Rwanda, Rwanda, Rwanda. What a strange but incredible week. I went in with expectations, but like God most often does He took our trip the completely opposite way. Here is a little overview of the week:
Day 1- Saturday: Set out on our bus for Kigali, Rwanda. Four hours outside of Kampala we broke down. We then sat there for 12 hours while we waited for another bus to come and pick us up. That was the first little curve ball. We had planned on getting to Kigali early Saturday morning to get acquainted with the city and find a place to stay. Instead, we arrived around 11 at night and had to find our way in the dark. We finally found this church that had quest rooms. Sleep.
Day 2- Sunday: Woke up and went to an internet cafe in hopes of finding a place to stay. Afterward, we went to the genocide museum. It was beyond sad. It is hard for me to imagine that there is so much evil in this world. It reminded me that there is such a huge battle going on and I need to be a light in a very dark and evil world. We then went back to the church. We had discovered that morning that the language barrier was almost insurmountable. People in Kigali only speak Kinyarwanda or French. There were only a few people we came in contact with that spoke decent English. We also realized we were going to be spending a lot of money on housing. We had exchanged money in Kampala and were already almost out. We were extremely discouraged and wondering if we were even supposed to be there. Then we just sat down and prayed. We took time to give it up and seek God. We then decided to just go to a slum called Gatenga we had found on the internet. When we got there we spent a few hours just loving kids, handing out hot dog buns and hanging out with a family that welcomed us in to their home. It was such a blessing and rejuvenated our hearts and our joy. That night at the church I thought about my entire year in Africa and how God has been constantly faithful. He had once again proven His faithfulness. I stood in awe of Him.
Day 3- Monday: Once again discouraged. We had run out of our initial money. We started thinking about leaving early. Isn't it crazy how we so quickly forget how faithful God is? Anyways, so we once again were freaking out and again decided to just give it up to God. We then decided to go this other slum that we had found on the internet. It had worked once. When we got there we realized it wasn't a slum at all, instead it was one of the richest areas of Kigali. We started walking and found a ministry called PEACE Plan. We decided to go in and we talked to the guy in charge. We asked if there was anything he knew of that we could do and he made a call and told us he would get back to us. We left and went back to Gatenga where we had gone the day before and we hung out with the same family. We then got a call from the guy at PEACE Plan telling us to meet this pastor guy that evening. My cousin had also put me in contact with a guy he had met a few years back named Arthur so we were going to meet him as well. We went to coffee and started talking to the pastor who we called Pastor Jackson. He started telling us of a school he runs and how he would love for us to come and help him out. Then Arthur came and it turns out he had worked with PEACE plan for a few years and also knew the guy we had first talked to. He now works for an NGO called Living Water and knows a good friend of Kyle (one the guys I was with) who we had been in contact with before we left. Crazy. We decided to put out our need of a place to stay because staying at the church was eating our money. Arthur then spoke up and told us we could crash at his place.
Day 4, 5 and 6: We ended up staying with Arthur for the next three nights for free. The pastor paid for most of our dinners. We had each spent over 60 dollars each in the first two days. We spent around 20 each the next 3 days. GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!!!! How do I ever doubt Him? Arthur took us in and told us everything we needed to know. He drove us around the city and introduced us to a lot of people. He was such a God-send! We spent the next three mornings working at Pastor Jackson's school. We quickly fell in love with the kids there. There is so much that is needed at the school, but the pastor is doing such a great thing. His heart is amazing. Please pray for him as he tries to run this school and a church with barely any resources or support. We were able to buy a few supplies for them. We also spent the afternoons in Gatenga with "our family." There was this adorable baby named Esther that we all fell in love with. We got to buy her shoes our last day, but she treated them more as food than something to wear. Oh well, she liked them. :) As three guys we had a such an incredible time together. There was so much laughter and many deep conversations. I am blessed to know them and call them brothers!
We left Thursday night sad to leave Rwanda but also excited to get back to Kampala where we feel at home and we are known and the people speak English. There were thankfully no problems on the way home.
God is so incredible! I am so thankful for the experience and being able to see more of God's world. I went in expecting a very impoverished city but found Kigali to be a very nice city with great infrastructure. God showed me that I don't have to just look for the poor. The slums don't just need Jesus. Everyone does. Just because I am somewhere nice doesn't mean the hope of Christ and the love of God should be neglected. As I go back to America God is challenging me to love and serve everyone and spread His hope! I will end this post with the greatest understatement ever: "God is good!"
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