My parents are so brave. They, along with roughly 60 other parents, flew all the way out to see their baby (that’s me) in Rwanda for “Parent Vision Trip” at the end of February. My dad kept the children we worked with giggling and my mom showered the older generation with love. They worked so hard in the dirt and the rain and had humble hearts the entire time. My mom walked in so much boldness and shared the love of Christ with a crowd of Rwandans (with the help of Pastor Moses translating) AND agreed to write this guest blog for me with zero hesitation. I am so proud to call them my parents and I thank God for the incredible week we had.
Stay tuned at the end for a little video snippet and pictures from our time together!
I Understand Now!
Do you remember as a child how excited you were on Christmas morning? That’s exactly how I felt when Janine invited us to join her for a week on the World Race for a Parent Vision Trip (PVT)! It didn’t matter where it was going to be, we were IN! I’m pretty sure many of you (parents) felt the same way. We would make it happen no matter what we had to do. For me, I had to make sure my mother was taken care of. She lives with us and is 93 and as sweet as can be. Thank goodness for fabulous friends and family.
Passports and Immunizations: Check!
Carry-ons, personal items, and Janine’s Packing List: Check! I would have worn the same outfit every day in order to get Janine’s things to her, or wear her clothes! Check!
Rwanda, we’re here! I was so excited. We arrived a day early so we could rest after the long flight and so glad we did. Everyone at our beautiful hotel was extremely nice and helpful, the food was great and the scenery was magnificent!
The next day went by slowly while waiting to go to the airport to meet up with the other 50 parents to be bussed to the guest house where we would see our Racers. I was so excited I couldn’t stand it! JB and I sat at the coffee shop for a few hours after a walk. The Rwandan coffee was delicious. So delicious that I couldn’t stop drinking it! That’s okay, I thought, because Janine will want to stay up late and talk and get caught up and I wouldn’t want to fall asleep on her.
The Welcome was so joyful!!! Everyone was yelling and waving and smiling and happy and it was so wonderful to see Janine for the first time in about 7 months! Our beautiful daughter! I didn’t want to stop hugging her! Our first night on the PVT had begun and I didn’t want it to end! We ate a delicious dinner with some of Janine’s teammates and their parents and it was great getting to know everyone and hearing wonderful stories about Fatier, Josiana, and Yohana, just to name a few! Then it was time for bed. The Racers had set up Tent City, but we were fortunate enough to have an extra bed in our room! No tent city for Janine! No! Wait! I don’t want to go to bed! I want to sit outside and talk about what’s been going on for the past months, and tell Janine what’s been going on, and look up at the stars, and talk about the rest of the week, and life! (Remember, I drank an entire pot of Rwandan coffee)! Woops! So I tried to sleep. What’s that noise – I’ll look out the window! Another noise – I better walk outside and see. Then I heard the pots and pans of breakfast preparations! A new day was dawning… in Africa. Bring it on!
“This is the World Race!” was what we would say if there was no water, the toilets wouldn’t flush, or after a cold “bucket shower”. No one complained! We know what our Racers have been experiencing…and sometimes much worse! Our accommodations were probably 5-star to them but to me our accommodations were meant to help me realize what we always take for granted back home. We were happy, blessed, and full of joy!
We did so much last week and still had Quiet Time. I’m not very good at Quiet Time.
We went on walks to town. I loved seeing the brightly colored dresses; the HUGE bunches of bananas; the hundreds of Motos (I had never heard of a Moto. It’s essentially a motorcycle-taxi. You’d never get me on one of those back home!); the beautiful smiles; the adorable children; the mom’s with babies on their backs. The countryside is lovely, the people seem happy, and Janine was thrilled to have us there. God is Great!
We visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial. It was extremely sad, but educational. “The memorial is the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi. It’s a place for remembrance and learning. It honors the memory of the more than one million Rwandans killed in 1994 through education and peace-building.” For the rest of the week, I found myself thinking about every person I saw and wondered if and how they were affected by the genocide. It seemed the younger people were happiest. The elderly people seemed to have a deep sadness about them.
We helped dig trenches alongside the locals to help with water flow, played with the children, passed out water, shared snacks, and gave out toys. We planted Christian seeds. We won’t see if they grow, but God will. We did our best at communicating. Janine was very helpful; she picked up the language quickly. The people of this community were appreciative for our help and it was hard to leave when our work day was over. I was appreciative for the opportunity to help. We wanted to keep working and do as much as possible. Digging in the dirt is hard work and I enjoyed every second. I loved the gatherings and prayers at the end of our work days when we were all together. Thank Goodness for Pastor Moses. He was with us the entire time and had several churches in the area. He translated for us. We were doing more than digging trenches. We were praying, building relationships, and sharing God’s love!
It was so exciting to attend Pastor Moses’ church and sing, dance, pray, and celebrate in Christ together. Some other highlights of our trip included a day on a safari, an evening at Niyo Cultural Center, where street kids in Rwanda are taught skills like drumming, dancing, and art. Janine, JB, and I even rode on the back of a Moto (”If Carmelita did it, I will too!”)! Our meals were delicious, and I never got tired of beans and rice. As Janine says, “It’s all about the sauce”!
The entire week was an amazing experience that I’ll never forget. I loved being with Janine seeing her thrive, loved hearing her stories, loved seeing her celebrating and dancing and singing and praying. It all came so naturally.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to be with Janine and the Racers and Parents for this week. What a journey! I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Enjoy your last four months, Janine! Spread the gospel, be bold, be humble, and be happy and blessed! You inspire me to be a better Christian. You are a Joy and a true child of God! I understand why you all are so happy! God Bless You! You are living Mark 16:15.
I’m so proud of you Janine. I love you!
Mom
