So bad puns are my favorite (sorry, not sorry). Here is an update that I wrote about a week ago to give you all an update from Rwanda!
Happy 4th of July! Our team, team Alawei- for a song/chant thing Racers do with kids and as a play on going “all the way” (because it’s our goal to give everything we have all the way to the end of the Race), is doing our best to look and feel patriotic. Coolly enough, today is the Rwandan Liberation Day so we get day off too.
We have had two days of ministry so far. They’ve been super long, but I absolutely love it. Our “typical” (because what even is typical?) day starts around 7 with quiet times and then breakfast at 8. Breakfasts are bread, butter, bananas, pineapple, and Rwandan black tea (I have never been much of a tea drinker but I enjoy this one). At 9, we take the hike to school. I say hike, because it’s about a 10-15 minute walk on a dirt trail that winds its way up a hill.
School: what a wild ride. Heritage school is a school that Pastor Moses started after he saw his kids’ friends just watching him take them to school. It is a kindergarten for the local kids who can’t afford typical school fees.
Day one: one of the teachers didn’t show up, so Brooklynn and I jumped right into leading top class (around 6 years old). Honestly, it was a blast. Completely insane, but a blast.
Day two: we were down a teammate (sick), so I went into the baby class (3-4 year olds) to cover. I walked in and was asked, “you good to teach?” What else do you say other than yes? I was scrambling for a few minutes ( a) I didn’t know what they knew and b) the littles don’t speak really any English and I don’t speak any Rwandan) but we went over some of the alphabet and learning individual numbers and it was a good time.
Afternoons: we teach from 9:15-12 and then come home, eat lunch, and rest until 2. At 2, we head to the bus stop (~40% of the way is straight up hill- basically we’re going to have great calves at the end of this month), it’s about a 20 minute walk and 15-20 minute bus ride into the city. Then we walk another 10 minutes to the church. Many of the born again churches in Rwanda have been shut down. They have been targeted by the government creating laws of building codes of mandatory requirements for each church to have. Things like needing a parking lot despite maybe only 1-2 people in a church having a car and not being allowed to use mattresses for sound proofing but having to use a specific, expensive material. So we’re helping paint the church to do what we can to get it up to code.
So far, I really love it here. The sunshine is amazing, we walk on red dirt roads to school, to the bus, and to the church. Ministry can be long, but I love the craziness of the kids and the chill/labor of painting.
Hope all of you are doing well!
Hailey
