wow.. i just typed a HUGE long thing.. and the power went out and i lost it.
ugh ugh ugh ugh
okay well.. ill start over. this keyboard is so sticky tho.. haha itll take a while
today was amaazing...
school was normal.. i was exhausted so i got a little frusterated.. the kids just wouldnt be quiet or sit don or stop fighting... i was wondering why they are so restless.
i talked to teddy and this is amazing to me... hahahaha. so if i leave on the night of the 25th with karen then my last day of school with the kids is the 24th. guess WHAT!! that is their last day of school!! weiiirrrdd!! they have summer november and december...
hahahaha so now i can leave ealy.. feeling like i finished what i came here to do. closure.. peace... i have to put together an englsih exam for that... that should be intresting.
but how perfect is that. i made the decision to leave early last night anyways when i was praying.. i have been praying about it alot.. and i when i was reading Joshua i ran across the verse that talks about yileding your heart to God... your will to God's. i realized that 7 weeks.. was MY will.. i pushed that. alot. he set it up for 3 1/2.. and i as so stubborn and wanted more!! haha and now its back to 3 1/2 and couldnt be more perfect.
i get to do everything i want to do and soooooo much more in my time here...
i have complete peace about my decision!!
the kids will be gone anyways!! thy are throwing a huge party for the parents and the kids at the end of the year... and its just perfect! yayaya
i met one of the parents today of a kid in my class... app her daughter cant stop talking about her "new beautiful white teaher" who she loves and how she never wants to be anywhere but at school... and now her big brother wants to come back and learn english from me. awwwwwwwwww things like that make this entire trip worth while!!!
also this man that i met.. teddys brother. told me that even though i am white of skin i am african of heart!! oh i love it :)
after school today linda karen and i went to Nyamata to visit a genocide memorial.. the one with the church. we waited for like an hour for the bus... gosh people here LOVE white people... people were taking pictures of us.. hahahaha
and i taught linda how to play the brick breaker game on my phone. shes addicted!! ha
the drive to nyamata was amazing. getting out of the city... felt so refreshing and just.. awww. the city is just.. meh... the villages and country side is full of life! this truly is the country of a thousand hills! hill after hill after hill!! and i feel like i finally got to see the heart of Rwanda. the endless trees and hills. and random little huts and children playing with random things.... and so many goats.. and huge black birds.. alll kinds of trees... and skinny to the bone dogs... and huuuggeeee bulls!! it was amazing.
and then there was this HUGE valley.. full of trees and sugar cane...
and the river.. nyabogo.. or something like that.
thats the river where it was said to "be red with blood" during the genocide... because the Hutus decided to send the dead tusis home... on the river. so sad.
the ride was amazing.. and it jsut felt soo good. 40 minutes of just music and beauty and driving :)
and any children that saw me.. cause i had a window seat... got SOO excited and chased after the bus! i love kids. so much.
the memorial was beautiful on the outside... a little garden outside with stones in the shape of a heart.. and flowers making a cross inside the heart.
it was heart renchin inside tho... i couldnt take any pictures inside.
it was horrible. they still had the busted door where they busted in and then the lock they used to lock them in...
and blood was on the walls.. where they took babies and hit them against the walls like baseball bats. ugh.
but the biggest thing was the clothes. the entire place was just rows and rows of all the clothes the people that died wore. covered blood.. with bullet holes and machete tears... 10,000 people died there. and the bullet holes on the walls... and scapres from machetes. it broke my heart.
then they had this place downstairs where they had many skulls and bons of the people... and one casket. it was a pregnant woman... they killed her baby and then stuck a piece of wood through her head... to her feet.
it really just... broke me. ugh.
then there was just this cellar type place with just rows and rows of bones and skeletons and caskets... a huge massive grave.
everyone that died in Nyamata is buried there... or at least part of them is.
40,000 people killed.
blah.
i love africa. so so so much. it amazed me. that people live right next to that memorial.
that people live.. with any joy.
every single person ive talked to has lost a family member in the genocide. gosh. u cant even imagine that in america.
anyways. im tired of typing on this keyboard.
tomorrow i am off to the coffee farm.
i love it here... so much.
i thrive here.
:)
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I am off to Rwanda for 2 months! I am staying in a little village in Kigali,Rwanda. I will be teaching English to preschoolers, working with RAP-SIDA an organization fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS, playing with children in orphanages , as well as working with a local church! I am so excited!!! I do not know if I will actually be able to write here... who knows about internet. But we will see!!
3 comments:
Oh Becca, I miss you so much. You’re so amazing. The way you make everything sound so remarkable is inspiring. I don’t even know what I would do if I was in your place. I don’t think I could do it; you have this strength about you that is not found in many other people. I know you will do more good then you could ever imagine while you’re in Rwanda.
I am so glad that you’re feeling better though. I have prayed that you will find peace at what you must do about the time situation. I know god will lead you on the right path. He always does. =D Just keep your faith in him, and your will in him strong, for without him, you would never have been on this journey. Man is he incredible!
Your trip to the memorial sounds astonishing. I don’t know what I would have done there. Sadness over came me just reading about it, I can’t imagine how it must have been in person. But I guess it was a good thing, it helped you learn what all these kids have come from, and where they are going, and what they are growing from. It was something that needed to be done.
I went to youth group on Tuesday and updated everyone on what you were up to. They were all so excited to hear about your latest and greatest achievements. And, of course, we prayed for you. Everyone loves you so much, and I have even put together something for you. Something that will make you smile, and boost your hope and fait….Hopefully. Lol. You’ll just have to wait until its ready, and then I’m sending it to you. I can’t wait to hear what you think…yay yay yay.
Man, there is always one thing that really makes me want to be there with you. Its your stories about the kids. It sounds amazing to have all those little kids just running around you loving you and wanting to be with you. I wish I knew that feeling.
So, I ended up not being able to go to Youth Conference. I got into some things that I was in no way prepared to be in, and with that, came some heart ache. I will not bother you with the details and bother you with the worry. All you need to know is that I’m still chugging away. I’m still living on. Lol. So I guess you didn’t really need to know that, but I just know you care!
Can’t wait to see you soon. I miss you loads.
And don’t forget….YOUR AMAZING!
hey!
your blog looks like my blog...
this is a great story...and you're actually lucky to have the kids leave first, as it will be a happier goodbye for you all--and you might not want to leave at all if they haven't.
it's cold here, so enjoy it while you can...and have a great two more weeks.
Wow... All I can say... Wow. You are living the dream. Isn't God amazing? I literally just sat here and read every one of your entries. It reminded me of Thailand. I want to go back so much. I remember being in Thailand and being so on fire for God. I was afraid that after returning, I would just slide back into the "western" way of life. Sadly, after a couple of weeks I did. But not totally. That experience has made me grow so much...
Enough about me. Look what you are doing now! I just love reading these entries. I can tell God is working in the kid's lives through you, and also working in your heart in ways you never thought of. When I come out in December, we must have a Becca Shannon night. I want to hear everything. I love you.
Oh wait,
So you have a phone out there? Is it your cell phone? Can you talk and text?
I miss you!
~Shannon
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