So yesterday I got to sleep in again! WIN! Good Lord do I love my sleep. Then I sketched some, ate sandwiches with the girls, watched as some of the girls screamed in panic when they found a SCORPION in their room (turns out they aren’t poisonous here but STILL), then left to go to the Nyamata Church memorial a half hour outside Kigali. It was a full morning. I also got some reading in.
On our way to the memorial we went through marshes. It was a very different kind of Rwandan landscape than the ones I have seen so far. Apparently, a lot of Tutsi in the surrounding area hid there during the days of the genocide. I would hate hiding in a marsh. I don’t like to be soggy. Or smelly. It’s once again hard to understand their predicament.
The memorial was beyond depressing. It included a shot up church covered in the blood of the genocide victims, piles and piles of their clothes, and rooms full of bones. We went down into the mass grave and I almost passed out. You could actually smell death. I got light headed and claustrophobic. I couldn’t even cry, because I literally can’t even begin the process of wrapping my mind around such a tragedy. Over 10,000 people were murdered in that church, and a total of 45,000 people are buried in those mass graves. I just can’t imagine it. What humans are capable of is astonishing in both extremely good and bad ways. Murder is a crime I will never understand, and mass murder is something I could never even begin to. My heart aches for those still effected by the events that took place during those bloody one hundred days.
The grace and forgiveness the Rwandan people illustrate everyday gives me hope and insurmountable pleasure. It’s easy to focus on the bad parts, but these people live their lives everyday. They are friendly, happy, and sincere. They may be beaten and bent, but they refuse to be broken. My love for them grows everyday. I want to strive to be like them. These people are holy. The level of forgiveness and love they are capable of are truly the gifts of God. I feel His presence here with every moment, every gust of wind, and every sparkle of sunlight. What an experience. I really don’t give it justice with these words…
Well I’ll step off my emotional soapbox for a minute, and give you more details of my day…
After the memorial we came back and had a logistics meeting. Then it was dinner time! We grabbed a mass of motos and went to this Thai restaurant called Zen. IT WAS SO GOOD. Expensive, but wonderful. The atmosphere was also great. It was outdoors with a covered thatch roof, along with glittering black chandeliers. The dining tables and chairs were leather and made of beautiful wood. The waiters were great as well. It was such a lovely evening. I had teriyaki chicken. Yum. All of us ate too much, but it was well worth it. The moto ride back was cold, but we all made it safely so it was a success.
I went to sleep decently early, because we had to be up and about at 6:45am this morning for the Liberation Day festivities. I had a cup of tea, and we jammed into a small Spiderman themed mini bus that took us to Peace Stadium. There we went through a search line. The woman told me good morning as she felt me up. How friendly..? haha! She also took a picture of me with my camera to make sure it wasn’t a bomb. The picture is hilarious. I have the most awkward smile and look at my face, because I didn’t know what to do. I enjoy it immensely. After that ordeal, we waited around and then got to our seats. They were right next to the dignitary and president section. We moved down though, and I got pretty sun burnt. I read some while we waited. I’m reading this book called The Shack. It was an amazing read. I cried, laughed, and felt many other emotions. I strongly recommend it. I finished it today when I had some down time, and it put me at a level of peace I haven’t felt in a long time. Please take the time to read it. You won’t regret it.
Anyway, the Liberation Day festivities were pretty cool. We got to see some traditional Rwandan dances which was awesome. They also sang, and many people spoke (not in English though). We even got to hear and see President Kagame speak, but we didn’t understand a word he said. That was kind of disappointing. They had a marching band. It made me all nostalgic… oh the remnants of my band nerdiness… Overall it was a pretty cool experience. I got handheld flags. Win!
We got back at around 2pm and had some down time so I finished my book like I previously mentioned and got a small nap in before dinner. We tried to go eat chinese but they were closed so we went and had Indian food. It was SO good. I had garlic naan, steamed rice, and this mouthwatering chicken tomato spice curry stuff. I loved it. I ate too much, and am still stuffed even after making the hike back to St Paul’s. Oh well. When in Rome right? Haha!
This next week is full of RAPP volunteer stuff. I only have a little over a week left here, so I’m going to take full advantage of it! I hopefully get to sleep in tomorrow again, but we’ll see. I’m fixing up the RAPP blog, and I’m not sure when I’ll start that work. Today I am missing home though. Oh the BBQ and fireworks! Alas, it is a small price to pay for these kinds of experiences!
Until I write again!
Goodnight!
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