Worlds Meet

Dear Family and Friends,

We had an exciting day Tuesday we could not wait to share with all of you. We were invited to see the arrival of President and Mrs. Bush to Rwanda. We were only one of 3 non-official American families that were invited to attend. One of the other couples was Jessica Brogdon whose husband Todd, is CEO of Opportunity International in Rwanda and the other couple is Kelly and Laura Sager, missionary friends of ours. The invitation came from some relationships we formed due to Jana’s work in helping families adopt Rwandan orphans. Our personal escort for the event was Major Ned Biehl, one of the President’s helicopter pilots. We were able to get to know Ned through a mutual friend, Shannon Miller, the wife of the U.S. Embassy Military Attaché, Ron Miller. Ned and his wife, Meagan are in the process of adopting a Rwandan orphan, and Jana has been advising them on the process.

On Sunday night before President Bush arrived, Ned took Dave and our children to see the President’s helicopter. The kids had many questions. There are many things we give up to be in Rwanda, but also since it is such a small community here we also are able to have experiences that we never would have if we lived in the United States.

On Tuesday morning we were escorted in to the reception area at 7:00. There were Rwandan traditional dancers and a brass band. We had to wait a couple of hours for President and Mrs. Bush to arrive. But while we were waiting, Ned introduced us to several Americans that are on the Presidential staff and we were able to introduce him to several Rwandan Ministers and their staff. Our friend in the Rwanda President’s Office, John Nkuranga particularly helped.

It was a great opportunity for relationship building and making connections. We had an extended conversation with the Rwandan Minister of Family and Gender which has been an important relationship for the adoption efforts. This was extremely helpful for the Biehl’s upcoming adoption.

Most importantly, we were able to share with many people the work that God is doing in Rwanda.

We stood near the press and could see very clearly. We can’t describe our emotions as we watched Air Force One land. Then we saw the President and first lady come down the stairs followed by Condoleezza Rice and others.

It was thrilling to be part of the group welcoming President Bush to Rwanda. Our two worlds of Rwanda and America rarely meet. It was extremely emotional as we watched Presidents Bush and Kagame stand on the platform together and heard the national anthems of both the United States and Rwanda.

After everyone left Ned was able to get us close to the plane and got pictures.

Attached is a picture of us with Ned and Air Force One in the background.

In two weeks, we’ll celebrate the 1 Year Anniversary of the new and growing church.

Christ’s Church in Rwanda will have a special time of worship on Sunday, March 2 marking our first year. Dr. Zac Nsenga, former Rwandan Ambassador to the US and a regular attendee at CCR will be our special speaker that day. We are praying for and working towards having 400 people in attendance to hear the message of hope in Jesus Christ.

Imana Ikurinde (May God Keep All of You),

Dave and Jana