Roads Less Traveled

I’ve decided to move my blog to an easier to use site…

http://katwatson.wordpress.com/

Sorry for the inconvenience!!
I will continue to use this site to post pictures.

Thanks!!  

“…God does not want me to make the building a priority.  I’m building the church by building schools.  I’m building the church by repairing the hospital.  I’m building the church by taking care of remote areas where children have nothing and we are losing generations of youths.  Therefore I am building the church first.  Then, after I build the church, I will build the building.” Bishop John 

*Photo by Mark Darrough

Fishing is a huge source of income and diet for those lucky enough to live in a lake region of Rwanda. It is inspiring to watch the dedication and the incredible perseverance the fishermen show after spending day after day in the sun, pulling their nets into ruggedly designed dugout canoes. I admire, and I am a bit envious, of the simplicity of their lives. 

*Photo by Mark Darrough

This past weekend our team traveled to Ssese Island on Lake Victoria. There, I saw one of the most incredible sights. At night hundreds of fishing boats litter Lake Victoria with their lights. The stars in Africa are absolutely incredible and over Lake Victoria they were breathtaking. The lights from the fishing boats melted into the stars until they were indistinguishable from one another, making you feel completely wrapped in the night sky. 

I fell in love with the Lord under the stars of Colorado so I always feel close to Him in situations like this, like he created these moments just for me, to bring me close to Him. During one night, looking out over the lake, I was reminded of how God provided for his disciples in Luke 5:1-11, even when they thought they knew what was best. And I was humbled by how often I do that in my own life, and yet, as much as I have tried to do things on my own and even fought God for control over my life, he has infinitely blessed me. 

Ken Gire wrote in his book, Meditations with God: 

Dear Master,

Help me to be faithful in little things like cleaning nets, knowing that they could be your way of preparing me for greater things - like fishing for men.

Help me to obey simply and solely “because you say so.” And keep me from thinking that since I have fished a few waters that somehow I know better than you the course my life should take and the place my nets should be dropped.

Call me, Lord, out from a shallow faith near the shore, which requires no risks and offers no rewards. Call me to a deeper commitment to you.

And when you call, grant that I would be quick in my boat, swift to my oars, and fast with my nets. And I pray, grant me the eyes to see who it is who labors by my side- an awesome and almighty God.

Take me to a place where I have worked hard by my own strength and yet ended up with empty nets. Take me there to show me the depths of your dominion and the net breaking fullness of your power. 

Keep me ever aware that you are Lord. And ever aware that I am a sinful person. And in that knowledge keep me ever on my knees before you. At your bidding, O Master, I will let down my nets. And at your bidding I will leave them forever behind. For what you have to offer is infinitely more than all the seas of this world ever could… 

Kris Allen- Send Me All Your Angels

Kris Allen is an incredible example of humility, hard work, and a heart for the Lord’s people. He and his wife, Katie, were a huge help to our team while distributing shoes and they added so much with their positive attitudes and fun loving personalities. I hope that you can get a glimpse of how much fun we had with them and what an incredible couple they are!! 

I wish that every one of you could have shared this amazing experience with me!! Stone Ward and 360 Film Crew did an incredible job documenting all the fun we had and I’m so excited to get to share what this event meant to us and to the children who received new shoes. It was life-changing for all of us. 

When you’ve been here for a while you get pretty creative with finding entertainment. Some of our ex-pat friends who have been here for several years came up with the brilliant idea of using croquet sticks to hit a soccer ball back and forth across a field while riding on the back of a moto-taxi.

It was quite the event, girls wore sun dresses and guys were decked out in polos which got extremely dirty in all the dust and mud. They had Indian food catered and there was a great turn-out of Americans for the monthly event.

Clay, Mark, and Griffin got to play in the very muddy last quarter. With the heavy rain and mud, there was a lot of slipping around, making the whole experience very entertaining. 

And, Clay scored the game winning point…

Great way to spend Easter weekend! 

The Sonrise School drop was incredible! Everything went smoothly thanks to the hard work of our teams and we were able to spend more time playing with the kids. The looks on their faces when they walked off with their shoes was absolutely priceless. 

Shyira Hospital drop was AMAZING. We worried that the rain would keep us from getting up the mountain but it didn’t even slow us down. We gave away 300 shoes to the Pediatric Hospital, Ambulatory Care, the orphanage, and the primary school.

Consecration of Bishop Mbanda

We took Kris and Katy to Sonrise to see the school and meet some children. One boy in particular, Freddie, really engaged our group with his singing and “making his ears dance”. He was quite the entertainer. After a few minutes, he leaned over to Tom and whispered in his ear that he needed shoes. We all looked down to see his tattered shoes that didn’t even fit. Tom replied, “Well, let’s pray that the Lord will bring you shoes.”

What an incredible image of how God provides for us, before we even ask.