Finally arrived, settled in and loving Rwanda!

 

Hello and love to all our friends and family from the beautiful Land of a Thousand Hills,

also known as Rwanda. 

 

We departed on our journey on January 8th....6 passengers, 6 carry-ons and 12 checked bags at the Little Rock airport!  I was so relieved when we were checked in and on the flight. 

 

After weeks of packing and preparing, we are finally on our way to the airport with 4 trunks, 2 suitcases, 6 duffles and 6 carry-ons...minus 2 dogs!

 

It takes two suburbans to get us to the airport, so my dear friends Shanon Greer and Deborah Roberts were kind enough to oblige...hard to say goodbyes, even if for just 4 1/2 months!

 

My uncle Buddy and aunt Caroline Finley came to the airport to see us off.  We were also joined by Brian Gilmartin and his son, who prayed over our family for a safe travels and an incredible and useful experience in Rwanda for each of us.

 

However...our first stop was London for four days, then to Paris by train for two days, before making the final part of our long journey to Africa.  It was rather cold in Europe, but we managed to take in many of the sights...here are a few highlights...

 

 

 

We spent our fianl night at the London Heathrow Hilton hotel since we had to wake up by 4am to once again check in all of our bags (many of which had been in storage) and catch a 6:30am flight to Amsterdam.  From there we had an hour to clear security again for our 8 hour flight to Kigali.  After an already long day of travel, we still had two hour bus ride from Kigali into the mountains of the northern provence to the city of Musanze.

January 16...finally arriving in the capital city of Kigali, Rwanda...

 

In case you are wondering exactly where on earth we are, maybe this will help...

Rwanda is a tiny east African nation that is home to around 11 million people.  It isapproximately the size of Rhode Island (or Northwest Arkansas).  Because it's close to the equator, sunrise is always 6am and sunset is always 6pm.  The only real change in seasons is whether it is a rainy season (heavy rains in the fall and also some rains in the spring).

The capital city, Kigali, is located in the center of the country.  We are staying in the north just outside the town of Musanze (on the map above it is called Ruhengeri....the names of some areas have changed multiple times!).  It is a beatiful area at the base of the Virunga Mountains, which is a series of volcanic mountains and home to the mountain gorillas (that Dian Fossey studied and protected...she is buried nearby). Because we are at a higher elevation, our temperatures are always around 60-80 degrees F.

 

Last June we had a great time treking the mountian gorillas with Lawson and Palmer. 

 

 

 

Because of the eight hour time difference it can be hard to sleep the first few days, but I do get to enjoy some lovely sunrises over our campus with the mountains in the distance.

 

We spent the first couple days getting moved into our cottages, resting and taking in our new surroundings.  Brian Langford is rooming with Lawson and Palmer in the cottage next to us. The hammocks on the front porchs are a favorite place to hang out when we have down time.

 

 

 

 On Saturday when the local kids are not in school we took a walk around some of the village that surrounds the campus where we are living.  Once you turn off of the paved two lane "highway" that runs by the campus, you simply wander through the rough and uneven dirt roads that run between houses and farms.  Along the way we gathered quite a crowd of children following us...some with shoes on, some without, some older siblings carrying young brothers or sisters on their backs (this is how the mothers carry their youngsters as well).  Occasionally  some of the very young children are afraid of the white "muzungus" and will keep their distance, but most are anxious to hold a hand and use the few English greetings that they know.

Above you can see Bethany walking through a sorghum field.  Some of the kids will have a stalk in their hand and eat the berries from the plant or even the stalk.  Sorghum is a grain that is very common here and most Rwandan children grow up eating sorghum porridge every day for breakfast.  They also grow quite a bit of maize (a tougher, less sweet version of corn) and can also be found eating it straight off the plant as we walk along the raod...instant snacks! 

 

Merritt is standing in front of mud bricks that are drying in the sun.  This is also very common to see because the people are constantly having to rebuild their homes since the mud brick houses will deteriorate in as few as 5 years with the heavy rains that they get.  The bricks are made of a combination of red and brown mud and rocks from the riverbed that have been pounded into gravel by hand with hammers.   You can also see a wood frame behind him that will be used as a frame for the new room that is to be built.  The people in the area will to make all or part of their living selling their gravel, bricks or crops, as well as selling the milk if they own a cow or goat.

 

 

Lastly, I rode a bike into town with the Rwandan staff who is in charge of the kitchen when he went to the local vegetable market as well as the small grocer.  I didn't get enough pictures to do it justice because often times the people don't want pictures or want to charge you for them.  The ride there and back is an adventure in itself, as there are cars and buses barreling by, as well as other bikes (with no brakes) and many motos (basically motorcycle taxis).  I will try to get better pics of all of that another time!

 

 

And finally a hammock rest after a long day....

 

More next time about the kids and the Rwandan students and staff who we live and work here.  Internet has been spotty, (and there are occasional brown outs because there isn't enough power production in the country yet), but as we get the kinks worked out I will try to post more often!

 

Eph 2:10

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared

in advance for us.