Thank You

We want to thank you for following our adventures in Rwanda. Please check in to this blog in the next week or so as we will be adding some more of our impressions and our pictures.

Also, thank you for your prayer support. There were many times during our trip that we felt the power of your prayers.

All team members have been healthy throughout our trip and we have had a wonderful time together.

See you soon!

Leaving Rwanda

After breakfast on the patio of the guest house, we met for our last devotional in Rwanda before we boarded our bus to the airport. We made one stop to see Hotel Rwanda.

We were very sad to say our farewells to our driver Frank and our host, Jean. They were an important part of our team and we grew to love and appreciate them. The Sousys met us at the airport to say good bye.

Our flight was late leaving Kigali. When we arrived in Nairobi, Don and Joy left the airport to have a picnic in the parking lot with Aaron and Erica Kenny. It was great to get caught up with them and we are looking forward to their visit in April.
The rest of the team waited the 6 hours for our next flight to London in the Java Coffee Shop.

The team is now in London awaiting our next flight .... home! We have a 5 1/2 layover here! If our flight leaves on time, we will arrive in Toronto at 3:15 p.m.

Debriefing with the Sousys

On Thursday morning, we went to the AEBR (Association of Baptist Churches in Rwanda...AEBR is the French shortform!) for our debriefing with Kathleen and Bruno. We had a great time sharing our impressions and experiences of our time in Rwanda.

After this we were introduced to the Dorcas Group. This is a group of women who are HIV positive. This group meets every Friday for prayer, Bible study and mutual support. They are also learning to make baskets, clothing and other items for sale so that one day they can be self-sufficient. They also catered our lunch.

Before our lunch, we had the pleasure of watching a group of young people performing their traditional dance. The young people are street kids who have been meeting every Saturday under the leadership of a Theological student working at the church. Through this programme, many have become Christians and turned their lives around.

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in Kigali. Kathleen went with us to ensure that we were able to get the best deals.

In the evening, we went to the General Secretary of the AEBR for dinner. Andre and his wife were great hosts and provided a very traditional meal. This time together gave us the opportunity to learn more about the challenges of the ABR Church in Rwanda.

Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project.

On Wednesday morning we were joined by the programme staff of the OBC Project (Orphans and Vulnerable Children). This project is also know as the Children of Hope Project. Ir was started by CBM 3 years ago. Currently it serves 1560 children in three different villages.

We drove high up into the hills outside of Kigali on red, dusty, clay roads to visit the families. We took rice, cooking oil and food staples to each home. We broke into two groups for visiting the families. Each group visited 4 families. Each story was heart breaking.

"E" is 14. His parents both died of aids when he was 10. His older brothers and sister left him on his own to live in his parents home. Through project he has been given a mentor who visits him weekly. CBM has put a new roof on his house and given him seeds to plant. He keeps a small garden. CBM hopes that he will become self-sufficient.

"G" is on her own with her two young children ages 3 and 4. She is infected with HIV and so are her children. She has also taken in 3 orphans. CBM has build a very samll 2 room house for and is also providing food and counselling.

"M" is an 18 year old who cares for her two younger sibs. Their mother was recently sentenced to 30 years in prison for a crime she says she did not commit during the Genocide. In addition to caring for the younger sibs, "M" takes food each day to the prison for her mother. It takes 3 hours to walk each way. CBM supports the children with a mentor from the village, some rabbits to breed for sale and counselling. Theeir house is in poor repair and will need to be replaced soon.

"P" is an 80 year old grandomother who has raised 8 children but is not caring for 4 orphans whose parents have died of AIDS.

Needless to say this was a difficult morning for the team.

In the late afternoon we made a quick visit to Amani Ja Yu, a women's co-operative in Kigali. The women are all HIV positive. They make beautiful crafts and clothing.
Several team members made purchases for family and friends.

After a short break at the guest house, the team enjoyed a wonderful meal and evening at the Sousy's home. This was a special time for their son Ben has he the company of our youth.

The Visit to the National Genocide Memorial

In the afternoon the team visited the Genociade Memorial. The Memorial was tastefully presented but emotionally dificult for us. We were moved by the videos, the pictures of adults and children who were murdered, the human skulls and bones,
and the mass graves. We were all quiet and deep in thought as we returned to our guest house.

Things lightened up for us after a wonderful time at an Italian Resturant with the Sousy family where the speciality was wood oven pizzas. Until this restaurant, our usual meal consisted of chicken, rice, potatoes, beans, peas, and sodas to drink.

The time with the Sousys was very helpful as we learned more about the Genocide, the political and economic climate of Rwanda.

Leaving Fatima

This Tuesday morning we were sad to leave the Fatima Pastoral center. We all have wonderful memories of are time there. The drive into Kigali was about two and a half hours long and threw some spectacular scenary of the thousand hills. Upon our arrival in Kigali we went directly to lunch. We were joined by Kathleen and Bruno Soucy, global field staff and their entire Sharing Way staff. After lunch the team drove to the Iris Guesthouse which will be are home for our last three nights in Rwanda. It is a beautiful oasis.

Final touches

On Monday morning we returned to the school for our last day on the job. Our first task was to move a pile of bricks. We immiediatly set up a human chain. It took us about an hour. After this some team members worked on tuckpointing the bricks, while others painted the windows and trim. The team worked very hard and were very tired, we left the site at about 2 pm for lunchback at the Fatima centre which is a 15 minute drive we returned at 3 45 for a rematch soccer game with the highschools team. This time the highschools team played very hard and aggressive. Brian Mitchell was our goalie. He had a cheering section of approximetly 30 community kids who cheered him on with every save. The final score Canada 2 Rwanda 1 the winning goal was scored in the dying minutes by James. After the match everyone gathered at centre field where the local pastor spoke highly of the team and their work at the school and community. And he also prayed for a safe journey home. Students and youth took pictures together and said goodbyes before we boarded the bus. This would be are last time at the school . The classroom was complete and ready for students use next week. The initial construction started on July 29. When we returned to the fatima centre they had a special farewell dinnner prepared for us. This post comes to you from james' iPod touch in bourbon cafe in Kigali .

A Sunday To Remember

We were saddened to have to say good bye to Grace today. She went to Nairobi, Kenya to do some CBM work. We will miss her.
We were invited to attend a church in Rhuhergi. This church was held at the AEBR High School that we had previously visited. We were all feeling intimidated by the thought of a 3 to 4 hour service in a language we could not understand. It turned out to be a wonderful, worshipful experience. There was a lot of singing and dancing with many different choirs. After we were introduced to the congregation, Don brought words of greeting on behalf of CBM and our church. The team sang two songs: We will Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving in our Hearts and Shine Jesus Shine. Believe it or not, the keyboard player was able to pick up some of the tune and played along.
After the sermon, which was about 30 minutes long and was interpreted by Jean, we were each presented with a gift to keep as a remembrance of our visit with them and for the work that we are doing. It was an extremely emotional time for us and one that we will not soon forget. The service turned out to be about 2 and one half hours long and there were approximately 250 people in attendance.
After church, we were invited to the Pastors home for lunch where we had one of the best meals yet. It could have been that everything was homemade and therefore very tasty.
We then returned to our guest house for a quiet afternoon and evening.

Saying Good Bye to Paradise

On Saturday morning we were awaken by very loud music and singing at 6:55. Many of us gathered on the beach to see what was happening. We were thrilled to see that the nearby church was holding a baptismal service. More than 30 people were baptized in Lake Kiev. It was very exciting to watch. Several of the team had one last swim before breakfast. The rest of us enjoyed our morning tea and coffee on the beach. After breakfast we said good bye to Paradise and went to the nearest town. Jean went to the bank and on his way back to the bus he met the principal of a high school we were supposed to visit. We presented him with a basket ball and a soccer ball there as his school was too far away and this saved us a trip there. After this we went to another AEBR school to see the grounds and dormitories. This high school has 750 students. Some of the roofs here had been ripped off during a storm and CBM had replaced them. We presented two balls, a set of jerseys and team socks. We then played a game of volleyball with the high school team. Our next stop was a visit to meet Jeans mom and sisters and to see the house that he is having built for them. We then did a quick trip to the Congo border. There was a mass of people going both ways across the border. We returned to the Peaceland Hotel for lunch. We climbed 115 stairs to reach the restaurant at the top. It was well worth the climb as the view was spectacular.
After lunch we returned to Ruhengeri and the Fatima Guest House. On our way there we stopped at our worksite to see what been accomplished during our absence. We also had another visit with the children.

Paradise

We traveled south to Lake Kivu and Gisenyi (town) where we went to Paradise Motel. This would be our home for the next two nights. Both CBM and ABER wanted us to have some r & r. Truly this is a wonderful spot with our huts over looking the beach and beautiful scenery. It was our first day of full sunshine and the lake was very refreshing. We all went swimming including Chanel and Grace. One of the greatest surprises to the whole team has been the weather which has been cloudy and cool despite being so close to the equator. Some people here are even wearing winter coats. This rest was really needed as we were surprised by the physical and emotional fatigue.

Guardians of Hope

On Thursday Andre who is the manger of Guardians of Hope joined us for the day. Guardians of Hope is a partnership of CBM and AEBR. The focus of the program is to assist families infected with HIV/Aids. Andre explained that they are a number of components to the program. After his introduction we drove to the community where we have been building the classroom. We visited the church where a number of families and the local association of Guardians of Hope had gathered to welcome us. There was a number of speeches and prayers. Then several members presented gifts to us in appreciation of are visit. They also gave us some mais (corn) to eat which was very special because the did not have enough for themselves.

We then went into the village to visit with four families infected/affected by HIV/Aids. This was definitely the most difficult and emotional part of are trip so far. We took gifts of rice, cooking oil etc. to each family. The first family was a mother and five kids. The mother is very, very sick but still allowed us to visit. After presenting the gifts some of the team prayed for her. We them proceeded to visit the other three families who all appeared to be doing well because of the support and assistance from Guardians of Hope. Two of the families were very proud to show us the rabbits they had received from CBM that now allow them to generate income for their families because the rabbits are so prolific. One family also had a couple of goats the had received from CBM. A team member prayed for each family. Our visits to these families included what seemed like the whole village as we were followed to each home by a crowd of children and some adults.

After this emotional time John explained that he was taking us to rest at "Paradise".

Visiting more Village schools

After the soccer match, we boarded our bus and headed out to visit two more schools. Our next visit was to a primary school. Primary schools in Rwanda are from grades one to six. At the school we presented two soccer balls and one volleyball. The students appreciated receiving these balls because they only had a plastic ball to play with. This visit was not as organized because we arrived at lunch time and many of the students and teachers had gone home for lunch.

We made one more school stop before returning to the Fatima Centre for a late...late lunch. The student at the highschool were expecting our visit. They wore bright yellow, green, and blue uniforms. An outdoor assembly was quickly called and the entire team introduced itself to the student body. The student body sang to us. The superintendent and the principal spoke at this assembly. Both were very thankful to CBM on behalf of Canadian Baptists for all that we have done to assist their schools and their communities. This was also the school of the regional pastor who accompanied us this day. The students could not play soccer with us because they were studying for their national exams. The grades at the highschool here are from grades seven to twelve.

While waiting to board our bus, some of the young children put on a gymnastics show. Its amazing the different flips they are able to do over a car tire.

We then went back to the Fatima Centre for a long awaited lunch.

For dinner we drove into Ruhengeri for dinner at a hotel where we enjoyed another buffet dinner including goat.

The Big Match

The soccer match was between the STM team and the schools soccer team. We played for an hour and changed ends at half time. Our foreman was our referee. The Canadian side was bolstered by the school superintendent and our driver Frank, who was our goalie. The Rwandan team was very good but had trouble defending against Johnathan, James, and Ryan. During the heavy competition Lisa Mitchell did a 9.5 stumble. She was able to continue playing, but now has a large bruise on her leg. Our goalie Frank made some outstanding saves and Maya scored on a penalty kick. The final score was Canada 3 Rwanda 0. The village children and the entire student body watched the match cheering on our team. After the game we showed the Rwandan team how to do a traditional hand shake.

We suspect that the highschool team held back and will be better prepared for the re-match.

Day Two At the Worksite- Wednesday

When we arrived today at the classroom we were building, we were greeted by the village children who were happy to see us again. We were excited to see that the school had built two soccer nets. Ephram, the forman quickly put us to work. Some were asked to hand mix the cement while others were filing a wheel barrel with sand and pushing it to the classroom. Inside some of our team worked on the floor, smoothing the cement with a trowel. Others worked outside tuck pointing the bricks. Ever once and a while we rotated job responsibilities.

At about lunch time Maya presented the school with three soccer balls and one volleyball. She also gave the students a picture of the students at her school who had raised the money for the soccer balls. We also presented green soccer jerseys and matching green socks to the highschool soccer team. Maya was overwhelmed with the emotion and responsiveness of the students to these gifts. It was very impressive when the soccer team came running out of their classroom wearing their new jerseys. They were like any sports team that would enter a stadium for a big match. We were a little intimated as the team went through their warm-ups as we watched.

Tuesday....Our First Day at our Worksite!

We were warmly greeted as we arrived at the school where we are helping to build a classroom. We were to start yesterday, but because of our late arrival, we were only able to start today.
When we got there, we were invited to visit the 4 high school classrooms. We were asked to give our names and some of us decided to introduce ourselves in French. (Not Chanel!) "Je m'appelle James" was greeted with many smiles and clapping. Someone else introduced himself as "Je m'appelle Breonn" aka, Brian! After having fun introducing ourselves, we went to work!
Our job today was to carry boulders about 500 yards to the school. These boulders were being used on the floor. Tomorrow, we will help to put cement on top of the roughed in floor.
The high students helped us (they were happy to be out of class!), along with their teachers, some young children and other members of the community. It was very impressive to see people of all ages working together. We enjoyed chatting with the students and teachers as we walked to and fro. We were blown away seeing very young children, around 5-6 years of age carrying boulders the same size as some adults were carrying.
During the break the boys played soccer with the male students and the girls sang with the younger students. The boys' soccer game ended in a shoot out to break the tie...it was wonderful to see how the boys bonded with each other and really got into the excitement of the game. The girls had fun teaching the children new songs and learning new songs from the children. Lisa and Jean had fun dancing to some of the songs and the children responded by clapping.
We were also entertained by some of the boys doing back flips and other moves. The ground is very hard and uneven but their skill and moves was absolutely astounding. Lisa and Maya also awed them by doing cartwheels.
All of us very tired when we headed to back for lunch which was served outside on a balcony and was very tasty.
After a small break we went off to buy the soccer balls for the schools. It will be thrilling to give them out as the soccer balls that are often used here are made of plastic bags stuffed together to make the shape of a ball.
We are all doing well....God is keeping us safe and well...and we are all in awe of His creation in the beauty we see around us.

Finally....We are in Rwanda!!!!

Monday....
We went to the airport with reservations that Don and Brian had made on Sunday afternoon. We were praying for the best but prepared for whatever we found. There was not as much chaos at the Kenyan airways check in counters, so everything went smoothly. We still did not know where our luggage was but had been advised to go the the luggage transfer counter....about 500 others had also been advised to do this too and the lineup to the counter was over 3 hours long with chaos once one arrived at the counter. After much team discussion we decided to board our flight and deal with our luggage in Rwanda. Our plane was one hour late in leaving but fortunately it was a short flight to Kigali.
Kigali Airport was like a breath of fresh air....no mob scenes. We were very pleased to see Grace and Jean...however our luggage didn't come off the plane with the rest of the passengers. A cheer went up when Jonathan Penner found his bag...off in a corner....minus his shoes though! After a while, we managed to find our luggage in a separate room....praise God! All 19 pieces arrived safe and sound.
After a lot of hugs with Grace and Jean we got in our bus and headed into Kigali for some lunch...we were starving as it was around 3 p.m. We all ordered a hamburger, fries and coke and food had never tasted so good...we hadn't eaten since breakfast at 8 a.m.
After a quick visit to the CBM office here in Kigali we started on our journey to Ruhengeri.
About half of our drive through the mountains was in daylight. The scenery was beautiful. The road was very bumpy in parts and the drive lasted about 3 hours.
We stopped for a washroom break, but I will let those who had that experience share it with you when we get home....one washroom for males and females with no stalls!!
We were happy to arrive at our home away from home for the next few nights and after dinner it was off to have a hot shower and bed!

A Lesson in Patience

Our plans have changed significantly due to a strike at the Nairobi airport.
The Good News is ..... that we were able to spend last night at Heart Lodge in Nairobi...yes, this is the same place that Don and Joy stayed at when they were in Nairobi last year!
The Bad News is .... that we do not have any of our luggage....just our carry ons!
To back up just a bit...
We had a great flight into London...arrived on Time! We were able to go into London and take a 1 1/2 hour bus tour around the city to see the highlights. The weather was wonderful and we were able to sit up top of a double decker bus!
What should have been our first clue of things to come was when we arrived back at Heathrow and our flight to Nairobi was delayed because Kenyan Airline was waiting for a plane. We then changed our flight to Rwanda to a later one because we would miss the first connecting flight that was reserved for us. We saw a wonderful sunrise on our flight to Nairobi.
At this point in time, we had not slept since leaving Toronto as we only managed to cat nap on both of our evening flights.
Upon arriving in Nairobi at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, we realized that the first flight that we were booked on was just boarding so we did try to get back on that flight but it was booked solid. We were just as glad that we missed it because later on in the day those people were still sitting in the "holding area" for the flight.
It was very chaotic at the airport. We spent a greater part of the day sitting in the Java House coffee shop located at the airport. Luckily, they have wonderful coffee and sandwiches.
We moved from there to see if we could figure out what was happening and encountered Chaos
everywhere that we went! We found a somewhat quiet corner in the airport where the benches were padded....so some of us...mainly the young ones! were able to stretch out and sleep!
We then found that the airlines were giving out lunch/dinner vouchers so we ate! and the meal was quite tasty. The left hand still didn't know what the right hand was doing at the airport but we were finally told to go through customs, get out luggage and the airlines would pay for a hotel for us.
We were blessed that Brian thought to bring his cell phone and Don had Jean's phone # (our contact in Rwanda). We were then able to get hold of Malcolm Card, CBM rep in Nairobi. Malcolm made the arrangements for us to stay at Heart Lodge. We finally were able to get to bed....into a real bed..around 11:30 last night....that is 4:30 p.m. Saturday, TO time....(remember that we had not slept since getting up on Thursday morning!)
As of right now, 2:00 p.m. Nairobi time, we will be staying here for one more night. Brian and Don are at the Airport trying to find out what is happening and to see when the next flight is leaving for Rwanda.
We spent the morning with Malcolm trying to problem solve. The rest of us are at the Village Market Mall (also a familiar place to Don & Joy) but will soon be heading back to "Home Away From Home" where we will be spending tonight as Heart Lodge is fully booked! It too is a lovely
oasis away from the chaos that we have been experiencing.
We are ALL well and in great spirits! We have been experiencing God's love and graciousness throughout all of this. Our sense of humour has not left us and the more tired we get the more funnier our jokes seem!
Please continue to pray for us...for we know that it is only by the power of your prayers that we are safe and sound and doing well!
Oh yes! We have spoken with Grace...she is fine but missing us as much as we are missing her!

We are on our way!!!!

Finally, after months of planning and fund raising, we are on our way. Our flight leaves Toronto at 11:15 p.m. We arrive in London Heathrow Airport at 11:25 a.m. (their time) on August 14th.
We have an 8 hour layover there and hope to do some sight seeing in London. Our Kenya Airways flight leaves at 8 p.m. (their time) and arrives in Nairobi, Kenya at 6:30 a.m. We then hop on another Kenya Airways plane that will take us to Kigali and we arrive there at 8:10 a.m. on Saturday or 2:10 a.m. TO time.
We have heard from Grace and she reports that we have a great, but very busy schedule in Rwanda!
Thank you for all your support as we prepared for this wonderful Mission Trip. We are definitely going as God's ambassadors and ambassadors for Fallingbrook - The Church at the Centre.
We thank you in advance for your continued prayer support. Please pray especially now for safety while travelling and that we will all arrive there with all ..and we mean "all" our luggage.
Next time you hear from us....WE WILL BE IN RWANDA !!!!! Praise God!!!

Two Sleeps to Go

Welcome to the Rwanda Fallingbrook team's blog. We hope that you will follow our adventures as we travel in Rwanda.

There are just two sleeps to go. It's hard to believe!!

The Team is very excited, but busy, packing and making final arrangements. The challenge is on since the team decided that each member would only take one piece of luggage weighing less than 50 lbs and one carry on. That was a good decision since we are also carrying two suitcases and two boxes for Canadian Baptist Ministries' (CBM) staff in Rwanda. We are also carrying 9 soccer balls, 40 soccer shirts and pairs of socks, thanks to a late donation. This is in addition to the $650 that Birchcliff PS raised for soccer balls. We decided to purchase these soccer balls in Rwanda.

Today we also received a donation from the Home Depot Store on Curity Avenue in Toronto. That store is donating work gloves, a flashlight and hat for each team member.

Grace Fong, one of our team members is already in Rwanda. Grace left Saturday evening to complete some CBM business before the team arrives. Grace and Jean (John) Samvura will be meeting us at the Kigali airport on Saturday morning. Jean is Rwandan. He will be looking after us during our time in Rwanda.

In her e-mail, Grace reported that she had arrived safely. Her flight went well. She reports that Rwanda is beautiful... with great scenery and landscapes and the weather is perfect. It's nice and hot but not humid.

Our building project...a school classroom is located in Kinigi which is in the north of Rwanda. This is in the volcano region which is famous for the gorillas. Unfortunately we will not be taking the trek in search of the gorillas as it is extremely expensive ($475.00 Amercian per person). While working in Kinigi we will be staying at a Catholic Guest House in the village of Ruhengeri . While in Rwanda we will also be visiting some local schools, CBM and Sharing way Projects, such as the Guardian of Hope Project (helping those infected/affected by HIV/AIDS) and vulnerable children project (orphans).

Please continue to pray for us as we continue to prepare for our mission trip.