It's over. I've left. Gone. Like I said before, the time I spent in Rwanda passed with such exceptional speed many (mainly me) were shocked by how quickly it came to a close. Last saturday I was sitting in the office, working on exams as usual, chatting to Chaka, wearing a skirt and writing about that weeks ridiculous amount of incidents. Today, I'm sitting in a country house in Scotland, wrapped in a thick fleece coat, drinking coffee and listening to City&Colour. I've come to realise that flying is a rather surreal experience to me theses days. It used to be something extremely exciting, something to look forward to. I still greatly enjoy flying, don;t get me wrong, and I still get a slight jump of the heart whenever I think about getting on a plane again, but it's become such a common occurrence that I no longer realise that I've been flying but that, whoa, I'm now in a different country.
You're going to have to pardon the ridonkulous length of this next post. I've updated my "Blog Interface" and so I now have a much larger post box, which makes a lot of rambling seem like very little.
So. What were the events of the last few days in Rwanda...
Well, it was my last Sunday in Rwanda so I thought it would be best to go to Mango Tree Church to say good-bye and be a good St John’s representative. I had been to two services at Mango Tree and two at St Etienne’s during my time so far. One of the things I love the most about African services is the music. There are like 5 different choirs that come out and sing songs of praise, welcome, deliverance etc. and one of the coolest things is the piano accompaniment. These brilliant people, usually one or two piano players, have never had formal lessons and don’t have any sheet music. BUT they simply find the correct note by ear (there are a few random notes played before they find it) and then they just break out into chords and rhythms. It’s beautiful. During the service I was invited to the front to bid farewell to the congregation etc. I was quite sad to say good-bye but it was nice to do it properly. I received gifts from the church, which was so touching. They gave me something for my family and something for the church.
After the service, I needed to leave quickly to get into town. I had a lunch planned with my wonderful Rwandan family (Winnie, Louis and Barny) but unfortunately, the service stretched on a little long AND the pastor and team invited me to stay for a drink and snack. It was so very kind of them so I sat down with them for a soda, banana, some cake and peanuts. Classic Rwandan snacks :) We chatted, took some pictures… Oh yes! Another point, my camera battery died. Oops. So I had to use my phone. Anyway, around 1pm, I was running an hour late and I hadn’t even left yet (we were supposed to meet at 12). So I quickly excused myself, jumped on a motorbike and sped off to find the restaurant. I had never heard of this place and I certainly didn’t know how to get there. Neither did the motorbike dude. Needless to say I got lost. I ended up walking around, calling Winnie and, in the end, had a lovely girl lead me to the place. Thanks Olivia!
Lunch was rushed, as Louis had to catch a flight. We dropped him off at the airport, said good-bye and headed home. I spent the rest of the evening helping Winnie out with her Visa Application for her UK visit. It took about 4 hours. Yes. Four. Hours. Well, it was quite a satisfying feeling to finish it though. Hopefully it will work out for her.
Monday was mainly spent preparing for the party. When was the party set for? Monday night. A little last minute I know but it all works out in the end [spoiler alert]. I had to ask Winnie if it would be possible to use her car. Luckily, it was. So Noel (the driver) took Chaka and me to the market in Kimironko. We got so much stuff! First stop, butchers for meat. Then to the main market for potatoes, onions, tomatoes, parsley, pineapples, passion fruits, avocados and a bunch of other seasoning stuff. I like markets! They’re so much fun. All the bustling and busyness. It’s great.
We only had this one great canvas bag to use for the shopping, and we piled EVERYTHING into it. There was a nice little man who was carrying it around for us while we were at the market. He also brought it to the car, luckily, because there was about 30 kilos of stuff in there. Ok. Maybe more like 20, or 25. Anyway, it was a lot. Chaka, Noel and I headed back to the school, stopping to buy cake and drinks on the way. When we got back to the school, our giant bag of stuff had tipped over and gotten caught between the seats, squishing some of the stuff on top. Mainly, bananas. Oops. Then when the men tried to extract the bag, the flimsy canvas straps, snapped. Oh dear. They were able to get it up to the kitchen, and I did a few things around school, including taking pictures with my kids.
I went up to the room to get ready after school, as I had said 5 pm was the start of the “party”. People didn’t really start arriving till 7. Ha. That’s Africa Time :) So dinner was INCREDIBLE. The food was so good and it was so nice to see so many people there. After food they did some talks and presented gifts and I said a few words and almost cried. You know, same ol’. Some of the people I had invited didn’t make it to the main dinner, but they were on their way so I told them to come up to my “house” so I could say bye to them. I even had a surprise visit from Special! The assistant pastor at Mango Tree Church. He is so sweet.
After everyone left, I still had to pack. So I packed. ALL OF IT. Booyah. It was rather late by the time I made it to bed, but I made it. The next morning I wanted to be at school earlier so I could spend as much time there as possible. Sleeping past midnight did not make that an easy task. I got to school around 7:15, which is pretty good, and I spent most of the morning handing out gifts and letters. I went to see my P4’s and the girls had all written me cards :) They’re so sweet! I was getting A LOT of pictures as I had hardly gotten any with me in them. It was like I’d never even been there… I took presents up to Winnie’s but she wasn’t in so I hid them, meaning to tell her which ones were for whom later.
My last lunch there was my favourite meal, chapatti and meat. Oh it was good. After school, lots of picture taking and byes etc. Chaka took me to see the school accountant, Leah, who has just had a baby. It was great to see her and the family and to say goodbye. The baby was so so sweet! She was just a few weeks old, already with beautiful curls covering her head. It was so good to see them but I was now running late. We rushed back and I ran to wash my hair and finish packing. STRESS. We were meaning to leave at 5 for the airport. I wanted to go to Winnie’s though to tell her about the presents. I didn’t get a chance though as we were running so late.
We got to the airport for around 5:30. Chaka, Claire and Eunice were with me. And Winnie of course. It was so hard to say goodbye to them. They prayed for me, I started to tear up, and then I went through the doors.
What an amazing 5 weeks it had been! I wasn’t sure what to expect when I left but I certainly enjoyed every minute of my time there, except the times when I was attacked by poisonous insects. But even those times gave me something I could take away with me. I loved the people, the language, the culture, the music, the food, the crazy traffic, the bustle of the markets, everything. I really hope I will get a chance to go back. And I will continue to have this country on my heart, to pray and hope for blessing as it grows and develops.
Prayer Requests:
- For the country of Rwanda: As Political and Economic development grows, that there would be no corruption in the leaders of the country, but that everything will work out for the good of the people and the country as a whole
- For Alpha Community Academy: For the staff and pupils, as the school grows. That the children will be blessed through the teachers and that the teachers will be blessed by the students
- For Mango Tree Church and Rubona Church: For financial and spiritual support as these wonderful churches grow
- For Louis, Winnie, Iggy, David and Barny: This wonderful family is my family too. Their ministry and work in Rwanda is an example to us all, that we should follow too.
Much love.
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