"Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Today marked our first day meeting with women's cooperatives in the remote reaches of Eastern Rwanda. In Nasho, an area near the Tanzania border. We met with two groups of 20 women who will serve as "waymakers" for many others in this region.

In the first village, we were greeted by many more children than expected. We did our best to interact with everyone while distributing juice, biscuits, and crayons. The twenty women of the Twitezimbere ("self-reliance") cooperative gathered for a lesson led by Heidi on the Parable of the Talents from the book of Matthew. She encouraged them to work hard and develop their gifts so that they may one day hear the words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

After a wonderful lunch provided by our hosts, we traveled to our second location in Nasho. A thirty-minute ride over dirt paths—providing us all with what we call an "African massage"—brought us to Nasho 2.

Seven years ago, this community held church services under a mango tree before working together to build a beautiful church. Their industrious nature gives us great confidence that they will be very successful in the AWHI program. We spent time coloring with the children and sharing refreshments before Liz led a study with the Nasho 2 cooperative, Tuzamurane ("growing together").

It was a full, productive, and blessed day. We thank God for the opportunity to experience the love of these people, who remain deeply grateful to you, our donors, for your continued generosity.

Stephen Henrich

Creative cooperation … Nasho children coloring together!

Nasho 1 Women’s Cooperative.

Pastor Ezechiel, wife Marie and the AWHI team - Donna, Heidi, Liz and Stephen