to me that He does initiate with us.

Which bring me to my next topic. This holy God who could very understandably choose to have nothing to do with us actually invites us into direct communication with Him and then He even answers us. He has answered my prayers far beyond what I deserve. On Sunday I got to visit with Selassie! He met me after church and we came here to Ninzi and talked for hours. When we left he said he would accompany me back to the base but that he didn't want to go in. Last year when he left the school he was not on the best terms with everyone and he has not been back to the base since that day. Well he came back with me and he stayed all evening to attend Heart of Worship. HOW is a group of young Rwandans who meet every week just to worship God for who He is. They sing mainly music from Hillsong so it is mostly in English. They recently began meeting on base. Selassie had such a wonderful time that he is coming next week and he said he never wanted to miss another one. I am happier than I can say to be able to see God redeeming him in this way. He has seen deep and wide hypocrisy in the church here and it has distorted his view of God so for him to be able to tell me that our God is amazing or to be able to lift his hands in worship is a true renewing of his mind. God is reinforcing in my mind the truth that He can heal all hurt.

Well, I am leaving for the book group soon so I will say bye for now. Talk to you later!

Isimbi Johanna

Muraho!

Hi there!

So I am in Rwanda after my two days of traveling. I am so very happy to be back in this wonderful country with the people I love so much.

Unfortunately, I have not been having all that much fun yet as Laura has been quite sick the past few days. I was looking for her at the airport when I arrived but it was just Robert there to pick me up (not that I wasn't very happy to see my Rwandan big brother again). Laura was getting over a case of amoebas when I got here and we thought she was recovering. By Wednesday morning though she had a fever of almost 102 so that day we ended up taking her to King Faisal Hospital here in Kigali and she just got out last night. Thank the Lord she does not have malaria or typhoid; probably just a viral infection. We had to do battle for them to let her out of the hospital last night and we waited for a doctor to release her for hours. They have still not returned her deposit which she is supposed to be refunded on so Robert is going back to fight for her money. He is very protective of her. She is still weak although the fever finally is gone. I am going back to the hospital with Robert today to join forces in making sure they do not try to take advantage of her. So in short it has been an exciting first couple of days!

God has already blessed my time here beyond anything I ever expected. He is so good to me. I have greatly enjoyed seeing and talking with old friends here at the base and today was the best day of all!!! I was walking outside my room when Noah stopped me and said he had a message for me. Noah is one of my former teachers. He said that yesterday in town he saw Selassie and when he told him that I was back in Rwanda Selassie asked Noah to give me his number so that I can get in touch with him. So just a few hours ago I talked to Selassie!!!! For those of you who have never read my blog before Selassie was I student in my school when I first came to Rwanda and we became very close in a short time. God created our personalities to be very similar and we both called each other 'my twin'. Selassie was the one who gave me my Kinyarwanda name, Isimbi. After only a month Selassie had to leave our school. He was dealing with overwhelming burdens at the time; things that I cannot imagine having to experience even one of and yet he was dealing with several. I lost contact with him shortly after he left school and he wouldn't return my or Laura's calls. That was a year and a half ago. I have prayed for him continuously since then. In fact, God taught me a lot about interceding for others through Selassie because I have never in my life experienced such a burden to pray for someone as I do for him. So for him to contact me was the most joyful thing I could have hoped for in Rwanda. He is suppose to come meet me at a church I go to this Sunday and then we will go talk somewhere after! I am hoping and praying that I will get to see him although just talking with him was an answer to prayer that amazed me. Yeah, it has been a good first few days!

I have to go fight with a hospital in a little while so I will talk to you later...

Isimbi Johanna

Leaving Rwanda

Hey people,

I have a brief chance today to send my last blog post from Rwanda. It
is my last day here. I leave for the airport tomorrow morning. I have
been trying to pack in as many things at once as I can.

I just came to the internet after trying to walk to my friend Didier's
house. I'm afraid I got lost before I could make it. Now it is not
just my poor sense of direction to blame; usually Didier and I walk
there together and it is the back way that has a lot of little twists
and turns that all look alike. Today Didier said he wanted me to try
to find it myself and when I said I might get lost and end up
wandering through the valley he said he hoped I would so that I would
miss my plane and not be able to leave. His plan almost succeeded:)

This week has been very sad with all the good-byes and knowing that I
will be leaving this country for who knows how long. I have also not
been able to get in touch with Selassie which in a way breaks my heart
because I don't think I will likely ever see him again. I told God
that if for whatever reason I did not see Sel again I would still
commit to praying for him the rest of my life and I will stick to
that. Oh dear, I am going to need cheering up when I get to NH.

Well, please pray for safe travels for myself and my bags. I will be
in London for the weekend and then home Monday night. See you all
soon!

Isimbi Johanna

Returning Home

Johanna will be leaving Kigali, Rwanda on Friday, May the 23rd and connecting through Nairobi, Kenya enroute to London, England. She will be traveling to London together with her classmate, Laura. They will spend two days in London with Johanna's friend, Mary (from her Mercy Ship's team in 2006).

Then on Monday, May 26, Johanna and Laura will say goodbye and Johanna will fly to Boston arriving early in the evening to the eager hugs of her family.

Please remember Johanna and Laura during these coming days as they travel and as they say farewell to many people who have become dear, precious connections in their lives.

Growth

HI peoples!

So I will be back home a week from this Monday. I can't really wrap my
mind around that because it doesn't feel yet like I am actually
leaving and to be blatantly honest I don't really want to. It will be
nice to see you people though...

There has been a recurring theme for me in this school from the very
beginning and it has been stronger the last few days so I thought I
would share it with you. God has been making it clear to me for a
while now that He considers this to be a time for me to grow up. It is
His desire to use this time and experiences to mold me into a woman of
God. I am being challenged to leave behind old patterns of thought and
behavior and mature. Sometimes it is downright hard and I would rather
just not try. The best way I can describe what I am trying to say is
that God is in the process of re-potting me. You know when a plant
grows to the point that it needs to be moved to a bigger pot in order
for it to grow even more. That is me right now. It isn't easy because
God is getting to my roots and digging up things I don't really want
to deal with which I can share more about one-on-one when I get back
if you want.

I've had a tendency for the past few years to just look back at how
far I have come which is considerable and be content with that. God
transformed me from what I used to be like and the danger for me is to
think that He is done now. The truth is that He wants me in a
continual state of transformation. It excites me the more I think
about it. God will never take His hands away from me and say there is
nothing more to be done. He will stay personally involved in my
growth. No matter how wise or godly I may become He can still do more
to make me a woman who reflects Him. So that is what I have been
reflecting on recently.

Anyway, our class has our graduation ceremony this Friday. Everybody
is graduating which makes me very happy. That means that the only one
we lost is Selassie. Speaking of which, I have tried to reach him and
not succeeded yet. I would appreciate continued prayers for him and
for the chance of seeing him before I leave. I only have 8 days left
in Rwanda. I don't want to dwell on that thought. See you soon. Bye
for now!

Isimbi Johanna

Children who cheat death

Hello people,

I am writing my last note to you all from Uganda. We leave on Friday morning to drive to Athi River, Kenya. I have to tell you about the people I will remember the most from my time here in Soroti.

The YWAM base I stayed at has a ministry for children living with HIV/AIDS like I said. The minstry consists of two houses almost right next to each other. The first house is called Amacet n'ainapakin which means 'shelter of peace' in Ateso, the local dialect. It is a temporary home for young children who would often times die if they were not taken in. Some of them are postive for HIV while others have simpler health problems and some are just taken in as newborns because there mothers died giving birth and they have to be looked after. The goal of this ministry is to get the children healthy enough for them to be able to go back home to their families. This home is where I and some of the others from our team worked to help take care of these kids

Let me start with Esther. She is about a year and a half old although they don't know her exact age because her mother was a mentally unsound woman who lived on the street. When she was taken to the hospital she told everyone that her baby was dead. The policewoman who found Esther gave her her own name since they didn't know what to call her. Nobody knows who Esther's father is and her mother disappeared when she was released from the hospital. Esther's only chance for a home other than Amicet is to be adopted. She is such a joy to be around! She is almost walking know and she talks all the time. Her favorite word is Auntie which she calls everybody nonstop, even guys. Esther loves music and she will sing or dance to herself.

Probably the two sickest kids right now at Amicet are Dennis and David. They are both skin and bones although David at least will eat by himself and Dennis has to have a feeding tube. They are both over two years I think but it is hard to tell. David is wanting to be held all the time and he is a very good cuddler. Dennis, however, I am convinced could make any woman in the world fall in love with him. He has the most enormous brown eyes and you will find yourself just staring at him when all of a sudden this smile will spread across his face and...boom, you are done for. Please pray that both of these little men will be able to gain weight. Dennis also has a urinary tract infection and he has not been responding to any drugs.

I have to tell you about my favorite. The other girls think I am crazy for liking her but Silivia is my girl. We all have the kids that we dream about taking home with us and I would take Silivia home if I could. Silivia is about 16-months but she is close to the size of a 4-month old. She cannot talk, walk, or even sit up by herself until recently. She cries so easily; if the other kids just brush against her foot it startles her and sends her off into one of her screaming fits but they only last for five seconds. Surprisingly, she is not HIV-positive. Actually, the doctors don't know what is wrong with her. Silivia may seem to be rather irritating at first; even I thought so until one day when I was putting her to bed. I discovered that Silivia loves to reach up with her tiny little hand and touch peoples' faces. And if you kiss her hand her entire face is transformed by smiles. When I give her kisses on her cheek she becomes beautiful and she isn't the funny looking kid with a head too big for her body anymore. She also likes to look around the room and if anyone is smiling she immediately joins in. I'm telling you her face radiates joy when she smiles. My dream is to take her to America, find a doctor who knows what is wrong, and help her grow up to be the woman God intended her to be.

The second home is called Amacet n'amun which means 'shelter of hope'. It is a long-term home for kids living with HIV/AIDS. They are older; between the ages of ten and fourteen. It is more like a family than the first home. Our team was blessed to be able to spend most afternoons hanging out with these kids after school. The guys played football with the boys and the girls all played games together. These kids are awesome. They are the image of perseverance and hope in a situation that seems hopeless. They do not have easy lives and most are orphans but they smile and love and laugh. I know that God views these kids as His own priceless jewels on earth. They shine for Him.

I'm sorry for how long this post is and I know that I haven't shared much about myself but I had to tell you about the unforgettable people I met in Uganda. Chances are I will never see them again after I leave and the hard reality is that within a few years many of these children from both homes may be dead. I have nevertheless been blessed beyond description to have been given the chance to see them live. I am amazed that God continues to allow us to see His treasured things particularly when we seem to often mistreat what He so deeply cares about. Yet He stills shares more and more with us. I know it's an understatement but God is really brave to do that. I am so thankful that we have the God that we have.

OK, I will force myself to stop here since my time is running out:) I will see you all in the end of May. Bye! Ndagakunda cyane!

Isimbi Johanna

The month of April

Hi people!

I don't have very long but I wanted to at least say hi while I had the chance. I have only two more shifts left at Amicet; the home for the children with AIDS. I will be so sad to leave those kids.When I have more time I will tell you about them in more detail.

Please continue to pray for Rwanda this month. it is a very difficult time for the entire nation and even though we are not in Rwanda right now some of our group is having a hard time already. April 6 marks the day that you could say started the genocide. the entire country is in mourning this month and the government holds two weeks of official remembrance. during those two weeks is when people are allowed to dig up the bones of their families to give them proper burials in the memorial centers. We as a group and Rwanda as a nation really need prayers right now for healing, peace, and wisdom. I will keep you all updated as much as possible.

Bye for now.

Isimbi Johanna

Chickens and attack helicopters!

Hi people!

I have to say that I had the most unique and probably most fun Easter sunday that I have ever had yesterday. I woke up early so that I could slaughter chickens! I told some of my African team members back in Rwanda that I wanted to learn how to kill a chicken and they let me kill five of them and then I defeathered them and learned how to cut them up. I won't go in to more details for those of you who are grossed out but any of you that want to know the specifics for killing a chicken just ask me when I get back:) I have pics of it up on facebook for those of you that can access that but I couldn't post them here.

Then I went to church and after it was over the guy who was giving us a ride back to base gave us a tour of his flight academy. We went up into the control tower and since the military also uses that place we got to get a tour of a military attack helicopter. It was really cool. It was loaded with rocket bombs and had a 30-mm gun in front. I am hoping that tomorrow I might get to go back and sit in the planes that the school uses. I also got to learn how to make chipotis that afternoon which is a bread type thing that is absolutely delicious. All in all it was a good day.

Time goes so fast. We have less than three weeks remaining in Uganda and less than two months until we graduate. I will be happy to go home and see people and to be totally honest I am looking forward to a Dunkin' Donuts medium french vanilla coffee almost as much. At the same time though I will be heartbroken to leave. I keep leaving bits of myself all over Africa. I guess every time I do God replaces what I lost with Himself so that I am never depleted or running dry. It's better that way. I'd rather lose myself even though sometimes it hurts if it means that I get to feel more of what God feels. And I will need His strength because coming here is not always easy. I really enjoy it sometimes and I joke about how fun it is to kill chickens but the truth is that in the long run I will only be able to last in Africa if God keeps pouring Himself out into me. I find it amazing that He even does but I am so grateful. The Johanna Beachy that I am on my own cannot deal with little children, even babies, who are slowly dying. They seem just like ordinary kids sometimes until they suddenly throw up or I see a kid that I think is maybe a few months old until I find out that she is over a year old.

I also am incapable of dealing with the amount of inside pain that I have seen people living with. It will sometimes just rise up and smack me in the face when I am not expecting. Someone will be talking and the next thing you know someone else makes a remark about how during the genocide they fell down a hole while running for their life and broke their back and that they had to lay there covered with a bag of beans to try to hide since they couldn't move. It's a whole different world and I don't know how I'm going to go home. Sorry I didn't mean to get all depressing but that is what it is like to live with Rwandese. I would love them so much if only for how much they have survived and God has protected them through. I love this God who keeps people alive when it is humanly impossible to do so. And He is the same God who then sustains me when I am facing the pain that comes as a result of their experiences. How amazing is that! Every time I see how big and powerful He is I am so honored that He cares for every little thing about me.

Yeah, if you want to see some more about the God who cares for you come to Africa, especially Rwanda, and you will be blown away. I think a lot of people in America have this view of God as our Father and best Friend which is totally true but sometimes we can forget about this whole other side of Him. He is the Defender of the weak and oppressed, a Warrior King, and all-powerful in everything He does. I've gotten some awesome glimpses of my Lord in that role here and it gives me goosebumps. Actually, it drives me to my knees. You don't stand in the presence of a King like that. And if you really want to be in awe of Him take a look in the Bible about what he says regarding the widows and orphans. I have learned a lot about His heart towards them in the past few months. He loves them alright but I was amazed and scared to see the way He will act against those who abuse them. He has such a tender spot for orphans and widows that anyone who dares to hurt them or even to just not help them out should be really scared.

OK, I love talking about HIm but I am running out if time now. I will see and talk to you people in June. Bye!

Ndagakunda cyane! Imana ibahe umugisha!

Isimbi Johanna