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.

umuzungu!

noun: a white person


When driving anywhere it is impossible to not hear cries from the street of 'Umuzungu!', especially in areas out of the city, like Masaka-where we were working on the water project. Any child near the street starts shouting 'umuzungu!' and chasing the car, trying to catch it.

This past week I have been busy working with the Mars Hill team out in the field. All of the projects were finished and they flew out today. It was a great time of community between the Rwandan and American volunteers and I enjoyed watching relationships form even though there were language barriers.

As for me and the language, it is a work in progress. I am determined to try to pick up as much as possible though!

This coming week I will begin to settle into planning and preparing for the future groups to come as well as our staff retreat weekend. I am excited to be in the office and get to know those on staff with WRR and work alongside them in planning for the summer.

One thing on my immediate to do list:
Ride a moto! - motorcycle taxis that are all around the city. They are the only for of public transport to take you to your exact location. Should be an adventure!

Greetings from Rwanda!

Hello everyone!

I made it to Kigali and hit the ground running. After flying in Thursday evening local time, I went, the next morning out on the field with the team from Mars Hill working on the Water Project. The project has two main components, a rain water catch system (made of gutters and a large barrel to catch the water in) and a sand filtration system (a smaller 150L. barrel filled with layers of gravel and sand used for filtration). These are installed at local churches, homes, and schools for the communities to use.

Rain Water Catch System

Sand Water Filtration System

Most of the day I spent following Myal (my mentor) around between sites (the team was split between two churches) and learning about the team, World Relief Rwanda (WRR from now on) & what my position will entail. It was a good information download and introduction to my summer.

Today I am going shopping in town with the team and Myal and then out to dinner with the team and the Smiths.

The weather here is gorgeous, sunny, 85F and slightly breezy. I enjoyed this morning on the porch, reading and journaling (I just learned this is not a real word - m-w.com), with my cup of coffee.

Off to shop!
More later,

Taylor