They have decided at the hotel that I would be best served as the Manager of Food and Beverage. The restaurant situation at Ishema does need some work…ok…quite a bit of work…and the changes that need to be made are overwhelming, really, BUT…as Russell always says, “How do you climb a mountain”? And the answer is: “One step at a time”. So, I am trying to take it one step at a time. We are going to start with obvious changes, and work our way up from there. I think the first task at hand is hiring an assistant that can handle things when I need to be away with Russell or when we come back stateside every three months. But, I gotta tell ya folks…most of the staff doesn’t speak good English, and can use some training in how to be more efficient, so I think this is a task that will only be accomplished hand in hand with God, because it is FOR SURE bigger than what I can accomplish on my own! I’ll keep ya posted on our progress!!
As I was RIGHT in the middle of it at the hotel on Friday, Russell called and said our furniture was on its way to Musanze from Kigali….woo hoo, I think…”the dude” with the 1990 Toyota Corolla comes through!!
I arrive home just as they were unloading and setting up…the house looked like a goat blew up…furniture everywhere….the dining room table and chairs are awesome..the living room furniture is good…but this is the thing…”the dude” put all the furniture into the back of his truck with NO padding….needless to say, it was beat to…well…you know where…and back, but I have always liked “character”, so I figured what the heck. Although, we do have a situation with the coffee table…it was made for the Jolly Green Giant….if you're 7’4” and happen to be in the neighborhood, stop on by…do we have the coffee table for YOU! Picture me, sitting on the couch with my feet on this table and I would look like the letter “V”!
Next stop…bedrooms, to see our bed and the twin beds we had made for the guest room….SCURRRTTT….WHHAATTT….here’s where you have to picture me looking down…straight down… the beds seriously sit about 4” off the floor…think youth bed height….and the headboards…ummm…by the time we got the mattresses on them…well…disappeared! If you happen to be 4’4” and are in the neighborhood with your friend the Jolly Green Giant…stop on by…do we have the bed for YOU!
Russell is in the process of getting “the dude” to redo the beds….let’s hope it doesn’t get lost in translation again…I’ll keep ya posted on that, too!
But, by far the best part of this week was lunch today. We have decided that once a month, we are going to host all of our staff and their families for lunch. I had it catered at the hotel, and we had our housekeeper, Christine, and her two kids, our guard, Kiza, his wife and their daughter, our gardener, Beatrice and her four kids (including a set of twins and their babysitter), and Russell’s assistant, Ronald. 15 of us total….some around the new dining room table, and some outside on the front porch, but, after lunch, all of us outside just enjoying watching Russell and Ronald play soccer with all the kids….as much as we miss our friends and family in LR, we already have family here, too, and we are blessed to have them with us. And I know it seems like a lot of “staff” for just the two of us, but here in Rwanda, employing these folks is crucial. We are supporting four families, each month, for less than we spend on a couple of date nights out in Little Rock, yet they are making more than they have ever made. We are also building relationships with them and teaching them English and computer skills. It’s the beginning of beautiful friendships! I have included some pictures from the day, so you can see these precious families! We are so thankful for them. And we once again, have a yard full of kids!! The cutest boy in the world couldn’t be happier about THAT!!
When I look at the things I think that God is trying to teach me here, in this place, at this time, I think the most important lesson is to just enjoy the journey. Not so easy for me…I’m a point A/point B kinda girl…am I enjoying the journey yet…parts of it…others, not so much, but I pray I can continue to be faithful to HIM, and to what HE has for me each day, and to these Rwandan people HE has put into our lives….one step at a time!
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