TIME

So I will be leaving Kigali in 19 days and I will be home in 20 days! It is so incredible how time is flying! I am currently taking 6 credits and I have found them to be really time consuming. With 12 class sessions over a 4-week period I have to read 7 novels and 2 textbooks. I also have 7 exams, 12 papers (1 page single spaced) and then a 10-page (double spaced) paper. So to say in the least I have a ton of work!

For my Traditional African Culture and Religion class we are now studying the concept of time. We are comparing African's view on time and the American's view. Africans really don't believe in time. If they have a meeting at 2 and run into an old friend on the street...Well they will sit and talk with the friend till 3. Americans though would be making that meeting regardless of whom they ran into. I know I am personally VERY guilty of this. I am extremely time orientated...

This isn't what God calls us to be though. We are called to live the greatest commandment, which is love! We have such an awesome God who loves us and he calls us to love one another. We shouldn't have "office hours" for those whom God calls us to share the Gospel with. We are God’s children 24/7. Imagine if God was only God from 9-5 on weekdays… Life would be pretty out of control…

In the Gospel Mark, Jesus was tired and needing a break. When 5,000 men gathered around him it would of been reasonable for him to want a break and excuse them. But he had compassion! He ministered, performed miracles, and fed all of them! Jesus who was King and Savior was willing to put the people’s need before his. He was not worried about the fact that it was getting late or that he had been working all day... No, he was worried for the people! If Christ has this love for his people--then I should follow in his footsteps. I am not saying that I am going to disregard all time schedules. But I do know that I need to give more of a "person priority" rather than a time priority. I am so blessed to have the most amazing friends and family. And God has used Africa to show me how I need to give more priority to them rather than time, money, school, or work. And I think we are all called to do this because we have a God who doesn’t work 40 hours or even 60 hours a week… No, we have a God who works 168 hours a week and he takes no vacations.

800,000 dead, Many Tears, and Seventeen Years of Pain Serve as a Reminder

17 years ago marks the start of the genocide that took 800,000 lives here in Rwanda. Sitting on our balcony I am looking over Kigali (the capital), I hear President Kagame speaking at the stadium but the streets are empty. I look at the hill across from us knowing that Hutu men stormed that hill killing the Tutsi. It is weird knowing that I have a friend who lived on that hill during the genocide and for only reasons God knows, he some how escaped the mass killing…  It is so beautiful here and I consider it one of the most beautiful places I have ever witnessed. Knowing that 17 years ago bodies piled the streets and women and children were being raped, it is hard to think that such a beautiful place could host such hostility. The genocide still causes the whole nation to mourn during the month of April and today I can especially feel the tension within the city. Soldiers line the streets in order to prepare for the worst and businesses shut down early.  Walking the street I know that anyone my age was in someway affected by the genocide. 800,000 people… So many lives lost because of a hatred that ran and still runs so deep. What is scary is that any country is capable of doing this. Rwanda when the genocide began had a population who was 98% Christian… A much higher percentage than that of America. I think that the world needs to look to Rwanda and learn from the pain that they experienced. No one can predict genocide. The people two weeks before the genocide had Hutu and Tutsi children playing together, men and women talked freely on the streets, and yet, the killing began on April 7^th… Hate can be so incredibly strong. Strong enough to kill, rape, beat those who were Tutsi, regardless of them being a friend, family member, child, elder, or stranger. I can’t imagine watching my family be killed, being raped, or considered one of the “lucky survivors” and having to walk the streets, searching the dead bodies for my loved ones. April serves as an awakening reminder each year to the people of Rwanda but I think it also should serve as a reminder to the world. A reminder of the cost of hating something or someone, whether small or large, is dangerous and in Rwanda it cost 800,000 people their lives. Let us be reminded.

Goodbye Mukono

Eating white ants!

Being silly:)

Our host family!

Time has just flown by and it is so bittersweet. I do not want to leave here… But at the same time each day brings me a day closer to being back in America. This week I have been so incredibly homesick and just missing my life back home… I cannot win either way. When I leave Africa I will be so excited to be back with my family but I will be leaving a piece of my heart in Africa. I already feel my heart tearing, as I am about to say goodbye. What I have experienced here has been the most amazing memories. I have loved every moment of it. Working with the poor and educating children has been something I have always wanted to do… and I am doing it! I have seen how I have become transformed. The cooking here I no longer find disgusting and taking bucket showers is rather enjoyable now. I just cannot have asked for a better experience here. It has been such an incredible blessing from God. I just hate goodbyes. I know that no matter what I will never truly be whole. The people here are taking little bits and pieces of my heart and they will have it forever. I know this is what God wants though. God doesn’t want me to live a protected and hidden life… No ,he wants me to go out and see what he sees. He wants me to become broken for the pain that is in the world. And that is what I have become—broken. God has done such an amazing job at breaking me down. I am vulnerable to these people. A year ago I would of fought with all my might against vulnerability but God has called me to this. He wants me shed tears for the sadness, to ache with a desire to help and to share his name to his lost children. Being here in Mukono has taught me this. And it has been the best life lesson I could learn. God has broken down my barriers and I have never felt so happy in my life. Living with poverty, seeing death on the street and being thousands of miles from my family and yet, I am filled with such peace. I worship such an awesome God and he has provided me with such a happiness. As my final goodbye to this community is quickly coming I know without a doubt I will cry and cling tight to the place I have called home for the past month. God has reassured me though and I know I would rather love these people and be hurt… Than to never loved at all. And I do not fear love because Christ loved me first (1 John4) so I will not fear and I will rejoice in the love and friendships I have made here. God has created a second home for me.

Namasumbi!!!

It has been already week at the Primary School in Namasumbi village… Time here is just flying! Namasumbi is about a 20-minute ride on the botas (motorcycles). In the Namasumbi Primary School I am again teaching math full time in P5, P6 and P7 classrooms. It is such an incredible difference between the two schools! This school has even less financial resources and this can be seen in the lack of teachers and exams. 1 teacher teaches 2 classes during the same time period. So for example the math teacher I work with was teaching P6 and P7 math during the same time period and he would do this all day! So the school is extremely understaffed and they do not have the paper to give exams… I thought that Sittyanka was poor and I am so amazed to see than Namasumbi is even poorer…

I have never been so tested with teaching! My P5 class has 65-70 students! I have never known that so many students could fit into such a small classroom. Kids were cramming onto the benches and some students even have to sit on the floor. I find it so difficult to work with these students. It is hard to get the attention of 65 kids and when there are 10 who are distracted it is extremely hard to yell over them. Many of them have to skip breakfast and sometime lunch so they are hungry. And then to top it off they are in a hot classroom so they are sleepy… Getting these students to really focus is so incredibly hard…

The kids here are much better though with asking questions and telling me when they do not understand my English. I have a few students who are very outspoken and I have found this so helpful. Cheating is still an issue in the classroom and I cannot get it through that cheating is wrong.  I try to sit down with them and explain that I want more than anything for ALL of them to go to University…  I seriously love these students so much and I want more than anything for them to leave the poverty they are living in but cheating is going to get them no where.

Like Sittyanka everyday is exhausting and yet, I find it so rewarding to work with these students. I love hearing their laughter and seeing they’re beautiful smiles each day!

This morning we went to a Secondary school in Nymbombia. The school was filled with a majority of students who were Muslim. It was actually really nice to work with older students. The ages ranged from 15-19 and I really liked being able to talk with them. I found this as such a beautiful opportunity to share the word of God with them and to lead by example. I talked a lot about Sean also. They thought that it was very interesting that I would have a boyfriend who was so far away and yet, I have only one boyfriend. Cheating on spouses here is not unusual…I tried explaining to them that God calls us to be with one man/woman and that I am trying to follow his will.  I tried to talk to them about morals in general and we talked about how waiting for sex was the only way to prevent AIDS (which is a HUGE problem) and that they need to give education importance over relationships. It was overall so amazing to talk to them and share my faith and beliefs with them. It was just so awesome to work with kids who were older and to have an actual conversation. Before leaving I talked to one girl for a bit… Out of all the girls she was the bravest and was willing to speak out. We talked about how she needs to go to University and that she must not have sex until marriage. Of course she blushed at the mention of sex (which is not openly discussed…but not talking about sex doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen and the consequences are taking thousands of lives) and she said she would be smart and wait and go also to University. I have such a passion for these kids and I want more than anything for them to leave their poverty and to find God. I then left the school. The chances of me ever seeing these students again are unlikely but I know that they will always be in my heart. I love them so much and want more than anything to have them go far in life.

After lunch I went to the primary school and taught information centered on graphs. After class we moved bricks (for building homes). First of all they were incredibly heavy! Little children were carrying 2, 3, and even 4 on top of their heads! I have never had so much fun doing hard labor in my life! One of the boys asked me to sing so we carried bricks and sang songs. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever done. It was so amazing working with them and singing songs to God. They have such amazing voices and such beautiful hearts. I know that moving bricks with them while singing is a memory that will never leave.

Saying goodbye is always so hard and tomorrow will be no exception… Saying goodbye to these students is going to be rough and I pray with all my heart that I leaving them with knowledge, hope or inspiration that will impact their lives. Monday will be my first day in Kyoga!

Goodbye Sittyanka

My P2 math class.

They loved dancing!

Playing the drums!

Today was our last day at the Sittyanka School. Saying goodbye to the students and staff was so incredibly hard. I worked with a P2 math class and then spent the remaining part of the day just playing with the children. We sang worship songs, danced and took pictures.  We then attended a parent meeting where we got to voice our thanks and recommend what we thought about the school/students. They then surprised us with a bunch of fruit and a handkerchief. Written on the handkerchief was, “Do not forget me”. I know that I will never forget this school. Saying goodbye to them was one of the hardest things I have had to do.  The memories I made here were absolutely incredible.  I now am going to teach at another school about 10 k from where I am living. And I know that I will never forget them and if it is God’s will I would love to someday come back…

Falling In Love With Mkono

I have been in Mkono a week and I absolutely love it here! Mkono is a super rural village that is about an hour outside of Kampala (the capital of Uganda). I live in a simple home with our two coordinators (Sara and Emmet), our security guard (Michael) and his two sons (Moses and Steven). We then have three people who commute to the house (Sara, Ben, and Silvia). The house that Princesse and I live at is actually a Food for the Hungry office (Food for the Hungry in a International NGO working throughout the world trying to end hunger). So it is not unusual to have many visitors coming in and out of the house. I have become especially close to Sara our cook and the two young boys, Moses and Steven. Moses and Steven call me Auntie Dan (short for my middle name Danielle) and constantly want to play.

A typical day for me here in Mkono consists of waking up at 7 am for my personal devotions. I always sit on the backside of the house where I can watch the morning begin and hear the village waking up. When I finish devotions I always have several cups of tea and eggs for breakfast. At 8:30 we have house devotions and worship and then we head to school. I teach math for P6 and P7 (which in American education would be middle school age). I work with the older students because they can understand my English. During our free time (break/recess) we play games like football, tag, etc. The students here also love to sing and dance. So we are constantly getting the drums and dancing all over the school grounds. After break I work with the P1 students and they are absolutely precious. They know little English so class usually consists of me saying a word in English and them saying it in Luganda (the local language). This way I am learning and so are they.

Learning yet another African language has been very difficult but I am slowly picking it up (the language barrier is not as bad though as it is in Rwanda). Another frustrating issue I have seen at the school is the lack of materials. The students have class in mud wall classrooms, where they have a blackboard and a desk. I have found it very hard at times teaching only with a blackboard. In American classrooms there is an ample supply of crafts, tiles, markers, paper, teaching material, blocks, etc. And here there is only a blackboard and chalk. Another frustrating issue is that the students are taught to be silent and just write whatever is on the blackboard. This is not how I teach. I like interaction from the students so I can figure out where they need help. If I say, “class do you understand” they will reply, “yes, Madame”… Even when they truly do not understand. I have been working all of this week in trying to have the students open up and ask questions and to communicate how they are doing in their mathematics. It has been extremely frustrating process… I finally had success Friday though! I had one boy (James) say he would like another example of probability because he did not understand how to do it AND I had a girl (Ashida) ask me to repeat the question because she didn’t understand my English. Minor things I know, but it was such a big step for my students! It was such an amazing feeling to know that they are slowly understanding that education is more than just writing down the right answer. Another issue I have had to deal with is cheating. The schools are understaffed and often not even having qualified teachers. Often the teachers ignore the students cheating and it has caused a very bad habit in the classroom. Students once they have their homework graded will pass it around the class to fellow students who have not completed the work. Or when I call on a student his/her classmates will whisper the answer in Luganda. I would literally catch a student cheating every 5 minutes. I tried explaining that cheating was wrong and that if they wanted to continue to Secondary school cheating will not get them there.  Still the cheating continued. Then I tried embarrassing them (which Africans hate) and would publicly call them out for cheating and having them come to the front of the classroom and help assist me. Again the cheating continues. What worked best was time though. Friday I saw the most improvement! Students were no longer passing their answer books around and when I called on a student the classroom was silent. This was exactly what I was asking of my students—to think for themselves!

Working with these students during the past week has been the most amazing experience possible. Though it has been trying and I come home everyday at 5 pm and I am so exhausted I think I am going to collapse… I wouldn’t change it for anything. It has been so wonderful to see the student’s progression and how they are improving. I work with the head math teacher, Joshua, and he is letting me teach the class 100%. It has been wonderful working with him because he is one of the few teachers who are open to new teaching styles and he loves his students. I think the biggest challenge for schools will be having teachers who are willing to change their teaching patterns, yet Joshua is open to change and that is why the students are doing so well. I feel such pride and love for these students. I know about 95% of them by name and they have finally stopped calling me muzungo (Luganda for white person) and also started calling me by name. I am in love with this place. I love teaching the students and I love playing with them. I have never had so much fun in my life dancing with a bunch of children or singing worship songs. Being able to go to the schools has been the most amazing experience and I am learning so much from these students. I am learning the simplicity of life. I am learning new teaching techniques and I am falling in love with the people here.

Around 5 pm I head back to the FH house (Food for the Hungry) and I usually sit and just re-energize with a cup of tea. Moses, Steven, Princesse and I then go for a run. Running here is so much harder than running in America. First of all there is a ton of dust and we are also a lot higher in elevation. We run down beaten paths and there is always a group of Africans always staring at us (running in Africa is very unusual). Moses and Steven are very protective of us (though they are only 12 and 14). They always have one boy in front and one boy in back while running. When we get back to the house they are always reminding us to drink water and eat dinner so we do not get sick. They are two of the sweetest boys I have ever met and I have become very close with them.

After running we take our bucket showers and then eat dinner. Dinner is very bland here but I am getting used to it. We usually eat rice, matoke (fried banana), cabbage, and goat (which I LOVE). We then have the rest of the night to play with Moses and Steven, do homework with them and then read from the Bible.

Life here is very busy but I love it! I cannot believe that it has already been a week (we have 3.5 weeks here) and I am already dreading having to leave. God has been teaching and showing me so much while I have been here and Mkono has been a true blessing to me. Internet and electricity is always on and off here so I will try to post a blog within the next two weeks. I will post pictures once I return to Rwanda… Overall Mkono has been the best thing that Africa could of shown me and I am definitely in love with the people here!

Hello from Mkono!!!!

Eating wuju.

Making chapati!

So I have arrived safely to Mkono! It is absolutely amazing here! The Internet is slow though so I will not be able to Skype (we can test it out though!) We live in a very simple house with no running water so we take cup baths and will use an outhouse. Our cook is a horrible cook (the food is very bland) but she has the sweetest heart and I already love her so much! The staff here at the house are all very sweet and I am already getting along with them so much! Today Silvia took us to one of the schools and introduced us to each classroom! It was so wonderful being able to play and talk with the students. They are all so beautiful and sweet. They think that my white skin is very funny and just love sitting at my feet or holding my hands. It is going to be so difficult teaching them because I would much rather play with them than teach :) I will be teaching full time soon! I will also be working in the community through leading Bible studies, home visits, raising awareness about HIV, etc. A typical weekday for me will consist of waking up at 8 for breakfast, 8:30 a house Bible study, 9-5 working in the community or teaching! So I am super excited to start getting involved!!! After 5 I am free to do what I please... Today I played with some neighbor kids (Moses and Stephen) who are little afraid of me but after seeing I am not a monster decided that they like me. A lot of these kids have never seen a muzungo (white person) so they find me kind of scary... I live in a super rural village and I love it! Being away from the big city I think that I may start taking up running again. One of the workers Emmet likes to run so I think we may go running before dinner. It is election season still so the staff is extremely cautious. We are not allowed to go out at night and we always have a staff escort. The botas (motorcycles) we take are also staff people. I feel so incredibly safe here and at home! I just love it and I cannot wait to start interacting with the kids more! I have a feeling that this month is going to go extremely fast….

Rafting on the Nile

So white rafting was the most amazing thing ever! First of all it was so incredibly gorgeous! Knowing that Moses once stood on these banks, seeing the waterfalls, and just being there was so amazing! We filled our raft with eight people and our guide was so awesome! He was from New Zealand and cussed a ton but he knew what he was doing. We were given helmets, lifejackets, and then trained. We hit rapids that were class five and they were so insane! Rolling our raft was inevitable and it was so crazy getting pulled under by these strong rapids. Our guide was extremely good at his job and on the dangerous rapid we never rolled (got drenched though!) on the class four rapids we went all out though and this usually ended with us floating down the river. I got wacked in the head with a wood paddle pretty hard and still have a headache from that but that is the only injury we had.  It was just so much fun and I wish I could do it again! I got pictures and a video to show off what we did! I just cannot explain in words how amazing of an experience it was! I will post the pictures later... But overall it was such an amazing experience!

Here I come Uganda!!

So on Thursday I leave for Uganda! I will be from February 24th till April 1st. I will be white water rafting on the Nile, spending the first weekend in Kampala (the capital). We then all split up and I will leave for Mukono, Uganda. Mukono is about one hour from Kampala and this is where I will be staying for the remainder of my stay in Uganda. It is here where I will be placed with a host family along with another girl in our group (Princesse). During practicum I will be working full time in a classroom but I also have the freedom to work with HIV victims and help counsel them. I am super excited for this opportunity and cannot wait to experience Uganda! I will have Internet but I am not sure how reliable it is...Yet, I will try my best to reply back to all the emails!

Researching the patterns of inclusion and exclusion

Mentally handicapped man.

Children on the street (they love pictures!)

Big brother carrying little brother. It was not uncommon to see siblings carrying little ones throughout street.

Our campsite! My tent is the one under the tree.

Spending time with the community. I was getting the maize cleaned off so it could lay in the sun. Got a super bad blister, which the children found very interesting.

Presenting to the community what our research found and some solutions we had.

My group with a 90 year old woman who was abandoned by her daughter. The woman on the far left had welcomed the elderly woman into her home.

So much happened this week! On Monday we left for the Mpanga sector of Rwanda. This was about four hours from Kigali (we were about 2 kilometers from Tanzania) and is extremely poverty stricken. We camped out in tents till Thursday night and during our stay we researched the community. It was the most amazing place to camp and it was definitely something I will never experience again! We always had multiple fires going because there was a herd of water buffalo (the fire kept them away from our camp) and there was a hippo about one mile from where we were camping! As most of you know I HATE snakes… Well thank goodness I never saw a snake but we did carry these special sticks around with us (I honestly don’t remember the name) but the point of these sticks was to hit a snake if we saw one. We had built latrines and all 20+ of us had tents scattered on the property.

Tuesday while interviewing it was so amazing to be in a rural area and just being with the people. Many of these people are lucky to have a meal every other day and really were making it by with the bare minimal. I got to meet a woman who was ninety years old and was praying to live to be a one-hundred. I found it so inspirational that despite the poverty people still have a love for Christ and care for fellow community members. This 90 year old women was adopted by another family. Her daughter left her and she was literally going to die on the street… So a family adopted her in. This was so inspirational to see the community values but it tore me apart hearing her story about how her daughter left her to the streets. I got to meet a mentally handicapped man also. He couldn’t talk and he just mumbled to himself. Again my heart just broke for this man. He had no resources for help and just wondered the compound talking to himself.

Being in Mpanga tore me apart. The day would end and I would crash because I was so emotionally and physically worn out. It is so hard to see such poverty and desperation. In America people have clean water everyday, take multiple showers a day, eat as much food as they want, families usually have multiple cars, we leave the lights on during the day, we use so much electricity to wash our clothes (and it is not hard at all to hand wash), the list can keep going and going with how much Americans have  (and that I have personally taken for granted) and how little these people have. I found this week such an emotionally wearing experience and I honestly cannot explain how there is such inner turmoil inside of me. We saw such hardships that prior to this week I had heard about but had never seen.  It was so beautiful how they opened their homes to us and would thank us for simply coming into their home. One interview we left a water bottle in the house… It would have been so easy for them to keep the bottle and had the only clean water in the village… But the woman ran after us on the street and gave us the bottle. I know I would of kept it… Little things like that happened all the time and again just added to the inner conflict. There was one interview where a little girl cried the whole time because she was hungry and begged her mother for food. Things like this just make me cry because I don’t know what I can do… What can I do as an individual? What can we do as Christians? Sure I could have given her a meal but what would happen next time she is hungry and I was not there? How do we help end the cycle of poverty rather than just one circumstance? After a week of being in Mpanga I still don’t know the answer and this frustrates me because I will always have the memories of a little girl crying from hunger, families eating one meal every two days, mentally handicapped people wandering the streets and a crying ninety year old woman whose only daughter left her to die, these memories will always be with me.

I also saw encouragement though… There was equal enrollment in school and the amount of female leaders was equal to men. Now even though girls did not attend school as often because of home duties and women leaders did not have as much responsibilities as men… The community is making steps in the right direction. And despite constantly being emotionally worn out I did have an amazing time. I loved walking down the street and being able to play with the children. I loved seeing them smile as I took pictures and having them chase me around the streets. I loved being able to hold the infants and hear stories from the elders. I was also camping with an amazing group and we made wonderful memories at camp. Wednesday night our tent flooded so Megan and I slept in the van. Ten minutes after we got in another tent flooded and we ended up staying the night in a van… Little memories of laughing till our sides hurt in a van, in the middle of storm and being scared to death will also be with me for the rest of my life. So overall it was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it.

 

Valentines Day

 This morning I was packing for our week trip to do research... And I was surprised with BEAUTIFUL flowers from Sean! He planned ahead with my Student Life Coordinators and got me flowers with a sweet note. It was such a wonderful surprise and such an incredible blessing! I am truly lucky to have such an incredible boyfriend :)

Kibuye

Children on the side of the road who sung for us:)

Beautiful view outside of Kibuye

Lake Kivu

View from Bat Island

BATS!!!

Hiking Bat Island

Children at church!

Friday:  We stayed at a hotel looking over Lake Kivu and the view was absolutely breathtaking! (Lake Kivu has so many islands in the lake and this just adds to the beauty!) We were so blessed to be able to stay at such a beautiful place! Once we arrived we went for a swim and it felt so good! The water was so nice and it was just relaxing to chill on the beach. All the meals we had during our stay in Kibuye were African buffet (which was super yummy!)

Saturday: We went to Bat Island and I have never seen so many bats in my whole life! We hiked to the top of the island (which was a pretty good hike). And again... The view was BEAUTIFUL! On the island we also got to see cows! These cows will swim from island to island in search for food. We climbed to the top of the island and then we headed down and set sail for Peace Island. Literally as soon as we hit the water-- RAIN STARTED POURING!!!! It was raining so hard that it hurt when it made contact with your skin. The wind was also blowing so this just added to being freezing... This storm was insane! There was thunder and lightening right above our heads and it was the longest boat ride back to the hotel. As soon as I got on land I booked it up the hill, took off my soaking wet clothes, put on some dry clothes and then jumped into bed! So Saturday's adventure was so much fun with a mixture of a bit of scare.

Sunday: We woke up early and went to church. It was such a beautiful service! We sang two songs to the congregation and then stayed for the full service. It was around three hours and then after we stayed and talked with locals. It was so much fun playing with the kids, taking pictures, and practicing out karate! 

Overall it was so much fun and we made such amazing memories! By far one of the most beautiful places I have ever been too!!! Tomorrow we leave for the week to conduct research on the patterns of inclusion and exclusion. I hope to have a blog up Sunday!

Pictures

First day in Rwanda (pizza for dinner)

View from the house.

Lunch during the safari. We were overlooking Tanzania.

This safari was the most amazing experience ever!

Giraffe!

Zebra!

I will continue to try to post pictures! I leave for Kibuye this weekend and then next week I am doing a week long research on patterns of inclusion and exclusion. So when I get back I should definitely have some good pictures and stories! Don't hesitate to send me and email if you have questions ♥

Three Weeks In...

The picture above is of my roommate (Megan) and I. The skirts we are wearing we got made at Kimironko market!

We have been in Kigali for exactly three weeks. It is weird how it seems so fast but at the same time it feels like I have been here so long. Riding the bus around town is no longer nerve racking, communicating with non-English speakers is still difficult but again it has become easier even with the language barrier. I find myself still being amazed at the beauty that Kigali has. I love the sunshine here (is definitely helping with my tan!) and yet I also love the pouring rain. I have become very fond of the people and culture that I have witnessed while here.

Mornings usually consist of a fresh fruit breakfast and relaxing on the front porch. We leave at 8:25 and take a bus to Kimironko market. This market is amazing! By far my favorite place to shop. It has everything from fresh fruits to car products. I am currently having a skirt made and I am sure I will have several more made... After the bus drops me off at the market I walk about a mile to class. There is a shorter route but I like this one because I enjoy the sun and exercise of walking. We then have two classes (Social Development and Peace Building). We have lunch served at the classroom after the first class and then we have the second class. After we are done with classes we are free for the rest of the day. A nice thing about this program is that there is an emphasis on culture interaction. We are not given much homework in hopes that we will spend that time going about Kigali and learning first hand.

This is our last free weekend for a while… The following weekends we will be going to Kibuye, then conducting research, and then off to Uganda (for some white water rafting!) and then we will start a four-week practicum. I hope to be teaching in a classroom during this period. After practicum I then finish off the semester with African Literature and Religion. Then next thing I know I will be back in the States!

Looking at the calendar it is all going to happen so fast-- which is bittersweet. I love Kigali and the memories I am making here will last a lifetime. Yet, I also miss being back in America. There are certain characteristics of home which I have realized how blessed I am. These characteristics combined with my longing to be with my friends and family back home has me looking forward to May 7^th. I find such a confliction because both sides are equally strong. So I plan on spending my time here with the most laughter and memories until May 7^th does arrive. But I plan on leaving here with no regrets and knowing that I lived these four months to the fullest capacity.

“Christian service is who you are… Not where you are.”

So I have been here three weeks now and how time has flown. I am picking up the language, loving the culture, and learning a lot about Rwanda. In today’s lecture Dwight said, “Christian service is who you are and not where you are”. I guess I have always assumed I needed to travel oversees in order to do Christ-like service. Wondering the streets, it is easy to see the need of service. Crippled, poverty-stricken children, and war-torn people are just some of the few who need the service, love and compassion of Christians. But it has been wrong of me to think that God’s work can only be done in a location. 

The individual God has created me is the true work. The passions that I have inside of me have created a working field for God’s love. My passion for children, education and kids with disabilities are gifts from God. Coming to Rwanda my goal was to see my part in ending poverty. I feel that we are not all called to poverty reduction but we are all called to oppression reduction. I am capable of both through the passions in which God has blessed me with.

I think that we don’t give God enough credit. We think of poverty-stricken countries as ways to do God’s work, yet God’s work is in who we are. Our passion is God’s tool to achieve His will. As Christians we do not have an excuse to why we can’t be active participants in Christian services of proclaiming the kingdom of God and bringing its characteristics to here on Earth. We are all called—We just need to put our passions into action.

Genocide

One of the three genocide memorials we visited.

So this morning woke up and had a delicious breakfast! We then loaded a bus and drove outside of town. It was so gorgeous! Driving past kids playing and the smell of fresh air was wonderful compared to the town. We went to two genocide memorials. The first one we went to was a catholic church and 5 thousand people lost their lives (including women, children and the old). They thought they would be safe from the Hutu because they were at a Church... But the Hutu found them and killed them. We walked into the church buildings and there was still a stench to it, blood still spattered the walls and the clothes of the victims pilled high as a reminder to all of the horrible killings that took place. Walking through the buildings was so hard for me. I couldn’t imagine having the capability to kill, to know the feeling of losing my whole family, or to be one of the few to survive and wake up to bodies all around me. The second memorial was also a church where 10 thousand died. The building was literally the size of a basketball court. One section was covered with blood. The brick wall was covered with the blood of children as the soldiers bashed their heads into the wall. Looking up their blood was spattered on the ceilings. We went to the cemetery where we looked at thousands of skulls. I could see the machete, the bullet, the club that had ended this life simply because they carried the label of a Tutsi. How does this happen? How does mankind get tricked into thinking they are better than their neighbor? These memorials stand to serve as a reminder of the dangers that lie with hatred, belittlement, and the lies of propaganda.  A reminder that stands for the future generations.

So today was definitely a challenge... After though Nicky, Megan and I went to lunch. We then took the bus to downtown and explored a craft market. So much stuff! It was super awesome that we got their and back without getting lost :)Then we had pizza for dinner and am listening to friends play guitar and listen to songs they have written. A wonderful feeling of just relaxing.

Washington DC

So after flying all night I finally arrived to DC. It is absolutely freezing here and is snowing on and off. The group of people here are amazing and I have already made some new friends. Tonight we all sat around talking and then we went and ate Thai food (which was absolutely amazing!!!)During our visit in Washington we will be visiting memorials, art museums, etc. We are in Washington till Friday and then we are off to Africa! I have my movies, books and Ipod ready for the long flight ahead... It is so weird that Africa is finally here!

Touring Washington DC.

The start of this journey...

I will keep this short and sweet--This blog has been created so that all my loved ones back in America can stay updated on what is happening in my life while I am in Africa. I will try to update it at least once a week (I leave for Africa January 11th and will be returning May 7th) so expect entries around that time frame. Feel free to comment on the post! I would love to hear from all of you! I love you all dearly and I am excited to share in this journey with you:)