Church in Kigali

Blogging is not an exact science. I find myself going through the day thinking about what I will write on my blog or in my journal at night. But i often forget cool things that happen to me and then remember them later after I have published the blog. Here is something I remembered from yesterday that I wanted to share:

As we were walking back to our compound and turning up our driveway to unlock the gate, we heard a child yelling. We looked around and saw a young boy and his little sister running towards us with open arms yelling "Mzungu, Mzungu, Mzungu!!" I kneeled down and opened my arms, and the little boy jumped into my arms. I hugged him for a little while and then put him back down. It was one of those awesome moments that makes you feel really good inside. Being hugged so tightly by a stranger. The boys mother laughed and told our assistant that her son just really loves white people. Regardless, I really needed that hug!

This morning I got up at 8am and started getting ready for church. We had pancakes for breakfast, which I loaded with peanut butter, bananas and honey. It was a yummy combination. I went to church with Fiona's group. The church was called Christian Life Assemblies, which is the name of the church I go to at college in PA. It actually reminded me a lot of my church. We sung some worship songs in English and the message was also in English. It was a bit on the long side, but this is Africa, not the US. After the service we were taking to a welcome center for visitors. They were very kind to us and are going to try to find us a home cell Bible study group to meet with on Wednesday nights. This is exciting because I really want to make some Rwandan friends. We walked with some of Fiona's friends to the bus stop. They were incredibly friendly and I had a nice talk with a guy named Mark. I'm not gonna lie, Rwandan men are very attractive and charming. :) We went back to Chez Lando (our neighborhood), and found a cafe to eat at.

One thing that is hard for me to get used to is the African time.. I was very hungry when we sat down, and really needed to eat right away before I got faint and sick. It took 30min for someone to take our order, and then an hour until we got it. I had to run to the supermarket to get a snack because I was so hungry. Fiona's sister, Angel, was with us. She is 19 and came home from the university for the weekend. She was very nice and spunky, and I enjoyed talking with her. Everyone is very friendly to us. I love how warm and welcoming Africans are.

Sara Groves, a Christian singer, is coming to Rwanda to give a concert in Kigali. She actually does a lot of work with Food for the Hungry (the NGO I am studying with). She has been to Rwanda before and here is a music video and song inspired by her time here. It moved me to tears when I watched it, probably because it is about the same things I have been experiencing. Check it out:



Back at the house I relaxed for a little bit and then went with some friends to another church in the evening. This church we walked to. It was an Evangelical church I think, and we went to the 5:30 English service. The service started with an hour of worship songs. Everyone was clapping and dancing, it was a lot of fun. The message was given by one of the senior pastors from Rick Warren's Saddleback church! He is in Rwanda visiting and we were blessed with the opportunity to hear him speak. I spaced out a lot of what he said because a lightening storm and rain started outside and I was thinking of having to walk back. When the service was over we went out into the rain and headed for home.

I was really angry because a few of our group, including both guys, ran ahead and left three of us girls behind. It is only our second night here, and it is not safe for white girls to walk around at night. That is so not cool. I miss guys being chivalrous and caring if I got home safely. If guys walk me back to my dorm room at Messiah, they definitely should in Rwanda.. Okay, I'm done venting that. Dinner was really good. We had chocolate cake for dessert that was excellent.

I called home for an update on Opa. My Opa died this morning. He had been struggling with poor health for a long time, so it was expected, but that doesn't make it much easier. I am glad that I got to go see him over Christmas break. I am really sad that I am across the world and can't be there for the funeral to say goodbye. It doesn't feel real right now. all I know is that Otto Scheid was an incredible man, who loved to give a piece of his heart to everyone he met. He did some incredible things, and I will miss him dearly. Now he is with Jesus, no doubt asking where the ladies are so he can give them a piece of candy and recite a poem for them. What a man..