Without our family, friends, and school, this trip wouldn't be possible. A trip of unforgettable memories which have opened all our eyes in new ways. Now we have our work in front of us to see how our college and students can learn from this country, through partnerships, internships, and study abroad possibilities! What a blessing it is to have this once in a lifetime experience, continually trying to seek the heart of our Lord.
Habakkuk 1: 2-5
Habakkuk's Complaint
How long, O LORD, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, "Violence!"
but you do not save?
Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
The Lord 's Answer
"Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
Rwanda Trip Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcd_HrmDP2A
Youtube video, the unofficial one through the eyes of Lindsay
Youtube video, the unofficial one through the eyes of Lindsay
Good Bye Rwanda!
Last Day in Rwanda - Soccer Game with the Children Raising Children. 
Genocide Memorial Cross, at the church where 6,000 were killed.
Memorial of the Genocide (the clothes of thousands who died).
Early Morning Bike ride with Project Rwanda! 
At the Market and the Vendors wanted to put everything in the picture!
Our bracelets we gave to Daniel our driver (who teared up). we will miss you Daniel!
At Richards house (owns his own tourism company) who was our driver to the Gorillas! He took us out to dinner. What a great new friend.
The Group! (The two drivers on the end, Floriane and Rod, Lena (Floriane's friend), Dr. David DeVisser, and the four "kids" (Becca, Luke, Lindsay, Jake)
Safely back in the States!
We made it. After our long travels to Brussels to Chicago (then Lindsay to Detroit and the rest of the gang driving to Holland, MI) we all returned safely!
More to come today with photos and videos so stay tuned!
Its nice to be back home.
More to come today with photos and videos so stay tuned!
Its nice to be back home.
Last Day (Saturday)....Leaving tonight
Were very sorry we havent blogged in a few days. Weve been eating dinner at Florianes friends houses and meeting up with some local Rwandan friends. We have had many activities like visiting the Millenium Project (http://www.millenniumvillages.org/aboutmv/mv_mayange.htm) where we did some volunteer work moving big rocks along with the Youth Conference of Human Rights members (over 30) for a morning then took a tour of their villages.
We also spent an evening with Richard, the man who drove 3 of us up to see the Gorillas. We learned all about his story of the genocide....which was insane. He said that there were 7 kids in his fanily and one of his brothers was killed in the street trying to get food or something. Then all his siblings ran to south Rwanda which was a three week dangerous walk to their grandparents house in May and dug a hole in their backyard to hide in. The neighbors helped feed them every few days and they stayed in the hole till August. He said he lost everything....but 6 of them survived.
All of us on this trip are amazed that nearly everyone we see has a story about the war. Almost everyone. How do you cope with something so devastating? How do you move on and live life? How can a country work towards reconciliation? ...only through the trust of a higher being, a God our God who sacrificed his son whose blood was shed for humanities sin. Yes, this war in Rwanda was like Shaking Hands with the Devil as Roméo Dallaire, Canadian General that was assigned to lead the United Nation troops in Rwanda during the war, but genocide shows that there is good and evil in the world and Dallaire said that this proved to him there must be a God to save the world from this brokeness.
Today (Saturday) we are going back to the Runda Kids to talk with the older ones and hear their stories. We hope that the translator will be able to help us communicate with them.
We are also planning on going to a soccer game at their national soccer stadium. Hopefully we can fit this all in...plus a little shopping on the side of course.
Our flight leaves just after 8pm tonight (or 1am back in the states) so pray for safe travels for us. We are flying into Belguim and have about a 5 hour layover. We will have more time to put up videos and picture.
Well it has been an amazing experience for the past two weeks. We have packed every day in with meetings, projects, and activities that we managed to accomplish everything for our very complicated agendas. Weve been through our highs and lows which every group faces especially being around each other every day but weve grown into a family and have created a bond that will last the rest of our lives. This group was surly in Gods plan to be here in Rwanda together, each trying to figure out the bigger calling for each of our lives. It has been one of the best trips most of us have been on and we are really sad to come home so soon, even though we do miss our families and friends very much. What a beautiful country with the friendliest people with huge hearts...We will miss all the shouts of MAZUNGO which means white skin and the joy and happiness when we wave or wink at Rwandans. Its incredible to see this universal language that doesnt require words to show love and to communicate with another...that upon many other things will be missed but not forgotten. Everyone should make a visit to Rwanda at some point to understand their history and culture...its truly a land of a thousand hills.
We also spent an evening with Richard, the man who drove 3 of us up to see the Gorillas. We learned all about his story of the genocide....which was insane. He said that there were 7 kids in his fanily and one of his brothers was killed in the street trying to get food or something. Then all his siblings ran to south Rwanda which was a three week dangerous walk to their grandparents house in May and dug a hole in their backyard to hide in. The neighbors helped feed them every few days and they stayed in the hole till August. He said he lost everything....but 6 of them survived.
All of us on this trip are amazed that nearly everyone we see has a story about the war. Almost everyone. How do you cope with something so devastating? How do you move on and live life? How can a country work towards reconciliation? ...only through the trust of a higher being, a God our God who sacrificed his son whose blood was shed for humanities sin. Yes, this war in Rwanda was like Shaking Hands with the Devil as Roméo Dallaire, Canadian General that was assigned to lead the United Nation troops in Rwanda during the war, but genocide shows that there is good and evil in the world and Dallaire said that this proved to him there must be a God to save the world from this brokeness.
Today (Saturday) we are going back to the Runda Kids to talk with the older ones and hear their stories. We hope that the translator will be able to help us communicate with them.
We are also planning on going to a soccer game at their national soccer stadium. Hopefully we can fit this all in...plus a little shopping on the side of course.
Our flight leaves just after 8pm tonight (or 1am back in the states) so pray for safe travels for us. We are flying into Belguim and have about a 5 hour layover. We will have more time to put up videos and picture.
Well it has been an amazing experience for the past two weeks. We have packed every day in with meetings, projects, and activities that we managed to accomplish everything for our very complicated agendas. Weve been through our highs and lows which every group faces especially being around each other every day but weve grown into a family and have created a bond that will last the rest of our lives. This group was surly in Gods plan to be here in Rwanda together, each trying to figure out the bigger calling for each of our lives. It has been one of the best trips most of us have been on and we are really sad to come home so soon, even though we do miss our families and friends very much. What a beautiful country with the friendliest people with huge hearts...We will miss all the shouts of MAZUNGO which means white skin and the joy and happiness when we wave or wink at Rwandans. Its incredible to see this universal language that doesnt require words to show love and to communicate with another...that upon many other things will be missed but not forgotten. Everyone should make a visit to Rwanda at some point to understand their history and culture...its truly a land of a thousand hills.
Another Genocide Memorial
The computer room is about to close but to update the blog really fast, our group went to another memorial. This one was at a church and our tour was given by a survivor, one of the 5 survivors out of 6000 that were killed in the church. What an incredible story....
More to come...
More to come...
KING FAISAL HOSPITAL - a message from Dr. DeVisser
Today we got the opportunity to interview Dr. Alex Butare, an orthopedic surgeon. King Faisal Hospital blew us all away with how state of the art the facility and machine equipment was. The doctors treat )and effectively) 98 pecent of the people that come. Rwanda is really trying to improve health care. Theirs is similar to our Medicaid and private insurance.
Dr.Butare does total knee and total hip replace,ents/ He also is excited about getting basic health knowledge and care to the remote villages. In so,e ways I think Rwanda is ahead of us in its delivery of care and knowledge to all its people. I have been in hospitals in Haiti, Nicaragua, Niger, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and now Rwanda. This hospital is the best of any I have seen in terms of its quality.
Dr.Butare does total knee and total hip replace,ents/ He also is excited about getting basic health knowledge and care to the remote villages. In so,e ways I think Rwanda is ahead of us in its delivery of care and knowledge to all its people. I have been in hospitals in Haiti, Nicaragua, Niger, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and now Rwanda. This hospital is the best of any I have seen in terms of its quality.
Random Pictures of our Trip!!!
Nibakure Children's Village site - phase 1 isn't done yet (which all three houses should have been completed by December) due to the irresponsibility of the Rwandan builder. Floriane has been in constant communication with those working on the site to keep the project moving forward at a faster pace! Frustrating, but the common way of life and work mode in here.
Most of the Group having a toast with our Fantas! From left to right (Daniel our van driver who we all are best friends with now, Jake, Luke, Becca, Lindsay, Dr. David DeVisser, and Floriane). We are eating at Floriane's friend's restaurant called Paradise (and it literally was!) in Gisenyi, up north by the Congo border!
At Hotel Mille Collines! (aka Hotel Rwanda) Where we sat pool side discussing the very emotional genocide memorial and relaxing at the pool. What a place of history....
WE HAD A FLAT TIRE!!! Jumped in the back of a truck to visit Eric Cabera (film director of Hillywood in Rwanda!).
Rwandan food - fairly predictable...bananas, potatoes (tons of fries), meat thats pretty tough, fish, rice, and cassava (which tastes like a potato). To top it off, fanta, water, or juice.
Runda Children – Children Raising Children
As the blog below described, we visited on Sunday three houses where a few children had the responsibility to raise their younger siblings. It was heart breaking while we listened as each one was introduced and their story was explained to us. At dinner that night, we had a few questions that we all struggled with after that experience with the Runda Children.
*What is the impact we had on the children for providing one meal and playing with the kids for a few hours?
*Can we provide any other service or offer any help for them besides just playing with them?
*Should we go back and hear more of their stories and talk to them about their faith, even though most of the children speak Kinyarwandan? (we could have Floriane translate).
Rodney, Floriane’s husband, sparked the conversation and said he felt conflicted with our short visit with the kids. He also mentioned that some of these children will be apart of NCV when it’s finished. Floriane did say every time she’s in Rwanda, she visits the Runda kids and brings clothing and food for them.
We all agreed that another visit is necessary, even though it wasn’t in our very flexible agenda. ☺
Another day at NCV! (Monday)
What a blessing...Dr. Annie Dandavati worked her magic to get into the exclusive Human Rights Conference which lasts all week! A perfect opportunity for her potential June term in Rwanda of the course theme of Human Rights and Human Wrongs.
The rest of us went to the NCV site while Floriane met with her legal representative and a government land official to mark the land of her village. There has been some issues of neighbors wanting to take over the land since the orphanage isn't done yet. Last week Floriane took Lindsay, Becca and her husband to meet with the Mayor of Nymata so this meeting today stemmed from the previous one. While Floriane talked with the two men in Kinyarwandan, the rest of us had a chance to walk around the street. All the kids followed us (about 30) and passed a home where there were around 50 people gathered around. Jake passed out twizzlers to everyone and some kids danced for us!! It was crazy but very exciting to try to talk with the locals.
We not only interacted with more kids for a few hours at the NCV site, but we helped build a little on two of the houses. It was hard to converse with them since their English wasn't very good but we did get to transport some plaster mix for a worker to put in a window frame. We wanted to help more but there wasn't that much to do so we sat and watched them work and conversed more.
It was a long morning...lots of sun (we all got burnt! Becca got it the worst). It was a great learning experience to see how Rwandans build houses, very different from they way we build in America. They don't really have the means to most tools we're familiar with and Luke and Lindsay noticed that the only professional tool they had was a leveler. That was it! But they work they do is very impressive and sustainable.
The afternoon was left to recoup from the morning and just from the very busy trip so far. We really haven't had any down time yet! Thats a wrap for our Monday.
Below are some pictures from the weekend...
Over the weekend and the beginning of this week our group has been very busy.... which has lead to a midday nap today, and also the chance to update!
On Friday our group met up at Project Rwanda.
We saw downtown Ruhengari, which is where they are located. We then had dinner in Jock's (Project Rwanda) house. It was nice to be in a home.
Saturday we woke up early for a bike ride in the countryside. It was a beautiful way to see the geography, and be active. Then we made our way west to Ginsyni where Floriane had a friend who owns a hotel there. The hotel also had a private island which we were able to visit and explore. Then another short boat trip to the hot springs... the water that came out of the ground was boiling! Then had lunch overlooking the water at the Hotel. Jake even dared to try eating a fish eyeball! We saw the border to the Congo, and then drove back to Kigali. Once back in Kigali, we decided to see what the nightlife was like and went out dancing; we showed all the Rwandans how the US cuts a rug.
Sunday we woke up and went to Zion Temple for church. The whole service was very full of energy and was fun to experience worship with people who we couldn't speak the same language of, but could worship the same God. After church we went to visit Uyisenga N’Manzi. Uyisenga is an association that aids kids raising kids. It was amazing to witness these children who lead their households of brothers and sisters. The ranged anywhere from 16 years old who raise his younger brother to a 25 year old which her sister and own child, to families of 5 children. We were able to have a meal with them in their home and play some soccer and other games. To round off the night we were invited to Eric Kabera's home. He is thee mover and shaker in the Rwanda film industry. We attended his wife's church, which was a little closer to church services we are use to in the States, and then went to his home to see a few short films and share each others company.
We were very tired after the weekend, but are looking forward to other half of our trip!
On Friday our group met up at Project Rwanda.
We saw downtown Ruhengari, which is where they are located. We then had dinner in Jock's (Project Rwanda) house. It was nice to be in a home.
Saturday we woke up early for a bike ride in the countryside. It was a beautiful way to see the geography, and be active. Then we made our way west to Ginsyni where Floriane had a friend who owns a hotel there. The hotel also had a private island which we were able to visit and explore. Then another short boat trip to the hot springs... the water that came out of the ground was boiling! Then had lunch overlooking the water at the Hotel. Jake even dared to try eating a fish eyeball! We saw the border to the Congo, and then drove back to Kigali. Once back in Kigali, we decided to see what the nightlife was like and went out dancing; we showed all the Rwandans how the US cuts a rug.
Sunday we woke up and went to Zion Temple for church. The whole service was very full of energy and was fun to experience worship with people who we couldn't speak the same language of, but could worship the same God. After church we went to visit Uyisenga N’Manzi. Uyisenga is an association that aids kids raising kids. It was amazing to witness these children who lead their households of brothers and sisters. The ranged anywhere from 16 years old who raise his younger brother to a 25 year old which her sister and own child, to families of 5 children. We were able to have a meal with them in their home and play some soccer and other games. To round off the night we were invited to Eric Kabera's home. He is thee mover and shaker in the Rwanda film industry. We attended his wife's church, which was a little closer to church services we are use to in the States, and then went to his home to see a few short films and share each others company.
We were very tired after the weekend, but are looking forward to other half of our trip!
Bringin' in 2010
Happy New Year from Rwanda!
Our group had to spend the "ball drop" apart, but have now be reunited. Like we said some of the group went to see gorillas, while the others stayed in Kagili for one more night.
The Gorillas were very surprising to see. They group was allowed to get very close to the family of gorillas and we have included a few picture of this great time. Rwanda is one of the last places to see these gorillas and we feel very fortuniate to begin the new year in this way!
Jake and Becca stayed behind in Kigali with Dr. De Visser, Florianne and Rod. We went out for a beautiful dinner at Chez Robert, it was probably one of the nicest restaurants I have ever been to! Great food, great conversation in a beautiful setting. They even had MTV projected on a big screen! Next we went to the Top Tower Hotel to celebrate the new year. There was live music and dancing and we all had a great time!
We are looking forward to a great time up north with the Project Rwanda crew. To check out the project go to
Our group had to spend the "ball drop" apart, but have now be reunited. Like we said some of the group went to see gorillas, while the others stayed in Kagili for one more night.
The Gorillas were very surprising to see. They group was allowed to get very close to the family of gorillas and we have included a few picture of this great time. Rwanda is one of the last places to see these gorillas and we feel very fortuniate to begin the new year in this way!
Jake and Becca stayed behind in Kigali with Dr. De Visser, Florianne and Rod. We went out for a beautiful dinner at Chez Robert, it was probably one of the nicest restaurants I have ever been to! Great food, great conversation in a beautiful setting. They even had MTV projected on a big screen! Next we went to the Top Tower Hotel to celebrate the new year. There was live music and dancing and we all had a great time!
We are looking forward to a great time up north with the Project Rwanda crew. To check out the project go to