Rwanda - Week 3 🇷🇼

9/19/26 - 9/25/26

This past weekend we had Adventure Day and Sabbath. On the World Race, we spend five days in ministry and then have two days off to rest and recharge.

On Saturday, one of our hosts, Nicole, wanted to take us on a “diva day”! We went into the city center for lunch, gelato, and to get our nails done. Afterward, we walked to one of the more touristy parts of Kigali, where there were plenty of souvenir shops to explore. Nicole brought her friend Gabby with her and we had such a great time hanging out with them.

On Sunday, some of our squad members took a taxi across town to attend the church of a woman they had met at the butcher shop. I stayed home and spent some time doing Bible study.

At 3 p.m., six of us went to the Reichenbachs’ house for dinner. They are an American family who have been teaching at an international school in Kigali for the past two years. I was connected with them through one of the families from the school where I taught last year. I taught their nephew when I was teaching third grade at Vibrant Minds!

We had such a sweet time connecting with them, and they were incredibly welcoming and hospitable. I especially enjoyed talking with Brian and Christy about what it has been like to move their family to Rwanda and about their experiences ministering through teaching music.

On Monday and Tuesday, we had our last two days of English teaching with the women in the tailoring school. We did devotions, reviewed lessons from the previous week, and taught them how to make friendship bracelets. It was sweet to spend these last days with them and see how the relationships have grown over our time together.

On Wednesday, our team, Nissi, went to a market to buy some bulk goods. Over the weekend, we will be traveling to the homes of the next group of women who have been accepted into the tailoring school. When we visit them, we will bring gifts of sugar, beans, rice, and porridge for their families. Team Safari Saints packed all of the bags when we got back, and then we had the rest of the day off.

Thursday was our Adventure Day for Week 4! Four of us went to visit KICS, the school where the Reichenbachs work. Brian gave us a tour of the campus, finished by a tour from Jordan, the principal of the primary school.

KICS is a Christian international school where an American curriculum is taught. The school is much more diverse than what you typically see throughout Kigali because many embassy workers, international businesspeople, and missionaries send their children there. It was really interesting to see how similar the classrooms were to those in the United States.

After visiting KICS, we grabbed lunch and then headed to Mount Kigali to go zip-lining with the whole squad. The zip lines were fun, and the views from the mountain were beautiful! We also got to meet some horses and donkeys while we were there.

On Friday, we had Sabbath since we will be ministering over the weekend. I spent the morning drawing in my Bible and making a friendship bracelet. For lunch, some of us went to Java House, and while we were there, we realized that there was a football match happening at the stadium nearby that night. Everyone decided they wanted to go, so we figured out how to get tickets.

After lunch, three of us walked up to the grocery store. Jack wanted to find a jersey, so we went into a shop, but we couldn’t find one. He did, however, spot some Kinyarwanda Bibles, which we had been looking for! We were able to buy two Bibles with the money Jack had, and we already had specific people in mind that we hoped to give them to.

While we were in the grocery store, one of the employees, Abdoul, noticed Jack holding the Bibles and asked us about them. We shared that we were missionaries visiting Rwanda, and he told us that he is a missionary too. He was originally from a Muslim family, but Jesus met him through the Holy Spirit. Earlier this year, he was led from Burundi to Rwanda.

We got to pray over Abdoul, and we were so encouraged by his story. It was such a sweet reminder that God is already moving in Rwanda and that He is bringing people from all different places into His kingdom.

That evening, we walked up to the stadium to go to the football match! It was Liberia versus Rwanda. The walk there was such a crazy journey and felt like a mini pilgrimage as we joined the hundreds of Rwandans heading to the game.

We had a great time at the match, and Rwanda won 3–1!!

Prayer Requests

• For squad members struggling with illness.

One of our team members has been struggling with an unknown illness that causes her to faint. She has dealt with this for a few years, and doctors have not been able to find the source. Thankfully, it has only become a major issue once since we arrived in Rwanda. Please be praying for answers and for continued health throughout the rest of our time in Africa.

• For another squad member who cannot join us in South Africa.

Vitianne is a Fiji citizen, and because of South Africa’s visa laws, we have not been able to acquire a visa for her. As a result, she will be joining another squad in Kenya for the three weeks that we are in South Africa. She will rejoin us when we head to Eswatini. Please be praying for peace for her and that the Lord would work so clearly through her time there with the P Squad.

• That I would remain present as I minister here.

Pray that I would not become so focused on what is coming next that I miss what God is doing right in front of me.

• That I would love exhaustively.

I want to love the people around me well—not just when it is easy or convenient. Please pray that the Lord would show me the ways I am already loving well and reveal the ways I can love those around me even better.

• For wisdom about what comes next.

For the past two weeks, I have been praying about an opportunity that would start next August. The World Race is offering an Expedition Extreme route, which would be 11 months of ministry in 11 different countries. The route includes backpacking Patagonia, walking the Camino de Santiago, and hiking through the Swiss Alps. The ministry is also more intensive, including serving refugees in Europe and South America, doing manual labor, and witnessing grief and difficult circumstances up close.

Please join me in praying about this opportunity and, most importantly, that the Lord would direct my steps as I consider what He may have for me in the future. I want to follow where He leads, even when I don’t know exactly what that will look like yet.

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

— Matthew 25:40

With love and graditude,

Hannah Mahony