Rwanda 8-1-13

We have had an eventful day today.  The journey began with the same car ride as yesterday, and I think our driver found every trench, pot hole, and pit the road had to offer this morning.  But as we met the students this morning, they were singing and prepared for their first quiz.  I believe everyone did reasonably well and the desire to learn among them was high.

You cannot imagine the conditions of life these people live under here.  I took some videos of various things in the village that I will send before the end of the week.  I think you will agree that these conditions are primitive at best.  It was funny this morning as we took our first break how the little children gathered around me to just stare.  I was one of the few if not the first white westerner that most of them had ever seen.  As we drove into this remote village they would run along the car yelling “mazoongoo”  or “mzungoo”  (probably the second one) which means white man, but for them it was a grand announcement for everyone to hear.

As I stood and talked with them, they couldn’t help but rub my arm hair or laugh when I tried to talk to them.  It must have been very strange to see this white teacher with an I-Phone taking the random pictures or video clips.  The bathroom routine is quite the scene.  There were two or three stalls off the back of two or three small block houses.  As one of the men tried to tell me there, “This is no high toilet”.  In other words, in each stall there is nothing but a hole in the crude cement floor.  I won’t talk about the smell.  But this is Rwanda, a small African country trying to emerge into the real world of civilization and international acceptance after genocide.  But even after this occurs in the larger centers, these village environments will change but little.  For most, it is a way of life they have always known.  It is a simple life, lived one day at a time, with the most meager of resources.  They have survived like this for centuries and they will continue to survive.

Our hope is that despite their primitive life, they can learn that preparation for the Lord’s work is important, even for the most humble villagers on the backside of Rwanda.

Final note: Our small class in Komanyi  was cancelled today for reasons beyond our control.  Despite our best efforts, there were insurmountable issues which surfaced today.  Our hope is that the teaching contributions of these past two days will stay long with these humble folks.  I will update our readers later after we have addressed them with our primary host here.

Update: I understand that the Congo class is going strong in its second day, and I trust we will have a report in the next few days about its progress.  Keep praying!

Bruce