June 16

Heading out this morning to our final destination, Kibogora Mission. It will be about a 6 hour drive. Had a rushed departure because I overslept at the mission house. It was so good to sleep in a bed again! We picked up Pastor Wakana from Kibogora, who was also in Kigali at this time. He is a very nice Rwandan gentleman, very soft spoken, quiet and smiles a lot. Matt told us that he was a Tutsi and had to leave the country during the '94 genocide. The SUV is quite full now, with Matt, Jack, Lucas, Pastor Wakana and myself, plus Matt's supplies for the mission and our luggage. I pointed out to Matt that he would not be able to see out of the back window of the SUV while driving, and he just laughed and laughed about that. So I guess he usually has the SUV packed up pretty full.

One notable thing about Rwanda is that most people walk everwhere. So on all roads there is a constant stream of people, including small children walking by themselves. Many of the women have babies strapped to their back with a piece of cloth and have something else balanced on their head. There are a fair number of motorbikes, and a few cars. Surprisingly all of the main roads (highways and many city streets) are paved. Matt (and my guide book) says that the Chinese paved these roads in exchange for mineral rights. I am not sure that the Rwandans got the best of that deal. On the drive we saw hundreds, perhaps thousands of people digging trenches to lay fiberoptic cable. There have reportedly been donations including from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to try to increase the tech level of the country. Most everyone also has cell phones.

Stopped in Butare about 10:00 am for tea and some breakfast. This is a usual tea break time for the locals, I understand. Butare is a university town, even with a medical school (though I believe it is only 2 years). It came up that Kibogora Mission needed blood today, and Butare has a blood bank. So Matt drove us to the blood bank and we picked up a cooler with 4 units of blood. But where to put it in the already stuffed SUV? Somehow Matt squeezed it in, and off we went again.

Drove through Nyungwe Forest, which is a rainforest and animal preserve. Lucas and I hope to go on a more detailed tour of it before he leaves in 2 weeks. During the drive we saw about 6 monkeys by the side of the road, much like we would see deer by the side of the road at home. They were black with a white fringe of "beard" around their faces. Their bodies were about 2 feet long, plus the tail.

People here live in all kinds of dwellings, from mud huts with dirt floors to mansions (in Kigali). The Rwandans I have met so far are soft spoken and put out their hand to shake when they greet you. They seem to smile easily. Many of them know at least a few words of English and many are fluent in English, but I hope to learn a few words of Kinyarwanda while I am here so that I can return the favor and communicate with them a bit in their language.

Once settled at the mission in our apartment, Lucas and I joined Matt's family for dinner. His wife Lisa is quite friendly and says that she enjoys having some new faces and people to talk with. She is from the Isle of Man, and she had some wonderful stories to tell about that place (between Ireland and England). We had "western" food for dinner: shepherd's pie, peas and carrots, and pineapple upside down cake for dessert. They have a very nice family and have made us feel welcome. In addition, the hospital administrator, Sheila Etherington, came by tonight and welcomed us, and we talked a bit about what my (and Lucas') work will be. Will learn more about that tomorrow.....