Rwanda 2015| Days 5 & 6

Happy Friday, my friends. So I’m a day late on getting this recap up but since returning from Rwanda I’m really focusing on giving myself a LOT of grace. Lord knows I need it!

Since Rwanda is my favorite, I’m linking up with all kinds of fun ladies today {april, karli, amanda, tif, andrea} and you should too!

Wednesday | September 16th

Much like Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were used to interview children and fill out registration forms. What I’m missing is a picture of the delicious breakFEAST we woke up to every morning. It normally consisted of toast, porridge, all kinds of different fruits, cereal, and the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. What I’d do to have David make me a cup of coffee this morning!

By the way, David and Hope live with Ben and Jo and help them around the house and with Micaiah and they rock! They took such great care of  spoiled us while we were there! David normally had our breakfast on the table, the trucked washed, and our laundry washed and dried when we woke up each morning. I’m pretty sure he never sleeps.

Our first stop for the day was Nyanza, which only had about 11 RCRI students attending. This was a huge change because Kicukiro has well over 100 RCRI students.

They put us in what we could only assume was the headmasters’ office, which had the most comfortable couches and a perfect breeze. First stop of the day and we had to fight to keep Cory awake.

The first set of Rwandese twins I’ve ever met!

I will never grow tired of the views. While we’re in the States, I forget just how beautiful they are. Pictures truly don’t capture it.

After we left Nyanza, we headed to Gatenga to knock out a few extra interviews before Ben needed us to meet him for the afternoon.

That afternoon, Ben had plans for us to meet with a friend of RCRI, who works for Compassion International, and help them analyze and review the policy manual that they are implementing for RCRI.

While we were thrilled to help Ben, it was a LONG afternoon. Seriously, I’m pretty sure the document was 900 pages long and we were in there for like hours. Jo’s face says a lot here…

This picture was not posed and those pots were full of coffee when we started! By the end of the night, I think we were all mentally drained and physically exhausted.

So we decided to give ourselves pedicures with polish we had picked up at Nakumatt.

Friends paint each others toes.

And the guys hung out with us while our toes dried.

How cute is this puppy dog rain coat?! I die. Also, please note how swollen my feet where five days after our plane ride.

Snuggles with this sweet face and baby selfies made it all okay.

Thursday | September 17th

Thursday morning started with a trip to Gahanga so that Cory could get a couple interviews for his video.

The women of Rwanda are such an inspiration, working tirelessly in all conditions to provide for their children, truly denying themselves in the process. If hard work was all it took to be successful, every woman in Rwanda would be a millionaire.

Cory’s face pretty much tells the story here: you might as well give up keeping the kids quiet for a recording.

This is Elie and he is part of the family that the guys helped the first two weeks. His mother abandoned him and his siblings and their home desperately needed repairs. In the video, it is his home they are working on.

While we were there, we went ahead and handed out some of the clothes and shoes to the children that didn’t get any when Cory and the guys passed them out in Kane.

We tend to draw big crowds wherever we go.

African cow trailer! Probably not the safest thing to follow very close behind…

After we finished the recordings in Gahanga, we headed to Gatenga to try and finish interviewing the rest of the RCRI kids at that school.

Precious photobombers :)

Gatenga Secondary School…with storms a’brewin’.

We headed to J. Lynn’s for lunch, of course. Our favorite lunch spot, Cory’s favorite nap spot. No matter where we are in the world, Cory holds fast to his belief that the pinnacle of human luxury is to be able to nap at will. With this in mind, he likes to find ways to nap. A lot.

And Kenny caressed his face.

Just kidding! He was tickling him with a leaf to wake him up.

J. Lynn’s is a Canadian-owned restaurant, which is why they had pumpkin spice cupcakes. OH. MY. GOODNESS. These were delicious!

After lunch, we headed back to Gatenga to finish up our interviews with the children and then went to Kane afterwards.

Kane is one of the poorest villages in Rwanda. Remember me mentioning Petronille, the young lady that lost a battle with Malaria? The two boys in brown are her brothers. Please keep them in your prayers!

These grins, y’all. I can’t even.

International mission work can be hard sometimes because the progress you make can feel like it’s not enough. However, once in a while we are graced with moments that feel rewarding—small moments of sweetness—that make it all worth it.

So many children are terrified of us! I guess the first time seeing pasty white muzungus is kinda like seeing a ghost!

And some stare, just trying to figure out what we are!

This little girl was headed to the river to fill up her water jugs. This village draws its drinking water from nearby creeks and from a dirty river– no wells or running water close at hand.

Bless it. Wish I was back in the moment so bad. I love, love, love the giggles we get from them when they see a picture of themselves, some for the first time!

No vehicle is safe!

After we left Kane, we headed back to the city to do some souvenir shopping at the artisans’ co-op. One day, we’ll video the co-op just to show how crazy it is. All the vendors follow you around and harass you to get you to come in their shop but they all mean well. It intimidates some people but Cory and I love it! Better not go without a translator though because you’ll pay way too much for stuff!

Michaiah loved to snuggle up with Cory and Jed and review the footage that Cory was shooting for the RCRI documentary each evening…especially if there was some singing that she could dance to!

Friday and Saturday were big days in Rwanda! Check back next week to read all about us crashing a Rwandese wedding!

Happy weekend and Go Tigers!

Wanna catch up on Rwanda 2015?

Getting There, Days 1 & 2
Days 3 & 4
A Glimpse Into Our Trip

You can see our Rwanda 2014 trip recaps here and Rwanda 2013 trip recap here.