This week has been nice because my home here has begun to feel like home! Certainly I miss many people and things from Chicago and Pennsylvania, but walking the road to and from language study or Ruth and Krystan’s house and my home now feels quite natural. Thus I would describe this past week as a week of “Yes I can!”…there are many things I am now able to do, and sometimes I have been able to show people here that, since I live here now, I can do the same things they do. It’s been rewarding, entertaining and possibly enlightening to everyone involved!

What things have I done, you might ask?

·         Dishes and laundry at my home

·         Formulate many simple phrases, sentences and questions in Kinyarwanda beyond just the basic greetings

·         Walk home alone in the evening after it’s dark

·         Participate in umuganda – a communal “work day” one Saturday each month (see following photos)

laundry day! (handwashing isn't really that bad!!)

Simparinka, my host father, on the way to umuganda. It's a "bring your own tools" kind of event, and he learned the word "shovel" out of it :)

Making cement for the school. At first I helped carry water in jerrycans with the other women.

Make a line! They moved cinderblocks from a pile to the building. When I wanted to join in the fun the line was no longer in existence so I carried the cinderblock on my shoulder. It certainly turned some heads and drew many comments when the mzungu walked the path with a cinderblock! (After 3 I was tired, though, so I had to stop!)

Some highlights of my week (aka God sightings) have been:

1.    Going up to Mwana Nshuti to Augustin’s English class- the girls are so sweet and we had some good laughs and interactions together

2.    Visiting the Mother Teresa orphanage and getting huge smiles from the young children as I hugged them and spun them around

3.    Seeing my host mother’s face when she walked in and discovered me doing the big pile of dishes

4.    Having some good conversations with my host father about what we dream for our future, what we see as important, young people and church today, etc.

There are so many more things that I could write about but I will leave you with that. Thanks for reading and praying…this week I’d just ask for prayers for continuing to build relationships with my host family and others here and a productive final week of intensive language learning and orientation in Kigali (work starts next week!).

Umunsi mwiza! Have a good day!