Rafiki Rwanda: Days 14, 15, & 16

It's our last night in Rwanda and we are filled with mixed emotions. On one hand we are going to enjoy seeing everyone at home, eating American food, and sleeping in our own beds, especially since we have both managed to get the colds the children all seem to have. But we are so sad to leave the people here. The children are so special to each of us. We love watching them sing, dance, and enjoy life. We love to listen to their questions and give them answers in English. They love to learn and soak up all the information. We spent some time in Kigali on Saturday and Sunday and found ourselves wanting to return to the Rafiki Village quickly. The village is filled with love and happiness.

On Saturday we went to the Genocide Memorial in Kigali. We learned that the various tribes lived peacefully in Rwanda until the period of colonization when the Germans and Belgians began to differentiate the tribes based on their theories of genetic superiority. The Tutsi's were deemed more intelligent than the Hutu's and given superior jobs and opportunities. Gradually this was eliminated, but the bad feelings remained, and in summary, some in the Hutu community began to use media to spread a message of hate towards the Tutsi's. The killing that took place in 1994 was brutal and horrific. To top off our experience, we watched "Hotel Rwanda" last night. To be honest, it is a good thing I didn't know all of this before we came. To think that all of this happened only 17 years ago, and that many of the people we are meeting were alive and involved in some way is frightening.

The Kigali Genocide Memorial

GAMES continues this week so we have been busy with that, trying to complete all of our work in the Library and with Sponsor cards. We also have been trying to take pictures with the children and Mama's so we can remember these special people.

The boys at play time!

The mamas taught the children to dance Rwandan style!

The older kids play soccer during GAMES!

The new Eric playing the Rwandan relay!

We have a long trip ahead of us tomorrow- Kigali to Entebbe, then to Brussels and a 4 hour wait to board a plane to Newark. Customs in Newark and on to Houston. I will be 18 when we land in Houston! Although a majority of my birthday is spent on the plane, my birthday is 31 hours long!

Thank you for praying for us and we hope to be able to share more with those of you who are interested when we return home.