The Starbucks of Africa

“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject whatever is harmful. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” – 1 Thessalonians 4:12-28

Mommy – Thanks for the verse for this entry, it’s perfect. If anyone was wondering what a typical day for me is like, this verse does an excellent job of summing it up. Patience is something I have to practice every day here. Between the language barriers and the recent disrespect I have faced, I have to be patient and strive to do what is good for the people I am surrounded by. Some days are easier than others, but at the end of the day I have to remember Jesus is right by my side every step of the way.

This past weekend was quite fun! I went to Kigali (the capital of Rwanda) with a couple of friends. My friend Gabi from the U.K., Elliot from Georgia and Betty from Germany. We are quite the group of Muzungus traveling together. The bus ride to Kigali takes a little less than two hours. We arrived in Kigali early morning and headed straight to Bourbon Coffee. This place is amazing. It’s like a small little Starbucks/little slice of home get away. It does not even feel like you are in Africa… It’s crazy! They make fresh pastries every morning that are absolutely delicious! I treated myself to a caramel frappacino and a slice of banana bread. Oooooo my goodness it was wonderful!!!! I really thought I was back at home for a small chunk of that Saturday morning! After we finished our amazing breakfast, we wandered around for a bit. We found this store that was like a Rwandan Wal – Mart (Linz I totally thought of you, you would love it!). They had everything in that store! From a bakery to treadmills! I could hardly believe my eyes. It was truly another world. It is crazy how much they are trying to “westernize” this country. It makes me a bit sad because it’s losing its culture, heritage and identity along the way. It gets pretty toasty in Kigali compared to the mountainous region of Musanze so as we walked around, I worked up quite the sweat! We passed through a couple of markets and different little shops for the rest of the morning. By lunch time we were starving because of all the walking! We ventured across the city (by foot don’t forget) to a restaurant called The Cactus. It is tucked away on this little hill that looks out on a good chunk of the city. This place is known for its pizza… So of course I got one! It was absolutely delicious and made my taste buds quite happy. We hung out there and just relaxed for a good part of the afternoon because we were tired from all the walking. After some rest, it was time to head back to the bus station so we had enough time for movie night! The ride back to Musanze was interesting. You just never know what you’re going to get here. The bus was packed with people. Every seat was taken and we were all packed in tight. When we were about half way to Musanze, the bus driver stopped at a little café so people could get snacks or dinner if they needed to. The girl sitting next to me ran to grab a quick snack which contained a red bull that she kept dropping on the floor. Immediately after she dropped it she thought it would be a good idea to open it. The sugary energy drink sprayed everywhere and sloshed on the floor… My feet and bag were greeted by a sticky mess… Hooray. And not long after that the little baby in the row in front of us threw up all over the man next to her. He had on a nice black suit that was now filled with baby nasties… Gross. But nothing phases people here so he merely wiped it off and we all had a good laugh. We stopped randomly a couple of times to pick people up even though there wasn’t any room. It is just the way of Rwandans. They are very kind to one another. Eventually we did make it home safe and headed to movie night. Every Saturday night at 7 a man named John has all the Muzungus over for a movie night. He is from the States and is working at one of the local universities doing veterinary research on the mountain gorillas. He is a great guy and so kind to all of us. After a long day we were all ready for bed! It was a great day of adventures!!

I hope I can update everyone on some more fun adventures soon! Missing everyone very much!

Grace and Peace