"God roams the earth during the day, but returns at night to rest in Rwanda" Traditional Rwandan Proverb

Muraho from Rwanda! In as little as a week, I have come to fully understand the meaning of the above statement. This beautiful country has welcomed this little American girl with open arms, and I have instantaneously fallen in love with it. I knew Rwanda was a special place and I knew Rwandan people were special people…I just didn’t fully grasp it until I stepped foot here. Rwanda is a beautiful country justly called “the land of a thousand hills”, (I would refer to them more as mountains!) and it is easy to see why it is worthy of being compared to God’s resting place on earth. The weather has been perfect, (about 75 degrees every day, which is pretty consistent year-round)....not to make all of you jealous in the hot Arkansas heat. The people are so friendly and precious, full of joy and life. When I meet someone new, I am always greeted with the gracious words of "you are most welcome here." Perfect weather, beautiful landscape, friendly people....not bad so far!



I arrived in Rwanda last week and was greeted by Bridge 2 Rwanda’s country director, Tom Allen. Tom has graciously shown me around and adjusted me to life in Rwanda. He is full of facts and knowledge about this place, and I am convinced he knows everyone in this country. We can be driving down an isolated road in the middle of a village, and he is sure to find someone running behind the car to greet him. Tom’s house is in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, and hosts the most incredible view with a landscape of houses and buildings falling down the prominent hills of the city (as seen above).

My first day in Rwanda, I visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial. A good way to begin my year in Rwanda, as it offers an informative but very moving tribute to the historical events of Rwanda and to the lives that were lost in the Genocide. The sign leading into the museum immediately gets your attention, as it simply states “Wasted Lives”. The most touching room to me is the tribute to children, as its understated simplicity is incredibly powerful. Oversized pictures of children hang on the wall, with simple plaques beneath them stating facts such as their name, their favorite food and sport, their personality traits, and then their cause of death. Outside, the memorial houses 14 mass graves with over 250,000 bodies buried literally under your feet, and they are still adding to it. It is very moving to observe the people of Rwanda paying their tributes. You can’t help but wonder, when they are leaving flowers and notes on the graves, how exactly they were affected by the genocide…what is their story. Although I have visited the Holocaust museum and even walked in a concentration camp, this experience was somewhat different for me. Different because it happened so recently and so many lives are still affected by this. And different because it now hits a little closer to home. However, despite the unthinkable human tragedies this country has experienced, there is an incredible feeling of forgiveness, reconciliation, and hope. The people of this country have not forgotten their past, but they refuse to remain in it.

Shortly after arriving in Rwanda, we headed north to my new home, Musanze. The ride from Kigali to Musanze is an incredible sight….the road curving in and out of the mountains, herds of people walking and riding bikes along the road, women carrying babies on their backs and bundles or food on their head, children running barefoot carrying their water jugs, farms and huts running from the very top of the mountains to the very bottom. My eyes were a little overstimulated! We stopped at a little roadside stand on the way, and of course, they all come running to greet Tom. My heart was stolen by little Dacuzimani, the first little Rwandan boy to come running up to give me the sweetest hug in the world. The rest of the visit was quite amusing, as I mistakenly got a camera out and, consequently, had to take a picture with every person at the stand. I had my first taste of sugar cane....very interesting. Bite, chew, spit. I always thought I would have this picture perfect sweet moment holding this precious African baby that would reciprocate my love and affection. I mean, babies love me! However, my first attempt at loving on a little African baby was not quite so touching. As I approached her, she instantly started screaming with a look of terror in her eyes…like I was this white-skinned, blonde-haired devil. And her mother so desperately tried to get her to let me hold her, but she clung for dear life to her mother (as you can see in the picture below:). I think I traumatized her for life.

We finally arrived at my (Bridge 2 Rwanda's) beautiful new house in Musanze, complete with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, an outside guest suite, a bunkhouse, a breezeway for entertaining, a soon-to-be full garden with avocado trees (and soon to add mango and papaya), three staffers (day guard/gardener, night guard, and housekeeper), and a beautiful view of the Virunga Mountains/Volcanos. I have my hands full! For what we would consider very little cost, we are able to provide substantial employment to three people and their families. In fact, even my housekeeper has a “housegirl”. Working for the westerners is a prized job. I arrive to the house with fresh flowers placed in every room and even a draping princess-canopy over my bed (which some might call a mosquito net).

My first trip into town I feel a million eyes looking at me and hear a million words that I can’t understand. However, I frequently pick out one word that I can understand: “muzungu”, meaning “white person”. My morning runs have also proved to be humorous, as I pick up a few children to accompany me along the way, give out high fives to old men passing by, and dart in and out of the hundreds of people walking along the road yelling "muzungu, muzungu!".

I have easily found my home here in Rwanda, and I look forward to the adventures of the next year. I will TRY my best to keep this updated; however, this blogging thing is new to me. Thank you so much to everyone for your prayers, encouragement, and support! More to come….