The Last Report
• Bringing back LOTS of Ndabona products – jewelry, quilts, pillow shams, headbands, and more. If you’re interested in hosting a trunk show at your home, church or organization let me know. I’ll set everything up so that you and your people can shop!
• I failed to mention that when we visited the girls’ homes, each one served a meal. That equals out to 8 meals, 2 chais, and 6 cokes all within an 11 span. Shwoooo.
• “Go slow to
go fast.” That’s a mantra I’ve
seen the Shelby’s live out here in regard to their ministry with Peace
House. It’s good and has
challenged me a ton.
• Ndabona has an official shop set up at the Peace House. The ladies’ products are displayed and ready for purchase! They are so proud to see their hard work looking SO good.
• Found the best hammocking spot last week. It took over an hour of hiking to get to, but it was worth it. My hammock hung between 2 tropical trees, right over the edge of Lake Kivu, and there was a gorgeous view of Rwanda and the Congo right across the lake.
• My hiking trip to and from that incredible hammocking spot was quite the adventure, including: lots of goats on the path. lots of goat poop on the path that I stepped in. Beautiful views of some Lake Kivu islands and fishermen. Using the bathroom in thorny bushes, where I may or many not have peed on my own foot due to the thorns. Rounding the mountain to find a man who most likely saw my bare butt in those thorns. Giving out Polaroid pictures to local people. Agreeing to take photos of some local fishermen while they were in the water, not knowing that would mean they’d strip down to their VERY hole-y underwear to get in.
• Last week was Rwanda’s annual week of mourning for the 1994 Genocide. It’s estimated that 1 million people were killed in 100 days during that time. The Genocide is a defining event for all Rwandans, and most were affected significantly by the events during that time. The week of mourning was a very somber time.
• Rwanda is a gorgeous place, and I have about 1,000 pictures to prove it. A lot of times when I’m taking in it’s beautiful scenery, I wonder what this gorgeous land looked like during the Genocide. I think about the unnecessary bloodshood, the neighbors who turned on each other, and the people running scared for their lives. It’s hard to imagine such evil things taking place among such beauty. But I think that’s how life is in this broken world….what God intends to be beautiful is twisted or marred just enough to make it ugly and sometimes even indistinguishable.
• I survived Cryfest ’13. The Peace House women and I had a tough time saying good-bye. It was a sweet time.
• By the time you read this, I’ll be somewhere mid-air headed back to the States. To be honest, I’m really nervous about stepping back into my life there. How do I inject what’s happened here in Rwanda into my life in Louisiana? In some ways it feels like I’ve got a huge final exam ahead of me. If I’ve really learned all the things I say I have these past 90 days, then it’ll show up when I’m back at home. We shall see!