May 3, 2014

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Kibogora, Rwanda

 

We made it!  We’re here.  Our luggage arrived intact, un-stolen and all there.  We left on Wednesday & we ended up checking 10 suitcases/totes each weighing 49 pounds according to our cheap-o home luggage scale.  We prayed hard that we would not be overweight at the airport check-in.  Each time we lifted a tote onto the airport scale, I prayed & held my breath.  Every single box weighed in at 50 pounds on the dot!  We also gate-checked 5 pull behind carry-ons (freeing us from worrying about leaving any of those in the plane overhead compartments – see last year for this not-so-funny reference J ).  That left us with 5 backpacks to keep with us at all times – full of snacks, games, books & a few stuffed animals.  (10+5+5=20 pieces of luggage…. And 3 smallish children).  So having made it here without losing anything – or anyone – is not a small miracle!!!  Thank you Jesus for every second of protection.

 

Our plane rides were split into 2 flights, each 8 hours long.  The kids were champs!  There might have been 10 minutes of crying from Lauren while she tried to go to sleep – but otherwise, we flew with ease.  Joel & I were even able to read books, sleep (a little) & watch movies!  That has never happened before – and I’m loving this new chapter of life!

 

Arriving at the Kigali airport was nostalgic.  We stepped off the plane to walk across the runway & into the airport.  Anna immediately said “Oh it’s warm!  And it smells like Africa!”  I reminded her we were, in fact, in Africa & she was surprised.  Traveling across the world, stopping for a few hours in Europe, watching a few more movies….then landing in a tropical climate that smells familiar….It’s hard to make sense of this when you’re 6.

 

We gathered all our luggage & wheeled it out on 3 carts to a special friend who was waiting, Ben, who owns & runs the Good News Guesthouse.  We remembered each other & hugged!  He helped us load up into two vehicles & drove us to his guesthouse.  A beautiful, peaceful, extremely comfortable place we were excited to rest in.  The kids found their second wind & ran around – up & down the slippery, tiled hallways & all around the gardens outside.  They needed to run off the 16 hours of sitting!  It was pitch dark – it’s dark at 6pm here.  The moon was a perfect smile (exactly like the Cheshire Cat, as noted by Anna).  We rounded the kiddos up, had a prayer time on the bed – thanking God for all his grace, protection & surprises.  We prayed for the next day’s trip – the plan was to ride in a bus to Kibogora.  We hadn’t done this before, and the busses we’ve seen have had crazy drivers! 

 

Anna & Levi slept wonderfully under their mosquito nets – Lauren got a little disoriented in the night & thirsty.  She ended up in bed with us & missed several hours of sleep – just laying there awake because her body felt like it was late afternoon, not the middle of the night!

 

The morning came & we had a yummy pancake breakfast outside in the gardens – complete with the tiny bananas that taste like strawberries (Lauren ate 6 before the day was done!)…. And coffee & fresh pineapple & crunchy, tangy passion fruit… is your mouth watering yet? J  We packed up, said good-bye to Ben, Scholastic (she’s our friend who takes good care of us there) and Anastas, the cook with a huge smile.   We packed into the bus & drove to Kibogora.  We left Kigali at about 9am.   We stopped at the bank for a quick money exchange and once about half way for lunch.  I think we arrived a little bit after 4pm. 

 

I wish I could capture with words the warm welcome we received as our bus pulled into the mission.  Muganga hugged us both so hard & welcomed us back – when Joel told him that Ryan sends his greetings, he laughed so loudly & hugged harder!  Buckweay welcomed us with hugs & immediately began carrying all those heavy bags.  Julie came down the steps & we hugged – so great to see her!  Then we saw Drs. Bill & Lydia coming down to greet us – we didn’t expect to see them this year!  What a special surprise!  Hugs, again!  We unloaded the bus & began making rounds with Julie to meet all the new people – what a full mission compound!  It is a hopping place this year!  I’m pretty sure every house is full.  As I was meeting a new friend, I heard a loud squeal & turned to see Josiane running out of her shoes across the grass to me!  We hugged hard!!  She was all smiles!  It was wonderful to see her.  We caught up a little & she had brought a bag with a gift in it for my kids!  Bananas!!!  She knows how much they love those little bananas J

 

We went to bed last night on quite an overwhelming high!  It felt so good.  So familiar.  And God’s surprises are far from over.  There is a new family here (they arrived one week ago and are staying for a year).  They have 3 kids.  Their youngest is an 8 year old boy.  Need I say more?  Levi has already told me that Brandon is his best friend (and quickly clarified that Cole is really more than a best friend… just so there’s no confusion!)  I’m pretty sure I didn’t see Levi from just after lunch today until past dinnertime – and Brandon joined us for dinner!  In fact, I’m alone in my living room now, Lauren sleeping in her bed and the others over at the Berg family’s house for a movie night.  Brandon is a gift from God.  And Levi is a gift to Brandon & his family.  His mom (Stephanie) shared with me that they were a little worried about Brandon last week as he seemed pretty lonely & lost.  Anna has even joined in the fun of catching frogs, chameleons & climbing trees with the boys. I might have applied more than 10 band-aids already! Julie let Anna brush her hair & paint her nails this afternoon – then asked her to come & help her cook dinner this evening.  Annie loves the girly attention.  And Lauren is just happy running around holding that silly chameleon.  I’m positive she would let it sleep in her bed if I let her!

 

Joel was up at the hospital all morning, rounding with Dr. Tim Berg, as Tim will be leaving tomorrow.  He is super excited to begin & learn from Dr. Carl Albertson who is an ortho surgeon here.  Carl & his wife, Francie, are retired & will return home to Alabama in June – after being here 6 months.  A beautiful, special couple we are so excited to get to know.

While Joel was up at the hospital, the rest of us went with Julie and a few others to Kumbya for a swim & picnic lunch.  A great start to this adventure!  The rest of today, I spent unpacking, inventorying hospital supplies we brought & delivering things people had asked us to bring.  I’m almost done J  There are a couple of families visiting from Kigali, so I spent some time chatting with the moms.  It was refreshing.

 

So if truth be told, I had some moments of sadness before leaving our house on Tuesday evening.  I was washing up the last of the dishes in the sink, looking out at the new green grass, practically watching the flowers grow after the thunderstorm we had just had – and I had a moment of regret.  I told Joel “I don’t want to go anymore.”  I was imagining how fun a summer we could have at our new home, with a new, big yard, playing in the sprinkler & playing with our friends.  Helping my dad build his cabin up north.  Going to fairs.  Picking strawberries. Camping at Lake Michigan. We walked out on the damp deck & smelled the sweet, humid air.  Leaving was a little painful.  We thanked God for our beautiful home.  Prayed it would be a blessing to others and prayed for His blessing on our summer in Africa. 

 

As we rounded the bend in the road that leads to Kibogora, and we could see the hospital off in the distance, with it’s blue roofs… my heart shouted inside “Why would I ever want to leave here?”