Well, I’ve been in Rwanda for one week plus two days and seen and done so many wonderful things. I was supposed to meet 3 of my teammates in the airport in Brussels, but boarded the plane without ever seeing a familiar face, thinking I was going to Rwanda alone and hoping Mark and Anna would be at the airport to pick me up, even if the other three didn’t make it. Luckily, I found Peyton, Kat, and Bob on the plane and we were all warmly welcomed by Anna and Mark at the Kigali airport. We arrived to a wonderful homecooked pizza dinner at Tom’s house where we sat in his amazing gazebo looking out over the entire city. We spent the next 4 days touring the town. We visited the Genocide Memorial which is just as gut wrenching the second time as the first. We opened Rwandan bank accounts and bought Rwandan cell phones. I feel so legit! We ate at lots of delicious restaurants, our favorite being Car Wash, which, as you might have guessed is both a car wash and a restaurant (with a salon and gift shop as well). After getting well acquainted with Kigali, we drove a most beautiful two hours to Musanze, my home for the next ten months.
Musanze (formerly known as Ruhengeri) is the most densely populated town in the most densely populated country in Africa. There are people EVERYWHERE! Musanze is very different from Kigali. Kigali is much hotter, more city-like, and has way more Muzungus (white people). We had a little dinner party on Friday night, and practically every Muzungu in Musanze showed up. There were 12 of us, including the seven B2R volunteers living in this house. Here’s a quick rundown of my teammates, in alphabetical order:
Anna has been living in Musanze since August (with a trip back home to Arkansas for the holidays) working at Sonrise School. She has made tons of Rwandan friends and is our liaison for most everything around here.
Bob has his hands full with “the kids” as he calls us. He is like a dad to all of us and saves the day at least once a day. He will mainly be working with construction projects including a house where he will move with his wife upon its completion.
Griffin flew in a couple of days after the rest of the crew and handled his jet lag like a champ. Being from California and going to college in Maine, he is loving the southernness of the rest of the team. He will be working as a consultant at Ishema Hotel here in town.
Kat is only with us in Musanze for a little while as she will be stationed in Kigali. She will be welcoming any of B2R’s visitors and taking care of them for their stays in Rwanda.
Mark has been in Rwanda since October working as business manager and going on all kinds of crazy adventures. He is a fellow Clemson grad and the son of the people who own the camp I worked at in Colorado. Small world.
Peyton will be working with Anna and me at Sonrise. He recently graduated from Arkansas with an Information Systems degree and will be helping out in the computer lab.
I’m sure you will get to know all of my teammates through my blog over the course of the year; hopefully this introduction was helpful.
I am having a great time getting oriented to life in Rwanda and getting to know my teammates. School starts on February 2nd, so I have a while still before I really know exactly what I’ve gotten myself into, but I am extremely excited nonetheless!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Why Are You Going to Rwanda?
This question was posed to me recently and has really gotten me thinking. Why am I going to Rwanda? Typically when people ask me this question, a simple “to teach English at a high school” response satisfies them. This particular time, however, I was entreated to go deeper. My responses of “well, they really need to learn English, and I can easily fulfill that role for them” and “to show love to people who really need it” didn’t bode well with my questioner either. He challenged me to think about it, and think about it I have!
Initially, I decided to go to Rwanda because I had nothing else to do with my life, and there was an open door. It took me no more than a weeklong visit to Musanze, Rwanda and Sonrise School to see the urgency of their need, and as I heard constantly from my preacher growing up, “A need seen is an assignment given.” I am going to Rwanda to use my gifts and my passions to complete the assignment I have been given and to make a significant difference in the world.
When asked by Bridge2Rwanda for my mission statement, I composed the following: To spread the love of Christ and to increase the effectiveness of communication in the world one person at a time. I do realize that this mission can easily be accomplished in the comfort of my own country, but since when is life about being comfortable? Imagine, if you will, a balloon. When you take it out of the package, it is very comfortable, but when you begin to blow it up, it begins to stretch and lose a bit of that comfort. If you let it go once it has reached its capacity, does it return to its original state? No. It actually ends up larger than it was to start. This illustrates well the principle that stepping outside of your comfort zone helps you grow as a person.
The man who asked me why I am going to Rwanda also asked if I am going for myself. My initial response was a defensive, “Are you implying that I am selfish?” to which he responded, “Just because you do something for yourself does not make you selfish.” So, yes, in part, I am going to Rwanda for myself. I am going to stretch myself like that balloon and come back a bigger and better person. But, I am also going for the hundreds of students at Sonrise School who want a chance at making a difference in their country.
As I rang in the New Year with The Avett Brothers at the Asheville Civic Center, the words to a favorite song of mine struck a new chord within me:
And they may pay us off in fame
But that is not why we came
And if it compromises truth then we will go…
We came to break the bad
We came to cheer the sad
We came to leave behind the world a better way…
I pray that I will be able to ward off the fame that being a Mzungu will bring to me and that truth will not be compromised. I hope to break the bad and to cheer the sad, but mostly, I am going to Rwanda to leave behind the world a better way.
Initially, I decided to go to Rwanda because I had nothing else to do with my life, and there was an open door. It took me no more than a weeklong visit to Musanze, Rwanda and Sonrise School to see the urgency of their need, and as I heard constantly from my preacher growing up, “A need seen is an assignment given.” I am going to Rwanda to use my gifts and my passions to complete the assignment I have been given and to make a significant difference in the world.
When asked by Bridge2Rwanda for my mission statement, I composed the following: To spread the love of Christ and to increase the effectiveness of communication in the world one person at a time. I do realize that this mission can easily be accomplished in the comfort of my own country, but since when is life about being comfortable? Imagine, if you will, a balloon. When you take it out of the package, it is very comfortable, but when you begin to blow it up, it begins to stretch and lose a bit of that comfort. If you let it go once it has reached its capacity, does it return to its original state? No. It actually ends up larger than it was to start. This illustrates well the principle that stepping outside of your comfort zone helps you grow as a person.
The man who asked me why I am going to Rwanda also asked if I am going for myself. My initial response was a defensive, “Are you implying that I am selfish?” to which he responded, “Just because you do something for yourself does not make you selfish.” So, yes, in part, I am going to Rwanda for myself. I am going to stretch myself like that balloon and come back a bigger and better person. But, I am also going for the hundreds of students at Sonrise School who want a chance at making a difference in their country.
As I rang in the New Year with The Avett Brothers at the Asheville Civic Center, the words to a favorite song of mine struck a new chord within me:
And they may pay us off in fame
But that is not why we came
And if it compromises truth then we will go…
We came to break the bad
We came to cheer the sad
We came to leave behind the world a better way…
I pray that I will be able to ward off the fame that being a Mzungu will bring to me and that truth will not be compromised. I hope to break the bad and to cheer the sad, but mostly, I am going to Rwanda to leave behind the world a better way.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
I'm Going to Rwanda
As you may know, this summer I spent six weeks and most of my life savings in Africa volunteering in an orphanage near Arusha, Tanzania. While this experience was very valuable, and these children were absolutely precious, it was a different part of my trip that changed me the most. During my stay in Africa, I visited Sonrise School in Musanze, Rwanda to see if I would be a good fit as an English teacher there. I met many amazing people and saw the hand of God working in the lives of the teachers and students. These beautiful people are truly impacting their country. It did not take long for me to fall in love with Sonrise School, Musanze, and the entire country of Rwanda. That being said, I am returning to Musanze for the 2010 school year starting January 15 through Bridge2Rwanda, an organization whose mission is to create a new generation of well-educated, entrepreneurial, servant leaders in Rwanda—young people committed to Jesus, their country, and one another.
Rwanda is the most picturesque place I have ever been. The mountains, the volcanoes, the lakes, the brightly colored fabrics, and the gargantuan smiles on the faces of the most humble people are awe-inspiring. To know this country was ravaged by genocide, and nearly one million people were killed in 100 days merely fifteen years ago astounds me. Present-day Rwanda is very safe and filled with hope and hard work; the transformation is miraculous.
As Rwanda continues to develop, many needs continue to surface. Most urgently there is a need for learning the English language. Rwanda realizes that for its country to be successful globally, the workforce must compete by speaking English. The country is investing in its educational system by mandating English in its curriculum.
In the aftermath of the genocide, Rwandan schools were decimated, and the country was overwhelmed with at least 400,000 homeless orphans. In the midst of this devastation, Sonrise School was founded by Bishop John Rucyahana to be “light on a hill.” Bishop John’s vision was to create a boarding school that would set the standard for academic excellence and servant leadership. Within five years of inception, Sonrise School was cited in the Kigali New Times as the top primary school in Rwanda. The majority of the students are orphans and Bishop John has a belief that every student is redeemable. Sonrise opened in 2001 with 200 students in primary grades 1-4 and has added an additional grade each year since. Today, the school has over 1000 students in eleven grades and will graduate its first high school class in 2010. In order to further their education and consequently the development of their country, these students need to gain the skills to pass the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam. I have met some of the students and see potential and a willingness to learn and succeed in their beautiful souls. I hope to use my love of Rwanda, young people, teaching, and the English language to do my part to make a difference in the world.
It amazes me constantly that God really does work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). I firmly believe it is no coincidence that so many details continue to fall into place. I hope that as I walk by faith through the doors God has opened for me that He will continue to do amazing things in my life and in those whom I will have the privilege to teach and befriend in Rwanda.
Rwanda is the most picturesque place I have ever been. The mountains, the volcanoes, the lakes, the brightly colored fabrics, and the gargantuan smiles on the faces of the most humble people are awe-inspiring. To know this country was ravaged by genocide, and nearly one million people were killed in 100 days merely fifteen years ago astounds me. Present-day Rwanda is very safe and filled with hope and hard work; the transformation is miraculous.
As Rwanda continues to develop, many needs continue to surface. Most urgently there is a need for learning the English language. Rwanda realizes that for its country to be successful globally, the workforce must compete by speaking English. The country is investing in its educational system by mandating English in its curriculum.
In the aftermath of the genocide, Rwandan schools were decimated, and the country was overwhelmed with at least 400,000 homeless orphans. In the midst of this devastation, Sonrise School was founded by Bishop John Rucyahana to be “light on a hill.” Bishop John’s vision was to create a boarding school that would set the standard for academic excellence and servant leadership. Within five years of inception, Sonrise School was cited in the Kigali New Times as the top primary school in Rwanda. The majority of the students are orphans and Bishop John has a belief that every student is redeemable. Sonrise opened in 2001 with 200 students in primary grades 1-4 and has added an additional grade each year since. Today, the school has over 1000 students in eleven grades and will graduate its first high school class in 2010. In order to further their education and consequently the development of their country, these students need to gain the skills to pass the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam. I have met some of the students and see potential and a willingness to learn and succeed in their beautiful souls. I hope to use my love of Rwanda, young people, teaching, and the English language to do my part to make a difference in the world.
It amazes me constantly that God really does work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). I firmly believe it is no coincidence that so many details continue to fall into place. I hope that as I walk by faith through the doors God has opened for me that He will continue to do amazing things in my life and in those whom I will have the privilege to teach and befriend in Rwanda.
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