African Baby Showers and Football

So the other day I was invited to a party in celebration of a families baby who is the director of Y.F.C in Rwanda, Jean Babtiste, and as the party was supposed to start at 2:30 and I arrived late which in one circle might be considered normal for me and a fault of mine. I showed up at almost 3 and found myself to be the first arrived guest. So after about 15 minutes of chatting with the director the rest of the party showed up. I did feel pretty out of place being the only non African person their and not understanding any of the Kinyarwandan language they were speaking. It was time to eat so I grabbed my small plate of rice, potatoes, vegetables, and bit a meat which turned out to be goat and began eating. As I was finished J.B. told me that I needed to try another kind of meat that he said would be more tender and enjoyable. As I looked at it I knew that this did not look like normal meat and when asking him what it was he said, "It is good, just try it". So I put a piece in my mouth and began chewing. It was tender and chewy and kinda had a burnt taste. It was not the worst thing in the world but something I did not feel like eating more of. After many attempts at persuading him to tell me what it was he finally said, "Oh, the meat, It is just goat intestines". And I said "Oh, Ok, Its pretty good". He then went on to explain the delicacy that goat meat is and I did not eat another mostly because I was so full. The party went on with speeches from some guests and the hosts and then we finished up with singing and dancing which I for the most part awkwardly watched in amazement as people sang songs and dance. It was very entertaining.
I also had the opportunity last week to play soccer with some guys who work for different NGO'S or Embassies in Kigali. They called themselves Muzungu United which stands for white man because everyone on the team was white. There were guys from all over including Russia, Germany, France, and America. We played a Rwandan team on this field that was all dirt except for one side had a skinny 40 ft patch of grass that had not been cut in a long time and was about 2ft tall with mounds of ant hills situated in it. It was a different experience from the pitch I was used too playing on in the states but it was a very fun time even in a 4-3 loss.

Happy Valentines Day to all.

Broken

"You hear O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; You encourage them, and you listen to their cry. Defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more". Psalm 10:17-18
I had the opportunity to visit the Genocide Museum in Kigali last week. It was quite an experience that I find hard to put into words. I was able to get a much better understanding of the history of this country though and the events that taken place. When we first started the museum they showed us a bunch of mass graves that held over 250,000 thousand people that were part of the million that died as a result of the Genocide. It is really hard to comprehend that many deaths in such a short period of time. As you begin to get a glimpse into what happened back in 94, the injustice, and how people have dealt with it since, or lack there of, it does make it easier to put together the pieces of where the state of this country is at. As I have learned about what has happened in Rwanda and what has happened and is happening in other countries in Africa, I realize more and more just how Broken a world it is that we live in. It his hard to comprehend and relate to the possibility that anyone I see over the age of maybe 25 or 30 has seen their family or friends killed or has killed someone. It has been interesting to slowly hear stories of how people had to watch their brothers, sisters, parents, husbands, and wives get killed. There is still so much to learn about the needs of this country. It is poor just like most of Africa and I live in the city which is supposed to be developed and have not even reached the villages yet. The effects of Genocide play a huge part in its development. People are not educated and there are not enough jobs. My gatekeeper or watchman at the house leaves his wife and kids from the village in Northern Rwanda so that he can get a job here earning a couple bucks a day to provide for his family.Everyone comes from the villages to try and find a job. Orphans, widows, and poverty are a part of life and it only gets worse. Children need educated for change and that is the true blessing of this school and the kids that get to go to it.

Bonjour!

I have arrived. It was a long trip but I finally made it to Kigali International airport around 9 Saturday night Rwandan time. It began at Dullus International Airport outside of Washington DC from there it was almost an 8 hour flight to Brussels Belgium and after a 3 hour lay over another 7 hour flight straight to Kigali. After saying Goodbye to Dad at the entrance to the security check point I found myself racing though many emotions. I felt excited and nervous, confident but a little scared, unsure of what in the world I was doing, yet sure that I was where God wanted me. I was headed to Africa. I stepped out of the plane to feel the rush of warm air hit my skin. I smelled chocolate in the air and thought this place smells really good but quickly realized it was probably the dessert from my airplane dinner that decided to jump of the spoon and rest itself on my shirt. After walking down the stairs and across the open pavement to the airport, I waited in a long customs line, grabbed my baggage, and met Brad and Kiki Burnfield. Here were my missionaries that I had talked to once on the phone and several emails and finally got to meet them in person. They are great. Oh and they are Taylor grads...what are the chances?? So after getting to their home we sat and shared our favorite stories from college. We talked about old Taylor traditions, friends, people we knew, and everything we loved about going to TU. I was tired and it was time for bed. The next morning came very quickly as we woke up at 7 a.m. to head over to Kigali Christian School where Y.F.C. was having the last day of a leadership conference for all the ministry leaders through out Rwanda. After being introduced to the director of Rwanda Youth For Christ, Jean Baptiste, He introduced me to the whole group of about 50 ministry leaders and had me share what I was going to be doing for the next 3 months. As I spoke in English he translated it to the language of Kinyarawanda which I found was the dialect that most people speak along with French. I can not understand what anyone says here. Even people that I meet that can speak broken English are hard to understand. I sat and listened to a man named David Kidalli from south Africa speak about leadership in ministry which was great because he spoke English and it was in a very pleasant British Accent. Then we had a Church which included communion and then it was time for a group picture and Lunch. Lunch was great. It consisted of the usual Rwandan food of rice beans and potatoes, but we also had peas and chicken liver, washed down with a coke. After lunch we had the normal Sunday afternoon of rest and relaxation which was much needed and highly anticipated. That night we went out to dinner and it was the Burnfields and I along with David Kidalli and this wonderful family named the Changs that I met which I have to take a few sentences to talk about. The Changs were staying in Rwanda for about two weeks and arrived a few days before I did. They were 1 month in on an 8 month educational adventure that will take their 3 boys through pretty much half the world including parts of Africa, eastern, and western Europe. They are great. It has been a joy getting to know them. We were blessed to have them take us all out to dinner for Indian food in downtown Kigali. It was fantastic as we ate food and talked about life in Rwanda along with the boys favorite activities and food that they missed back home. I was tired and day 1 was over. Do not worry I will not make every blog this detailed but I just started writing and kept going. Thank you for all of your prayers and support. It is such a blessing to have. You are missed.