Month 7 and I am living in the hills of Rwanda… Literally. Our house is in the middle of the hills and we get to walk up and down just about everyday. (The hills mixed with the “squatties” has provided nice new tone to my legs) The view from the front porch is one of my favorites from my time on the race. Around us, there is a soccer field, our church and tall trees, which sort of dance in the wind during the storm. Day and night, the sky is full of planes taking off and landing at the airport nearby. To top it all off, there’s a clear sky full of stars. (An advantage to limited electricity, there are no lights to pollute the night sky)
We were welcomed with open arms after our first experience on a nice long African bus ride. Pastor James and his wife Olivia are our contacts this month, but to us they have felt much more like loving parents. Add in their three young boys and we have a great Rwandan family for the month.
Hospitality is a common theme seen around the world. So many cultures put forth such an effort to ensure our comfort. “You are free.” We are encouraged to live as if it is our own home; crazy thing is it doesn’t take long to feel as if it really could be. As the great Kaleena says “Home is where the backpack is.”
Bucket showers,
squatty potty (the silly toilet as Pastor James says),
bread, butter and egg for breakfast
noodles, rice, beans and fruit for lunch and dinner,
one bedroom for the girls and another for the boys (though Samson and I opted to sleep in our hammocks on the porch a large portion of the month)
and a wonderful living room with couches, (something I didn’t realize I valued but have learned a community room with comfy seating is a luxury)
The setting was pretty standard to past months but my time in Rwanda would rank top five of my time on The World Race.
Our ministry = preaching
Wednesday evening and Sunday mornings we would take turns bringing the Word, usually two each day in order to fill the time. None of us have quite been able to master the lengthy sermon of African standards. During the weekdays, the plan was to participate in door-to-door ministry. Unfortunately, it is rainy season and the people of Rwanda tend to pause their lives during storms, which limits our opportunities. This provided for great team time, lots of reading, movie watching and learning more about one another.
We did get to build a trench at the nearby school and were each given a classroom to teach for our last week in the community. Ministry is what you make it and should never be “turned off”. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, you are an example of your Father. Even if that is just ministering to one another while stuck in the house for the third consecutive day of rain.
In order to keep these blogs short and sweet, I thought this one could just set the scene of the month while the few that follow tell more of a story.
Rwanda was a beautiful introduction to Africa.
