Rwanda 1/14/11

This week has been an interesting one. Monday we spent in Kigali doing several different errands, and lounging in a tent at Shokola. That night when I was back home in Gisenyi I started throwing up, and sweating more than I ever have in my life. I didn’t sleep much that night, and thought I was close to death. Tuesday, I was still sick, and Wednesday not fully recovered yet. So my good friend/translator had her sister come over and braid my hair like a true African woman. Thursday I felt much better so I went to the clinic-good thing I did because it was a busy day! When I got there, there were two women ready to deliver, however they weren’t dilated very much, so I went into the recovery room and was talking to a patient, and holding her newborn daughter. She told me that I could name her. I named her my favorite name, Adeline. I felt so honored! I spent the rest of my time at the clinic doing medical paper work (all in French) and passing out, preparing people’s medications. The woman still weren’t dilated enough, and I had to go home for Kristi’s party. She was having her “women” over who are part of her gender based violence group. Today I went to the orphanage, to help teach the 4 year olds group, and have movie time with the 15-20 year olds. I am loving my time here, lots of good experiences, new friends, and a ton of love. Everything would be perfect if only Laurent were here; I miss him more than I thought I ever would!

Rwanda 1/11/11

This weekend we (Marit, Synnøve and I decided to go to the Nyungwe jungle with Kristi and Tim. I have to say that getting to the jungle and back was more adventurous than the jungle itself. We came up with a certain criteria for the bus rides to be acceptable-all from previous BAD experiences. Let me begin by explaining that the term “bus” is used loosely here. Most of the so-called “busses” are oversized vans with an extra row of seats bolted down to the floor with 4 people are smashed into each row. Also bear in mind that Africans have absolutely no sense of personal space, and have no problem laying on you, elbowing you, and placing their bags on your lap. Anyway, here is the list that should be closely observed if traveling on a bus in Africa.
1.Don’t sit by a speaker unless you want your eardrums blown out by Kinyarwanda gibberish.
2.Don’t sit above a tire
3.Don’t sit by a lady with raw flesh in a bucket.
4.Don’t sit by a girl who is going to school for the first time. SHE WILL THROW UP ON YOUR BACKPACK.
5.Don’t trust them to put your backpack in the trunk, chances are the trunk will fly open and your pack will go flying out on the road.
6.DO NOT be the unlucky 3rd person in the row who is half on the bench seat and half on the single seat because you will not be able to feel your arse for the next 3 days.
7.Push, shove, do anything you can to get a window seat, and try to keep the window open for as long as possible to keep yourself from getting asphyxiated by fellow riders, who have not yet discovered the wonders of deodorant.
8.Don’t sit behind a baby, because they all wear cloth diapers that tend to get very stinky.
One thing you must do is expect the most bizarre things to happen. For example we were in the middle of no where in the pitch black, and out of no where a motorcycle pulls up next to the bus, and the bus pulls to the side of the road and the rider of the bike hands a random woman on the bus a couple thousand franks. A few minutes later on the same deserted road we pull over once more, and hand a man on the side of the road a suitcase that had been on the bus the whole time.

Anyway, the jungle was absolutely amazing. We went on a canopy hike; the canopies were a little scary but breath taking. We learned that the forest has been around longer than any other, and if we were to dig below the trees there would be tons of dinosaur bones. Also it is one on the only forests that remained fertile during the ice age. That night we camped. (My favorite thing…) I cooked dinner since unfortunately I am expert at campfire cooking. The next morning the 2 girls and I decided to spend the next night in Kigali, so we packed up and asked when the next bus was. The man said not for a few hours, and most busses would be full that day. So we decided to take our chances hitchhike back to Kigali. We got really lucky and flagged down the second car that passed us. The two “sensible chaps” took us most of the way to Kigali. It was so good to see our friends there. We went to Hotel De Milles Collenies, or better known as Hotel Rwanda. We had lunch, and swam there, the whole time however I kept picturing scenes from the movie. That night we went to Shokola for a goodbye diner for Jemma, Brett, and Tony.
GREAT WEEKEND!

Rwanda 01/06/11

I am now getting settled into my new home in the beautiful city of Gisenyi. We are about 2 miles away from an active volcano, and the same distance away from the boarder of Congo. I have been very discouraged so far for a number of reasons: The national language of Rwanda is English, but no one speaks it. All the medical records that I have to do are in French, but understanding peoples' French here is very difficult, and most don't speak it anyway. I am working on my Kinyarwanda, but it just takes time to learn a language. The last two days have helped me a lot, to become less discouraged however.
Today I helped deliver a baby. I have to admit I was absolutely terrified, but I put my brave face on, and got to work. Towards the end of labor I offered a silent prayer that I would be strong and able to do this, and that the mother and baby would both be healthy. Less than 2 minutes after the beautiful baby boy was born I passed out. It was an amazing testimony of prayer for me. Heavenly Father preserved me just long enough to do what I needed to do; then let my body take its natural course. It's one of my best friends birthday today, so it was a wonderful thing to happen-bring a baby into this world on this special day.
Yesterday I spent the day at the orphanage. It was incredible in so many ways. But best of all it helped me be less frustrated with the language barrier. I learned something important; there is no need for a common language when showing love and compassion. At the orphanage I was overwhelmed at the love I could feel for the children who climbed on my lap and wrapped my arms around them. They just wanted to feel loved for a few minutes out of their week. We could not understand each other, but it didn't matter. We still played, sang songs, and most of all opened our hearts to each other.
As I held the hand of the mother in labor we once again couldn't speak the same language but as she held tightly to my hand, and I rubbed her arm and shoulders I could feel my love for her, and I knew she was grateful I was there for her. After the birth she looked up, and we made eye contact, and I smiled at her with tears in my eyes, thankful that I had been there to help her in her time of need, knowing she felt the same way.

Rwanda 01/03/11

Today as part of orientation we went to the genocide memorial museum in Kigali. It was a beautiful place, but the museum was very difficult to handle. During my tine in there, many tears were spilt at the stories and horrible atrocities that took place. Perhaps the hardest room was the last one-the children’s memorial. In this room they had large photos of children that were donated by their families. Underneath the beautiful pictures they had: their name, age, favorite foods, toy, activity, and best friend. Some even had their last words, and worst of all; how they were murdered. My heart absolutely broke reading all of these things. I will never understand how these horrible men thought it was okay to murder these innocent children.

Rwanda 01/02/11

I don't know

       Since my arrival in Rwanda there have been 3 words I have said more times than any other.  Those are: I don't know.

• I don't know why when my plane landed in Addis Ababa it landed lop-sided and we almost flipped over and skidded off the runway.
• I don't know why the man sitting next to me on the plane felt the need to get drunk.
• I don't know why my luggage didn't show up, or why they didn't call me when it finally did. 
• I don't know whether I will be living in Kigali or Gisenyi for the next 6 weeks.
• I don't know why by some grace of God I ran into some Mormon missionaries on my flight who have helped me out more than I can say.
• I don't know why Africans have NO sense of urgency when it comes to time except for the motorcycle taxi's-who will endanger your life to get you there as speedy as possible.
• I don't know why they ushered us on to a hot stuffy shuttle bus for half an hour + while our plane was being cleaned instead of leaving us inside where we were at our gate.
• I don't know if my poor family and boy friend are worried to death because they haven't heard from me since I got here. 
• I don't know why the car taking me to the guest house stopped working in the middle of a busy street, and I had to lock all the doors and windows as I watched helplessly the driver jump on the back of a random bike to "go find a new car."
• Most of all, I don't know why, but I am absolutely in love with the beautiful country of Rwanda.

Pre-Rwanda

I just have one more day until I start my journey in Rwanda.  I am supposed to have a mission statement for my time there and I have decided to use BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD.   I realize that I am just one out of the 6,884,909,953 people in the world but I hope that I will be able to help change at least one person’s life. 

I constantly get the question, why are you going? Why Rwanda?  I suppose I will answer that question right now for everyone.  About 2 years ago I had the opportunity to have Paul Rusesabagina over to my home for dinner.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with that name he is the man who saved hundreds of lives in the Rwandan genocide and who the movie Hotel Rwanda is about.  Listening to him talk about everything he experienced made me ache for the people of Rwanda.  Ever since then I promised myself I would one day go and help those in need.  I read a book shortly after that is called, Left to Tell which is about a woman who spent almost 3 months in a tiny bathroom with several other woman hiding.  This was a deeply disturbing book, but it strengthened my resolve to go and help.

Yesterday as I was packing to leave I started to get nervous.  It finally hit me that I am leaving.  I have been waiting for this for months, if not my entire life.  As I walked out of my room for the last time and closed the door behind me I thought about how next time I walk through that door I would be a new person.  I hope I can change lives, and in return let those I’m serving change mine.  I know this experience will be heart breaking, exciting, challenging, and most of all rewarding. 

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”

This will be my last blog post before I write solely about my time in Rwanda.  As I pondered what to write about I couldn’t move away from thinking about the people who have gotten me to this point in my life.  As I end 2010 I have a lot of people to thank for molding me into the person I am today.   I know it is cliché, but I feel it is important.  Everyone in my life is an inspiration to me, but here are a few that have really altered me this year:

(In no particular order)

Lacey Hannig Where to begin with this girl…  We have pretty much been through every possible thing together, from enduring high school to dealing with the pains of “the real world.”  We have stood by each other through everything, and she has been a huge source of strength in my life.  Thank you for never judging, and being there for me no matter what.  You are a great mom, and just know I can feel the love you have for your baby Ayden.

Ellie Madsen I know being sisters isn’t always easy, especially when we were both self-absorbed teenagers.  But I have really enjoyed re-developing our relationship.  I know I don’t see you too much, but I always enjoy it when we can go to lunch together.  You have always been a great example to me, being the older sister; I hope to someday be as darling and creative as you. PS. I love your husband.

Lizzy Skouson You are a great example of giving tough love.  You aren’t afraid to tell me exactly what you think of a situation, and I’ve learned to respect all different opinions.  I love you so much, and I miss living with you.  I could go on and on about all of our good times up in SAH with you, but thank you for making BYU-I bearable for me.

Julie Powell  Julie is the biggest example of living a beautiful life.  She finds beauty and inspiration in all she does, and most importantly follows her dreams, and doesn’t let anything hold her back.  Once again, Julie has stood by my side through every tear, laugh, and change I have had in my life.  We haven’t lived close to each other for the past 4 years, but our friendship bond stays strong. 

Laurent Gontier Laurent not only is my boyfriend, but my best friend.  I have never had so much in common with anyone in my life.  He is the most caring person I know, and would do absolutely anything for me.  We’ve had our hard times, but the love we share always heals everything.  We have such a special bond, most couples couldn’t make things work living in separate states and NEVER seeing each other. Pour toujours vôtre!

My Family I know my parents have given us everything they possibly could.  I am most thankful to them for giving me the opportunity to travel as much as I have, I have learned so much from those experiences that I could never learn in a classroom.  I know I’ve let you down countless times, but thank you for always forgiving  me.  My brothers are the funniest people in the entire world, and always know how to make me laugh.  It is unreal to me how much they love me.  I know I haven’t always been the best example, but I know they know I will always be there for them.

Haleigh Wilcox Our friendship has stood the test of time, 13 years has passed since we became best friends.  From dance, to being the “mean girls” in elementary school, to being at her wedding, I have loved every minute of our special friendship.  She is a fantastic cosmataologist, and is responsible for my red hair.  We don’t have too much in common, but we are always there for each other.

The girls of #223 (Paige, Nicole, Kaisha, and Ariel) They are the most amazing roommates anyone could ever ask for.  We cried together, we danced together, went on runs together, and ate junk food together, but most importantly we grew together.  They taught me some of the most valuable life lessons, and I love them with all my heart, just know that each one of you have impacted my life for the best.  I love you all.

“…friends are those who stand by us in times of loneliness or potential despair. We could remember a friend we need to contact or, better yet, a friend we need to make. In doing so we could remember that God often provides his blessings through the compassionate and timely response of another. For someone nearby we may be the means of heaven’s answer to a very urgent prayer.” To read full talk click  here.