Psalm 28:7: "No fear, because God knows my life."

Well, this past week was the last week of practicum. I waited a little bit longer than normal to write this one because I wanted to be sure to get all of my time in Rwamagana into this post. So as I write this, I’m back swinging in the hammock chairs on our compound in Kigali, listening to birds, music, and Aidah yelling. Ahhh, it’s good to be home.

So when I last recounted my life, I believe I left off on Monday, and had finished my tree. I decided my goal for the week was to have the library completely done for Saturday, which was Champions day, so we could announce it then. We’ll see how that went later…

Tuesday as I was working in the library, the sound of a goat bleating was a bit deafening. More than the usual sound of goat one would hear constantly in Rwamagana. As I was thinking that Mikey came in- “We have a goat?” Wait, what? “There’s a goat here!” Here? Like on the compound of the center? “Yeah, it’s up by the classroom!” So we obviously took a walk up there and Mikey proceeded to chase it around the compound. Just another day in Africa. I also went out for sports time, which was basketball, and spent much of it playing 1 and a half on 1 of Shema (the three year old who lives at the center because his mom, Sebina, lives and works there) and me against Edy. After that, the boarding boys had a parkour/gymnastics/pull-ups/whoknowswhat time with the basketball hoop. Very impressive. Later that night, Mikey and I went to go visit Jonathan and Jonas, the two German interns who are working at the Center as well, at their house. We have a nice twenty minute zombie apocalypse walk there, and once we got to the point where we were supposed to call Jonathan and have them bring us the rest of the way from the road to their house, we gave them a call. But instead of a German teenage boy picking up and speaking English, we got a Rwandan woman speaking Kinyarwanda. Darnit. Frustrated that we had made it so close but didn’t know where else to go, we proceeded to ask people “Muzungu house?” in hopes that someone knew where they lived. Strangely enough, I heard “Allison!” and out of nowhere popped up Denny, one of the catch-up kids, who led us to Jonas and Jonathan’s house. Yus. The four of us had a lovely time talking about the Center, Germany, America, and eating some popcorn- and then getting talked to by drunk men at the gas station supermarket. “Are you married? You are small, be careful, you are small. I visit you.” Uhhhh... we just wanted water. Thank goodness for Mikey’s presence…

Wednesday I worked more in the library prepping it for completion. I started sketching out the quote that I decided to paint on the wall to tie together the grow tree and the library. It’s by the author Joan Bauer and it reads: “We read to learn and to grow, to laugh, to be motivated, and to understand things we've never been exposed to. We read for strength to help us when we feel broken, discouraged or afraid. We read to find hope.” I think it fits the Center really well, and it’s also just great. So I decided to put it on the front wall, but couldn’t decide how to do it. First, I measured it out and wrote it in straight lines, but I couldn’t get all the letters to be the right size, so I erased it. Then I wrote it out in a semi-circle like fashion, but halfway through that proved to be really frustrating, so I ditched that too. I finally decided to just freehand it in a wavy fashion, so that it looked cool AND if the letters weren’t exactly all the same size you wouldn’t really be able to tell. So, that’s what I decided on, but before I got to start, I helped Mikey out with painting the classrooms. Like I said in my last post, a new program was set to start up with 100 new students, but the classrooms were nowhere near ready, so painting and prepping the rooms became the job of Mikey and Rasta, a former Center for Champions boarder who Carrie hired for two weeks to work with Mikey. While painting white paint around chalkboards and window sills isn’t exactly as fun as painting a colorful quote in the library, it was nice to have some human interaction while I painted.

Thursday was just another day at the center, and I started painting my quote and helped in the classrooms too, since they needed to be done by Friday. In the evening, Mikey invited me along to go visit Rasta at his house. I was going to stay behind because I was tired and felt a bit like I was intruding since I wasn’t invited by Rasta, but ended up going along. Rasta met us at the center, and we began the trek to his house. It was rough terrain and we didn’t really have a light, but thankfully the moon was so bright that night and lit our path pretty well! Halfway to Rasta’s house we met up with his best friend and roommate Imyani, and continued with him. On the walk there we tried asking Rasta some questions like how long he was at the center, how long he’s been out, and how long he’s been at his house, but he didn’t understand what we were asking. Mikey said that his English has really improved after the two weeks he’s spend with him- he’s pretty good at expressing his own thoughts, but he still has a lot of trouble understanding others. We got to his house, which was a very tiny house connected to another house. He had electricity but no lightbulb, so we lit a candle to see everything. They have one tiny room and then another as their bedroom. They gave us a little tour, which we got a video of, and Mikey gave Rasta and Imyani the shirt and shorts he brought for them. They were so excited and thankful, and we had a little photoshoot of them and their new clothes. I think this is where the first round of tears started, beginning with Rasta and Imyani and then spreading to Mikey and myself. It was just so simple and happy, while heartbreaking at the same time. Rasta then proceeded to tell us his story, which was so difficult to hear. His mother, father, and brother were all killed in the genocide, and Rasta was orphaned at the age of four. He spent some time in Uganda, and then returned to Kigali and lived as a street kid (I wish we could have gotten more details about that, but the language barrier really prevented it). While a street kid, he was beaten and arrested, and eventually ended up in Rwamagana at the Center for Champions, where he was a boarder and went through Catch-up school. After that, they sent him off for Mechanical vocational training, which he didn’t want to do, and didn’t finish. He’s been in between short stints of labor since then and living in this house with Imyani paid for with money God has given to them. Hearing Rasta talk was the most amazing thing ever. He has no family left, but goes on to say that Imyani is his brother and all that he needs. He said he used to cry and cry but now “No fear, because God knows my life.” To see someone who has lost so much and suffered so much in his life talk about God like Rasta did, literally brought tears to my eyes. No fear, because God knows my life. How powerful is that?! And we fall apart when little things happen and we can’t see God in them. He has books filled with songs he wrote, and says that he imagines a Rwanda with peace where rich and poor are all treated the same. He views people by their hearts, saying if they have good or bad ones, and tells us both that we have good hearts because we came here and calls us “inshuti” or friend in Kinyarwanda. We stay for a while and talk, and then eventually walk home, laughing to flatulence the whole way home. By far my most amazing time so far in Africa, and potentially in my life.

Friday, I finally hunkered down and finished the library! Yesyesyesyesyes. Trying to race to get everything done before we had to leave for dinner I said I felt like I was on Trading Spaces or Extreme Makeover Home Edition or something where you’re racing to finish the room before the time is up. Stressful, but so great to finish! Mikey, Madi and I also went to the market with Rasta so he could buy his radio, which he’s been saving up for. Music means so much to him, and after all he’s been through, it’s been something that he’s really loved through it all. He was so excited to buy it, and it was fun to be with him. I also got the perfect shirt for my Waldo Halloween costume, which was such a lucky find in the used clothing section of the market.

Saturday, we got to sleep in for the first time ever. SO great. Then, we had Champion’s Day in the afternoon. It was essentially a field day type event arranged by Aleaha complete with relay races, Chubby Bunny, a talent show, a message, and sambosas and fantas. Sadly, it’s the rainy season, so a rainstorm threw a wrench into the plans. We couldn’t have relay races outside, and we lost power so we started late, and the catch-up kids got delayed by the rain. But we made do, and had a fun day. Mikey competed in Chubby Bunny, I did the egg on a spoon race, and Madi did the cookie from forehead into mouth contest. I think the kids had a really fun day, and we got to enjoy some amazing potato sambosas. We got to announce that the library was finished, which was really satisfying, and I apologized for the many times I couldn’t give the kids books in the past and encouraged them to please read now that the library was open! Yay! Sadly, the end of the day took a turn for the worst. With leftover Fantas and sabosas, boys were refusing to clean if they didn’t get seconds, and were continually asking for more. Carrie left us to give the leftover opened Fantas to the boarders, which was a rough time. Mikey and I brought them into the dorm and gave them directions of a line and one each, and they got back in line to lie and have more than one, swarmed the soda, and were all around disrespectful. We ended up angrily having to take the sodas away and lock them in the library, and it was a bit of a sour end to say the least.

Sunday, we had church and the rest of the day for ourselves. After dinner, Nancy Drew, Watson, and Sherlock (Mikey, Madi, and I) went on our secret spy mission and peeked in and watched a wedding reception at the center, but when the bride looked over and saw us, we quickly scrambled to instead have confiscated leftover Fantas in the library. After some 100 franc greasy oily gas station supermarket donuts, we concluded a good day.

Monday was our last full day, and I spent it putting finishing touches on the library, playing volleyball and basketball in the extra-long recess with the catch up kids, and having our goodbyes with the boarders. Carrie said some words, we got our Rwandan names (It wasn’t a good sign that when Carrie asked what I should be named kids were asking what my real name was…I can’t remember what mine was anyways…), the boys got to say things to us, and we got to say something to them as a group. Mikey and I went into the cafeteria where they were eating dinner after and got to joke with them and eat a little poshel and beans, and then we went to our guesthouse to have our last supper and say goodbye to the staff there. It was sad to leave Amina, who took amazing care of us over the month, as she was very sad to see us leave as well.

Tuesday we headed off, after saying goodbye to the catch-up kids and Carrie, and getting surprised by Aidah, our cook, picking us up in Rwamagana! As we were leaving, I was sad to not be able to say goodbye to Rasta, but thankfully there he was right as we left the gate. Happy surprise! We said goodbye, he touched our hearts saying they were good, and we got out last hug and handshake in. Sadly, he told us that his house caught on fire from the radio, which was heartbreaking. But he was at peace with it, said his stuff was okay, and later we found out he got hired to do some cooking at the AEE guest house where the nursing girls stayed, which is what he wants to be doing. Again, he’s just such an amazing and sweet guy, with a really sad story. But that doesn’t define him, and he knows that. Very sad to leave him, but hopefully we’ll be able to go back and visit him. We hopped into our bus, picked up the nursing girls, and headed back to Kigali.

So here I am, safe and sound and happy. So thankful for the month and so glad to be back home. To conclude, I wrote a little “Ode to Avega,” our guest house we stayed at. Below are some pictures as well. Thanks to Mikey for the first picture and Aleaha for the next 5, and then the rest are all mine. Sending all my love back to everyone!

Ode to Avega:

Thirty-one days together we’ve spent

Let me try to capture all that it’s lent

Our toilets had no seats to sit

Though my bed quite was a lovely fit

When we had water ‘twas never hot, nor even warm

Except in my hot chocolate every morn’

The checken sandwich was simply superb

But it being different every time was a bit absurd

Shower spouts at waist level made me glum

I didn’t shower very much at practicum

I’ll always remember the nights outside getting internet from Avega East