A letter from Kay Day in the U.S., on Interpretation Assignment from Rwanda
June 2016
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Dear friends and family,
Greetings from Pittsburgh. I am just about to take off for two weeks with churches in New York, Washington, D.C., and Maryland, but I wanted to take a few minutes to share with you the joys of visiting with two presbyteries this past month. The first was Kiskiminetas, which has a partnership with Gitarama Presbytery in Rwanda, and the second was Pittsburgh, my home presbytery. I had gifts for both from Gitarama. “Kiski” and Gitarama presbyteries, whose partnership has flourished in the last ten years, share exchange visits, have partner churches from the two presbyteries, and share prayers and projects together. Kiskiminetas’ partnership with Gitarama was a focal point of much of the Kiskiminetas Presbytery meeting.
Dr. Wilson receives his gift
The challenge of the meeting for me was getting there. It was held in a lovely rural church in northwestern Pennsylvania that was difficult to find, even with GPS. I arrived just minutes before the meeting was to begin. They had invited me to preach for the worship service about what God is doing through the church in Rwanda, so I literally got out of the car and walked into worship. It was a joy-filled service, well worth the drive. Then they commissioned the team going to Gitarama this summer, and I had the opportunity to present a gift from Gitarama to the new executive presbyter, Rev. Dr. Donald Wilson, who was welcomed to the position at this meeting. It was a joy to present him with a welcome from his new Rwandan partners, too. After the meeting I followed Boyd and Shirley Edmondson to their home for the night and had a wonderful day with them. Boyd and Shirley are former “mission partners” who traveled from Kiski to Gitarama and volunteered there for six months in 2014. What a blessing to share with those who had supported Boyd and Shirley in their time in Rwanda. We had a delicious potluck supper and I shared photos and stories of the ministry of the Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (PIASS), followed by great questions and lots of interest in all that God is doing in Rwanda. It was a blessing.
Sheldon Sorge, Executive Presbyter of Pittsburgh Presbytery, receives Gitarama’s gift
One week later I was at Pittsburgh Presbytery, my home in the States. After a time of informal conversations at a display table before the event, we went to worship and then the meeting. The joy was to be with two other PC(USA) mission co-workers who are also from Pittsburgh Presbytery. Chenoa Stock, the daughter of minister colleagues from the presbytery, who is serving in Bolivia, and Janet Guyer, a longtime friend, Presbyterian World Mission’s Facilitator for Women’s and Children’s Interests in English-speaking Africa, based in Malawi. It was a homecoming of sorts. Each of us was given time to greet those present for the meeting and share about our ministries and to thank the presbytery for their support of us. They have given generous financial support to PC(USA) mission. I had the opportunity to present the gift Gitarama Presbytery had sent to Pittsburgh in thanks for Pittsburgh “sending me” to Rwanda. After all the presentations, the assembly gathered around us to pray for us. What a blessing to be again sent out with prayer.
In these first two months of itineration I have had the opportunity to meet with several of you and more are on the agenda for the coming months. I am eager for this time to personally thank you for enabling me to serve the church in Rwanda. I am there because of your support. I invite you to continue on this journey with me through your financial commitment to ministry in Rwanda. I also ask for prayers for continued health and strength for the traveling. God has blessed me so far and I don’t take that for granted. I pray that you are blessed in the days to come. May this be a time of refreshing for you just as being with you is for me.
Yours in Christ,
Kay (Cathie to the family)
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