At the close of our construction project, we headed back to Kigali and visited some different ministries. One was a jewelry company where women, who used to be prostitutes, came to work and earn a good decent living, instead of prostitution.  They made beautiful necklaces and sold them around the world.  We also visited an orphanage and spent the day with the children.  There were so many amazing experiences in all that as well.   The trip was also a great bonding time with my teammates. 

There were some themes that God taught me, verses that ran through my mind on my trip. 

1. Christ's love compels us.  (2 Cor 5:14).  While flying into Africa on one of the flights, we were surrounded by all sorts of doctors, mission teams, community service teams, etc. All trying to make a difference.  And the difference for us, God's people, is that Christ's love compels us.  That is the driving force behind our efforts. It should not be guilt, or coolness (hey, its cool to go to Africa!), or pride or anything else.  I really learned that.  And so going back to my "normal life" my desire is to have Christ's love compel me.

2. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus, yet though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Cor 8:9).  To really love God it takes showing this theme to the world, living it out, demonstrating it.  We really were able to see our richness and see so much poorness and try to live this out.  And my desire is that I can make this a theme of my life more often, to demonstrate that in small and large ways. 

Thanks for reading my blog!