February 28, 2009
Today was a leisurely day
Dear loved ones,
Tonight’s email will be shorter…today was a leisurely day. We had a beautiful breakfast in the hotel restaurant but sat in the area that is open air. I had the prettiest fruit…it was so delicious to the eyes that I took a picture of it to show you.
I’m so thankful that I didn’t follow the original plan that had me arriving tonight. I would have missed soooooooooo much. I have had some wonderful times and conversations with Mary and Luci and Marilyn. That will make me feel so much more at ease when we start the Women of Faith season.
After breakfast we had a break until we were to meet a few of the team from World Vision. I enjoyed some quiet time and spent most of it thanking God for this opportunity. I am so beyond words grateful.
We met Jenny and Jess and Pamela and Shantel and had a long lunch (so far, most of the meals here have been long. I think that is a combination of the African philosophy of not doing anything quickly and the women’s propensity and love for conversation.) I ordered homemade cottage cheese, cubed, and served in a curry sauce with rice. It wasn’t terrible. I have been trying new things since I’ve been here. So far I’m 0 for all of them, but I would hate to miss something wonderful that I could only find in Africa.
After lunch, we had another short break and I read up on the history of Rwanda. I know that I will never hear of a tragedy happening on the other side of the world again and go about my business thinking that it doesn’t affect me because it is on the other side of the world.
We were supposed to go to a coffee plantation but it was too far away. I was bummed. Thankfully, they did stop at a local market where we could purchase “the best coffee beans in Rwanda.” Then they took us to a little artisan’s village which consisted of about twenty little connected shanties filled with local craftsmanship. I bought a couple of necklaces and a couple of bags made of African print for my girls. I bought a necklace with a tribal mask on it for Tucker…and a necklace with a tooth on it. (His request.) I bought Aaron and Kevin a couple of rings made out of some kind of material from here. And I bought a baby doll for one of my sponsored children. I will get to meet her on Monday and that is also her birthday! On the drive back to the hotel, I was struck with how lush and green Rwanda is. So much lovely foliage and vegetation. And it is very clean. Not what I pictured in my mind.
As we walked into the lobby, Marilyn asked if I would like to join her for a cup of tea so we could debrief and catch up. We stayed in the lobby until time for dinner. Yes, we have been doing an awful lot of eating since we’ve been here. But, from what I hear, we will want to fill up before we head out to the villages on Monday.
We enjoyed another long dinner and went around the table answering the question, “What do you hope to come away with on this trip.” I answered that I wanted my eyes to be opened to the degree that I could say, “I once was blind, but now I see.” The founder of World Vision’s original hope was that hearts would be broken with the things that break the heart of God. That is my prayer.
At the end of dinner, Marilyn got up to go to the bathroom. I said, “Let’s all be gone when she returns.” We hurriedly gathered our things and raced around the corner to await her reaction and giggle. What we didn’t take into consideration was Marilyn’s extreme socialness. She came out of the bathroom and immediately began a conversation with the table nearest her and didn’t even notice we were no longer in the restaurant until we couldn’t wait any longer and had to go get her. She never knew we had left. The joke was completely on us.
One of the best parts of the day was returning to the room and getting on AOL IM with Steve, Haven, Clancy, Aaron and my mom. For awhile, I had five open windows and was carrying on five different conversations. Thankfully, before my fingers fell off, Clancy set up a chat room so we could all talk at once. I don’t know what I would do if I hadn’t discovered Instant Messaging. I was able to catch up on everyone’s day and fill them in on mine and tell them I love them and miss them a million times.
It is after eleven at night here, so I will wrap this up and try to stay on this time zone. Tomorrow we have a little church service and then we visit the Genocide Memorial Museum and then we have a meeting with the World Vision team for them to tell us about their ADP’s (Area Development Projects) in Rwanda. They will also tell us their focus and goal for this season.
I cannot believe I will only be in Rwanda for three more days before I get on the plane on Wednesday and get home on Thursday. It has gone very quickly for feeling so long.
Hakuna Matata (They actually do say that here,)
Me
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Posted by weblion at 07:08 PM
