Almost 2 months!

Well another week has come and gone.. I can’t believe how quickly my time is going. I have been here for almost 2 months officially! I have had quite an amazing time here and am glad to still have 3 months left.

This week I went to Kayonza again to film serge and a man from the community as they went to fetch water. Mike came along with us and was nice enough to catch some photos of me on the job! I definitely enjoyed it and I am so thankful to do a job that is not just behind a desk. It was so fun to have kids join us on the journey. It is definitely different working here than at home!

I also got to visit a lot of people this week. Nicole, Jean Paul and I went outside of Kigali to visit Sincere at his new school. We got a lot of attention because not many white people visit there. In the words of Sincere it was a ‘miracle’ that we went. We also got to visit a memorial at a church by the school. The church was just full of clothes from the people that were killed. Blood splattered the walls and you could see bullet holes and holes from the shrapnel that flew from hand grenades that were used. After we walked through the church we made our way to the back where they had mass graves. Our guide talked about how many bodies had been buried there as we followed the guide we stopped and I looked down and saw that there were steps to go inside… I took a deep breathe and we walked down these steps into a cramped and very dark “grave”. We walked down and saw piles of bones and skulls as far as your eye could see. On the way back to the bus stop I was walking with Jean Paul and expressed how thankful I was he came with us to the memorial even though it must be hard for him. He said that it was no problem and that he used to have a hard time going because memories of what happened would flood back but not anymore.

As we walked along the road he told me a bit more of his story and then in the bus I showed him one of my favorite songs by Brooke Fraser called Albertine. It is a song about Rwanda and what happened here. I haven’t actually listened to it yet, - I was waiting for the perfect time…. And what better time was there than this?

Mike and I hung out with the guys again on and this time we played Frisbee with them! I also visited a lady from Ubuzima at her home and went to visit Jean Claude (and his puppy!!)

We have a visitor this week from America. She is looking to come long term to start a school for kids with special needs. She is here for two weeks to meet with some people and see what she can do here. It has been nice to make a new friend.

Well photos are continually keeping me busy and my relationships are continuing to grow! It is good to be here!

Thanks for reading… now… enjoy some photos!!