God’s work goes on

We are back in the US!

We arrived back nearly one month ago now. We find ourselves working hard to get settled in here while feeling homesick for Rwanda.

We have been thankful to be able to spend time with family here in the States again though. We also have been able to begin renting a house, and Emmanuel started work at a local hospital.

Before we left Rwanda:

We finished the last big project we were working on: the burn campaign. I’m thankful for a lot of the work we were able to be part of during our time in Kibogora, but I’m most proud of the burn campaign that we wrapped just a few days before leaving. Our target was to complete burn prevention and first aid education with nurses, community health workers, and children (the population most at risk). The education was tailored to the community and based on our research findings. We visited 13 health centers and 12 schools. We trained 273 health center staff members, 1277 community health workers, and 1545 students. We were well received each day, and the need for the training was validated again and again. All along the way God provided for this project: the expertise, the advice, the team, the funds. We are so thankful for the ways people shared their knowledge, their time, their art, and their money to help make this happen. Now our prayer is that the campaign will be impactful and that suffering like what we witnessed in the past will be prevented. We pray we will see less children burned, and when accidents still happen, we pray for better outcomes and less complications as a result of improved care.
We also said many goodbyes before we left; to the staff in our respective departments, to mission staff, to our friends, and to our family. We miss our community there very much already. We are thankful for the special time we could have to say goodbye and to be able to close our chapter there in a meaningful way.

Hospital updates:

The hospital commemorated the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi at the end of May. As part of the commemoration, a new memorial site at the hospital was inaugurated. This memorial is a way to remember and honor those who were killed at the hospital during the genocide.
The CT scanner has arrived in Rwanda and is scheduled to be delivered to Kibogora. This CT scanner will only be the ninth one in Rwanda. It will greatly reduce the need for patient transfers and improve the care the hospital is able to provide through better diagnostics.

As our time in Rwanda was coming to a close, it felt like life was in fast forward. We could not find enough time to reflect, and even now, we still feel rushed to figure out the logistics of our life here without much time left to reflect on the past few years. What we have been left with though, is an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the work we were able to be part of in Kibogora. I keep thinking of a conversation I had with Dr. Ronald, a Rwandan surgeon who works at the hospital. I was basically praising him for all he does for the hospital, and he very humbly responded by saying, “If it wasn’t me, God would send somebody else.” And I thought, “How tragic would it have been to have missed out on the work God called you to?”

We have been truly blessed through our service at Kibogora Hospital. We will always be thankful for God inviting us into His work there and for everyone who partnered with us in it. We could not have done it without your support and prayers.

We look forward to the time when we will be welcomed back to Kibogora again, but for now, we are excited to discover what else God is inviting us into here in Pennsylvania.

While away, we will remain involved at Kibogora Hospital as much as we can remotely. We also hope that at least one of us is able to visit in 2027 for work and continued partnership. Our missionary support account will remain open. Any continued support will be used for short-term trips as we continue working in partnership with Kibogora Hospital as representatives of Free Methodist World Missions. We will not require the level of routine support we have been receiving though. If you would like to continue to support Kibogora Hospital in a different way, we encourage you to redirect your support to the Kibogora Operations Account. These funds are used for a variety of needs at the hospital including essential supplies and medications, furniture, equipment, bibles and hymnals for patients, and salary support for chaplaincy staff.

Below is a look at our last month in Kibogora. Scenes from the burn campaign, the hospital, and the friends and colleagues that we worked with and those who supported us and our family during our time there.

Thank you for being part of this journey with us! Please continue to remember Kibogora Hospital in your prayers, including the staff and the patients they care for. May it remain a place that provides care in the name of Jesus where people can find physical and spiritual healing.

In Christ,

Rachel & Emmanuel

Some of the team on day one of the burn campaign.

Community health worker training session.

Health center nurse training session.

Burn education at a primary school.

We used props to demonstrate safety for students. Here, a nurse is showing a safe distance for kids to stay from a charcoal stove, which is commonly used in the area.

We got to explore the country side while traveling for the campaign. We drove over two hours to get to some locations. Here we are among some tea fields.

We worked with a local artist to create illustrations for burn prevention and burn first aid posters and pamphlets.

We passed out 5,000 pamphlets and put up posters at each health center we visited and the hospital.

Goodbye visit with ER staff.

And, with post-surgery nurses. We are missing our friends and colleagues there already.

Dr. Ronald praying over a patient before surgery. Staff truly make an effort to care for patients holistically.

Here, a pediatric patient is in traction in post-surgery. Patients in traction can’t get out of bed, so it was always nice when we could supply coloring books or small toys they could play with in bed. Continuing to pray for kids in healing there.

One last visit with our nanny, Ancille, before we left. Without her, we could not have both given so much time to the hospital. She really loved our children so well, and we are so thankful for her.

Our friend, Annonciata, who would help us two days a week with cooking. Luka called her “Kaka”, which means grandmother in Kinyarwanda. She helped us in the kitchen, but she also just loved our kids so much.

Saying goodbye to the house we called home for the last few years. We are thankful for the comfort and the fun that we had together there.