August 3, 2008 – RWANDA

So today we all took a Sabbath. What we didn’t know what today was a genocide memorial day and we were walking around Gitarama wondering why everything was closed and looking like a ghost town. That’s why! But today I was able to go through all my video footage and just organize it all. Tomorrow we go to Akegera National Park to see all the animals in the wild. Not sure if I will be updating anymore from Rwanda because this week I have a lot of interviews to do with the camera… but check anyway.

August 2, 2008 – RWANDA

I just realized that we are in August. That means 9 more days until my birthday (August 11). So, I am saying good-bye to my teenage years here in Rwanda. The big 2-0 is a-coming! The cool thing is that I share my birthday with my mother. So today, we headed to the market and I completed her birthday gift. I hope she likes it! I would tell you what it is, but she might be reading this and know exactly what I got her.

After the market we headed to the Boy’s Hehalf of us started to de-worm people. We had a fairly large crowd (compared to yesterday’s massive one) ready to take the pinworm medicine. It’s been a really long process doing the medical stuff, but it’s the first time that these people are finally seeing free medical care in the village. The other half us took the boys from the home to play football (aka soccer, we’re not allowed to say soccer…although I always fumble) on the field. I worked at the clinic getting video footage, but then one of the boys, Jean Pierre, came running to tell us that Katie, one of our girls on the team, broke her arm playing football. So Theresa and I rushed to give her medical treatment. I was in charge of getting her some sticks to hold her arm in the sling temporarily. We rushed her to the hospital. She is doing better now, but we are praying for her, because it is really unfortunate.

We’ve been doing so much medical care this past few days that I feel like we haven’t really spent a lot of time with the boys in the home. But they’ve been so good in helping us in the medical area and keeping things in order, so it is really nice to work alongside them. Tomorrow we won’t be opening the medical clinic and just spending some good quality time with them after church.

Oh yeah, I keep forgetting to mention… but my bed that I sleep in keeps falling apart and I keep finding myself falling through and on the floor. Basically, my Egyptian butt falls through the middle of the bed and there is a crater when I wake up. It is quite the laugh every morning and at night. I’m just glad it’s me and nobody else, because you just gotta laugh.

August 1, 2008 – RWANDA

Today was probably one of the hardest days so far. But I guess I can’t predict that now because we still have a week to go. We woke up and went straight to the boys home to get the clothing drive and clinic center done. This was the first day that I cried because of what I saw.

Hundreds of people gathered around the home ready to get their free clothing for their families… it was really hard to control. The crowds were unbelievable. People in Byimana live in really poor conditions and need attention. But what hit me the most was the medical clinic. Kay Heinz, our nurse on the trip, had organized everything. We’ve been washing children’s feet and cleaning their wounds… but throughout the day we saw worse things: HIV, Stomach Cancer, Scarlet Fever, and diseases you thought never existed anymore. The lady with HIV made me cry, I can’t imagine what her pain is like. We learned at the genocide memorial that as a punishment for women, the men that were HIV+ would rape the women instead of killing them, so they would suffer for life.

It was just a pretty long day. Pray for our team. One of our girls has had a stomach problem for over a year (we all thought it developed on the trip), but she is not feeling well and is vomiting a lot. Please keep her in prayer. My cold has gotten better; I’m not blowing my nose like a waterfall anymore. Most people are starting to feel better too. Keep praying for the trip and what you feel God is laying on your heart for us.

July 31, 2008 – RWANDA

Today we taught the boys at the home about giving and receiving. We told them to give up one of their shirts for a brand new “Temple University” t-shirt. It was a pretty cool thing that they did give up their shirts. We also organized a lot of clothing for the clothing drive for tomorrow. We are serving the community by providing them with clothing and medical care. Hopefully it goes well.

Today was basically a pretty easy going day because many of us are sick, so a lot of us rested in the morning and then headed to the boys home later in the afternoon. Keep praying for the health of the team.