Muraho from Rwanda!

Muraho from Kigali, Rwanda! I have had quite the day here and plan to detail it in the post below. I know it’s not a Sweater Vest Wednesday, but I think you will forgive me. Murakoze!

So, the day started with 4 hours of sleep the night prior. We arrived in from London via Nairobi and didn’t get to our place (the Solace Mininstry Hotel) until around 12:40 am. I was finally able to fall asleep at 2 am and was awakened around 6 by roosters and concrete workers…so fun! However, I was feeling ready to spend some with Jesus and face the day…by the way, the coffee and fruit here is FANTASTIC!

After a great breakfast, we headed to the Rwandan genocide memorial. It funny thing here, the Rwandans would like for the Muzunga’s (white people…heard that about 200 times today) to see them at their worst so we can appreciate them now. This is what that tell Jimmy (Papa Kazunga!) when he comes here. It’s amazing how something so far away at the time becomes so real in a matter of hours on a plane. EVERYONE here still feels the effects of the genocide, which happened just 17 years ago. I won’t go into all the gory details, but there are kids who are 19-24 years old who watched their parents get brutally (and I mean BRUTALLY!) killed. I was in 8^th grade at the time, so people my age and older still hold this in very recent memory.

After this memorial, we went to visit a church where the Tutsi’s fled to in order to find refuge. The Priests pad locked the compound after they got in there and 10,008 (3 times the amount of people who died on 9/11) died on the premises. The church is filled with the clothes, bones, and skulls of the victims. It didn’t matter, the Hutu’s where out for extermination. Very sobering time there also.

Then we proceeded to go buy some rice and beans for the pygmy village which we will be seeing tomorrow afternoon. About $600 USD will feed this village for a very long time. While there, many of the locals were gathering to check out my Vibram esque finger shoes…I was basically being laughed at. While Jimmy, Jonathan, and John (our translator) and a Pygmy pastor where negotiating pricing, Paul and I entertained the locals who had gathered. Paul was betting local teenagers that they couldn’t lift 2 120 lb bags of rice. Paul kept his money, but hurt his bicep whilst trying on his own.

Then we went to one of the happiest sad places I have been. River’s orphanage (PEFA). Once we walked in all of the kids started screaming, PAPA KAZUNGA! This is what they call Jimmy because he is River’s papa. Paul and I, 2 white people who had never been there, where also met with kids hanging all over us, wanting to take pictures, and dancing for us. Their English was much better than I expected, but their shear joy was incredible. The hope and love that these kids expressed, compared to the day in London where there was a huge lack of that, truly showed me that God is alive in this place (not that he isn’t in London, but the people here love Him). The hardest part was knowing that This Is Africa (TIA!) and that there isn’t a quick Americanized fix for these kids. Naturally, I wanted to call some government agent to come and fix the situation or bring all of the kids home. While this trip is quickly confirming God’s call on us to adopt, I now see why River’s Promise does what they do and I have a tremendous amount of respect for how Jimmy and Jonathan do what they do. Patience and consistency is what is needed here…mixed with a huge heart for the orphan.

This morning, we are heading to see an even poorer area of Rwanda, the Pygmy village. I will post another update tonight or tomorrow morning.