Not Quite....."Most Settled"

Ok….I’ll admit it…I’m a “titch overwhelmed”. Yesterday, when we arrived in Musanze, it was pouring down rain (which it apparently had been doing for days straight), we found out our house wasn’t ready (so we are staying at the hotel), and when I went to take my first shower in TWO days, there was no hot water…and it can be cold up in these hills (especially when it is raining). We did have lunch with the Bridge2Rwanda group, and the rain let up long enough last evening for us to walk to and from dinner with them as well, They also drove us around “town” to try and show us all the important things...the best place to exchange money…the best place to buy peanut butter (all natural, of course…you know the kind that isn’t all smooth, but the oil is separated out on top)….the fresh food market, the dry goods market, the this…the that….I seriously thought my head was going to EXPLODE from all the information….ok…let’s up that to now “seriously overwhelmed”. Don’t misunderstand, the information we are gaining from them is invaluable….they know, they’ve experienced, they’ve made the mistakes we hope not to make, and we so appreciated their time and effort to show us the ropes, but as I went to bed last night, I simply wanted to tap my shoes together and chant, “there’s no place like home”. I thought to myself….what in the ever loving world have we gotten ourselves in to? Really, God, REALLY?????!!!!????

This morning greeted us with bright sunshine and the loveliest day Musanze has seen in a long time. We went two doors down from our room and got a lukewarm shower (better than a cold one, I’ll assure you), and a worship service here at the hotel for all the employees held every Monday morning completely in their native tongue (Kinyarwanda). We couldn’t understand a SINGLE word, save “Joshua” (whom most of them remembered fondly) as they were introducing us as “Papa Josh” and Mama Josh”….they don’t even recall our actual names, those are the names they have given us and those are the names by which we are now known.

What was amazing was the spirit with which these beautiful people worship….fully, completely, and with all they have in their heart. These people…who work to support mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, children, and even orphaned head of households, supporting their siblings because there is no one else to do so. Ok…now I’m thinking…and I’M complaining about a cold shower, when they probably don’t even have one…I’M complaining about being homesick after ONE day in the country, when many of the people who work here are from other countries in Africa and are separated from their families for months (and even years) at a time. My attitude changed after that….sort of….hey, I’m just being honest here…..

After the morning and a full tour of the hotel (at which point the power in the entire town goes out, and we later learned would be out from 8:30 to 5 every day this week…..at least) and the keys to my new office….MY office…holy cow…this is getting serious now….we were able to get a tour of our house….not 50 yards from the hotel…..ok….now I’m feeling better again….a precious cottage on a lovely plot of land….flowers galore…and garden already full of corn and beans…a larger than normal kitchen, by Rwandan standards (complete with a good size pantry), a good size living and dining room and two bedrooms and a bath….but the best part is the front porch…quite a nice size and overlooks a good part of the front and side yard….it is completely gated and literally shares the back fence with the police academy. Now…it’s not ready yet, as they are replacing some plumbing (when they told me it was because they couldn’t get hot water in the house, I just had to laugh), and painting, but I think when we get it set up, it will be a great place for me to “nest”. Back to the “titch” overwhelmed! Ok…it’s all gonna be good!!

Then Russell suggests we walk through “town”…a short walk from the hotel and our house, to kind of get a lay of the land….try to remember what the B2R gang told us and showed us yesterday….ya know…get out among the people….alrighty then…let’s do that….so off we go….

First off to the veggie and fruit market….where we will actually buy those things….I can’t even begin to describe the looks we were starting to get…the calls of “Muzungu”, which is what they call a white person here in Rwanda….the thin isles and the throngs of people…back to “seriously overwhelmed”….then through the streets of town to exchange some money and just check things out….over to the dry market, where you will find everything from shoes, to clothes, to fabric, to watches, radios, batteries…you name it, they got it….smaller isles and throngs and throngs of people….more looks and more calls of “Muzungu”…..jumped instantly to “COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED”….”Dude, I gotta get outta here”, I think were my exact words….so Russell swiftly gets me to the exit and finds a nice, little, quite restaurant for us to eat lunch…a plate full of cooked veggies…and a big bottle of water….a cool breeze coming through the window and the meeting of Olive, our waitress, who had the most infectious smile and wonderful attitude and when we told her we had moved to Musanze just yesterday, she said, “You are most welcome”….with those four words…I was instantly, NOT overwhelmed at all….what I realized is, these are good, God-loving people….there are just a lot of them. They are just curious, and in a month, they won’t even notice us….or if they do, they will probably know us by name….it’s going to take getting out among them to get to know them, to know their stories, to help them, help themselves…they are always smiling, always happy, and always have a “Muraho!” (hello in Kinyarwanda)…..tonight, as I head off to bed, I will gives thanks that God is all-knowing, so I don’t have to be and there is a reason we are here….I can’t promise I won’t be overwhelmed again, but I do trust I will meet many more Olive’s that will calm my fears and doubts, and before long, I will feel “most settled”.