Meeting Ishimwe

Today Carol and I were off to Gihinga so that I could meet my little boy Ishimwe that I have been sponsoring for 4 years. Ishimwe is the first little boy I have ever sponsored in my life and I never in a million years thought I would get the opportunity to meet him. Today when I laid my eyes on him I fell madly in love and when he came up to me for a hug, I am pretty sure that I squeezed the stuffing out of him. I have never hugged so desperately a child that has meant so much to me in a split instant. My heart ached and I did not want to let go of him. I thought that I had prepared myself to meet him and apparently I did not. Carol and I were sent into a fairly large church where they promptly asked us to head up to the stage and sit in the white plastic chairs that they had set up. For the next hour or so, 284 children performed just for us, songs and traditional dances. The music,so hauntingly beautiful that it made the hair on the back of your neck stand up, and all the while you are trying to hold back the tears. The dance was so fluid and elegant and I know I felt like an idiot when one little girl came to me with her arms outstretched, wanting me to dance with her. I tried to follow her but there is no way on god's green earth that I can move elegantly, like an elephant maybe, but not elegantly. Now Carol on the other hand........WOW! Now I know what she does in her free time!

Afterwards, we got to go to Ishimwe's house and meet his little brother Nkurunziza and their grandmother. It is not a known story, but I believe it to be a sad one in that the boys are in their grandmothers care as both of their parents are dead. This is an all too familiar story. Grandma presented me with a beautiful hand woven basket that was filled with sorghum because it was a symbolic act of her telling me thank you for all that I had done. Once again I do not know why they thank us when it is me that is getting so much more out of it than they are. We had a wonderful afternoon in Gitarama at a great restaurant that John found for us. Carol and I have been "awe struck" by all of the firsts that we got to participate in today with those two little boys. Take a moment to read over the list and then reflect on all that you have and maybe take for granted:

-1st time in a car
-1st time out of the village
-1st time Nkurunziza saw his picture
-1st time that Ishimwe took a picture on a camera
-1st time in a restauraunt
-1st time in a "real" bathroom
-1st time trying to get soap out of a dispenser
-1st time using a hand dryer
-1st time having "fried" chicken
-1st time chewing gum

I am going to bed tonight with a song in my heart and a smile on my face, and a little bit of sadness for a boy I may never see again and great wonder as to where his life is going to lead him.

It was a good day because I was privileged to meet these children and share these firsts with them, I don't even sponsor them and yet today I fell in love and had my heart broken all at the same time. It was a good day because at the end of it all Vickie and I were able to give them a pregnant goat and 3 chickens all for $30.00 bucks! We shared an experience with these two precious little boys that time and distance can never take away. These special moments when you look into the eyes of a child and realize this is the first time he has ever seen himself or chewed a piece of gum are so profound and private, your heart just swells and at that very instant of pure joy, your heart is shattered by the shear injustice that has been thrust upon them.

We Made It!

We made it! Today was our first full day in Rwanda! Things sure have taken a turn for the better, as of last night we were both wondering if we needed our heads examined. Both of us are suffering from major sleep deprivation and Carol is black and blue from our experience in London, upset stomach's, headaches, blah, blah, blah. This has felt for me to be one of the longest trips ever! I don't remember it ever taking this long to get to South Africa, but who knows.

Our day started out at approximately 4am this morning as both of us were wide awake. Apparently Carol went to bed at 1am and I am not sure what time I went, but it was before her and I just died. Whatever it is we are not getting enough sleep and we are now considering Primus beer as a possible drug for sleep???? OK kidding, we haven't even tried one yet!

This morning after breakfast, we spent allot of the morning very dazed and confused as to what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. We acted like stupid tourists and asked a few people their opinion on cab's and rates and eventually had the front desk phone one for us. Just when we thought all hope was lost an "angel" walked in and after 2 full seconds of negotiations, we were off! Our angels name is Enock and we can confidently say without a shadow of a doubt that by the end of the week he will become our closest friend in Rwanda. He took us to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where Carol and I proceeded to lose track of time and I am not sure how long we were there, but I do know that after all those months of reading books and watching documentaries, there are no words for what we experienced there today. It is too hard to comprehend that over 300,000 Rwandans were buried below our feet. That number continues to grow as more mass graves are uncovered all the time throughout the country. The children's area of the memorial was too much for either of us and no amount of reading could have prepared us for the pictures and descriptions of how the children were murdered. When I came down the stairs from seeing it, the girl at the reception desk asked me what I thought of it and I could not even speak, but my tears told her what I was feeling.

Enock patiently waited the entire time for us outside in the car (I wish my husband was that patient!)and off we went on another adventure in another direction (or so he told us). We found ourselves being driven through the most magnificent area of Kigali where the "townships" are being bought up by the government and being turned into very swanky resorts and homes. I'm not a betting person, but allot of those homes must be in the millions and too me it seems a bit mad especially when right across the alley from some of them are people living in shacks that would not be fit for our animals to live in. I only pray that the beautiful country of Rwanda never sells its soul to the devil again and lets foreigners take over land that is so badly needed by the Rwandans. I fear that this is true. At some point Enock pulled into a brand new shopping mall and immediately we smiled with excitement, there in front of us was a huge sign advertising that there was a "Bourbon Cafe" inside! To those of you that don't know, this is the Rwandan Starbucks and Starbucks had better hope that they never come to North America because they would have a run for their money. Carol got to experience first hand the length of time it takes to order drinks/food, etc., and the number of people that it takes to facilitate that order. We told Enock to order one of the wonderful pastries that was in the glass case and a drink. I never paid much attention for the first little bit because I myself was mesmerized by the sights in the glass case, but Enock came up behind us and we again repeated our request for him to pick out something that he would like. He walked over to a shelf that held a water thermos and told us that he would like one. We bought him that thermos and you have never seen a grown man who is 47 years old, so moved and so appreciative. He was beside himself with thankfulness -- it was like we had just bestowed upon him a million dollars. Let me tell you how silly we both looked as he with tears in his eyes told us he loved us and we sat there and cried. Starting on Tuesday, Enock is going to be touring us around Rwanda and we are scheming!!!! More to follow.....later!!!!!

Back at the hotel.....oh yeah.....for those of you from World Vision that will be joining us in a week....nothing electronic works!!!!!! For our husbands....good news...we haven't used our credit cards, but the wad of cash you sent us with is nearly gone!!! At this rate we might be coming home early because we are being told that nothing electronic (in the whole country!!!)will be working again for another week and if that is the case once the cash is gone we are in big trouble!!! Anyways, back at the hotel we had a short break in our room and then off to the restaurant where our waiter was a spitting image of Forrest Whittaker just 150lbs. lighter! Carol had the BBQ local chicken that looked like it was still running on the plate and I again had the Tilapia that was coated in flour. Yes, eating is a huge challenge when you have food allergies and I am very thankful that I brought 3 boxes of protein bars because pretty soon I am going to look like Carols chicken and it was the skinniest chicken I have ever seen! We tried to convince Wally to come with us today but he was so jet lagged he can't see straight! Really, his eyes are pointed in two different directions, Wally looks like we feel, Vickie says it's okay he can pull it off because he is cuter than us!

We put a few pictures on and will download more today, it took forever! Anyway will post more later.

Vickie & Carol

On Our Way!

Well this is it, tomorrow we will be on our way! For two people who couldn't wait for this day to arrive, now that it is upon us all that excitement has been tempered with with the reality of this being the last night we will spend with those closest to us. These past few days have been filled with last minute details to take care of and the saying of good byes to friends and family -- I think it is safe to say that Vickie and myself are emotionally drained.

The support that we have received these past months has been nothing short of miraculous, when we were struggling to find our 5 sponsors in the beginning we could have never imagined what we would achieve in the end -- as of today we have found sponsors for 26 children in the Nyamata region of Rwanda!

There are a number of people that we want to thank and acknowledge for their generous support and donations. First and foremost we want to thank everyone who sponsored a child and sent letters, gifts and pictures for us to pass along; you can find their names listed along the side under the Wall of Thanks. The following people or businesses have donated either goods or money to help us bring gifts for all the children we will be meeting:

The Book Worm (Sherwood Park) - Raised money and donated gifts
Bonnyville Dental Clinic (Dr. Reyburn McInnes) - Bags of toothpaste and toothbrushes
Canadian Tire Leduc - Soccer Balls
Flowers by Christina (Athabasca)- Toys, bracelets, pins etc.
Stolen Moments Photography (Bonnyville)- Free Photo Shoot to get our last kid sponsored
Brandon & Megan Boutin - Advice and contacts in Rwanda
Lee MacBean - Advice and lots of helpful info.
Linda Onsyzchuk - Financial donation and gifts
Calvin & Shareen Onsyzchuk - Financial donation
Darlene Poehlman - Financial donation
Edward Nazaruk & Family - Financial donation
The Bos Family - Financial donation
Karen Waggoner - Financial donation
Blanche Weir - Financial donation
Stephanie Marocco - Financial donation and stuffed toys

To our husbands, there are no words to express our gratitude for all that you have done and sacrificed to make this trip possible -- your contribution is priceless.

We will say goodbye for now and the next time you hear from us we will be in Rwanda!

Thank you and God Bless!

Carol & Vickie