Since we're leaving Africa tonight, and I'm already packed, I thought it was about time I wrote an update on the past month!! Apologies for the lateness but time just runs away here and before you know it, you're going home! So I'll try to summarise the past month as best I can & when I'm back in Switzerland I will post some photos.
In Kigali we've been able to experience more ministries, which has been amazing. A woman called Hope has set up a ministry called Hagari Ministries, which supports ex-prostitutes, street women and women in difficulty to care for their children and their families. By finding sponsors they are able to send their children to school, be part of a tutor programme, literacy classes and the children also get fed once a week at the house. We were able to visit when they had the children's programme. We did a Bible story- I acted out the story of Noah while Aubrey narrated, we sung songs and played some games. I loved being surrounded by children with so much joy and yet so little material possessions! It really puts things into perspective for you. We were also able to visit the support group for the mum's and one of the team was able to share a testimony which really touched one of the ladies in particular, so it was amazing to see God at work.
We were able to visit an orphanage, with mainly teenagers, where they explained to us that to help improve their confidence, they liked to act & dance. And so they showed us a few of their dramas and dances. Although we couldn't understand what they were saying, some of them were hilarious and they had us all cracking up.
We also spent 2 days in the school on the compound of the base and were able to help out in the classes. On the first day Aubrey and I helped in P1 and on the second I helped in P4. I enjoyed them both, but I actually got a chance to help teach the children in P4 and loved seeing their response when they understood something!
We had another birthday in the team during our time here, our leader Claire. We decided, since she's so good at surprising us, that we'd need to surprise her! So, we told her that we were going to minister to a group of youth and we planned it with her in the morning and I have to say, we acted pretty well. We then drove to a hotel and surprised her by spending the morning sat by a pool side and chilling out. We then went into town and had a lovely meal out and in the evening had a surprise party and cake. She loved it and we were pleased we could surprise her.
For 2 weeks we were also able to visit a remote village, in the East of Rwanda, called Bukora. We went there to help serve and we stayed with a man called Celestin-ywamer and a few others. It was an incredible few weeks and I definitely learnt so much. Although we had no electricity, no running water and we shared a house with bats, I loved the simple lifestyle. Taking a shower in an outside block with a curtain as a door that blew with the wind was definitely stressful at times, trying to hold onto the curtain was not the easiest thing! Whilst there we helped serve practically by; helping a church make bricks which involved moving mud with our hands, we also moved bricks, sand and cow poo. We spent a lot of our time playing with children, we visited a clinic and prayed for the sick.
The nearest town was Kiyanzi, which we visited a few times, twice on foot. It took Celestin around 45 minutes to walk up the hill/mountain everyday. The first time we walked it took us about 2 hours and the second just over 1 hour, so there was a definite improvement, but we were amazed at how he managed to do it everyday so quickly!
We had some surprises whilst being there too. On our day off we visited the border of Tanzania and we were able to see a beautiful waterfall which separates the 2 countries and we were even allowed to cross the bridge and set a foot onto the other side. The other great surprise was being able to visit the National Park. Unfortunately we drove to an entrance which was closed and had to back track on ourselves, meaning it took us about 8 hours to drive to the park, but it was definitely worth it! We saw Zebras, Giraffes, Antelope, Buffalo, Monkeys, Baboons, a Crocodile and I saw the head of a Hippo! One of my dreams before coming here was to go on a safari and it definitely came true.
Since being back in Kigali we have visited Hope's ministry a few more times and been able to serve the children food, which I enjoyed. We've also harvested beans (although I wasn't feeling good so sat out!) and have been door-to-door. I also managed to be sick last week, with only 9 days left in Africa! I was pretty gutted I hadn't gone the whole hog, but hey ho!
On Monday we began to debrief our time here and we had yet another surprise. We were told in the morning to pack our bags for an over night stay and we drove to a hotel not far from here for the rest of the day and until this afternoon. It was a lovely hotel and we were all able to have the first hot showers since leaving Switzerland! We spoke about the positive bits of outreach and the bits where we've struggled. We also spoke about how we think we've changed and were able to encourage one another as a team. It is amazing to think about where I was at the beginning of this time and where I am now and although there has been no drastic changes (at least I don't think there has!), I've definitely grown in a lot of areas. I'm looking forward to being home and actually seeing how much this last 6 months has really impacted my life.
The rest of the week we spent doing last minute shopping and exploring. We leave Kigali tonight around 9pm and will arrive in Switzerland tomorrow morning with a stop in Brussels. I'm looking forward to seeing the other half of our DTS family but will miss this place.
Thank you for all your support and the prayers of those who pray! I love you all and can't wait to see you very soon. I may also look slightly different...!
Emma x
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