So Drew and I met up with all but 1 (Jennifer, who we met up with in Uganda) of our USP group in the Amsterdam airport on August 25th. First thought: "Shoot, they all have had a day to get to know each other...I'm going to actually put forth some effort." Two weeks later: "I have some incredible new friends who all have similar passions to me, but diverse enough backgrounds to make excellent conversation and discussion." Anyhoo, we arrived in Entebbe, Uganda that evening and rode in vans and coasters (coasters are what they call buses) to Uganda Christian University in Mukono. The ride reminded me a lot of that first bus ride in Honduras junior year. We spent the night on campus and then the very next day Drew and I found out that we would be staying at the same house! We arrived at our new home just in time for lunch prepared by our "momma," who came running out of the house to give us big hugs and have her boys carry our stuff in. I was a bit overwhelmed at first. Our new home was not quite what I expected. It is a lot like houses are in Morazan, Honduras actually. Consisting of 3 bedrooms, a sitting room, a bathing room, and a kitchen, it is a small, cozy little house only approximately 10 minutes walk from campus. In the back there are 2 rooms separated from the house, which our momma rents out, and a room where trash is burned and cooking takes place. There is also a small shack which houses 2 latrines (those are fun, let me tell ya...). There is also this huge rain catcher, which is their only source of water.
The family consists of a mom, Harriet, and her 3 boys, Jonathan, Joshua, and David from youngest to oldest...ironic? Jonathan and Joshua left for boarding school a few days ago though, because they are in secondary school. David is in his twenties and goes to a vocational school studying mechanics. There are are also 2 girls who live at the house and one of the girl's young boy, but I don't know how they are related or how they came about living there. The youngest of the 2 girls is Lillian, who we see a lot more, and is pretty cool. The other, with the boy, I can't remember her name, but she is a bit older and has a mat-making business in Mukono-town, which is just basically downtown Mukono.
Life in this new home has been pretty awesome. Each morning, we wake up and have morning tea with a combination of bread and butter, binyebwa nuts, bananas, and/or pineapple. Usually just 1 or 2 of the above at one time. Then off to school around 8am and return at 7pm, where we have evening tea and talk with the family until dinner around 930-945pm. Finally, we bathe using a bucket of water and our hands (also a fun process), and go to sleep near 1030-1045. So that basically gives you a little background on our home-stay. We have really only spent like 5 nights, and not in a row, due to spending about 9 days traveling in Rwanda and Uganda.
How to describe my experience in Rwanda...I really have no idea. By the beginning of the trip I had begun to from a few good friendships with others in the program, but by the end, all of us in the ME (Missions Emphasis) had grown significantly closer together. I guess that is really the only way to describe my experience in Rwanda. Something so raw in emotion that those left in its wake are subject to being pulled together. I should start by saying that the ride to our first stop involved a 13 hour ride of 45 students, 5 leaders, and 4 drivers crammed into 2 vans and 2 coasters...plus all of our luggage...ooph. The first 2 nights we (the ME group) stayed in Gahini, Rwanda, where the East African Revival began. There we had the chance to split into groups and experience our first African church service. This was definitely a first for me as I ended up being presented as "the preacher" and was the only actual speaker for the service. I was pretty nervous, but my translator was pretty cool, and at the end, the leader in the community challenged them to truly listen and take to heart what I said, which was pretty sweet. The rest of the service was incredible as well. A whole community crammed into a little building worshipping the LORD, awesome. The next morning we heard a testimony from a lady, Canon Marion, who was present in Gahini when the E.A.R. broke out. Very cool stuff.
After spending 2 nights in Gahini, we moved on to Kigali, which is the capital of Rwanda. It was a pretty large city with people everywhere. Our first day in Kigali, we visited Nyamata Church, which was a memorial site for the genocide. Thousands of Tutsis flocked to the church for sanctuary, but the militia broke down the doors and spent 3 whole days torturing and murdering them! It was one of the most raw experiences I've ever had. When I first walked in, I was blown away by all of the clothes laid out on the floor and benches of the victims, one outfit of a young child especially blew me away. One of the 7 survivors of this massacre was our tour guide and shared what happened as well as his testimony. That which affected me most here were all of the bones and skulls on display. The next day we visited the Kigali Memorial Site, in the middle of the city. There were over 250,000 people buried in the mass graves at this site. The building also included information on other genocides as well as personal testimonies of the deaths of children in Rwanda. That hit me pretty hard as I imagined what the murder of my own siblings and parents would do to me. Following our tour of the site, we watched a documentary on the genocide of 1994 presented by U.S. News called "Ghosts of Rwanda." It addressed how little the world did to help, especially the US, and brought up a lot of discussion between the ME students.
Our third day in Kigali, we visited an organization called Food for the Hungry (FH). This organization works on transformational community development and provides people in the community with non-agricultural artisan income. We also heard from a missionary there, Kristi Walker, who shared her testimony and how it is to live in Rwanda, Africa. She was very helpful and I felt like I learned a lot. That evening, we joined up with the USE (Uganda Studies Emphasis) students and heard from Rev. Antwan about the process of national reconciliation. It is really fascinating how that in Rwanda, there is this thought that they must have reconciliation and that was the only way for the community to continue forward. I wonder what cities would be like in the US if they followed that ideal. On the fourth morning, the ME group visited a lady named Debbie Thomas, who taught us more about transformational development as well as using different areas of study and integrated them into community development. I probably learned the most from her as I began to question the motives behind my studying engineering, and how I should continue in my studies. That evening we heard from a couple lawyers who spoke on the Gacaca Courts, which are the communal trials for the accused murderers of the genocide. They will finally be finished this September after 15 years of trials!!! This concluded our Rwanda experience.
For the next 2 nights, we spent on Bushara Island just inside the border of Uganda. It was absolutely beautiful! We had to get to the island via canoes and basically just spent the 2 days there debriefing our experience in Rwanda as well as just hanging out and relaxing. This involved ultimate frisbee, soccer, rope swinging, and swimming! It was a ton of fun, and was a great way for us to let out all of the emotion we had been storing up in Rwanda.
Welp, the fun has past, and school has started. Classes started Monday morning and we are just starting to realize how much reading and work these classes will actually take. The last couple days have been super confusing, but I think I'm starting to find my way around campus and am learning how to work the library system as well get a sort of organization for studying and eating...The good news is that it is absolutely beautiful here on campus, and there are lots of places to just enjoy African nature, while reading the mass amounts needed for class.
So this about catches you all up. I'm sorry that it has taken so long, but things have been pretty hectic. I hope that everyone is doing well, and I would love to hear from you all! (though know a response may take some time.) I appreciate those who have been keeping me in your prayers and ask that you continue to pray for the family I am staying with as well as those I will be coming in contact with. Thank you all so much!
Peace,
Joshua
Thanks for posting all this.
ReplyDeleteYou said this in ways that made me connect.
Oh - I can't say more here - I'll just write something on your facebook.