Hetty's musings from Kigali

Hello, dear family, friends and supporters -- Greetings from Kigali, the capital of Rwanda! We are all here, as you can see from the other postings. We had a rough start to our trip when the group was divided at Heathrow airport on Saturday night. Thankfully, we are all together now. We had a good experience in the city yesterday -- Gary and Brian Cooper both wrote about the meetings with Parliament member Juliana Kantengwa, and Lutheran Bishop Kalisa. They are each very committed to the development of Rwanda, and that was quite inspiring to hear.

Rwanda is finally beginning to get some development money and resources....it seems to me that it took the tragedy of the genocide to get the world to notice Rwanda at all. There is so much construction here in Kigali, everywhere you go. There is also a mix of well-educated, "Westernized" Rwandans wearing western-style clothing and who speak fluent English along with less-educated, very poor Rwandans who dress in beautiful African fabrics (the women) and may speak French but certainly speak Kinyarwanda, the national language. People of Tutsi and Hutu heritage (although it is much more complicated than that) are intermingled everywhere, just as they always have been. I can't help but wonder who is who....but that is not part of the Rwandan way anymore -- everyone is Rwandan. I have seen a number of adults and teenagers with missing limbs, using crutches...I wonder if they are some of the "scars of the genocide" as Juliana referred to the fallout of that national experience.

I had a nice experience in the Market yesterday -- a young boy, Christian (about 7 years old) liked the fact that I said hello to him in Kinyarwanda ("amakuru") and also liked my butterfly tattoo on my shoulder (that is a great ice-breaker, I am finding out!). He playfully touched my shoulder, and I touched him back -- we played a close-in game of "tag" for a few minutes. It was a nice moment of connection.

Today we travel to Kibungo to meet with Pastor John's community that he is working with to foster reconciliation and development. I don't know when we will start "building bricks" -- but I am looking forward to it -- to having a task to do, and not just being a tourist.

A set-back for the group is that we may not be able to go on the Safari in Tanzania, due to cost prohibitions. We have a meeting this morning to discuss our options. My learning challenge on this trip, so far, is to "go with the flow" (not my gift) and not worry about what's not going right, but instead appreciate the gifts that God is giving to me and to the group through this experience. I really look forward to getting out into the countryside, and meeting member's of John's community.

Well, this post has gotten quite long, so I will close. We may not have access to internet for a few days while we are in Kibungo...but then again, maybe we will! We shall see what awaits us. I pray that we continue to be safe and healthy (no digestive issues for anyone yet!) and be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit, both through the positive experiences AND the challenges that come our way. -- Hetty