Hello friends 🙂
We’re going on week two in Rwanda! Since I’ve started the Race, there have been many times I’ve thought, “I just wish (enter so and so’s name here) could be here with me to experience this”. A lot of times on the Race when I’m experiencing a beautiful sunset or walking to church down a dirt road with cornfields on either side or holding the hand of the most precious child, I want to capture that moment so I can remember it forever, but also so I can share it with you. This is the first month I’ve been without consistent Wi-Fi or service on my phone, but there’s been something really freeing about experiencing these moments and not having any way to share them, at least not until the next time we’re able to get Wi-Fi. It’s like they become my moments to cherish and there’s not the pressure to share them with anyone else. It also allows me to soak in those moments a little more than I would have been able to if I had had my phone out.
Anyway, since I don’t have any of you here with me now, I thought it would be fun to have you “virtually” experience what a typical day here in the outskirts of Kigali, Rwanda looks like for me. 😉
To start the day, I usually wake up earlier than I plan to the sound of children screaming and playing outside of my window. That’s because we live with Pastor Moses and his family, including his 5 children. They’re super cute so I’m not usually too mad. I’m lucky enough to get my own bed this month, and I share a room with my teammates Katie and Erin. We say we have princess beds because we sleep with bug nets that resemble canopy beds. Ha. If it’s a good day, after I wake up I might go for a run with one of my teammates down the dirt road that looks something like this (the weather is always perfect here, FYI):
Then I’ll take a bucket shower, have some quiet time, and have breakfast with my team (pictured below). Breakfast usually consists of bread, pineapple, bananas, eggs, and always this really yummy tea that I’ve actually started drinking instead of coffee (crazy, I know). It’s one of the things I’ll have to bring back with me to the States. My team has been reading through the book of Isaiah together, so we usually do that during breakfast.
After breakfast our team heads to the school to start ministry for the day. It’s a bit of a hike to get to school because- fun fact– Rwanda is very hilly. Once we huff and puff our way for about 15 minutes we start to hear the familiar chants of “MZUNGU! MZUNGU! MZUNGU!” and we know we have finally reached our destination as we are greeted by the cutest Kindergartners you ever did see. We stay with the kids until about lunchtime helping with lessons, doing some Bible lessons and games, and LOTS of running around, playing tag, and hand-holding. After school, we walk back home always in good company. We usually walk hand-in-hand home with some of the students, and once we go our separate ways, our hands are not empty for long before they are scooped up by another child.
Once we’re home we eat lunch, which always consists of potatoes in some form (again, not complaining). Then we usually have some kind of meat, rice, and veggies with it. After lunch, we usually have a few hours free in the afternoon. These house are usually spent a number of ways. Sometimes we hand wash clothes, or prepare a message for church, or take a nap, or play with Pastor Moses’s kids. During this time we also try to have team time. Then around 5pm we head to church for another round of ministry J
Pastor Moses has two different churches that we have been helping out with. There is one larger, main church and also one smaller church, newer church that holds its services in the school building. Every Tuesday-Friday night we have a worship service and a different person on our team gives a message at church each night of the week. Transportation can look very different for us depending on the day. Usually we’re walking, but if we’re going to the larger church we may take motos into town (my personal favorite means of transportation) or might squeeze into Pastor Moses’s car, or even take the public bus (just be prepared to add two additional hours to your ETA).
When we arrive at church, the music has usually already started. We can already hear the drums and the singing even before we get to the building. The service always starts with worship and DANCING. Let me tell you about this dancing. I’d always heard that Africans worshipped through dancing, but it’s a whole other thing to experience it first-hand. It only took about one service before they started calling our team up to dance with them. After we sing and dance, someone from my team will give a message and it will be translated into Kinyarwanda. After the message, we’ll usually sing some more, pray, and then give lots of hugs and handshakes with the church members before leaving.
After church, we’ll head home, usually after getting some popcorn sold on the street if it’s a Wednesday or Friday. We’ll usually eat a late dinner and pass out pretty early because, well, we’re always exhausted by that time.
So there you have it. A day in the life of a World Racer in Rwanda. Basically, if you ever get the chance to come to Rwanda…TAKE IT. That marks the end of your virtual tour. Thanks for stopping by!!
