August Adventures

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind and I think I am finally recovering. First, on Aug. 1 the team from Black Rock arrived and we went to that far off place, Nyamasheke. Then, a day after seeing the team off I went to Goma, DRCongo, to work with the World Relief staff there for 3 days. Add two days in the office and a weekend and that's my August until now.

Nyamasheke with Black Rock

The team from Black Rock was great (but of course I have to write that because some of them will probably see this!), seriously though, they were a fun group to spend a week with. The week entailed a lot of driving back and forth on bumpy, dusty (really dusty - it is the dry season) roads but a lot a good work was done. While in Nyamasheke there was construction done on 3 homes, 12 home visits were made, and 1 half-day OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) camp.

(Home with roof being constructed)

(OVC Camp - Over 40 students attended)

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo

The Black Rock team left on Saturday, the 8th, I relaxed on Sunday and went to Goma on Monday the 10th. Goma is a different world from Rwanda, especially Kigali. Even the dry season in Rwanda is lush compared to Goma where there is little vegetation due to the several volcanic eruptions within the past century. Even the people were much different. They were more direct, whereas Rwandans tend to be more reserved.

(Chikadu's (Spelling?) in Goma - A man can't have a wife without one)

While in Goma I worked with the WR Congo staff training them on all of the tools necessary to write a newsletter. It was a full and tiring 3 days, but I was able to pass along some useful information that will hopefully help them in the future. WR in Congo does more relief and resettlement work than WR Rwanda, which is more development focused. In Congo, WR does agriculture training with those resettling their lands and also distributes food and supplies to Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) of the various fighting that has been happening in the country.

Return to Kigali

Since returning to Kigali, I have spent two days in the office working on various items wrapping up the past couple weeks as well as preparing to move into my last week in the office. I cannot believe that I will be back in the U.S. in 10 days -they are going to go so much faster than I already imagine.

On the road again...

This past week was full of wrapping up the Fullerton team, preparing for the Black Rock team and a day of staff training in Stakeholder Mgt. It was a good week for organizing my life around the busy weeks to come.

Tomorrow the team from Black Rock comes and I head back to Nyamasheke for the third and final time. It's a beautiful trip, but its a long one winding through the mountains for six hours. While the team is here we will be working in two areas: home construction and home visits.

For home construction, we bring the metal sheets for the roof of a house, windows, and a door and help the family to install them. This activity will take place in the mornings since they are cooler.

(One of the Families we will be helping through construction)

Then, in the afternoons, we will go on home visits to homes of the vulnerable in the community that the churches have asked that we visit.

After the team leaves on August 8th, I will be going to DRCongo for 3-4 days (10th-13/14) to work on a newsletter for the World Relief office there.

I'll fill you in on the trip to Nyamasheke upon my return. Let's hope no more rats crawl on me in my sleep again.

The night the rat crawled on me...

...is towards the end of the events that I am about to tell you about.

I have not written for three weeks but is has gone so quickly! There have been so many things happening here that, until now, by the time that I had a free second to write, I was too exhausted; exhausted in a good way though. The last time I wrote was just before we had an African Child’s Day, WR Day of Service, and WR Day of Prayer. Now all of those things have happened, I have traveled again to Nyamasheke (see previous posts), and the Fullerton EV Free team has left.

Some of you will want to know all of the details I can provide, others want a brief overview of what I am doing. I do not want you to feel like you must read everything below, so I will break up the different events so you may easily browse. ENJOY!

African Child’s Day (July 8)

African Child’s Day (as you may have already understood) was a day devoted to the children of Africa where there were various speakers, skits and poems devoted to fighting child abuse. Many children in Africa are abused in ways that we do and do not understand. There is verbal and physical abuse, but children are also forced to fetch heavy containers of water and can be expected to do much of the work around the house. These chores may even keep them out of school for days, weeks, or years, at a time. There were over 300 children and parents present supporting this day. I even held a rabbit!

WR Day of Service & Prayer (July 9-10)

For the World Relief Day of Service we put a roof, windows, and doors on a house, cultivated a field (with hoes), and pruned banana trees. It was a great day that the staff really enjoyed. I have to say, after cultivating for an hour, I woke up with a sore back the next day. I also almost took a machete to a rat that ran out of the house towards myself and a group of people (I held back though – thought it could get messy).

The next day, we had a Day of Prayer. It was a good time where the WRR staff to joined together and prayed for each other, WRR, and WR internationally.

Trip to Nyamasheke (Again) (July 14-15)

I also took another trip to Nyamasheke to finalize the plans for the Black Rock trip (they come Saturday, the 1^st – SO SOON!) I was able to meet with the pastors again and also see the homes that we will be working on. It will definitely be an interesting time of construction: I climbed up some steep hills just to see the houses with no supplies in tow. Overall, the trip was productive and I will return for my final time on August 2^nd with the team.

Team #1 – Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, CA (July 18-24)

The team arrived on July 18 and left yesterday. They came to work with a camp that World Relief was putting on for 96 Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC’s) that they support. It was a psychosocial support camp that provided life lessons in leadership, communication & HIV/AIDs, as well as Biblical lessons. The team did a great job connecting with the kids and really made a difference – they were very sad when the camp was over after 4 short days. God was great (as He always is) at orchestrating the schedule. Obvious reasons/justifications surfaced for every lapse in the schedule or a planned activity that could only have been God ordained.

Now…..

The team is gone, I am relaxing for the weekend. This coming week was/is my trip to Congo for my first stab at putting together the WR Congo quarterly newsletter. This may/may not happen . Staying true to African time, I will start to plan my week on Monday/Tuesday. If I go, I will go Wednesday to Thursday. The Black Rock team arrives Saturday, August 2, so I will also be busy this week planning for their arrival.

I am loving my time here, and am sad to see it quickly fading away. I am at a point where it is actually feeling like home (for the most part) and am surrounded by good friends who I enjoy hanging out with when I am not busy with work and teams (unfortunately this is not as often as I would like). The next four and a half weeks are going to fly by and then I will be back in America on American time.

Oh – and the RAT that crawled on me…

I was lying in bed at the OVC Camp falling asleep when I felt something scurry up my leg and arm over my blanket. At first I thought it was a gecko (we have many of them and they had been in the room the night before) so I threw my blanket in the direction of the movement, got out of bed, and turned the light on. When I looked down, I watched a rat scurry out of the room. Let’s just say that I was sufficiently grossed/creeped out but had to force myself to go back to bed. I think it was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do – getting back in that bed and falling asleep.

One Slow Week, One Busy Week

This week has been busy, a big change from last week. With two events this week, it was/is crunch time. Tomorrow is the WRR Staff Day of Service which I am in charge of. The pieces are coming together and it will be a great day of serving together. I have been so busy pulling together details for the Day of Service and the African Kids Day that was today that I have had no time to update until now.

As for the 4th of July in Rwanda - most of us Americans spent the afternoon at the embassy eating hot dogs and hamburgers and other American things. Simultaneously, over 10,000 Rwandans were on the other side of Kigali at the National Stadium celebrating their Independence Day (actually July 1) and their Liberation Day (July 4). It was a busy day in the city.

Last week was pretty calm. There was a traditional Baby Naming ceremony for Iranzi on Tuesday and a movie screening at the National stadium on Friday. Other than that, life was relaxing.

Today, we had the African Kids Day in Masaka and hundreds of children and parents were present. The government theme of the day was Child Abuse Prevention. Groups from schools and care groups competed in poems and skits (the prizes were rabbits and Bibles) and local officials were there to give talks.


Outside of work, it has been great getting to know a new country and culture. I am finally to a place where I feel comfortable enough getting around the city on my own by almost any (safe) means of transportation. It is a good feeling to be fully comfortable here. More and more young people continue to arrive and are starting to form a summer community which is fun.

I will write more soon - as soon as this crazy week is over.

Upcoming Festivities &Trip to Nyamasheke

This week is shaping up to be a week of festivities. Today will be quiet, but tomorrow (Tuesday) we are having a traditional baby naming ceremony for Iranzi who is now a Smith! Wednesday is a national holiday here - so there will be no work - and then Saturday is the 4th of July. I get to celebrate Saturday at the embassy with all of the other Americans here - should be an interesting time. I will tell you more about these things as they happen.

My trip depicted below (in the previous post) was fun - but windy. As you can see in the pictures, there is not a part of this country without hills. Winding through them was tiring but the views were amazing. Once I arrived in Cyangugu we stayed at a guest house overlooking Lake Kivu, which is a beautiful lake bordering Rwanda and DR Congo.

We also met with a group of local pastors in Cyangugu and discussed the needs and desires of the churches there as they relate to serving the most vulnerable (mostly widows and orphans) in their congregations and communities. Shelter is a common need between them all and the churches have worked to build many homes for the vulnerable - the only problem is the cost of the metal sheets for the roof. It is a tricky balance to want to provide the sheets for them, but to not create the expectation that they will always be provided. When it comes down to it though, help from outsiders begins to inspire hope and meaning in the communities, and that hope and meaning do phenomenal things, even after the team has left.

Below is a picture of a woman and her children who had a home built for her. She now has two goats that she breeds and gets milk from, a rabbit, and has built herself a kitchen and a latrine. This allows her to be active in her community through visiting widows and the poor and encouraging others. As many others like her are inspired to do the same sort of work through the support of outsiders, communities begin to be changed.

Trip to Nyamasheke (In Pictures)

It all started in Kigali as we made our way through Butare on our way to Cyangugu.

We crossed through hills of farmland as we went south to Butare.

Then, after stopping for lunch in Butare, we found hills and hills of tea plantations.














Bordering the tea plantations was the forest which we passed through as saw chimpanzees and baboons.

After the hills and hills of forest we arrived in Cyangugu where we stayed overlooking Lake Kivu.

Then, we did everything backwards the next day.
(all 6 hours of it!)

A Week in the Office

(View from the Office over the Hills)

This week was spent in the office getting acquainted and adjusted to the work I will be doing all summer. It has been great to meet the staff and be in fellowship with a group of people so different from myself. In the many activities I am helping to plan and facilitate I get to work with a wide array of staff members which I am enjoying.

The current schedule of events I am planning/trips I am leading:


July 8 - African Kids Day in the Sector of Masaka (Where the Water Project was)
July 9 - WRR Staff Service day
July 18-24 - Fullerton EV Free Trip to help with a camp for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs)
First Week in August - Black Rock CC to a distant village (6 hours away) working with OVCs and a housing project

I am also working on newsletters, and excitingly was asked by the World Relief office in the DRCongo to write their quarterly newsletter. This will require me to travel to the DRC at least once, if not twice, to gather stories of World Reliefs work there and to produce the final draft.

This coming week I will be on the road traveling to the sited for the two church trips coming up. It will include a day trip to the school where the OVC camp will be held and a 3 day trip to Nyamesheke, the distant village where the Black Rock group will be working. I would love prayers for safe travels as I am on the road for the majority of Tuesday morning through Friday afternoon.

Other than that, life is good. I am enjoying being submersed in a completely different culture and enjoy the challenge of working on a mostly Rwandan staff. Event planning on 'African Time' is definitely a different experience though.

Tomorrow I will visit the Genocide Memorial, which will be hard I am sure. It will be interesting to see how my perspective on Rwanda and its people will change after seeing this part of their history.

I will try to keep you updated on my ever-filling schedule. This summer is shaping up to be more and more exciting by the day.