One of my favorite things is reflecting on my dreams in my early waking hours. Tiny snippets will linger, maybe for just a moment, just before they begin to fade.
Years ago I talked about the power of dreams with a good friend, Dr. Nicholas Hitimana, in a beautiful field in Rwanda.
Founder of Ikirezi, a thriving justice enterprise, Nicholas invited me to walk with him in this field of dreams.
Nicholas told me then how his family escaped the Rwandan genocide in 1994. They found safety in Scotland, with Nicholas earning his Ph.D. in agriculture.
But it was a long time before the nightmares subsided and he was able to dream again.One of Nicholas's dreams was to return to Rwanda and create a justice enterprise to serve women farmers and a community deeply impacted by poverty and the genocide.
Almost two decades since its beginning in 2005, Ikirezi is now a model business that holistically serves farmers, the community, and the environment.
Today I want to celebrate Nicholas as a brilliant scientist and entrepreneur, but most importantly, as someone faithful enough to listen to a dream and hard-working enough to see it come to life.Thistle Farms has been using Ikirezi's organic essential oils for more than 15 years. Whenever I make a healing oil blend, I think about Nicholas, his dream, and all the women he has served in Rwanda's lush and fertile hills.