Butare: Friday July 23

July 23

I lived 5 days in 24 hours. It is amazing to me how much experiece I can pack into one day!

“Day 1” After the Sauna last night I slept hard and deeply. So when the alarm rang at 6:20am I really didn’t want to get up. I did. Philbert asked Emmanuel, his house help, to help me get a moto so I could meet Lindsay and Blake near their home. I was off on the moto and then just waited at a gas station. I waited for about 10 minutes and I must say they were a long 10 minutes. There is nothing much more uncomfortable than being a Muzungu all alone. Maybe if I knew the place better, knew the language I wouldn’t feel as exposed. As I waited I thought about how blessed I’ve been on this trip to find so few moments alone. Lindsay and Blake came just as I was beginning a “conversation” with the boy that was picking up trash at the gas station. He was practicing his broken English and the conversation helped me pass the time. When Blake and Lindsay arrived we all got a moto to a coffee shop. Today was Lindsay’s birthday and although she was giving her big day to a trip to Butare at least we were beginning the day with an American breakfast. I enjoyed their company at breakfast. It has been fun for me to hear of their experiences in Rwanda in these last 6 months.

“Day 2” We took motos to town where we caught a bus to Butare. I was expecting the “matatu” buses which are tiny and cramped. I was pleasantly surprised that we had a nice bus. We had enough room which means my knees were against the back of someone’s seat but I didn’t feel cramped. The drive to Butare from Kigali was beautiful. The road winds through terraced hills.. There are were a ton of people walking and riding their bikes on the side of the road. Our bus was pulled over by the police and it looked like our driver didn’t have the correct papers. They police got in the bus an took us to the police station. For the most part everyone in the bus just sat in quite. I was more calm than I expected myself to be. I’m sure that was because I was with Blake and Lindsay. The driver was away from the bus for a short time and when he returned nothing was said. We just continued our journey. We arrived to Butare after 2 and a half hours. We were met at the bus station by Pastor Zabulon. We greeted each other and loaded into a taxi to head to the Nazarene District Center.

“Day 3” We spent a few hours with Pastor Zabulon and other pastors from Butare. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. I learned about the ministry of the district. They have several projects they are working on to support the orphans and widows of the area. Pastor showed us some of the cards and necklaces they make. Our conversation centered around the possibility of bringing a team of students to Butare in the future. What impressed me about the pastors is that they see a team coming to participate in the things they are already doing. They value relationship. They mentioned the idea of connecting with University students. Butare is a huge university town and in May students would still be in school. That would be awesome! It sounds like there is huge opportunity here for a relationship. It is amazing to me that I can be on the other side of the world and meet with Nazarenes. After our meeting we walked to Pastor Zabulon’s home for lunch. We met his entire family. It was a wonderful time of connecting!

“Day 4” After lunch Blake had to do some business in town for the pastors. We also needed to get our bus tickets for our return trip home. It was 10 minutes to 4 when Lindsay and I went to get our tickets. When we got up to the desk the lady informed us that there were no seats. We asked, “Can we have a later bus?” She said, “No, there are no more seats today.” This feeling of dread ran through me. I saw visions of staying in Butare the whole night. We called Black and Pastor and they said they’d try another bus company. We are in Africa! Everything is an adventure here. Sometimes I think having a knowledge off a more developed country works to be detriment. I can become so bummed by delays and disappointed when things don’t work out like they do back home. I think it is easy to be flexible when I know I’m just staying in the country for a short time. I would find some things about the way life works here very difficult long term. I totally respect those who are from developed worlds here that are working here and living simply. It must not be easy! Pastor Zabulon helped us get bus tickets for 7pm. We celebrated being able to return home tonight even though we had to wait several hours. The wait gave us more time with Pastor Zabulon.

At about 6:15 we ventured off to the bus station to wait for our bus. We began to get a sense of what to expect when it was our turn to fetch the bus. When a bus arrived everyone made a mad dash to get a seat. Pastor Zabulon helped us know when our bus arrived and the plan was for Blake to go ahead to save us seats. Sure enough when our bus arrived a mob formed around the entrance even while the bus was in motion. We had to push our way to the front. While I was pushing my way Black opened the back window of the bus and jumped in. I’m not sure how he managed this. Everyone was laughing at him outside of the us (at least those who were not getting on this bus were laughing). He then fought off people to save our seats. Lindsay was so good at pushing her way into the bus. She has had more practice than I for sure! I made my way in but only because Linsay and Blake worked hard to save a seat for me. We were so grateful to have made it on the bus, to be sitting together and to finally be on our way back to Kigali. I was glad to be sitting in the back because I could not see the road. There were several close calls as we passed other vehicles. I was glad when we made it back!

“Day 5 Tonight Philbert’s new restaurant had its grand opening. Lindsay, Blake and I took a taxi to join the opening party. We were exhausted. They didn’t stay long but it was good to introduce them to my friend Philbert! I ended up staying until Mid-night. It was great to be there for Philbert’s big say. It was “an experience”. Several of the men at the party had way too much alcohol. I’ve never been around drunk men and I don’t care to be around them every again. It is the one time this whole trip when I didn’t feel safe. I was exhausted and didn’t have much left in me to deal with crazy guys. So when Philbert said it was time to go I was thrilled. I was beyond ready! It was a marathon day of 5 acts….. I’m grateful for each part (except the drunk men).