I’m in Africa! Rwanda to be exact.
And if I’m honest, going to Africa was never a dream of mine like it was a lot of my squad mates’. I loved Haiti and I loved Latin America, and I was foolish enough to think there wasn’t enough room in my heart for yet ANOTHER culture and continent.
But…after being here only a week, I can confidently say, boy oh boy was I wrong. Africa just seems like a whole other ball game all together. The music, the colors, the big smiles, the way God has filled these people’s hearts with joy. I also feel like God has renewed in me an excitement and a joy that I may have lost somewhere along the way in Asia. It just feels like this is going to be a good season.
So, speaking of new seasons, for these next three months in Africa I will be with a new team made up with old teammates and some new. Here is a picture of Team Kwitanga from our first day of ministry, or our “First Day of School” if you will 😉 :
(From left to right: Jennie Kate, Erin, Gracie, Me, Lydia, and Katie (bottom row)
This month my team is working with Pastor Moses and his church, Gospel Center Ministries. In the mornings we are working in the church’s Kindergarten school, and in the evenings we are preaching in Pastor Moses’s two different churches (#newthings). This month we are blessed to be able to stay with Pastor Moses and his family in their house, and it’s been so great to be able to live with a family in their home. Moses and his wife have 5 children: ages 9, 6, 4, 2, and 3 months, so you can imagine how fun that is.
Here is a story that will tell you a little bit about Pastor Moses’s personality…
On the first day we arrived at Moses’s house, he told us that there was a traditional Rwandan ritual that they did to welcome all new guests into their home. Sounds great, right? Well, here’s the ritual: First our team had to line up, with Erin in the front because she’s the youngest. Then, one by one, we to take off our sandals (in a very specific way), and put each of our feet into a bucket, and then take them out (in a very specific way). In fact, if we messed it up somehow, we had to start over. As we stood in line, we were not allowed to talk and had to keep our hands in a praying position. Once everyone in the line went through, Erin led us in a processional of sorts as we had to make a lap around the house while she carried a clay jug on her head. Once, we made it around the house, Erin set the pot down and we each had to jump over the pot, take our shoes off, and enter the house. The whole time I was thinking “This has to be a joke…is this a joke?? Moses is funny and seems like he might play a prank on us, but this could also be very real.” But of course I couldn’t actually ask our host that and risk the chance of being incredibly rude.
Well…once we all gathered in the living room, having been fully “cleansed” by the ritual, Pastor Moses had a good laugh telling us that indeed…it was a joke, that had also been captured on video. Needless to say, we are excited about this month spent with him. 
All of us have also been given Rwandan names for the month by the church members, and mine is…wait for it…Kamikazi. Before you jump to conclusions, it means princess in their language, Kinyarwanda 😉
Also, here’s the background on our team name. Kwitanga is a Kinyarwanda term that means to give your all, even your life for a cause. As this is our last three months on the Race and our last continent, our team wanted to give everything we have to these months. Being in Africa is such a gift and a dream for many of us, and we wanted to treat it like that.
So, to leave you, here are some pictures from the Kindergarten school. So far we’ve experienced lots of drums and lots of dancing during their free time. 🙂
Until next time!
<3 Marisa
