Life in Rwanda....

There is always more to tell about life in Rwanda than I have time for, so I usually resort to the pictures that I have to tell the story.  Today, I'm posting this in the middle of a torrential downpour with some small hail.  We do get some fairly regular rain, even though it's not officially the rainy season.  Fortunately, having grown up in Arkansas, an out-of-the-blue hailstorm doesn't faze me too much!  However, what I'm not as accustomed to in the "on again, off again" power that occurs some days.  Sometimes it can be frustrating, but other times it is just plain comical.  Frustrating if you are trying to send something to print on the printer....but other times it is downright funny.  After power was off and back on for the 4th time in 10 minutes the other day I finally just laughed out loud.  If I'd had any of my girlfriends around to share it with we would probably be hysterical with laughter in the floor.  (Really, what choice do you  have at that point?) Sometimes the absurd things in Rwanda just catch me off guard and I don't know if I'm laughing at how inefficient and backwards some things are here or laughing at myself for my American ideas and expectations of how things should be!

 

Today's downpour and hailstorm...

A few quite minutes with Gary on our front porch last Sunday...

 

Last week Brain spent a couple of days outside of Kigali with a medical team from Little Rock who were doing medical evaluations and creating medical charts for hundreds of students in schools sponsored by African New Life and the sourrounding schools and greater villages.  They labored at this for about 8 days, but were rewarded at the end of their time with a trip up to Musanze and a great morning of trekking the mountain gorillas!  Brian literally had some young gorillas brush up against his leg while they were playing! 

 

We get afternoon rain every few days, but you still can't rain on Merritt's parade...

 

The kids continue to help give a hand to the Rwandan students who are giving a facelift to some of the cottages on campus... (not sure how Palmer got selected for ceiling painting...maybe he drew the short straw, or maybe he just has the longest arms!)

 

Example of a local "soccer ball" that most of the village kids will make and use. Made of platic bags and tied up with twine, this one is about half the size of a traditional soccer ball.  A little boy in the village was very happy to sell it to Brian since it brough a good price!

 

One morning I sat outside the gates on a boulder across the street and just enjoyed watching all the people go by.  LOTS of potatoes grown in this region, so you always get to see plenty of those and you just never know what you might see that day...

 

Many of the local English teachers in the area will come to the campus on nights or Saturdays to take advantage of Enlish instruction that is made available to them on our campus.  They are charged with teaching Enlish to their pupils, but many of them know very little English themselves!  Here they have an excellent instructor, Francis, and also have access to the Rosetta Stone program on laptops. So after a long day of teaching or on their Saturday, they walk, ride a bike or take a moto ride here for a minimum of 4 hours a week of instruction.   However, many don't have the technical skills to use the Rosetta Stone program very well, and we just happen to have some teenagers that are very saavy on the computer!  Here Lawson and Palmer are in the classroom assisting the teachers with Rosetta Stone...

 

 

Car and tire problems just come with the territory here!  With the condition of the roads, the tires take a beating.  Had to send this tire in twice for repair last week, so when Russell and Gary went to Kigali for business on Monday, the Jeep also got a new set of tires!  It doesn't have power steering either, but they just work around that!?!  (Fine by me, as long as I don't have to drive!)

 

Brian, Bethany and Palmer are skyped into the 6th graders at PA last Friday night.  The sisth grade had just finished a unit on Africa in Mrs. Fischers class, so she asked if they could do an interview during Xperiod.  Luckily we had internet and were able to pull it off.  The students had great questions...

 

Gary mentioned the deaf school in his last post.  It's fun to see that kids here are so much like kids everywhere...just showing off for the camera and wanting to be cool...

 

 

My picky eaters have had a hard time, but we do get some great foods here.  Some familiar and some are new to us.  There are actually 4 varietys of bananas (who knew?) and here we have either the small, yellow, sweet kind that are similar to what we get in the US and also very common is mutoke (larger, green bananas, which have a tate and consistency a little more like a potato).  We grow some of the small ones right here on our campus, along with many other veggies that grow in the gardens.  Also popular are passion fruit, which is tart and you just spoon out and eat the whole insides including the seeds.

 

Fresh pineapple, mango and a fruit that is similar to a tomatoe that you also just scoop out and eat. 

Delicious brown eggs also!

 

Freshly made "peeli peeli" (sp??), which is sort of like a tabasco for all kinds of foods here.  Almost everyone loves it, but it's too hot for me.  It is made from these small orange peppers that are grown here, cooked down with oil and Cheryl has them throw in some carmelized onions!

 

And lastly, our adventure from yesterday, a trip to see the endangered golden monkeys that also live on the same slopes as the mountain gorillas.  We rise early, head to the visitor center and get to watch some traditional Rwandan dances, meet our guide, drive to the trailhead, hire porters, then we're off on a beautiful hike up the last of the fields of the local farmers (waving to farmers and children along the way).  Into the national forest (i.e. jungle) we go and finally arrive in the bamboo forest where the trackers have been waiting for us to view a large family of monkeys (about 115 in this family).

 

Well, the sun is out now!  And we are about to head off on another adventure tomorrow...going into the "big city" of Kigali to visit the genocide memorial, lunch, then to the airport for a flight to Nairobi, Kenya.  Going to visit one of Gary's cousins and his wife, who have lived and worked in Kenya for nearly 2 years.  They work with an orphan care ministry, FIrst Love, as well as an AIDS organization and a basketball ministry (he was a college player and a high school coach).  Hopefully I will have pics for you next week!

 

Hebrews 12:3 (ICB)

Think about Jesus.  He held on patiently while sindul men were doing evil things against him.  Look at Jesus' example so that you will not get tired and stop trying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sunday Afternoon at Deaf School

The Jones family had a great couple of hours at a nearby deaf school this afternoon. As opposed to the children at the disabled school, these kids (some of whom are young adults) can function at a very high level. Unfortunately, there are not very many schools for deaf children in Rwanda. The director told me that his school is only one in five deaf schools in the country of Rwanda; his was the first.

 

 

Lawson, Palmer, Merritt and Bethany were an instant hit as soon as we showed up. Someone rolled out a volleyball and there was an instant round of "hot potato" that lasted for about an hour!

 

 

In the rear of the property, the school keeps two cows for milk. We were pleased to hear that they serve the milk to the kids instead of selling it for money (as many Rwandans do). Protein and calcium is important for the kid's brain and body development.

 

 

 This little guy heard all the fun we were having and decided to sneak a peak. I heard something moving in the bushes behind me and this little guy came crawling out! He is obviously a Buzz Lightyear fan (see his shirt)! After taking his photo, I showed him the image on my iPhone. As I was walking away, he said, "thank you" in a precious, soft voice. The people of Rwanda are incredibly friendly, but the little kids that are every where just steal your heart!

 

 

 

 

 

The week in pictures....

As always, a big hello to our friends and family,

we think of you often and enjoy trying to keep up with everyone through email and social media.  We don't often have time to reply or to call, but we love knowing what happening back in the states.

I don't get pictures of half of what I'd like to in order to show off this beautiful country and let you in on what's going on with us, but here's what I've got this week...

Love the sunrises here!  Usually clear in the morning with clouds and some rain later in the day.

A quick visit from Emmanuel, a brother of one of the Rwandan presidential scholars who we hosted two summers ago.  It is always a pleasure to meet the families of our Rwandan "sons".

A Rwandan Baptist church just a short walk from us down the highway.  Generally the service might run from 9am-1pm!  We went from about 10-11:30 and were all introduced through a translator.  Lots of singing and dancing as numerous choirs preformed!  This is both a time of worship and one of the only social gatherings of the week.  I particularly liked the children's choir!  However, we left before they even got to the message, which we wouldn't have understood a word of anyway...

My sad attempt to carry my bag on my head as the Rwandan women do.  All I needed was another 40 lbs in the bag and a baby on my back...I am going to need more practice!

On Sunday evening we were able to watch our home church "live" in Little Rock thanks to Lawson getting us set up on the technology end.  It was great to see some familiar faces (Terry Jones and Bruce leading worship!) and have a little taste of home!

On Tuesday we were able to visit the St. Vincent home for disabled children (which is operated by a Catholic church in Musanze).  The nuns and staff do a great job, but they can always use a few more hands to help feed and care for the kids...and most especially just to interact with and love on them.  The kids are a wide variety of ages with a wide variety of physical and mental handicaps, and a couple who appear to fine but are orphans.  

We spent more than an hour just playing ball with those that could (you would be absolutely amazed at how some of these kids with severe leg deformities can still get around on crutches...it is amazing!).  We blew bubbles for them to chase and pop and Lawson and Brian gave "airplane rides" until they were worn out!  You have never seen such happy faces!  Hopefully we will get to go back numerous times during our time here in Rwanda.

Above, Brain is with a man named John Peter, who is a volunteer at the home every day.  He knows enough English that we could enjoy visiting with him and he was a big help to us in connecting with the kids and knowing what to do, since he knows the kids well.

We specifically went before lunch so we could help with feeding the 30 or so kids who live there.  All of the kids get a hot bowl of a grain (that looks similar to rice) and some chopped greens (like collard greens).  Probably 8 or 10 of the kids cannot feed themselves without assistance, so we could help with that. At breakfast they get a bowl of porridge and if they have enough food they will also get a dinner that is similar to lunch.

Several of the younger children loved playing with Bethany's hair!

Thursday....Gary and I traveled with the Raineys and the 5 other board members who were visiting into Kigali for meetings.  The main highway had a large mudslide in the rainy season (fall) that they are still trying to fix that can hold up traffic at times.

First, we went to the US embassy to meet with the US Ambassador to Rwanda and some of his attaches. It was a very interesting and informative meeting.  No pictures because they took all our electronics at security!  So far it has been the only air conditioned facility I have visited in Rwanda.

Next, a fabulous asian lunch at Zen restaurant i Kigali with the Rwanda Minister of Infrastructure, Minister "Albert".  Lunch was great and Minister Albert is an incredibly intelligent, speaks excellent English and is a great leader in his country.  He oversees infrastructure, housing, energy and the like...a huge responsibility.

After lunch, Gary and I spent a couple hours shopping at the Nakomatt (like a mini African Wal-Mart??) and the "mall".  Then onto our final meeting...with the Prime Minster of Rwanda in his office!  On our way to the Prime Minister, we also had to stop for President Kagame's motorcade to pass right by us on his way through town.

Left to right...Minister Albert, Mike Robinson, me, Steve Bardwell, the Prime Minster of Rwanda (with a name too complicated for me!), Gary, Mickey Lavender, Cheryl and Russell Rainey, Tad Krug, Shelby Woods and Jerome (works under Minister Albert).

Back at the Musanze Opportunity Center, when the kids have free time and the weather is nice, they enjoy soccer (futbol)on the lawn and often some of the Rwandan students or staff will join in.

Of course they also enjoy playing their favorite sports, so the boys are frequently throwing the football or Bethany is practicing volleyball.

Below, Lawson is helping the construction students, James and Olivier, work on repairs and painting in one of the cottages.  The walls must be scraped and holes filled first before painting can commence.  Over time, each of the cottages will get a facelift so they are ready to rent for visitors.  So please come and visit us at the MOC, your room is ready and waiting!

James (left) and Olivier (right), cleaning up after a day of painting.  They are great young men and our family enjoys their company.  Often they will join us on outings as our translators.

Yes, we are still chipping away at schoolwork in our "online" classroom.  Palmer is the only one who has science labs, since he is in Chemistry, and he has it all organized and ready to go.

Hopefully I can introduce most of the incredible MOC staff over time.  Here are Setee (our chef) and Protais (a cook and kitchen staff) working in the kitchen.  All the bread is homemade here and you can see the dough rising in the bowl.  Behind it there is an empty muffin tin from the incredible banana muffins that are made here daily.

One of my favorite things to do it just to go across the street from our gates and hang out with the kids who are walking down the road.  They are just adorable!  Generally they don't know much English, but we try to visit anyway.  They are carrying "maize" stalks that will be their lunch...both the raw corn and then they also peel the stalk and chew on the sweet center, similar to sugar cane.  Again, older siblings, as well as mothers, will carry the babies around.  These are all girls...since all the children must shave their heads to go to school, I often can only tell the boys from girls because the girls wear skirts.

Last, there are other American families in Rwanda, and Bethany is lucky to have made a friend in this precious Lydia.  Some of you who have been to Rwanda may recognize her as the daughter of Drs Caleb and Louise King.  Yesterday they invited Bethany to go swimming at the pool (rather cold pool!) of the local hotel in town, then for lunch, then Lydia spent the night with us.  Bethany sorely misses her friends at home, but God is so good to have given her such a delightful girlfriend who lives not too far from us.  Because Lydia has grown up primarily in Rwanda, she also speaks the language...how cool is that!?!

This morning (Sunday), we took a village walk through our "neighborhood" with some of the folks from our church who are in Kigali for two weeks teaching and encouraging some local pastors and their wives.  They came for a short visit to Musanze this weekend for some R and R...then back to work this week!  

Below, Gary is showing his disappearing coin trick to some kids on the highway.  As we take a walk he gathers a bigger and bigger crowd who are in awe of his magic!  He finally breaks down by the end of the trek and shows them how to do it!

Ladies working in the potato field adjacent to our campus.

We usually turn off the highway and go through the back roads that cut through the farms.  This is the first time I have seen a truck on the "road"...it had come from the quarry with a full load of sand and dirt...all excavated by hand.

One of the homes we passed on our walk...you can see the erosion taking toll on the mud brick.  Sunday must be  laundry day because we saw many things hanging out to dry.  On the right is the families' pile of gravel.  The women and children break larger stone into gravel with hammer and then can sell it to a truck that comes by periodically...this is another source of income for the family.

Just outside our campus we have this enormous tree that Gary calls the "tree of life".  Historically the village leaders would meet under a tree like this one to have their meetings.  The tree was also symbolic because you can break off its limbs and roots, but it continues to grow and repair itself.

And to say goodbye for now...Brain Langford practicing guitar.  He is headed to Kigali today to join a medical team from our church who is going out to some villages to do checkups on children.  I'm looking forward to hearing more when he returns in a few days with the medical team when they come to visit us!

P.S.  We are planning to wake up at 2am tonight to wacth the Superbowl with all of you!

Love to all! To God be the glory, great things He has done!