Cannon May 2020

Greetings from Rwanda! I hope you are all doing well in these unique global circumstances in which we find ourselves. In the midst of times that have put a pause on many of our usual daily activities, it is nice to reflect on the positive things that have been accomplished so far this year.

At the beginning of the school year, way back in January, I was lucky enough to have my dad come and visit me for a couple of weeks. During his stay, we took a trip to Akagera National Park and spent all day driving the trails through the savannah. We saw zebra, giraffes, many beautiful birds, and even an elephant! My dad also helped put some finishing touches on the new Senior Secondary School building that welcomed in a class of tenth grade students this year!

On a game drive in Akagera with my dad

The completion of the new school building means that music and art now have their own classrooms! It is so nice to have a space to organize materials and set up for creative inspiration. The fifth grade class was especially excited to use the new space for their printmaking project. They created an abstract design with yarn on a cardboard block and had a lot of fun experimenting with the printing process. I love to watch students try new techniques for the first time, discuss their ideas, work through challenges, and learn to see beauty all around them!

The fifth grader’s first time printmaking

Fourth grade students with their sketchbooks

One of our many projects during the shelter-in-place order has been to reorganize and label all the books in our school across three libraries! This continues to be a work in progress, but we have completed the Senior Secondary Library (in the picture that follows). As you can see, these beautiful new shelves are looking pretty bare. If you have any high-quality books (fiction or nonfiction) for grades ten through twelve that you would like to donate, please let me know! Our school has many enthusiastic readers that would love new material.

Labeling books in the library

Another fun project I was able to partake in was the painting of our front gate! My fellow missionary Sarah and I took on the large task and now our gate looks beautiful again.

And so I have some exciting news to share! God has placed it on my heart that the work I am doing here is not complete, and so I am staying on with Rafiki here in Rwanda for another two or three school terms. Just as the rest of the world, the school schedule here has been disrupted due to COVID-19, but I look forward to the return of our students and continue to pray for their spiritual and academic growth through this challenging time.

Thank you for continuing on this journey with me! Your prayers, notes, and encouragement are so appreciated and I am excited to continue the work I am doing here. I am so blessed by your support and your partnership. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

For more information about Rafiki, please visit: http://www.rafikifoundation.org

To donate:

• Go to http://www.rafikifoundation.org

• Select “Support a Missionary” from the drop-down menu in the upper right

• Find my photo and enter the amount that you would like to give. (You can make a one-time or a recurring donation.) Thank you!

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