12/25/13: GISENYI, RWANDA: CHRISTMAS DAY
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| CHURCH CHOIR |
A slower start today, as everyone slept in until about 7. There is no tradition of gift giving for Christmas here. One of the Pastor's sons walked us the half hour walk to the Friends' Evangelical Church. (The person who first originated Compassionate Listening was a Quaker and most of the churches sponsoring our training have been Friends churches) On the way, we passed a small mosque with a large field next to it which was filled with a huge group of worshipers. Other churches were filled with dancing and singing. The weather here has mostly been in the 70's, but the high humidity has made even the nights pretty sweaty. Many shops were closed this morning, but not all.
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| Choir of Visiting Church |
The Pastor had someone sit next to us to translate, which was helpful and added a bit to our understanding. Much of the preaching and singing was about how much Jesus loves you and that you need to have him in your house, with great spirit and passion.The church's youth choir, Voice of Angels Choir, sang as well as the choirs from two other neighboring churches which had joined them for Christmas. Part of the entertainment was watching a bird fly in through the ventilation holes in the walls to its nest.
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| Visiting Church Adult Choir |
Those of you who have ever complained about the length of P'nai Or of Portland services should come to one of these! It started at 9:30 a.m. and we didn't get out until almost 2! Then they started a second service for those who wanted to receive communion. But the energetic dancing and singing held our interest pretty much throughout. These people have no hesitancy in expressing their joy! It reminded me of my reintroduction to Judaism via Renewal as well as a marvelous experience at the Carlebach Shul when Rabbi Sammy Intrador was there. I attended on my way to Israel and it was his Ufruf, right before his wedding. He was leaping into the air and, I swear, he was aloft more than on the ground.
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| Marcel and Francois leading the singing |
The Pastor shared the pulpit with the pastors from the other churches as well as lay leaders from his church. At one point he looked straight at me and, with a smile on his face, said there are still some who deny Jesus as the King of Kings. But we've really never felt any judgment from him, only total acceptance. Both Joanie and I got a chance to express why we were in Rwanda and our gratitude for the Guardian Angels, him and many others,who have guided us throughout our travels in Rwanda.
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| Pastor Etienne blessing new members of the Church |
After the service, Francois, the organizer of our Gisenyi training, guided us back to his home where we had lunch with him and his wife. They have a little boy, a 2 month old girl, (who Joanie got laughs out of when playing "wind wind" with her) and a teenage sister living with them. The sister received a care package from a potential pen pal in Kentucky 6 months ago when a church group came from the US. They wanted us to send her a letter from the sister, so Joanie put one together, answering the same questions as the girl in the US did and we took some photos to include. Joanie also explained some of the things in the package Florence had received. like underarm deodorant, which doesn't exist here. They really don't receive mail, so we included Francois's email address as a better way to communicate. We showed them pictures of our families and a big clap of thunder announced that rain was again coming. These people have no hesitancy expressing their joy! It was time to go back to the Pastor's house and start packing for our final destination in Rwanda.
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| Francois with family |
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| Family outside their home |
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| Florence Mutuyimana |
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| Francois and baby |
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| Joanie explaining items in package to family |
Tomorrow we leave for Musanze/Rohengeri. - the coldest location in this country, close to the Virunga Mountains and the location where Diane Fossey studied the gorillas. It costs $750 per person to visit the gorillas for 1 hr in Rwanda - the country's largest money-maker. For a Rwandan the cost is $15. The lowest fee during the rainy season is $350. It can take from 1-5 hrs to get to the gorillas, depending where they are. Our plan is to take a several hour hike in the area with a guide provided by the local organizer and we shall see what happens. This might cost us around $50 each.
Etienne's son is right now making chapattis on an iron plate with a fire underneath. We shall see what is for dinner. We saw lots of potato peeling when we got home.
Dinner was special - giant, thick French fries, with real French fries curves plus the regulars - spaghetti, sauce, beans, small chicken wings - and the yummy chapattis. The guys - all 4-5 of them - piled their plates high with only fries and sauce. After we checked email on their computer, were given warm water from the kitchen for a bath in the bathroom. The tub is only hooked up for cold water. Clean and fresh, ready for sleep. Everyone sits in the living room speaking in Kinyarwanda.
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