beauty

THIS WAS WRITTEN TWO DAYS BEFORE I LOST WI-FI :) WE ARE NOW BACK IN THE STATES (in DC) AND I WILL WRITE MORE SOON, LORD WILLING. I HAVE WRITTEN SO MANY THOUGHTS ON MY BARF BAG FROM THE PLANE. I DON'T KNOW THAT HAVING 16 HOURS ALONE WITH MY THOUGHTS AFTER AN EXPERIENCE LIKE THIS WAS GOOD OR NOT :)

FROM SATURDAY....

having trouble with wi-fi tonite so i am not sure when i can post this....today we rode in the car for many hours on our way up to 9,000 elevationto visit a hospital under construction. the roads were the worst yet. we bounced along for a long time. i think my stomach muscles got the biggestworkout they have had in years from gripping the ceiling handle :) i am so thankful we were able to visit so many remote villages while on this trip. we got a very good feel for the country as a whole.

at this particular site, what they have been able to accomplish is nothing short of a miracle considering the locals either carry the materials up the mountain or a truck very, very slowly pulls itself toward the top. you would have too see it to appreciate the magnitudeand scope of the project. it will be 150 beds and serve 350,000 rwandans in this district.

another random post of things i want to remember.

we have met probably 10-15 college students who live and do year-long internships here. some have graduated and come back to live.they have got their priorities right and their heads on straight. we have been so impressed with their maturity and commitment to global health. before this trip,i had no idea the number of non-government organizations who work in african countries to improve their quality of living. i pray that ben and sam wereable to see how Christ-like, selfless, and hip you can be at the same time :)

simba, our primary driver, and sam are best of buds. he looks around 25 and we found out he is 38. he lost his entire family in the genocide and he is the happiestguy around. sam talked to him (while we were at one of the genocide memorials, he stayed in the car with simba since this one was too disturbing for such littleeyes) about whether he had ever been saved and simba told him no, but that he was thinking about it :) sam is giving him his Bible tomorrow when we say ourfinal 'so long for now' :) if you ever come to rwanda, use the 'thousand hills' travel agency and request simba.

here was my revelation for today. when you look past the poverty, this is the most beautiful country with the most beautiful people in the entire world. i was letting my eyes focus on what is not here instead of what is. and what is here? the biggest smiles on the cutest kids ever! and the landscape is unmatched. i wish i could describe it better, but try to get a picture in your mind's eye. lush, lush green garden quilts amongst thousands of 'hills'. the gardens are like patchwork up anddown and all around the hillsides (i would call the mountains and simba would correct me with 'hills'). gardens filled with corn, cabbage, tea, and every vegetable you can think of. throw in waterfalls and creeks filled to the brim with rushing water and red clay roads. oh, and patches of forest-type trees. oh, and avocado trees. on all the drives out to the countrysides, it was just like looking at national geographic's best photos. God did good.

we had two black toyota land cruisers that drove us everywhere. there were washed daily with cool shiny wheels. i am convinced no other car could take abeating like these. they rack up serious miles taking people on safaris. needless to say, as we drove through the villages we attracted attention :) because wewere sooooo far out, these kids had not seen many vehicles like this filled with white people :) they would excitedly scream and run by the car shouting 'muzugu' meaning 'white people'. it was hilarious! they were so filled with joy, i will never, ever forget it! simba told us they love water bottles to carry to school. so we handed some out the window as we drove by and honestly you would have thought we handed them a million dollars. i looked out the back window one time and three kids wereliterally on the ground wrestling over it.

the cost of living here is outrageous! i naively thought that it would be cheap. cheaper than say china. suffice it to say...not. because the country is landlockedwith no seaports, has little or not manufacturing, and because the roads are horrendous, it is major expensive to get stuff in. i mean everything costs a LOT.

85% of the population is under 25 years of age.

i am so proud of ben and sam. they hung in there everyday without complaint. they ran more in 8 days than our normal 8 months. they both absolutely love ithere. they had soooo soooo much fun at C.A.L.M. orphanage. today was the best. we didn't arrive until 3:30 since we had to bump ourselves to a hospital almost 3 hours each direction. ben and sam threw frisbees and balls and just had the most awesome stinking time. i played probably 300 rounds of 'which hand has the gum wrapper" with alice, prince, and grace. we are madly in love with these kids. and then tim, greg, and simba brought over pizza and pop which they had never had! they lined up and just chowed! it was one of the best days of my life.

i gave esther the silver necklace i'd been wearing (the one you gave me karen with the circle within the circle) and just held her. could she be our daughter? only the Lord knows.much to my amazement, i felt a peace about leaving. they all sang a goodbye song to us. it could not have been any better. we felt 100% at home here. the aunties too are forever in my heart. we had given them body lotions with gold and silver sparkles and today they were all glimmery :)

i thank the Lord once again for His goodness during our time here. i am so very thankful that we stayed healthy. while we have been emotionally and physically taxedevery single day, He kept us feeling strong. of course, we will probably crash, burn, and get sick when we get home :) but definitely better there than here.

signing off from the most amazing journey i have had to date.

promise many pics to come from the good ol' U.S. of A. thanks to each of you who left comments. the scriptures blessed me immensely and every word was thenourishment i needed. please know how much i appreciated you taking the time to do it...

the road to rwanda is muddy, bumpy, red clay color ... and life-changing. Lord willing, we'll be back. again and again.