Rwanda 2017 | Days 2 and 3
Welcome back! Today I’m sharing the next few days of our 2017 trip to Rwanda! Looking through these pictures and working on these post, it makes me so excited to be back in Rwanda in just a few short weeks. Eek! I’m trying really hard to get these posts finished before we go, but we will see how that goes!
Monday | October 16th
Monday morning was a rough start for us all. We were still tired from the travel, but then had to deal with the time change, and it was especially hard for Baker to adjust. We were a little late to our 8:00 breakfast in the lobby because Baker was still snoozing.
After breakfast, we loaded the cars back up with all our stuff in preparation to move to the house we would be staying at. Just as we were getting ready to leave, Ben showed up (he had gone home the night before) and we realized our car wouldn’t start. Thankfully, it was a stick, we had a wide open parking lot, and we had some strong guys that were able to pop the clutch. Let’s just say that by the end of the week, the guys were experts of popping the clutch in various locations. (It’s pretty funny now but not so much then).
We met Clarissa at the house and she gave us our keys. We quickly unloaded our stuff before heading to the school.
After not having been to the school in almost two years, I was blown away by the physical transformation. I love all the colors and paintings and feel like it makes the school so much more official.
One of the bigger projects that the guys worked on in Nyabihu was building a fence around the school. In order to be recognized by the government, the school built this fence to secure the property. It was volunteer day at the school so the guys had lots of extra help to start on it. This was very strenuous work as they were digging up rocks, carrying them on their head, busting up rocks, and helping lay the rocks for the fence.
While the guys worked on the fence, Dorian, Baker, and myself got to serve the children porridge. This was a new experience for us all because the kitchen was not finished when we were there last in 2015.
The school has a group of mothers that volunteer their time to prepare and serve the porridge. Cory and I noticed a huge difference in the appearance of the children since they now get at least one meal a day.
It brought tears to my eyes to see these little chairs and tables so the children have a place to eat from.
The children said the most precious prayer over their food and then filed in to their chairs and patiently waited with their arms crossed until all the children had been served before they began eating.
Each of the younger classes came in to eat and we served the older students in their classrooms.
Word can’t describe the heartbreak I have from this photo of the children’s rights hanging up just like “classroom rules” you’d see in an American classroom. And while these rights nearly brought me to my knees, I was overwhelmed with the hope that Nyabihu Christian Academy is providing for these children. We live in a world where some children simply want to have a name and life. Children, you guys. Helpless, precious, joyful children and all they want is a name.
As for Baker, it was like she was born to be there! She just fit right in. By lunch time, the guys were already wiped out. Honestly, they probably all needed a gallon of water and a nap but they pushed through and kept working.
After lunch, Dorian and I were planning to start home visits and we needed a 3rd person, so we made Greyson go with us because he looked like he might pass out if he went back to carrying rocks.
As we headed out, some of the children were out playing on the playground equipment which is also a new addition since we were there last in 2015.
We dubbed this little lady as Colonel because she truly ran the show. I will share videos of her leading the crowd…she was born to be a leader! And she is just so stinkin cute!
Home visits are such a huge part of our trips and emotionally, one of the hardest things we do. We hear stories and see living conditions that no one would be able to fathom. Yet, I find it to be one of the most humbling and rewarding parts of the trips. It allows time to get to know these families, hear their needs, and pray over them. Often times, they want to pray for us too. We are so undeserving of their prayers.
Check out these smiles, y’all. I honestly don’t know who enjoyed who more. Baker just chuckled the whole time.
We met a family this year who was feeding their child poisonous leaves (like poison ivy) that had been dried and boiled just so the child had something in his stomach. We emptied our backpacks of the snacks we had and tried to keep our composure in front of the family.
It was right after this photo I tripped over a rock (which isn’t surprising) but with the weight of Baker on my back, I couldn’t keep myself up and we took a tumble backwards. I twisted my ankle pretty bad and I landed on Baker’s foot, and immediately thought I had broken her little foot. I think I scared us both more than anything.
This was our view as we came back to the campus.
We made it back to the school right in time for heavy rains to come in so we called it a day. And I know the guys were more than ready to be done busting and moving rocks. Poor Baker, just couldn’t keep up!
We went back to the house to get ready for dinner and went to a new place to eat called Migano and it became a new favorite of ours.
It was delicious but Baker was a nightmare! The evenings were just not a great time for Baker after the long days. This face will fool you.
We had coffee outside by the fire before leaving the restaurant when I noticed the big knot that had popped up from my fall earlier in the day.
We got back to the house and did our nightly devotion before heading to bed!
Tuesday | October 17th
Our third day in Rwanda was very much a “Rwandan day”. We woke up to some confusion over breakfast at the house. Hello, language barrier. Clarisse (the lady that managed the house) was willing to cook for us but we didn’t have any food for her to cook and didn’t realize we needed to arrange with her to purchase it. Cory and Ben went to get breakfast for us and a SIM card so we could have wifi and ended up being gone much longer than anticipated, so we got started much later than we planned and it was almost 11 before we got to Nyabihu. However, in Rwanda, this the norm and you just have to roll with it. Joel had to go a 2-hour session working with local preachers and they were waiting on him when we got there.
When we got there, some of the children were playing on the playground.
While the rest of the guys started working on the fence again, Dorian and I spent some time outside with the children. We attempted teaching them some songs and listened as they sang songs they already knew.
Here’s Colonel again and her facial expressions crack me up!
After lunch, we started home visits as a group.
But we only got one visit in before a big storm blew in and we had to head back to the school.
So we visited a few a few classrooms and spent some time with the children.
Every time Cory would lean down, a dozen or more set of hands went up in the air just to try to get Baker to laugh.
These sweet faces love to have their pictures taken.
They were following her around like she was a celebrity.
Once we finally got to our car, we spent a good 30 minutes listening to the cutest songs from the kids, one being the alphabet!
We found Rafiki and took a picture with him to send to his sponsor.
And Divine, the little girl that Cory connected with on his first trip in 2013 showed up. She doesn’t go to the school anymore, but always comes and says hello to Cory when she finds out we are there.
One of my favorite pictures of sweet Divine meeting Baker.
On the way home, we saw where the roads were washing away from the rains and created this massive waterfall.
Since we had to leave early due to the storms, we met with Bishop John at the Gorilla Hotel. We always treasure our time with Bishop John and his guidance. He has had such a huge part of the revitalization and reunification of the country after the genocide and it’s always an honor to get a few minutes of his time. After dinner, we headed to dinner at my favorite place, Volcano Lodge. You may remember, we found the restaurant after I was craving pizza in Rwanda a few years ago.
After dinner, we got back to the house and did our nightly devotion before calling it a day. 
If you made it all the way to the end of us please it’s you get a 🙌🏻. I hope you’ll come for the rest of our Rwanda 2017 recaps.
Need to catch up on Rwanda 2017:
