Hello all! Tonight it’s all good news! OUR LUGGAGE HAS ARRIVED!!! ALL OF IT! All 6 people who had bags lost or taken off the carousel have now received them! So I have my gifts for Uwezo Jean Paul in time for tomorrow. I am just so thankful and thanking God, and all of those who have been praying for me.
While my luggage has been having adventures in Brussels, I have been wandering around the Rwandan countryside! Yesterday morning we had a gorgeous drive through the countryside (and a rainstorm and fog) out to a village near the Ugandan border. This place is very near the national park where you can go to see the famous silverback gorillas. We found out it is $500 US to go there, so it would be a bit out of my league anyway. So instead we went to a Compassion Student Center at an Anglican church. This church was like no other church I’ve ever seen, though. Placed at the foot of the park with its 3 volcanoes, this church had a floor of dirt – and volcanic rock. Quite a challenge to walk over for us. But the kids DANCED on it! They did these amazing traditional dances in costumes. These very young kids were so very talented with song and dance, and they welcomed us so warmly. We heard how malaria, AIDS, genocide, and malnutrition affect this area too, but all the Compassion kids were healthy, happy, and really quite enthusiastic about our visit! We feel like rock stars. We got to do a home visit again, and this 12 year old boy wants to be a clothing designer. His mother takes in alterations so I am sure that had an influence on him. He had taken paper and folded it into tiny fans and hung them from the ceiling to decorate the home for our visit. One of the greatest privileges on these visits is to pray for the child and family. You realize their prayers are for things not that much different than ours – health, having needs met, safety and education of their children, and spiritual growth. And you realize when you look around that they ask amidst much more challenging circumstances than we face. And when they receive their answers, they know that all they have comes from the hand of God.
We had a unique chance to visit The Cottages, a unique program within Compassion for “total orphans” – children who have lost both parents. Some parents were lost in the genocide. These are not orphanages, but more like group homes, with a “mother” who has committed to caring for the children until they are grown; so it is much more like a family situation. We visited one of the homes yesterday, and one today, and had a simple lunch at the one today of hard-boiled eggs, bananas, apple juice, and a sweet bread that tasted like it had banana in it. We were told the children chose the menu from among their favorite foods. We heard brief summaries of their lives before coming to the cottage – some were alone, some in groups of 2 or 3 siblings, some living on the street and begging, some living in a home about to collapse and trying any way they could to stay in school and yet work to make a living (as a child!). As a result, some of them are late teenagers just finishing primary school. They are committed to staying in school as long as they can. They sang for us and welcomed us warmly, though we really were invading their home (how would YOU like to be an orphan and have to re-live the early horrible years of your life with random white visitors?). The kids do understand that sharing their stories may help other kids like themselves to get help. Some of them even said they counsel other orphans to have hope in their difficult situations. One of the house mothers was an orphan herself and is now giving back to help others like her. She was amazing and had so much wisdom. We asked her how to care for such a large number of teenagers, and she said it wasn’t easy! But she talked about teaching them to reconcile differences, listening to them and learning what they wanted and what their unique personalities were, modeling and teaching them love.
Last night we stayed at an Anglican retreat center near the national park. Most guests were there to go to the park – it’s really more of a hotel. I pictured dormitory style accommodations, but we had larger beds and down comforters. Apparently the altitude was really high and it was very cold at night, so we needed them. Beautiful views. Pictures to follow.
We went to another student center this morning, this one nearer Kigali. And, Jay, you are probably not surprised, but I sponsored another child there! Her name is Cynthia, and she is 8 years old. She is sweet and shy, and LOVED the simple bag and a few gifts I gave her (including a Colts t-shirt!). She kept holding it up by her face whenever we took a picture. It was a short but wonderful visit, and at the end, although she had said barely 2 words to me, told me she loved me and promised to write.
There was ethnic dancing at this center, too, and I will post some videos when I get home! These kids are really talented. It’s amazing what you can learn to do when you don’t have video games.
We got back to the hotel, and I got to shower and put on ALL CLEAN CLOTHES and my contacts, and I feel like a new person! After a relaxing dinner we put all our bags and gifts together for the big day tomorrow when I get to meet Jean Paul! I will be giving him this computer, but hopefully I will be able to post on someone else’s laptop in order to keep up the blog and let you know how the day went. I am excited and nervous, and I imagine he is feeling the same right now. Hope we can all sleep!
Love to all,
Brenda
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