I have been living in Konombe, Kigali. A ten minute walk from the Presidents house where the plane was shot down. The wreckage is still there. No one touches it. The hotel featured in Hotel Rwanda isn't far away. If you want history to become more real to you, go to the places where these things happened. It puts everything into a different perspective when you are standing on the site of a war. Or somewhere like the Killing Fields in Cambodia. To stand under the same trees. These things are so recent, you can still find bullet holes in the wall.
Despite these things, the people of Rwanda are unfailingly generous in their hospitality and the care that they show. There are many beautiful believers here who serve their community with abounding grace and humility. The sweet concern they show for the well-being of their guests is truly touching.
Our time here has been spent preaching as guest speakers at many different churches several times a week. We also met with prostitutes and did a lot of house-to-house visits, preaching to, encouraging, and praying for the different people we met. We were privileged also to be able to speak on the radio once a week. Honestly, public speaking is not my favorite thing to do. By far. I just don't get a kick out of it like some people do. It was definitely a stretch for me this month to not just give a testimony (that's been a common occurrence this whole race), but to come up with a message, some would say a sermon, to present to a congregation or large group. Sometimes I wondered why these people were so willing to listen to this young person whose only experience are the experiences of my life that I was speaking about and relating back to God's goodness and grace on my life. I just spoke about what I knew. My struggles and hardships. The darkness that threatened to consume me in my circumstances, and the light that illuminated the way out. I spoke about the truths I know about God, even if I don't always understand them. God can use anyone to speak if they are willing. That being said, my kind and gifted team-mates did a lot more of the talking than I did.
There is also a lot of dancing involved in an African church service. "You're not Rwandan until you dance" is what I was told. Children here are born with a natural sense of rhythm and can sway and stomp in time with the beat better than I can. One of my favorite moments this month was dancing outside with all little kids under the light of the moon. These memories are my souvenirs.
