The past few days have been filled with many blessings. On Thursday, my team and I drove to Kinigi in northern Rwanda, to view a volcano and the Congo border. The drive was beautiful and we were all in awe of the scenery. We had lunch on the way, and dipped our toes in the sand. We joked on the way home that we basically drove a couple of hours to take some group photos, because we really only caught glimpses of the things we drove to see. The border was too expensive to cross and the gorillas too expensive to see. I know we were all grateful and happy for the chance to see more of Rwanda and just to have a fun day together. Here are a few pics from our excursion.
Later that night, we returned to our Pastor’s friend, Donat’s house. We shared a meal and each stood up to say our favorite part of the day. I learned that the whole day was Donat’s idea. He said he prayed about what he could do for us and this is what he felt led to do. He provided our transportation, and paid for everything. I was very touched and moved, as he wasn’t able to join us due to a leg injury he was recovering from. Pictured below is Andrew, Donat, and Pastor hiding behind the mug.
On Friday night, my team and I went out to dinner and returned to find Pastor and his whole family waiting for us in the living room. They had set out gifts for all of us and we were all deeply touched. He had been telling us for some time that he wanted to give us Rwandan names. He called each of us up one by one and presented us with our names. Each one corresponded to one of his children’s names. The Rwandan name he gave me is Kaitesi which means, ‘one who is pampered’. Very funny I thought…( As much as I don’t want to admit that I am, while sitting here writing this, one of his daughters just came into the room with fresh fruit and water for me. Guess I am pretty pampered!) We then were each given gift baskets and a piece of artwork. It was a very sweet time together, where we each thanked them for being such an amazing family, and they each had a kind word to say back to us. I’m pretty sure I had a perma-grin the whole night.
Today is our last day here and I just want to soak up every moment and every green hill I can look out and see. I am going to miss this family I have come to love, and I’m probably even going to miss the long hike to church. I may have to return again someday, but for now it’s time to get packing for Uganda. Much love my friends!
