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A Seed in Rwanda

Since September of last year, I have been serving as a student missionary in Rwanda, Africa.  I work at the Gakoni Adventist Orphanage, comprised of 73 children ranging in age from 2 to 24-years-old.  The orphanage is located at the end of a very long dirt road near beautiful Lake Muhazi in the village of Gakoni.

When I first committed to the idea of becoming a student missionary , I was convinced that I was going to have the typical mission experience (if such a mission experience even exists) and that I was going to go back home a completely different and better person, student, friend, daughter, sister, and Christian. Looking back now, after about 9 months of serving, I can see how foolish my preconceived notions were of what it means to be a missionary.

I left home thinking that playing around and singing songs with little African children, meeting new people, and learning about a new culture would mold me into the perfect person I have always wanted to be. Little did I know that coming to this orphanage in Rwanda would mean more than just playing and singing songs with children all day.  

It would mean having to face the hard cold reality of the aftermaths of the genocide of 1994 (many of these orphans were also abandoned by parents who could no longer support them; some were mentally handicapped by their parents’ efforts to kill them through suffocation).  It would mean having to face many twists and unexpected turns in this plot of my story in Rwanda. It would mean having to allow God to show me bad and good characteristics I never knew I had. Most of all, it would mean that because of all of these things, my faith and strength in Christ would be put to a test every moment of every day.

The first month of being in Rwanda was my personal hell. Trying to escape certain problems I was facing back at home, I came to Rwanda thinking that all my problems would disappear. If only life were so simple. But I think God wanted me to face these problems in order to experience the troubles in life and walk away with a lesson learned, because the same problems I tried to run away from followed me to Rwanda.

For the first month I struggled very hard with doubts about myself, my abilities and God’s true intentions for bringing me to Africa. I felt like the world’s worst missionary because I was not able to interact with the staff and the children right away. It was so difficult to adjust to the new culture and the shock just made me shrink inside my own shell.

With the grace and mercy of God, and God only, I was able to find my purpose at the orphanage and I began to teach/tutor the children every night in mathematics, sciences, and English.  Teaching about 40 children every night was probably the most hectic and chaotic work environment I’ve ever had to experience, but also the most rewarding and fulfilling job I have ever had in my life.  Through teaching, God gave me the push I needed to interact and create new friendships with all the children.

But just when I thought that I had jumped over the biggest speed bump I would have to face at the orphanage, I was faced head on with yet another and bigger problem.  Four months into my short-term missionary life, one of the volunteers, who was taking care of all the finances of the orphanage, left. It was an abrupt decision that left me and one other volunteer here sad and slightly discouraged.

Even though I had no experience with business or finances, I started taking over the financial manager position. Not having been given much training in the finances of the orphanage, it was a rough start trying to figure things out for myself. Eventually I caught on to how to manage the money and make reports, but it has not been an easy journey since then. Managing money for an orphanage of 73 children with funds that do not cover all of the children’s needs has proven to be very challenging. Not only was I now dealing with managing money for the children, but I was responsible for paying all 20 of our grossly underpaid and terribly unsatisfied staff members (gardeners, watchmen, house mothers, children’s coordinator, tailoring school teacher, nursery school teacher, cow herder, etc). Not one week passes by without having to hear from a worker that he or she needs more money. Our workers get an average of about $0.80 per day. Our highest paid worker gets a little over $1.00 per day. So no wonder they want more.

Having to take over the finances of the orphanage really took away a lot of my time with the children. I think this has been one of the biggest challenges for me here. Although I knew that being the financial manager was a crucial part of enhancing the children’s lives, it was, and sometimes still is, difficult for me to see the rewards of my work. The happiness I once felt while teaching and being truly involved with the children has disappeared and has been replaced by constant stress and worry.

However, I truly feel that God is putting me through yet another very important test of faith. I can only pray that I will have the devotion to get on my knees and open my Bible first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Only through keeping a constant, faithful relationship with Christ will He be able to guide me through this experience victorious.

It has been a long journey, but it’s not over yet. I am truly excited to see what the next month brings and the amazing truths God is planning to unfold in my heart. I know He has planted the seed there and maybe on the last day of serving my children at this orphanage, the tears of all the children, staff, and myself will slowly begin to water the seed and cause it to flower. Maybe then, I will understand why God has brought me here. Maybe then I will begin to see how this experience has molded me – not into the perfect person I had envisioned for myself, but into the servant God has been anticipating for me.

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* After 16 years of the genocide, foreign volunteers were allowed to come back to Rwanda in order to serve at the orphanage through REACH.  During those 16 years, the orphanage has slowly deteriorated. Since last year, we have started planting gardens for the children.  We have also started some major projects to enhance the lives of our children such as building a multi-purpose building which will serve as a worship hall, study hall, and recreational hall. Another project we have started is to provide clean, purified drinking water for the children instead of the dirty, parasite-infested lake water/rain water that they usually drink. We will soon be starting a chicken farm at the orphanage in order to provide eggs for the children, train them for jobs, and provide a little income for the orphanage from selling the eggs. And our last and biggest project is to build a wall around the orphanage grounds in order to provide security and safety for our children, staff, gardens, and orphanage property. 

**With everything going on at the orphanage and very few funds to support it all, we are always fundraising for the different causes and needs of our children. If anyone is interested in supporting Gakoni Adventist Orphanage with funds to enhance the lives of these children, please feel free to contact me. My e-mail address is soeunice@southern.edu. God Bless.

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Eunice So has been serving at an orphanage in Rwanda as a student missionary for the past 9 months. Her service will finish in July of this year and she will be returning to her studies in Nursing at Southern Adventist University.