Africa Schedule

This is the tentative schedule for what we will be doing in Rwanda. I just included the main activities for each day; we will also have daily worship, devotion time, group sharing, and meals. I would love any prayers or good thoughts you want to send our way.

Sunday August 3 ~ Leave Portland 8 AM

Monday 8-4 ~ Arrive London 5:55 AM 14 hour layover so we'll do a bit of sightseeing

Tuesday 8-5 ~ Arrive Rwanda - settle in and tour the city

Wednesday 8-6 ~ Street kids ministry in Kigali, visit genocide memorial sites

Thursday 8-7 ~ Street kids ministry, visit sponsored kids and families in Kigali (capital city)

Friday 8-8 ~ Women's Conference 

Saturday 8-9 ~ Women's Conference

Sunday 8-10 ~ Church, Women's Conference

Monday 8-11 ~ Teacher Training in Kayonza, sponsored kids visits

Tuesday 8-12 ~ Teacher Training and sponsored kids visits

Wednesday 8-13 ~ Art Camp and family visits

Thursday 8-14 ~ Art Camp and family visits

Friday 8-15 ~ Open-possible visit to AIDS hospice

Saturday 8-16 ~ Refugee Camp in Kajoyo (near the Burundi border, I believe)

Sunday 8-17 ~ Church, shopping, Esther home (teen girls)

Monday 8-18 ~ Final Visits, shopping, prepare to go home

Tuesday 8-19 ~ Leave Rwanda, dinner at Carnivores in Nairobi, Kenya

Wednesday 8-20 ~ Arrive in Portland 9:00 PM

Wow! When I type it all out, it seems so packed. I can't wait to just get over there and see what God has for us. It is going to be an adventure. 

Could I do it?

I've been reading a book called Machete Season The Killers in Rwanda Speak by Jean Hatzfeld. It is not a light read by any means, but very interesting. In preparation for my trip, I have read several books about Rwanda, focusing on history, the genocide, and life in general. I wanted to learn more about the place that God was calling me to. 

In this book Hatzfeld interviews 10 men who were killers in the genocide of 1994. These were men and boys who had lived in the same area, grown up together, or were acquaintances before the killings. It is difficult to read at times because these men speak of what happened in very plain terms, without a lot of emotion. They don't shy away from sharing details of what they did and how they did it. 

I've heard people say they could never do something like that, that people who committed these crimes must be evil and have no conscience. I'm not sure that I believe that. I believe that human beings have a huge capacity to be evil, given the right circumstances, propaganda, and leadership, almost anyone could be convinced that what they are doing is justified. For the most part, these men had "normal" lives before the genocide, but somehow still managed to participate and justify that it was "less wearisome than farming". 

In trying to explain why he did it, Pio, one of the men says,

"I admit and recognize my obedience at the time, my victims, my fault, but I fail to recognize the wickedness of the one who raced through the marshes on my legs, carrying my machete. That wickedness seemed to belong to another self with a heavy heart.....But perhaps someone outside this situation, like you, cannot have an inkling of this strangeness of mind." 

This really made me stop and think. While I can't fathom doing something such as hunting people, many of whom had been friends and acquaintances, down with a machete to kill them, I can't judge someone who has done it. I also can't fathom what it was like to be there and to hear the lies being told over and over and the words of the leaders being drummed into my head. It is as though they detached from themselves during this time in an effort to make it through. 

I'm not done reading yet, and I know it will continue to be an intriguing read. When I am in Rwanda, I will have the opportunity to see some genocide memorial sites and hear first hand accounts of people who survived. I hope that the knowledge I have gained through my reading will help me to process that day and to see the issue from both perspectives. I would love to see hope and light, to realize that even though humans have a capacity for evil, they also have a huge capacity for goodness, love, and perseverance despite the worst of circumstances. 

I'd like you to meet....

Claude

Edna

These are my sponsored kids from Africa New Life. Kids I'll be meeting in the next couple of weeks. I can't tell you how excited I am to meet them and spend time with their families while in Rwanda.

Claude is 8 years old and lives in the capital city of Kigali. He has a brother and a sister and both of his parents are HIV positive and will most likely die soon. He loves school and is eager to learn, especially numbers. He loves to play soccer as well, so maybe he can teach me a thing or two. I will have a chance to spend some time with him and possibly do some shopping with the family to help them get some things that they need. What an honor to get to meet him and his family!

Edna is also 8 years old and lives in the village of Kayonza. She attends the school that Africa New Life has operates in her village. She also loves to play soccer and her favorite subject in school is English. Both of her parents are peasants an were not able to send her to school. I'll also get to meet her and her family and spend time with them.

Meeting my sponsored kids is what I am most excited about. I can't wait to just hug and love on them; to make our relationship personal. It still is amazing to think that my $35 a month is enough to give them nutritious food daily, send them to school, provide their supplies, and give medical care when it is needed. Also, through one child in the family being sponsored, others are able to benefit. I love that God is able to take that money and make it go so far. I'm so thankful that I am able to help, even just a couple of families. I just know I'm going to want to take them home with me.