pepperoni, anyone?

I had grand plans to bring pizza to Baraka's home last week, for dinner...and then discovered that (due to mourning week) all the pizza places around town were closed! So I grabbed two large-ish baguettes and a big wheel of cheese (gouda is about all that's affordable here) and headed out to her place -- the plan was to have modified baguette pizzas, along with Baraka's own yummy garden fare.

It was a treat for me to be able to hang out with Baraka! She invited me to stay overnight because her parents were out of town (most Rwandese women live with their parents until they're married....it's not common to see single women living off by themselves here). And when I showed up at her place, Louise was there too! Louise runs the Child Development program here at WR (and does a fantastic job too).

When I showed Baraka my plan, to make baguette pizzas, she was ethusiastic but explained, "We don't have an oven!" The electricity in their home in Gasabo is solar, in fact....isn't that cool? They weren't even trying to be environmentally friendly (I don't think?)...it's just more economical.

At any rate, it is admittedly difficult to make baguette pizzas with no oven. So Louise came up with this idea to cook the pizzas over coals outside. And so sure enough, it worked! Here are Louise and Baraka, pizza-chefs extraordinaire:



Here's a shot of me fanning the coals, to keep them nice and hot:



When the pizzas were done, they were added to Baraka's feast of rice, vegetables, beans, fresh papaya, and an assortment of other yummy things. It was a super fun evening...

1000 hills are alive with the sound of music

I asked a very cool guy the other day if he had ever seen The Sound of Music, and he said, "Oh, maybe once, or twice....or fifteen times." :) So my guess is most everyone out there who reads this blog has heard of the VonTrapps, and remembers Kurt ("I'm incorrigible!"). And of course you know that the musical was based on the true story of the VonTrapp family who escaped Nazi-occupied Austria during World War II.

Well....Kurt's grandchildren live in Montana now (you might be interested to know that Kurt's name wasn't actually Kurt, it was Warner. And Leisl was Agatha in real life. Or so I was told last Saturday night). Kurt, er, Warner's grandchildren have also ably carried on the family legacy and form a singing quartet that now performs all over the world.

Last Saturday night, I was hanging out with some friends here in Kigali, and who should walk in the front door, but the VonTrapps themselves! They have been in Rwanda for a few weeks, and they are good friends with a roommate of some of my friends. They were scheduled to sing the Rwandan national anthem the next morning at President Kagame's Council meeting, so they rehearsed for us a little bit....it was great! And then they broke out into a chorus of "The Hills Are Alive..." No kidding. Thank you, VonTrapps, for making our evening so memorable....

further prayer requests

There is so much emphasis here in Rwanda on healing and reconciliation, but there is continual need for prayer. At the end of last week, there were two incidents highlighting that ethnic tensions still simmer beneath the surface of government efforts to maintain peace. One incident took place just down the road from where I live, at the genocide memorial, which made it all the more real. Read more here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7342866.stm

Thank you for your continued prayer for peace in this country. Rwanda has come so far since 1994 -- it's amazing! And there is much reason to have hope for the future. But even in my own life, I can see that if I let myself harbor any kind of bitterness or resentment in my heart, even (especially?) if I have been wronged, it's like poison (I am actually borrowing these words from a wise and beloved friend). So if I can see this in my own heart and life, how much greater would harbored bitterness and resentment be, on a country-wide scale? What might wait beneath the surface to uncoil and strike, at the opportune time, or when it just can no longer be contained?

I think this is why prayer is so important: on the surface here in Rwanda, most days everything looks the way it should....the nation appears to be embracing development. But God looks beyond the surface and into the heart of things, and He is the One Who knows what truly needs attention. He is a big and powerful God, and able to do what benevolent and wise governments and well-meaning humanitarians cannot do!! So it is not a fruitless task to pray -- in fact, it is critical. Thank you again for praying! And I believe we will see God continue to provide answers in ways we could never imagine.

14 years is not really that long

"There is a well-known verse in Psalm 30 that says: 'Weeping may last for the night.' The Hebrew words say: 'Weeping comes in at evening to lodge.' In the years following the genocide it sometimes seemed that the dark night of weeping had lodged for a lifetime, but God's compassion is bringing a dawn to light that casts its warming glow on a beautiful country and a beautiful people." -Callum Henderson, "Beauty from Ashes: Journeys of Recovery from the Rwandan Genocide"

Henderson's book is full of horrific descriptions of violence perpetrated during the genocide....but it is filled with stories of hope, healing, and restoration. If you can get your hands on a copy, it's super instructive about the nature of man and the nature of God, both, in the most difficult of situations.

This morning at WR's weekly chapel service, there was a time to share testimonies of the past, and to share words of hope for recovery, restoration, and the future. What I saw was painful, as terrible memories surfaced amongst my co-workers. One of my other colleagues, an American, commented to me afterward that when she thought back 14 years, there were some formative memories that she still remembered clearly. How much more so, something traumatic, dramatic, horrible. It takes a long time to heal from something so hurtful.

And yet, healing is happening. There are accounts of radical change in the face of great evil. Thank you for joining in prayer this week for Rwandans as they reflected together on the past. And thank you for your continued prayers....

a few easy ways to help - the short list

In the midst of this national week of mourning, many are asking how they can help heal a hurting world.

If you happened to be looking for some practical suggestions, here are a few ideas:

1. Did you know that as our global climate changes, those who live in extreme poverty in developing nations will be the ones to suffer the most? Taking small steps today, in your home and your neighborhood, can impact those suffering around the world, for a lifetime and beyond.

For easy and practical ways to prevent adverse effects of climate change, go to this website and click on the links at the bottom of the page: http://www.nphw.org/nphw08/default.htm

2. Do you like art? How about art-for-a-cause? AJ Picard has donated a painting of a Rwandan girl, entitled "The Empty Cup", to raise money for child survival on an online auction. Please go to http://www.worldrelief.org/auction to place your bid! (Or just to read more about it.) Here's a picture of the painting:


3. Looking for a way to impact thousands of people living in poverty? Do you have experience in organizational/financial management and administration? Tired of traffic and concrete (i.e., Want to move to gloriously beautiful and peaceful southwest Rwanda for a year or two?)? You might be just the person for the volunteer position open at Kibogora Hospital. See http://www.wr.org/joinin/volunteer/internationalministries/internationalopportunities/view.asp?id=20039896

another Kinyarwandan proverb

"Kugera kure siko gupfa."

Literal translation: Reaching the depths of despair is not dying.

Cultural translation: Despondency is not the end of the world.

As a Westerner, I don't know how I feel about the above proverb....the psychological streak in me, uneducated as it may be, whispers, "This is simply denial...you must respect your pain before you can move beyond it." But, there is something in my heart that signals a gentle reprimand and reminder: this is not my culture, my language, my worldview. Perhaps survival depends on this proverb. Perhaps here, if you give in to despndency, you will literally starve. I don't know all the answers.

But notwithstanding....today, the first Monday of April, the nation of Rwanda has a day off (not really a "holiday", so I can't say that exactly). The purpose of the day is to commemorate the start of the genocide in 1994, and the upcoming week is also filled with various related conferences and other commemorative events.

Depending on who you talk to, this is both a helpful and a harmful week. One Rwandan told me that many people are simply re-traumatized during this time. Would you pray that God might bring restoration to the hearts and minds of those who have been traumatized and are captive to re-experiencing such pain, year after year? Would you pray that this would be a year of healing for these?

Thank you also for your prayers that, as a foreigner to this country and as a foreigner to this tragedy, I could be a blessing to those around me who are hurting. I think most foreigners working here seek to identify with the Rwandan people, to some level or another, but (with a few exceptions) most of us can't begin to comprehend the magnitude of what many are feeling here as they reflect on the past. Please pray that we would be enabled to weep with those who weep and show heaven's compassion. Thank you....

Finally....would you pray that God would continue to turn despondency to hope? That His Spirit would continue to stir in the hearts of all here, that a spirit of grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration would fill this place? Prayer is what will make the difference.

kinyarwandan proverb

"Buhoro buhoro nirwo rugendo."

Literal translation: Slowly, slowly, the journey is completed.

Cultural meaning: Every step forward is advantageous in taking you to your destination. (Or so I'm told.)

Stay tuned for more proverbs.

Also: please be in prayer for Rwanda in the coming week: it is an official week of mourning here, where the nation remembers the genocide. There are several events and conferences of remembrance for Rwandan citizens. Please pray for healing, reconciliation, and true, inner peace for individuals and for the nation. It is a time of renewed trauma for many people; please pray that many would come to know the comfort of the God who weeps with those Who weep and Who saw His own Son killed in a terrible way. Thank you for your prayers....