The beginning

Notice: this post is out of order, just found a way to get it from the laptop to online :)  Just a flashback to the first couple of days of the journey.   

 

July 1, 2013 - Monday

We have arrived in Rwanda safe & sound!!!  We arrived on time about 8 pm (that is 2pm Monday at home).  All of our 10 bags were waiting for us at the airport – not a small miracle!!!!  If you’re familiar with 3^rd world airports, you might remember the crowd of 100’s standing behind the barricade, peering at you just outside of customs.  Among those faces we spotted our friend, Silas, holding a sign that read “Kibogora Hospital” waiting for us.  We piled everything into his pick-up and drove to the Good News Guest House” where we spent our first African night.

 

The clean beds were such a welcome sight to us after flying all day, all night, all day.  To all of us except Annie, who experienced her first of many tears over the differences we will notice being away from home.  She was longing for her own bed.  We all slept great under mosquito nets – Levi pretended his was a sailboat, Lauren’s was a princess bed & Anna’s was a tent J

 

July 2, 2013 - Tuesday

Our flight was terrific – considering everything.  There were plenty of kid movies to keep ours happy & we all dozed a bit here & there.  When we arrived in Brussels, we were just the right balance of rested/tired to be effectively cranky & impatient – and apparently forgetful.  After walking half-way to our next gate we realized we had left a carry on bag on the plane!  Not just any old bag with stories & teddy bears, but the box containing the endoscope!

 

Joel took Lauren & ran back to the plane exit gate, leaving me with Anna & Levi in a giant chaos of lines & mobs of people speaking… not English.  20 minutes later he came running, left Lauren & grabbed his passport & said something like “this will be a miracle if it works!”  Then he ran off.

 

We waited & waited… I couldn’t look at a clock because it would have made me panic about missing our next flight.  Eventually he came back with the endoscope & a new security guard friend, Fabrice.  He had been on a goose chase through the bowels of the airport, bypassing several security check points, running through metal detectors, skipping to the front of lines miles long & racing back to us so we could just make it to the next flight.  Now you know Joel likes to point out that he is the only one in our family who has actually been to Belgium since he had to technically leave the airport & go through customs… they even gave him a stamp in his passport!

 

Many thanks to Fabrice (Fabreez) who made a stinky situation much fresher J  And all glory to our Big God who knew just where that box was the whole time!!!

 

 

July 4, 2013 - Thursday

Tuesday morning we piled back into Silas’ white pick-up (a Toyota…. Sorry Dad!).  Joel in front with Silas, the kids & I packed in the back with all the carry-on bags… no buckles, no carseats.  This began the 5 hour trek to Kibogora.  We stopped briefly at the bank in Kigali to exchange money.  As we drove out of the city, I pointed out to the kids all the different sights – there is a constant stream of people walking along the road (in the country & city).  We noticed banana trees, mud houses, gas stations, babies tied to their mothers’ backs, women carrying baskets of tomatoes on their heads, baskets of logs on their heads, baskets of pineapple on their heads … there were a few beggars – a man with 1 leg, dressed in rags with no teeth, and red dirt roads all over the hills.  The road to Kibogora is now paved the whole way – a huge relief from the old dirt, pot holed roads that used to be.  There are still many, many potholes, and crazy semi-truck drivers that cruse around the sharp mountain curves coming toward you at top speed.  Our driver, Silas, is fabulous & pulled off the road to stop nearly every time a semi was heading toward us.  He told us that sometimes those drivers have “too much beer.”

 

Highlights of that trip include a half-way stop at a restaurant for a chicken dinner & bathroom break, seeing a few monkeys in the trees or on the side of the road along the way & stopping several times to let Lauren get out & pee on the side of the road – that was a sweet mini-rest for those of us who felt car-sick from all of those hairpin curves!  The street signs literally were a picture of the capital letter N with an arrow pointing up at the end…. That’s exactly how it felt – most of the way.

 

The kids were awesome!  Lauren slept a lot of the way, by the grace of God!  But the best highlight of the trip was turning into the driveway of Kibogora!!!  We were warmly welcomed by all of the men from the garage with hugs, handshakes, smiles & loads of help to carry all those 10 boxes of heavy luggage.  They took us to our new home away from home – it’s the coolest one in our opinion J  It goes by these names:  Snyder house, white house, Ogden house.  It has a breath-taking view of Lake Kivu right out the back windows.  We have cement floors & brick walls, a large living room with a piano & fireplace, a den for toys & books, a kitchen with a stove, microwave, small fridge & sink, a dining room, 2 bathrooms & 3 bedrooms.  Lauren sleeps alone while Levi & Anna share a room with 2 twin beds.  We are spoiled!  By no means are we roughing it – especially with hot showers & yummy food prepared by the hired staff here.  I don’t even mind the highway of tiny ants that runs from beneath our dining room table to the door after each meal – they carry out all of the crumbs that Lauren drops.  I don’t love the giant carpenter ants that crack when I squish them with my flip flop or that show up unexpectedly under boxes in hoards…

 

When I asked Levi yesterday “do you like Africa so far?”  he said “No…… I LOVE it!”  That’s a great sign J  He’s been in his heaven climbing trees, staying up past dark (it’s dark at 6:30), exploring everywhere & basically running free around the mission.  Anna has loved it as well – there are chickens here that we get to collect eggs from and feed, pigs to watch & throw food to, 2 dogs to play with, lots & lots of colorful birds to watch & the best part – bunnies.  Anna loves spending time in the bunny pen.  She sits there & feeds them leaves piece by piece, talks to them, pets them, and is just quiet with them.  She was sure she was going to sleep out there with them last night but then it got dark…. And it gets really dark here.  There are few lights on around the mission & pretty much none all over the community.  You can see a few fires flickering in the darkness across the lake, but otherwise it’s just plain dark.  Lauren has also enjoyed the bunnies, but maybe her favorite thing is a chameleon that is about as long as my thumb (from head to tip of tail) she loves to hold it & let it walk all over her (I actually love the thing too!  Adorable… just like Pascal on Tangled).  She also loves to watch Levi catch geckos & swing on the swing.  I’ve been spending my days playing with the kids, learning how to live here, how to have food prepared, laundry done, where is safe & easy to go to shop for little essentials (ie toilet paper) and treats (ie Fanta pops or cookies).  I’ve been spending a lot of time with the missionary wife who has been here for a year.  Her name is Linda & her husband is Tim Berg.  He is a surgeon from Texas & Joel will be taking his place until they return in September.  They have 4 teenage kids & it has been a great year – they are a gold mine of tips & help for us as we prepare for the next several weeks.  A huge blessing!!!!!!!  I only wish they could stay here with us or we could stay when they return – it has been an easy, fast friendship.  They leave Friday morning.

 

Joel started his first full day on Wednesday – it was quite a day!  He began at 7:30am, came home for a bite to eat at 2, returned at 3 & came home at 8pm.  It was emotionally exhausting – so much to learn & so much he doesn’t normally do in the US -  & physically exhausting as well; we are still getting over a bit of jet lag.  He did 4 surgeries (1.  right colectomy 2.  ORIF of a humerus fracture 3. drained a liter of pus out of an upper arm abscess  4.  EGD)  Hopefully every day won’t be as long, though it’s difficult to walk away at the end of a day knowing some people will wait for days to see the doctor.

 

When it rains here, it rains.  I love LOVE the rain storms here & am so happy we are catching the tail end of a rainy season.  Things are still green & lush & flowery… and the storms rock the earth.  We have had a couple huge thunder storms – they are short, but intense.  I love them!

 

This afternoon, after Lauren woke up from her nap & Joel was home, we took a walk to the market down the street – about a 15-20 minute walk.  One of the Berg’s teenage kids (Ruthie) took us there.  It was overwhelming for Anna.  Levi did amazing considering…. And Lauren rode in a backpack on Joel’s back (to the many laughs of the Rwandans who think it’s hilarious to see a man carrying a baby…. It’s just not done here).  There are hundreds of little shops all selling basically the same stuff:  fabric, Fanta, butter, cooking oil, potatoes, fish, produce, phone cards, etc…  But we definitely drew the crowd in.  We were surrounded in no time by LOTS of people – many, many kids, but lots of everyone!  They were absolutely friendly & just plain curious – as if characters from a movie just stepped into their neighborhood.  I held Anna as she tried to be so brave.  Levi just popped his gum & tried to shake hands & smile.  All the women wanted to hold Lauren & Anna.  For a treat we got the kids Cokes to share – but they are served in glass bottles that generally aren’t allowed to leave the tiny store – so we had to suck them down fast & head back before it got too dark.  I don’t think I’ll be attempting the market without Joel & probably a Rwandan friend along for the walk.  But it was encouraging to see how easily it was to find the kids in the neighborhood – all we have to do is step out into the street & they flock.