i am not a gorilla

Some who are reading this blog might remember how I shared about Rwanda at an elder board meeting one time at my church. Unbeknownst to me, I accidentally started talking about Rwanda's mountain gorillas as I brought up a slide of Laura Bush (who at that time had recently visited Rwanda). The whole room erupted into raucous laughter, and I remember wanting to disappear into the carpet. I thought people would forget all about it, after, say three years (it's almost been that), but no! Someone brought it up when I ran into them a month ago at church. Ah, the embarassment!

So you might understand why I am a little wary now to talk about gorillas, but I'll give it my best shot. If you ever come visit Rwanda as a tourist, you may be told to go straight to the northern part of the country; one of the most tourist-friendly destinations in the country is Virunga Volcano National Park, home to the mountain gorillas.

One of the only places in the world that you can trek into the wilderness, led by a guide, and have a close encounter with the renowned mountain gorillas in the wild is located in this national park. The park spills over into the Congo and Uganda, but I have heard nothing but rave reviews from people I've known who have entered the park from Rwanda. Without exception, everyone I've talked to has seen several gorillas at close range, and speaks enthusiastically about the experience. One visitor even told me how her group watched a very heated exchange, from just a few feet away, between a male silverback gorilla, who wanted to lead his gorilla family one direction into the forest, and two big female gorillas, who wanted to go the other way. (In the end, the females won the argument, apparently. Not a fair fight, perhaps.)

The 1980s movie, Gorillas in the Mist, took place in Rwanda, chronicling the life and death of the anthropologist Dian Fossey who was working to protect the endangered animals. Today, there are only about 350 such mountain gorillas. It is very common to find the gorillas traveling together in groups, usually one lone male, two or more adult females, and all the offspring. A clear hierarchy is marked in the group: the silverback gorilla (or, oldest male) is typically the leader, and then the females fall into line behind him according to how long they've been part of the group. The children are usually ranked by age.

Tour guides here are very sensitive to the lifestyle of the gorillas, and tour groups are kept to a minimum, limited to small groups for short periods in the early morning hours. If you'd like more information, please visit http://www.rwanda-gorillas.com

Give me a heads-up if you think you might be interested in coming over to see the gorillas...I'd love to see you! But be sure to save your pennies. The cost of visiting the mountain gorillas for one hour in the misty morning is $500 for non-Rwandan residents. (And $40 for Rwandan citizens.)


(Thanks to Matthew Ayers for this photo, taken in the Rwandan forest where the gorillas reside)

pandemonium in kibera

This is an interesting Reuters photo that went out on international wires a couple of weeks ago. The setting of the shot is at a food distribution effort at the edge of the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya (Kibera is the largest slum in Africa and is home to one out of every three residents of Nairobi).

As you know, Kenya has recently been stricken with political/tribal issues, and we need to pray much for this land. The death toll is climbing, words like "ethnic cleansing" are being used, and there are whispers of civil war. At the same time, there are many stories of the church being mobilized to help stem the violence and provide much-needed relief. The photo above tells an interesting and realistic story about this effort.

Due to the calamities, there are thousands of hungry people all over the country. Kibera is no exception. In the photo, the man with the orange head sash was part of a security line at the food distribution, helping to keep order by keeping the crowds away from the food trucks. When the masses of people saw that the food was running out, they rushed the security line (that's when the photo was taken). The "muzungu" in the photo (muzungu = white person) is the country director of WR-Rwanda, Phil, who was helping to distribute food along with the WR-Kenya staff, other aid orgs, and lots of other church volunteers. When the security line was breached, Phil was knocked over, and the guy who looks like he's biting Phil's shoulder is actually just trying to grab a bag of food that Phil toppled onto.

Phil says that five seconds after this shot was taken, he was flat on his back, looking up into five or six media cameras snapping his downfall in the midst of the chaos. One of the security guys reached down to help him up, and the whole distribution team had to get out of there. All in a day's work.

Thank you for your continued prayers for peace in Kenya.

PS: I just read in Ev. Free's Newsbreak about Dan, a volunteer from the church who's headed out to Kenya in February to assist in reconciliation and relief efforts...please pray for him too....

a strange kind of liberty

If you received my updates while I was in-country in 2006, you may remember a situation I wrote home about regarding what many perceived as false imprisonment of two men for genocide-related crimes. Without getting into all the details, I wanted to joyfully report that one of the men was recently released, freed to go home to his family after spending over a year in jail. Fantastic news!

The other man, however, remains imprisoned. Friends of mine recently visited him, hoping to encourage him by bringing him some food and some words of hope.

The imprisoned man, who still maintains his innocence, ended up being a strong encouragement to my friends instead... He talked about how he was able to share the hope and love of God with other prisoners, and was able to minister to others in prison. He didn't shake a fist at God for allowing him to be imprisoned, but instead saw his imprisonment as an opportunity to serve and comfort those around him.

There are some things that bars just cannot contain.

the tutor's wedding

I may start learning Kinyarwandan (the local language), and a tutor came by today to introduce himself. As we talked, it turns out that he's getting married next month! And wow, marriage traditions here in Rwanda are very different than back home. My older sister is getting married in May (yay!!) and so this potential tutor and I exchanged information about cultural expectations. He was just as surprised at mine as I was at his:

1. If you like a girl in Rwanda, you pretty much decide right away if you want to marry her or not. Dating, at least traditionally, isn't very common here. (I write this with the caveat that as western culture infiltrates the country, this particular practice is changing a little bit.) Essentially if you start spending exclusive time with a woman here, everyone will ask almost right away when the wedding is.

2. Once you decide you want to marry a girl here, you give her parents a dowry, usually cows. Now, my soon-to-be brother-in-law (in the USA) is a great hunter, so he's given my parents some good steaks and such. But we're talking about real live cows. My tutor gave two good milking cows to his fiancee's parents (and now there are four milking cows, so the engagement must have lasted a while so far...I forgot to ask). Cows are highly valued in Rwanda. The tutor quickly explained, lest I should misunderstand, that the cows were not PAYMENT for his wife-to-be, but rather a gift of thanksgiving for such a wonderful girl. "Her parents made her," he explained with a smile, "for me."

3. The groom-to-be and bride-to-be are equally responsible for planning the wedding here. The groom is particularly responsible for "preparing the house" for his bride, preparing the meal for all the guests, and one other sizeable task that I can't remember right now. I told him that although in some cases there is a lot of involvement from the groom, traditionally brides in the US did the bulk of the wedding planning. He thought this was pretty odd.

4. Here in Rwanda, the bride and groom split the costs of the wedding; no parents of either party are involved in ceremony or reception costs, and in fact, the couple will generally present a gift of some kind to the parents during the ceremony (more cows?). When I told the tutor that generally the parents of the bride foot the bill in America, he was so surprised. "Why is this?" he asked, taken aback. I had never really thought about it, and so I told him my guess was that traditionally, the bride lived with her parents until she lived with her husband, and so the parents were responsible for her expenses (and for hosting the party) up until the point they handed her over to her groom at the wedding ceremony. (Anybody know about the tradition? I really have no idea where that comes from...just took it for granted.)

5. Last, it is apparently very common to invite everyone and their brother to the wedding, here. Nobody is excluded. I found out about my tutor's upcoming wedding as I was being extended an invitation to attend....after a five minute conversation about Kinyarwandan lessons. Apparently limiting the guest list is, literally, a foreign concept here....or at least it is in my tutor's case.

Interesting stuff! Never a dull moment, that's for sure. It has been a busy two weeks and I will give you an update soon about how child survival and newborn research is progressing....talk to you again soon!

umasambe (ooh-mah-sohm-bee)

Allow me to introduce you to Umasambe, the crested crane that serves as watch-bird at Phil and Becca's house.



I know nothing about crested cranes, so feel free to enlighten me if you have time to check out wikipedia. What I DO know is that this particular crested crane doesn't like strangers and will crow at people. I also know that at one point it was legal to domesticate crested cranes and keep them as pets here, but it isn't any longer. Of course, if you obtained a crested crane while it was legal to do so, you're permitted to keep it now...you just can't get any more. Unfortunately for Umasambe, he could really use a friend, so the law is somewhat inconvenient.

The name "Umasambe" actually means "crested crane" in Kinyarwandan, the national language of Rwanda. So, it's kind of like naming your dog, "Dog." (Except for Umasambe sounds cooler.) Umasambe will eat bread from your hand if he trusts you, but he does have a pretty sharp beak, so you have to watch your hand. He's about four feet tall, good-sized.

Stay tuned for further Rwandan wildlife updates...

embassies, meetings, and first birthday cakes...

The rest of last week flew by! I did make my first trip to the US Embassy here on Thursday (and got a great security briefing...it turns out Rwanda is one of the safest places to be in East Africa right now. They say!).

I also made my second trip to the US Embassy the very next day, on Friday! This time, it was to pick up a big box of research materials that I had sent ahead of me; I received a message Friday morning to come pick it up. The Embassy closes at 1 pm on Friday, however, which I didn't know, and I arrived at about 1:20. Thanks to some very accomodating Rwandan guards, and the chief security officer who was still in his office, I managed to get the box anyhow.

This might seem like a small thing, but I was thrilled....not only is it inconvenient to make multiple trips to the Embassy, but the matter was complicated by the fact that there is a new US Embassy building being built in Kigali, and they are moving to their new home starting this week. My box would have disappeared into Embassy oblivion for who-knows-how-long, had I not been able to recuperate it on Friday! So I was very grateful. :)

I also had a meeting at the BASICS office last Thursday. BASICS is the other organization with whom I'm working while here, associated with the Rwandan Ministry of Health, and focusing on newborn care. Then on Friday I was in meetings much of the day at World Relief; the theme for the year at World Relief-Rwanda is "Complete Transformation," and the meeting centered around identifying organizational objectives. My own personal objectives are to finish formulating a research and project approach for the year! I have meetings this coming week with UNICEF as well as with USAID, and we'll see how things go.

The WR office here is short-staffed right now, due to loaning of personnel to the WR offices in Nairobi to assist in the recent crisis there. Please keep the situation in Kenya in your prayers, as it is still volatile.

In other news (and answered prayer!): I will be living with Phil and Becca during my time here in Rwanda! They were very generous to offer me a room for the coming months. I am so comfortable there at their home and will be looking forward to the steady stream of international guests that they are constantly hosting. Also, Hilde from Holland is living there right now too, so I am learning lots of fun stuff about social life in Kigali and all the fun places in town to hang out.

On Saturday night, Becca and Phil invited their friend Innocent to a birthday dinner. Innocent is an orphan from Burundi, finishing high school here in Rwanda and living with a Rwandese family. Innocent's birthday was today, the 21st, and Becca baked a carrot cake for him to celebrate! Here's a picture of the cake:



Here's a picture of Phil and Becca (and two of Innocent's "adopted" family) singing Happy Birthday to him (Innocent is holding the cake):



As we sat down to enjoy the cake, we discovered that this was Innocent's first birthday cake! Hard to imagine not having a birthday cake before your 22nd birthday... I guess we all have many things to be thankful for!

Talk to you again soon....

the hyenas have a wedding

On those rare meteorological occasions when the sun is out while it's pouring rain, my first response has always been to look for the rainbow.

Not here.

Yesterday I was working at the World Relief offices in Kigali, mainly looking up recent research articles about newborn health. Sarah (who's an American) happened to be in the office I share with Melene when the rain started to come sheeting down from the sky while the sun was shining brightly across the valley. (I am even posting a picture here of the view, looking out from the World Relief offices...see how hard it's pouring!!) "Oh," Sarah said, "the hyenas are having a wedding. That's what they say here."

What?

Melene (who of course is Rwandan, and was sitting right there too) confirmed that what Sarah said was true. Instead of indicating the need to look for rainbows here, this kind of weather prompts certainty about hyena weddings.

Hmmm. That's...different! So I asked Melene where that story came from. She just laughed and said she didn't know.

So, the next time the sun is shining when the rain is falling...you'll know that hyenas are being wed somewhere nearby. Don't forget you heard it here.

a much shorter blog entry

Hello again!

Just a quick note; I'm back in Kigali again and had a great time in Butare with Melene and Erica (see post below--I wrote that entry on Monday night but couldn't post it until just a few minutes ago). The training went well and I will hopefully be able to build off what Erica has begun when I return to Butare in the future.

Also, Phil's back from Nairobi, sunburnt and a bit weary from distributing food to crowds of people in the slums, but otherwise doing well (again, see post below). He says to keep praying for peace in Kenya because there is supposed to be a new set of (outlawed) demonstrations today.

Next time I write I'll do my best to post photos! And a snapfish account has been graciously bestowed to me (that's an online photo album for anyone who may not know) so I will be able to post lots of photos there. Right now I don't have too many, but I will make an effort to carry my camera into more places! Have a great day--talk to you soon---

a very very long blog entry

Greetings from Butare...

[I hope you all are well! I started an entry in this blog two days ago but felt if I waited a little longer I could give you a more interesting update about what's going on over here. And then I moved cities at the last moment today (Monday), so who knows when I'll have internet access to post this entry! But I'll go ahead and write it, and post it when I can. Thanks for your patience!]

It seems like a long time ago now, but my plane ride(s) over here to Rwanda last week went really smoothly. I had the opportunity to go to Haarlem in Holland during my 14-hour layover there (it's an easy train ride from the airport if you should ever find yourself in the same situation). I went to Haarlem specifically to see the Corrie TenBoom house/museum after Vic and I had listened to the radio drama in the car on the way up Hwy 25 from New Mexico. It was really moving to take a tour, hear the TenBoom story again, and actually see where the family and their "guests" lived during WWII. (If you don't know the story, please do google it...it's a great true story about sacrifice and doing the right thing, no matter the cost). I will post some photos of the house when I can; there is a shot of the actual room where the Jews hid in the TenBoom home. While the story is tragic in many respects, it also is a story of hope, of forgiveness, and healing, and I was so glad to have the opportunity to visit this place on my way into Rwanda. It reminded me that even in the darkest times, and the most difficult times, God's power and love is accessible and can heal even the deepest hurts.

I arrived in Kigali after a very safe 3-hour stay in Nairobi's airport, and some friends from World Relief surprised and delighted me by their presence at the Kigali airport (Melene and Baraka included, whom many of you know...they send their greetings!). My luggage arrived intact...no missing suitcases, although I confess for a few minutes while I watched the baggage carousel I had flashbacks from the Philippines last summer. :) Thank you for your prayers; it is SO nice to have all my stuff with me!

I was taken straight to my temporary quarters at the Smiths' home (Phil and Becca Smith, that is; Phil is the WR country director of Rwanda, and Becca is his wife). I have been very comfortable there over the weekend, and because they live in a very safe, heavily expatriate community in Kigali I can even do things like (imagine!) go jogging. :) Which I did do, on Sunday afternoon; who knows how much longer I can take advantage of this! I actually haven't seen Phil yet, as he has been helping the WR Kenya staff in Nairobi with food distribution and relief coordination in the slums; he is scheduled to return tomorrow morning (Tuesday). Becca very kindly took me to get a SIM card and exchange money on Saturday afternoon; I've enjoyed chatting with her about everything from Cape Town excursions to where NOT to buy groceries in Kigali to how to take care of a "watch-bird" (in lieu of a watch dog, that is...the Smiths inherited a beautiful and noisy crested crane when they came to their current residence). Again, I'll post photos when I can! While the Smiths' hospitality is fantastic, I don't want to wear out my welcome and am looking for a more permanent place to live...would very much appreciate your prayers in that regard. :)

The night I arrived (Friday), the director of programs at WRR (World Relief Rwanda), Sarah, hosted a welcome dinner at her home, which was such a nice way to start out here in my new country-for-a-year (thank you!). And Saturday night, it was great to join some other volunteers and expatriates here who are serving in a variety of ways around the country; we had Mexican dinner at a local restaurant, and narrowly missed our chance to try out the new karaoke room (it's not quite finished yet). Maybe next weekend. :) There are some really great people here seeking to make a difference in the lives of Rwandans, and it was fun to meet some of them.

Sunday I attended church with Sarah and her roommate Audrey; it was a pretty big church in Kigali, and while the service was filled with Rwandans and other Africans, it was conducted in English, which was very different from any other experience I've had here. Being based in urban Kigali (as opposed to, say, rural Kibogora) is going to be a different experience all around, I'm beginning to see! Afterward, Sarah and I met up with a former staff member from WR with whom I initially had contact regarding the Fulbright, way back last spring. She's here with a different child survival project right now, and over lunch, I was able to get some orientation from her and Sarah about the direction I will likely be able to pursue regarding the research and work that I'll be doing here during the year pertaining to newborn health.

Then this morning (Monday), I had a meeting with the program officers of the actual WR child survival program (known as the EIP, the Expanded Impact Project) -- I'm beginning to think I should put an acronym key in this blog!. We continued the dialogue about what needs they see in the context of the EIP regarding newborn health, and what they see as feasible projects for me during the year. While everything is still in the formative stages, it looks as though I'll begin by developing and conducting interviews with women in the EIP communities who have lost babies in birth or due to illness in the first month of life; in doing so, I'll be able to examine at an individual level what are common care-seeking practices and perspectives regarding newborn health, which in turn will help the EIP to know how to develop appropriate interventions for mothers and newborns. Thank you also for your prayers as I begin this work! It will take time and input from many others in order to carry out the first part of this project in a culturally sensitive and appropriate manner.

After the meeting this morning with the EIP officers, I left Kigali for 36-48 hours (not sure how long yet) to go with Melene and another volunteer here (Erica) to Butare, where Erica is carrying out a training for EIP workers in diarrhea research. Diarrhea is one of the top three leading causes of death in Rwandan children under five years old. That's unacceptable, particularly since (as you know), diarrhea is entirely preventable. I am looking forward to seeing Erica's approach at the training (tomorrow (Tuesday) and meeting some of the EIP staff in Butare, with whom I will hopefully be working in the coming months. I didn't know this little trip was even a possibility when I left the Smith's this morning, but hey, this is Africa and it's fun times. I jumped at the opportunity to come along. I am writing this, sans internet connection, from a guest house run by nuns, close by to where we'll work tomorrow. It's very comfortable, quiet, and DARK in the hallways. Thank you, Vic, for making sure I have flashlights. :)

Okay, normally I won't give you a blow-by-blow like this! But I just wanted to bring you up to speed on how things are going here so far. I'll keep you posted on housing situations and project goings-on as they unfold. Thank you for being a blessing to me! :) I'll touch base again soon.

safe arrival

Just wanted to let you know that after an uneventful trip (uneventful in the best sense of the word!) I arrived here in Kigali with both my suitcases and am settling in to my temporary quarters at Phil and Becca's home (Phil is the World Relief country director). Thank you all for your prayers! I'll give you a more detailed update as soon as I can. Hope you all are well!

quick update from CO

Just wanted to let you know that I'm here in CO now...Victor planned the whole trip, did an amazing job, and everything went so smoothly! Thanks so much for your prayers. And here's a quick priceline.com plug: Vic got 2 rooms for $90 total at one of the nicest hotels in Albuquerque (the Hyatt)...it was great! I even had time for one last jog on the treadmill at the hotel fitness room before we went to church on Sunday at a big local place Vic found online. If anyone needs a trip planner, Victor is your man. :)

On the way across country (about 18 hours total) we listened to two different radio dramas, Les Miserables and The Hiding Place. You may be happy to know I only cried a few times per drama. We highly recommend them both!

Favorite quote from Les Mis: "The highest justice allows for mercy."

Favorite quote from THP (Corrie's father speaking to her): "Corrie, remember that you are just a little girl, and I put a train ticket into your hand just before we step onto a train, no sooner than that. And so it is with your heavenly Father: He will give you just what you need in the time that you need it, but oftentimes no sooner than that..."

I wanted to thank everyone out there who was able to spend some time with me sometime in the past couple of weeks before I left, including those who were able to attend the super encouraging going-away party at Ev. Free (special thanks to the hosts-extraordinaire, Dave & Jenn...you guys are awesome!). I am really really humbled by the awesome family God has placed me into at Ev. Free. I have been shaped and impacted by you.

Gotta go for now! Packing up here is a whirlwind! I will have a skype number pretty soon and I'll let you know by email what it is. Blessings to you in the meantime...the next time I write will likely be from Africa....

(P.S.: Thanks for the comments!! It is great to know you are there.)

Adventures await....

When I have a few more spare moments, I will upgrade this blog a little bit...I need pictures and other blog links, and all the rest of the stuff that comes with blogs! But until I find those spare moments, in the midst of all the packing and visiting and goodbyes, the plain white look will have to do... :)

Thank you for coming to this blog...my guess is that if you're here, you probably know by now that I am embarking on an adventure and journey and start of a new vocation in life, and I am so glad you're here to join me! Over the next year I'll be in Rwanda working in a child survival program with World Relief (and their partners, Concern Worldwide and the International Rescue Committee), focusing on newborn health. Did you know that an estimated 4 million children under the age of 30 days die every year in developing nations, primarily of preventable causes?? World Relief and friends are working all over the world to help prevent such un-necessary deaths, and I have the privilege of joining them for the next 10-12 months in Rwanda. I'll write more about my specific role there as time goes by.

In the meantime, my head and heart are full of so many thoughts and emotions as I pack up my life here in California, mostly thoughts full of gratitude to God and thankfulness for so many amazing people here who have impacted my life and helped me to see God's love and care in ways I never could have imagined. And while I anticipate the future, and feel such peace about heading out there for a year, I am also burdened as I say goodbye, because...it's hard! I will miss everyone so much.

Please feel free to drop by anytime to catch up on how things are going with me in Rwanda...and please drop me a line to let me know how you are doing too! It will make my day, guaranteed.