Rwanda: a country with history and hope

Tuesday, June 28^th we left Mbarara for a wild adventure in Kigali, Rwanda. Kigali is the capital city of Rwanda.  It is lush, clean, and “organized” as Esther continues to convince us of her home.  Traveling and being in Rwanda has been a precious time for me to get to know Danelle, and when two people experience a new place together they are immediately bonded. We ate lunch in Kabale, Uganda (a town near the southern tip of Uganda) before heading to the border.  The border was an interesting experience, almost comparable to my experience entering Haiti from the DR (but not as long, thankfully). The drive was peaceful, with baby Daniel asleep on my lap for most of the journey and beautiful rolling hills in the background.  After many hours in the car, we arrived in Kigali.  Kigali is gorgeous, filled with history, and hope. Every few minutes there were signs reminding people of the genocide, it would be incredibly hard to forget the atrocities that happened here seventeen years ago. We arrived at our Rwandan home to smiling faces and helpful hands as we got stuck in mud on the way up their driveway.  We stayed with Esther’s cousin and her family.  Her husband, Joseph is a pastor, and he and his wife Agnes have two little kids.  The little girl was completely afraid of me, and wouldn’t step anywhere near me, but the little boy was eager to get to know me and impress me with all the English he has learned in Baby class. They have blessed us with immense hospitality and love.  The food in Rwanda was INCREDIBLE and they served us tea at almost every meal.

Wednesday we woke up, and watched Indescribable, a sermon by Louis Giglio (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn2dPZDMOWA).  It was powerful for me to remember grace.  I like to talk about grace to others, but sometimes when it comes down to accepting it I forget it’s for me too. Louis reminded me of that, and it was a welcomed reminder as I have been learning a lot about myself and my need for Christ. At breakfast, Danelle and I asked Joseph a bunch of questions about the genocide, his experiences, and thoughts about it.  His story was a great prelude to the day to come.  He told us that the Tutsi people were called “cockroaches” so that the world wouldn’t know that the Hutu had planned to kill people instead of bugs. How degrading. He told us that everything that we saw in Kigali was built in the last 10-13 years because the genocide tore everything apart.  The genocide lasted 100 days and killed more than a million people. I couldn’t believe it.  It was so humbling to be in a place with people that have experienced such pain and choose to continue on.  After our breakfast chat, we went to the largest genocide memorial in Kigali.  There we learned all the history having to do with the genocide.  I learned that I really didn’t know anything compared to what there is to know about it.  It was so amazing learning about the genocide in the very place it had happened. I took a lot of notes in the museum, and I am thankful for the new knowledge that I have.  After the information section there was a reflection room filled with pictures of people that died in the genocide.  There was photo after photo.  It was hard looking in the eyes of people that had been brutally killed and taken from their friends and family.  The next room had four or five glass display boxes with skulls and leg and arm bones.  This is where it got real for me.  I began to weep.  I felt really connected to Esther and her pain, as her parents were killed in the genocide.  It’s hard for anyone to go back and relive the pain they have experienced in the past.  After walking through the gardens outside of the museum, we returned back to the house for a women’s outreach.  I shared what I have previously shared about “Living in Love with Jesus.”  The women seemed really encouraged.  After our meeting with them, we all went to YWAM-Rwanda to visit some of Esther and David’s friends.  I might do a DTS in YWAM, why not? Maybe someday! David, Esther, and my friend Catherine talk so highly of YWAM.  There was a lot of love and support in the YWAM compound. We returned home for dinner and an evening cup of tea before bed. 

Thursday we woke up and got prepared for a secondary school outreach.  David shared his testimony, and Danelle and I shared after him.  Thirteen boys received Christ as their Savior! We went back to Joseph and Agnes’ for lunch before shopping in Kigali.  While shopping, I bought a drum for the JOAC Childrens’ Church!  I cannot wait to present it to JOAC family when we get back to Mbarara. Danelle and I heard about how Joseph met his wife, and it was a really sweet story!  He tells stories with such passion and detail, and we were really glad to hear about his love for his wife and family.  Agnes and Joseph are incredible parents and have shown us great love and hospitality. We came back to the house and had an amazing meal with fellowship and joy.  Danelle and I have had a lot of time together to laugh (and laugh hard), connect, and grow deeper in our new friendship.  We have promised to invite each other to our future weddings.  I look forward to those parties! 

Friday we spent most of the day at Joseph and Agnes' sweet home getting to know them better, reflecting, resting, and catching up on emails.  Danelle and I took Gwiza and Enocat (their children) for a walk.  It was really peaceful, and Gwiza who was scared to death of me finally held my hand!  It was quite the feat :)  Danelle and I got a lot of quality time together this day, we had girl talk, and shared bits of our stories.  We laughed a lot, and I am really going to miss her when I go.

Saturday morning we left around 7am Uganda time (6am Rwanda). We visited the house Esther grew up in, her aunt, and heard a lot of genocide stories.  If you don't know, the genocide in Rwanda was incredible violent, and the stories are horrific.  But, it was beautiful to hear Esther hope for redemption, reconciliation, and the testimony of God's goodness even through it all.  That's powerful! We reached the border, and thankfully it was a shorter process than the first border.  We took a different route home, so we could visit Esther's family, and also see a different part of Rwanda. One of the security guards didn't believe that Daniel was Esther's son, so we did an experiment.  Daniel would not go to the security guard, but gladly leaped (as well as 8 month olds can) into the arms of his mama.  It was so sweet and adorable.  We ate lunch, and then finished our trek to Mbarara. 

When we arrived, David honked the horn and I yelled, "FAMILY!" out the window.  In the distance I heard the screams and squeals of the JOAC children appreciating our arrival.  We pulled in the compound, David drove the car around to make the kids laugh, and then we jumped out to their hugs and greetings.  It was a beautiful reunion, that I waited long enough for! I made a great announcement, "Joy of a Child Children's Church now has a drum!"  All the kids were so grateful and really excited to start beating it.  They quickly asked me if we were going to go for a run, as that is the usual Saturday routine.  I was glad they asked, because if they hadn't I might have come up with an excuse as why not to. So, we went for a run, and then I passed out the bracelets I bought for each child in Rwanda. They looked "smart" (the word used when someone looks very good and presentable). Then it was about nap time, and Afusa was refusing to go to bed to take a nap, so she ended up falling asleep with her head on my thigh... my life is awesome. Later I was talking with Davin and Patrick, and the conversation of my leaving came up (one I dread and try to avoid).  Davin thought I wanted to leave, and I quickly corrected him.  Patrick, one of the the most mature boys I have ever known, simply said, "God's plan."  It was encouraging even to me, because sometimes I forget why I am leaving.  God's plan.  It's going to be hard to say goodbye (because it's hard even talking about leaving) but it is God's plan. At dinner I announced we are going to have a birthday party for Joshua and Junior on Wednesday night! The kids sounded really enthusiastic about that.  Afterwards, I gave each child a kitkat bar! It was so fun to watch them enjoy chocolate from the states; I took a lot of photos of that celebration.  Afterwards we had our typical dance party.  Everyone brought their best moves, and it came down to me and Danelle in the final two, and again she won! I have been upstaged :) hahaha. It was really enjoyable.  Then Davin led the JOAC family in some comedic skits.  He is so creative and really funny.  Danelle and I laughed so much. 

I am leaving JOAC in four days.  Then I am off to Come Let's Dance to visit some old friends for four days, and then back to the states.  When put that way it seems really close... I just pray that God uses my last week here for His glory alone. I had previously mentioned that we would be visiting an institute called New Hope, but that fell through because it's going to be a busy time for them as they have a term of classes starting this week. 

Happy Fourth of July weekend, everyone!!