Roads Less Traveled

I’ve decided to move my blog to an easier to use...

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 05:54:14 -0400

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...

Mon, 03 May 2010 14:40:16 -0400

“…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...

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:03:29 -0400

*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...

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 06:48:00 -0400

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...

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 06:45:00 -0400

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.

Moto Polo

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:21:00 -0400

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...

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:09:27 -0400

Freddie and Kris

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...

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:01:52 -0400

the road to Shyira

man being carried to the hospital

Nutrition Center- first drop location

kids chasing the car

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

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:42:03 -0400

President Kagame

President Kagame

Consecration of Bishop Mbanda

Answered Prayer

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 23:10:00 -0400

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.

Toms Shoe Drop

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 06:30:00 -0400

It’s finally here!!

Bridge2Rwanda has paired up with Toms Shoes for the distribution of over 33,000 shoes in Rwanda. The past few months Clay Parker, Mark Darrough, myself among many others have been working like crazy to get an initial drop organized in Musanze at Shyira Hospital and Sonrise School. There have been lots of challenges but everything is finally coming together and we couldn’t be more excited!

Tuesday, Mark and I took at truck from Sonrise up to Kigali to pick up the 1,000 shoes. The driver was supposed to pick us up at 6am, which in Rwandan time meant 10:30, so the day got off to a late start. After a long, bumpy ride we arrived in Kigali and got a chance to say goodbye to our dear friends, Tom and Linda Wilson, who were leaving that evening. We had several time-sensitive errands to run so Mark took off on a moto-taxi and I did my best to direct our driver to the UTC with his very broken English and my very broken Kinyarwandan. After getting the shoes loaded up, with only a few minor inconveniences, I met back up with Mark and we hurried back to Musanze to get there in time to unload the shoes (and the driver had to feed the cows) before dark. We didn’t make it back before dark but we did get the load to the house and stored safely.

Wednesday, Mark, Anna, and I met with administration at Sonrise to discuss a few loose ends (we had already established a schedule and location) and drop off the shoes to be stored. Then, Mark, Griffin, and I took the rest of the shoes up the treacherous road to Shyira Hospital to meet with Caleb and Louise King and to establish the logistics of the shoe drop there. On the ride up, Anna called to tell us that we had a small problem…administration at Sonrise had decided that we only had until 10:30 to distribute the shoes (we originally planned for about 6pm). Of course, Anna saves the day and convinces them to let us move locations and change the schedule in order to accommodate everyone. The organization of the drop at Shyira went very smoothly and we even had the privilege of eating lunch with the King family. We will be distributing shoes at the Pediatric Hospital, Ambulatory Care Facility, the orphanage, and the primary school. The view from Shyira is breathtaking. I’m hoping to find a reason to move up there.

Kris Allen, American Idol and a native Arkansan, will be promoting both drops and I am looking forward to hosting him and his wife, Katy. They will be arriving Friday night and we will all depart for Musanze on Saturday.

One of my best friends, Clay Parker, is arriving in Rwanda tonight. He has been my big brother throughout college and was a major influence in my decision to work for B2R and to move to Rwanda. He’s an incredible man of the Lord and has such a heart for people, but especially the people of Rwanda. It has been due to his hard work and dedication that this entire event is coming together.

This week will be very full but I will continue to update when I can.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer, share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:57:49 -0400

"Dear God, grant me the grace of wonder. Suprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of your..."

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:00:06 -0500

““Dear God, grant me the grace of wonder. Suprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of your universe. Delight me to see how your Christ plays in ten thousand places, lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not His, to the Father, through the features of men’s faces. Each day enrapture me with your marvelous things without number. I do not ask to see the reason for it all. I ask only to share the wonder of it all.””

- Ragamuffin Gospel

Faith like a child...

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 07:02:56 -0500

Nothing touches my heart like children. They have the ability to stir up the most tender part of my soul and being around them energizes me like nothing else. One thing that I was most looking forward to about moving to Rwanda was getting to play with children. I was so excited to help them and to teach them and to facilitate a better life for them. I had all these ideas in mind of things I wanted to share with them, how I would bring them joy in their difficult circumstances, but as usual, my ideas and reality have not aligned. I am the one who is finding joy and who is being taught. I wish earnestly to be able to know the peace and simplicity that children experience. I wish for faith like a child.

I am so humbled that I thought I would have so much to bring to the children of Rwanda and instead I am the one who needs what they have. Matthew 18:2-4 says, “I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” I have never felt like I understood this as well as I do now. While I worry about how I will earn a living when I return home, about living up to others expectations and my own expectations for myself, and the ridiculous things that I feel entitled to, these children are so content playing with the cars they have constructed out of wire and trash. They are overjoyed rolling a tire down the road with a stick. They are unashamed, squealing with joy, swimming in Lake Kivu. They actually have to worry about where their next meal will come from and many have worked harder then I ever have, and yet they are always content and peaceful. I am so envious of the wonder that fills everything they experience. They soak up any chance for knowledge and are fascinated and excited by anything new. Children are not worried about their reputation or about how their actions will be interpreted. They just accept what is in front of them and find pleasure in it. There is no past to be ashamed of and they have no concern for the future, just now. I desire my faith to resemble their outlook. Our sin is washed away, therefore we cannot hold onto our past, and our future is in God’s hands, not our own. No matter what we have done, excellent or shameful, we do not deserve God’s grace. Yet it is abundantly ours.

I hope that I can have the open mindedness of children, willing to accept whatever and whoever I come in contact with with open arms and a constant desire to learn from anything and everyone. I always want to be in awe of the simple things, the love that God displays in the details of His creation. I want to be thankful for every little thing that I am given and content with all I have.

I hope that I always remember what these children have taught me. I pray for faith like a child…

Photo

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:44:00 -0500

Community Walk Village

The medicine man

Lake Barera

I’ve been doing a lot of traveling between Kigali and...

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:38:54 -0500

My new family, the B2R team.

The streets of Musanze

I’ve been doing a lot of traveling between Kigali and Musanze (Ruhengheri). There is a lot of work to be done in each city but the drive never gets old. It’s absolutely beautiful.

First Team Video

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:25:49 -0500

First Team Video