Catching a Vision Others Can't See

When I was about 9 years old, we would frequently visit my grandparents’ house in Lake Isabella, near inland California’s desert. One day, instead of throwing rocks or shooting sling-shots with my brothers, I wanted to help the hummingbirds. It seemed the tiny, ruby-colored birds had to work really hard just to get a drink from the hummingbird feeder in their front yard. I decided to stand beneath the feeder and offer my arm as a ‘perch’ for them to land on. My parents chuckled and told me I was wasting my time. I decided to try anyway…

After ten minutes, I realized a problem with my plan: I couldn’t hold my arm up any longer! I found a stick and cut it to the right height and returned to my post. An hour passed. An hour and 45 minutes passed. Then, I heard the rapid buzz of humming wings behind my head. I tried not to move (or breathe) as the bird came closer to inspect this curious perch. Ten seconds later, he zipped around to face me, landed on my arm and started drinking from the feeder, eventually stopping his wings altogether. Just inches from my nose was the most colorful and radiant bird I had ever seen! From then on, hummingbirds took turns landing and drinking from my perch whenever I visited Grandma and Grandpa. My parents took a picture (below- with hummingbird in front of white well) amused at the determination of their son. This was the first time I can recall deciding to do something others thought impossible or impractical… it has since become something of a habit and perhaps one reason we have caught a vision for helping Rwandan entrepreneurs.

Some friends and family have told us we are wasting our time and abilities in Rwanda. Others have told us we don’t know what we’re getting into. Yet it is clear Rwandan entrepreneurs are needed today, and we are well suited to helping them make the most of the energy they’re expending. It may take time to understand and help the clients we serve, but we believe if we can do it well, we may have the rare privilege of seeing a few Rwandan entrepreneurs take flight.

Those that catch a vision others don’t, and have the determination to see it through, often get to glimpse pure beauty… at least in my experience.

Onward & Upward,
-Carter