On Saturday at 1 am, we boarded a bus in Kampala and headed to Rwanda. Most of the ride was on bumpy dirt roads, and it was miserable. Ten hours later, we arrived in Kilgale, Rwanda.
Rwanda is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It has green rolling hills with tons of trees and flowers. Still, when we reached the border, I felt so sad. For all of you who haven't seen the movie Hotel Rwanda, you should see it. It talks about the genocide in Rwanda. The genocide really started back in the '30s and eventually led up to 1994, when more than 1,000,000 people were killed in 100 days. We went to a museum, some mass graves, and a church where 5,000 people were murdered. The experience was haunting but important. I can't understand it.
On Sunday, we attended a branch of about 40 members in Rwanda. They meet in the home of an American man who works in peacekeeping. He was very hospitable, and it was a wonderful experience to be there. The people are incredible. It is amazing to see Christianity (especially Evangelical Christianity) spread through Africa. I believe that learning about Christ has been one of the biggest factors in helping Rwanda heal. The city is the cleanest I've ever seen. The government is functioning well. They have come so far.
The only bad part of the trip was when we went to the branch president's house to watch the football (soccer) game on Sunday night. All 17 of us left our shoes outside. Unfortunately, his dog destroyed 5 shoes in the hour we were there. That's the last time I buy Chacos. Oh well.
We were happy to get back to Lugazi. Taylor is mostly busy with business classes. I taught a teacher training yesterday. We are also working with the schools to try to create a sexual education program using school clubs. Here, no one talks with the youth, and the pregnancy and rape rates are very high. We want to educate students on local myths, STDs, assertiveness, etc. The goal is to create school clubs of a few exceptional students who can do one-hour presentations in their school's health classes to educate their peers on these issues. We hope this project will be able to continue for a long time, even when we are gone.
Hey, sounds like things are going great! I love how you are both really trying to do everything possible to help improve the lives of the people around you. You two are amazing! :)... and the other people you are working with sound pretty neat too.
ReplyDeleteNo baby yet, but hopefully soon. We have just about a week before her due date. It is not looking very likely that she will come before then or tomorrow on Taylor's birthday. (sorry about that) But happy birthday! I hope all continues to go well. We miss you!
What a very bad dog! Of course yours were among the destroyed. Dogs must find them delicious. Let that be a lesson to you: Dogs eat expensive things. Are you now just wearing tennis shoes?
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool you guys! I love hearing about everything. It's so great what you are doing and you are probably making a bigger impact than you could ever believe. So awesome!
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