Wow, what happened to Summer? Maybe it’s just because I’m getting old but time seems to fly by these days. I grew up in sun-soaked California, where I spent many summer days playing outside with my friends. Before the advent of video games, or even the internet, we were forced to get creative and to build forts, ride our bicycles, and play hide and seek.
Have you ever wondered what summer looks like for students in Rwanda? We decided to ask a couple of them and get a first-hand account of their summer activities.
One thing is clear: Kids in Rwanda keep busy with chores, but some of the “chores” they have are very different than mine were. One of them reported “feeding the cow” as one of his chores. Another shared that one of his chores is “fetching water.” Did you have chores like these when you were a child? Mowing the lawn was one of my consistent chores, along with taking out the trash and cleaning my room.
Even though chores may differ, depending on our living situation, most kids still find ways to insert a ton of fun into their summer routines.
And that is a good thing.
And a “God-thing.”
As Scripture indicates, there is a season for everything. Moses recorded the promise of God in Genesis 8:22, following the Flood: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
Seasons are here to stay.
There are not only physical, natural, seasons. There are also seasons in the way we choose to live our lives. There are seasons to press hard into the work God has called us to complete and there are seasons when we need to rest—to “re-create.”
I’m grateful for the incredible summer we just experienced at Hope Haven Rwanda. We hosted 133 foreign guests on campus and saw countless outstanding relationships deepened—between Rwandans and Americans, between American and other Americans, and, most importantly between God and many of our guests.
Hope Haven Rwanda students are headed back to class on September 26th and we ask for your prayers as we finalize preparations for more than 1,500 students on our growing campus!
How about your summer? Did you find a good balance between “chores” and rest? If not, maybe you can carve out some time with your Creator soon to celebrate the beauty and diversity of the seasons He designs for each one of us!