Oh Me, Oh My......

Oh, me, Oh my… where do I even begin on what has transpired in the last 2 weeks! Sit down people, this is gonna take a while…

Last post, we were getting settled back into life in Rwanda. Excited to be getting our two containers that, we were told, were ready to go and head up to Musanze. HA HA HA HA HA! … Yeah, not so much!!! The process of getting the containers, it turned out, was similar to pulling the teeth of a 20’ crocodile sans nitrous oxide! After three days, and a trip to Kigali by the cutest boy in the world, container #1 was actually released and on its way. It arrived around 12:30 AM on Tuesday, the 17th. We had requested, if possible, that the container that DID NOT have the 5000 lb. generator, come first, so that we could get everything unloaded, making it easier to concentrate on the biggest unloading project of all when the generator did arrive.

Let me digress here for a minute or two. WAY back in August. TCBITW hired some local guys, which we fondly refer to as our “special forces” to dig a giant ramp, essentially, hand digging an unloading dock, as it were, to the cement pad where we knew would be the final resting place of the generator. Since there aren’t really cranes or forklifts to speak of in this country, or at least in THIS part of the country, logic told us we needed to be forward thinking (and thinking outside the box) when it came to getting that generator unloaded (I have included photos for those, who like me, that are visual).

OK, back to the story… YAY, progress… #1 container arrives, and since it was after midnight, I was already home… no sense in ALL of us waiting up for a truck to simply drive through the gates. We knew we wouldn’t start unloading until first light. The look on Russell’s face when he walked in the door (while simultaneously shaking his head) was one I can’t EVEN describe. And these are the words I hear, “Of ALLLLLL the contingencies we have thought through and planned for, what is THE ONE, the ONLY ONE, we NEVER considered”? HMMMMM, I say… why don’t you just put me out of my misery and TELL ME? Well, he says, “They loaded the container backwards on the truck. The doors are facing the cab”!!! SKEEEERRRTTT… WHHHAAATTTT???? Oh, that’s right people… a picture is worth a thousand words, and the photos speaks volumes! And of course, it WAS the container with the 5000 lb. generator! OK, so let’s recap… one container WITH 5000 lb. generator, but backwards on the truck, making our, oh so proud of loading dock, USELESS… and not just useless, but now a hazard!

So, next morning, they unhitched the cab of the truck from the container, and we proceed to unload everything we can, except the generator (which actually consists of a 2000 lb. fuel tank and the 3000 pound generator itself). The generator actually sits nicely on top of said fuel tank, or as I call it, the rocket ship, cause should that puppy ever blow… that’s where we’ll all be… outer space! Now, we were also hoping for the other container first, since it contained most of the furniture we had ordered for the houses here on campus. And what I have yet to mention is that TCBITW had agreed to host a Canadian mission group, consisting of 11 people, who were to arrive here in Musanze on Sunday, the 22nd for a 12 day stay with us here at the MOC… Ahhh… but the mattresses WERE on the first container… so we are making progress… ohhhh, but the beds, sheets, towels, pillows, etc. were not! One step forward, two steps, back!

Onward in my story… apparently there IS a crane (besides Frasier) in Rwanda, so we call it up from Kigali, I mean, what else were we to do… but in the meantime, Andy, our general manager, heads into to town to see if he can locate something, ANYTHING, that might help us get that generator and tank off the VERY BACK of that container. Well… 7 hours later, and up pops, “the dude” …that’s what I’ll call him because I don’t know his actual name… owner of Break Down Service… I kid you not, this is the name on his truck, and it’s not so much a crane as a tow truck. Oh yeah… I’m thinkin… this is gonna work out just real good!! SOOOO… on we (and I say “we” very figuratively) proceed to unload the tank and generator with “the dude’s” tow truck! Again, pictures included, cause you can’t even really describe the whole process. What I can tell you is “the dude” was, pardon my French, a smarty pants! At one point he argued vehemently with TCBITW that they should just unload the generator perpendicularly onto the back of the tow truck, instead of actually moving the truck so that it lined up with the generator, so that they could then “slide” the generator onto the truck, as they did with the fuel tank. Now, those of you who know TCBITW know he really does not lose his cool – I mean, hardly EVER! WELL… he finally, after a 20 minute “discussion and explanation via translator” of why that wasn’t a good idea, as in, that sucker would just tip his truck right on over like me on a bike in Rwanda… told the guy, “DUDE, you want to get paid, you do it MY way, or don’t do it at all.” We all sort of held our breath, thinking, what happens if “the dude” with attitude drives off! This could be bad, really bad… ahhh, but he didn’t, and moved the truck like RR wanted! By this time it is getting dark and they tried several times to “hit the mark” on top of the fuel tank… last time… 1/8 of an inch off, and “the dude” simply lowers the generator, pulls off the chains and says “I am finished,” in Kinyarwanda! Okie Dokie then, I guess we’re done here! Fortunately, Russell knew he had wenches coming that would remedy the 1/8 of an inch thing. We were glad to see “the dude” and his “tude” go, but by golly, he did get the job done! So, I’ll give him that! That crane from Kigali never did show up!

Now… those of you with small bladders, may want to take a potty break at this point, because I am just getting going on the SECOND container…

SO… everything unloaded from #1 Container, and Frances and I are “putting together” fools… there were stainless steel kitchen counters, metal shelving, all kinds of consumables to be organized and inventoried… you know… HERE is where my OCD comes in EXTREMELY handy… give me something to organize and inventory… yowsa… am I ever a happy camper?!

In the meantime, the shipping company assures us that the #2 container will be on its way and to us by Wednesday, the 18th… late afternoon… still plenty of time to get it unloaded, and the beds we needed for the Canadian group to be assembled, and ready for use! Well, Wednesday passes… no container… Thursday… no container… by Friday… TCBITW was on his way to Kigali bright and early at 5 am to “get r done”… spent all day back and forth with the customs folks, nope… no go on Friday. Back he comes Friday night. By the time he gets home Friday night, they summoned him back to Kigali on Saturday bright and early at 5 am… still time we think… we got this! Back and forth all day on Saturday… nope… not gonna happen! Time for Plan B for the Canadians… got them rooms in town for Sunday night and Monday night, not knowing, at this point, when we would actually get #2 container. Back TCBITW goes on Monday to Kigali, and well, it appears that all the paperwork that we did WAY back in July to avoid such issues, was the WRONG paperwork. We blame this squarely on the shipping company, since they assured us (and it IS their job to know these things, and why we pay them $15,000 a pop PER container), we had everything we needed. Apparently, we shouldn’t even have gotten #1 container, but God showed up big time, and what should have taken 2-3 weeks to sort out, RR got sorted on Monday, and the #2 container finally arrived within our gates at 8:30 PM Monday night!! Can I hear a BIG WOOT WOOT?!! By day break on Tuesday, we were unloading the #2 container, and with the help of all the Canadians, got that sucker unloaded and furniture put on the porches of the right houses, and then THEY started all the assembly of THEIR OWN BEDS (which they slept in Tuesday night)! I have to tell you… they have been INVALUABLE to getting things done in the last few days. BUT, to add insult to injury, TCBITW got a call from Jeffrey Lee’s wife, Kristen (Jeffrey is CEO of the Opportunity International Bank here in Rwanda), and they had 13 South Korean doctors in country and wondered if we, by chance, could host them overnight on Wednesday, the 25th… and what does he say… “Of Course” he says… ”SURE, NO PROBLEM.” Did I also mention that by this point I had 4 fever blisters pop up in an hour period from stress (and two more the next day). So shall we recap once again… #1 Container, done, with the help of “the dude” with the “tude.” #2 container, FINALLY done, with the help of God and the Canadians, number of people sleeping on campus Wednesday the 25th – THIRTY-ONE… number of people we feed Wednesday night… 40, with the power out the ENTIRE time, and NO, the generator is not working yet… who’s had time for THAT?!? OH MY GOODNESS!!

And then on top of everything else, Russell says to me, “go pack up everything in our house so we can move the old furniture out (what was here when we got here and what we had at our old house), and move the new furniture in”… yeah, that’s me, doncha know, the girl that just LOVES CHANGE, LOVES CHAOS, LOVES UNSETTLING MY NEST! OY VEY!!!! Is that another fever blister I feel??

The good news is WE DID IT! Not without some kinks and tempers flaring (who ME)… and there are LOTS AND LOTS of pictures that captures what has been going on!

Just when you think it can’t get more interesting, more stressful, more comical, more BLESSED! I am learning… it can ALWAYS get more of all of those, but especially, MORE BLESSED! We are, in these last two weeks, feeling more blessed than ever! We still have A LONG way to go, but we made some HUGE progress these last two weeks… AND, as you can see, we now have “real” toilet paper, Kleenex and enough Clorox to last us a year – we hope!

Thanks for all your prayers, and words of encouragement… the simplest of those means the WORLD to us! Love and hugs from my, back to normal, new and improved, nest!

Even Frasier was like....WHAAATT??

Getting instructions for how this whole thing was going to go!

I mean, WHAT do you even say??

Our beautiful loading ramp, ready for the unload....ummmm, or not!

The only think holding the container locked - assuring huh?

FINALLY open....

All the tires on the truck looked like this - also assuring, huh?

A joint effort of unloading...

Beatrice's way of carrying a box to the kitchen! Love it!

Frances, our Head of English, with our 15 new computers for the English Institute!!

Trying to get the container repositioned to unload the generator

A plethera of things to put together....

The fuel tank being moved onto the concrete pad by "the dude" with the attitude!

The only think left is the generator...look how back heavy this sucker was!!

A bright spot was SugarBear with her new picnic table!

And off she goes....

Now the final push to get her into place!

And the negotiations begin....

Now comes the generator...with "the dude" with attitude and his truck sideways!

The only think pulling that honker of a thing!

The cutest boy in the world "splaining" how this was NOT going to go!

And "the dude" was going to have to drop it ON Russell if he planned to get it on the truck THAT way!

Sudden change of heart by "the dude" when he realized he might not get paid...hmmmm!

OK...time to set her on the rocket!

Lord help us...the only thing holding that generator up!

Russell has gone to painting again...this time for our Canadian residents

In position in the light of day!!

Our new sink!!

Before photos of the kitchen...clearly I twtich, what with my OCD....

Old sink..where the new stainless steel sink and table will go!

Old shelves...left by the Austrians....

Old table next to frig and freezer!

New Shelves & Stainless Tables...

New Shelving...

New Table next to Frig & Freezer

Stainless table next to new shelving...

New shelving for the the dining room...

Unloading the #2 Container...

Group Effort....

Couldn't have done it without the help from the Canadian Mission Team!!

My un-nested nest :(

OCD ALERT....OCD ALERT....

Poor little entry way...

oh, oh...new bedroom...

And new wardrobes...

Happy Entry Way...

The nest has new furntirure...cept for the big black recliner...

This is the furnture that will eventually decorate all the houses on campus!

Dining area w/new bookcases!

Who says there's no Sams in Rwanda!!

There is at the MOC baby!!

I'mmmm Baaacckkk!!

Well… has it ever been a LONG time since my last blog or what! I won’t bore you with all the details of WHY I haven’t done a blog post in seven months – ok… maybe I’ll bore you just a little, but needless to say, it’s been some CRAZY months!

When I last left you, we were trying to get the “Campus” (that’s what we are calling it now – not “Compound”but “Campus” and as hard as I try… beautiful downtown compoundland is still my name of choice) whipped into shape, and I must say things are coming along swimmingly.

We were also celebrating the fact that the two containers left Little Rock, and we were praying for them to arrive by mid-August… ok… we are now rethinking OUR definition of mid-August, and the shipping company’s! Clearly their calendar and ours are different… like THAT matters… they showed up here mid-October. Another lesson learned. Whatever they say… double or triple it! The shipping company did agree to hold them under lock and key until we got back in country, which we did on Monday night, and they TELL us they will be here on the campus by late tomorrow or Tuesday – we’ll see! And I just pray the under lock and key was a promise kept as well!

The campus does look great though. If you remember, I left TCBITW here for two weeks, and came on home without him (because we just KNEW the containers were going to show up in that two week time frame – ha!). Well… he went a titch crazy with the paint cans! We now have, not only Rwandan flags painted on some roofs, but also the biggest American flags as well. He did abide by my request to paint the tops of the residential houses a nice green color – most of them. He painted one yellow and one bright blue! At least all the rainbow buildings are at the front of the campus and to his credit… everyone else seems to love all he’s done… me?, I’m still adjusting! But all the flowers we have planted have really taken hold and the campus is bursting with color, as are our gardens. We are still trying to convince the Rwandans though, that lettuce does NOT need to grow to 4 feet tall and produce flowers on top. They simply DO NOT grasp the concept of picking something when it is “so small” as they say! Same is true for the basil… it’s all a learning curve, and well, I guess lettuce and basil are pretty steep ones!

Getting back into the swing of things here has been a non-issue really (other than the jet-lag, and man oh man does jet-lag ever play a number on this old broad). Being home in Little Rock this fall was such a complete blur of craziness – for so many reasons, and I had someone tell me, “it sure doesn’t seem like you’ve been home four months”… well, that’s because I’ve only seen you TWICE! And that’s just the way it was… we were on the go from the minute we hit the ground. We worked harder on Rwanda in the states than we do in Rwanda - or that’s at least how it felt!I hadn’t been home three days before Russell calls to tell me that the Minister of Education was in Little Rock to meet with some of the Rwandan Presidential Scholar students, and that I needed to pretend I was him (Russell) and attend everything that was related to his visit, and help him understand what all we were doing here… ok, sure… at this point, I don’t know my name because of the jet-lag. I was getting up at 3 am and wanting to go to bed at 3 pm, but I smoozed and introduced and mingled and explained till I was blue in the face… guess it worked! He told someone he liked “that woman” that lives in Musanze. The week after he got back he became the new Prime Minister… that’s me, Cheryl Rainey, “that woman” that lives in Musanze, with friends in high places J. Maybe I should smooze in a jet-lagged state more often!

A few weeks later we also hosted the Rwandan Minister of Infrastructure, who spoke at the Clinton School of Public Service, the Rwandan Ambassador to the US, and the Rwandan Commercial Attaché to the US for six days. Oh, the details and planning that went into THAT as well. They met with everyone from the Governor to top business leaders. A very successful trip and on a subsequent trip to DC, we met with the Ambassador and Attaché again. To none of these meetings, might I add, was I able to attend in my yoga pants, fleece pullover and trail runners – my dress of choice when back in the states! SUCH a bummer! I own exactly one nice pair of black pants and boy oh boy did they get worn out… and as time went on and those breakfast, lunch and dinner (not to mention in between coffee and after dinner dessert) meetings started to catch up to me on the scale… sheesh… 15 pounds people – FIFTEEN pounds… that’s what I gained in 4 months! That is just plain ridiculous – I was VERY thankful those black pants have a little lycra in them. But, hopefully, as has been in the past, it won’t take me long on the “African diet” to lose it all plus some! HOPEFULLY! But at least I brought back several pairs of new yoga pants!

All that to say… we spent much of our time casting the vision of the Musanze Opportunity Center (MOC), and we have had the incredible support of our entire board who puts as much time and effort into all of this as we do… our goal is to raise a million dollars by next April. We have a nice start, but if any of you hit the lottery…we have a backhoe and other construction equipment we could sure use over in these parts!

We did get in a few get-away trips. RR spent some time in Jackson Hole backpacking with Josh, and I spent a few days in Destin with Brit and her husband, Kelly. We also spent a weekend in Naples, FL with my very bestest, Kathleen, and her husband (after she spent a few days in LR with me), and I went straight from there back to Destin to spend a week with my mom and dad! I did a girls weekend with my “Wolf Pack” girls in Memphis, and as previously mentioned, RR and I spent a few days in DC in meetings and hiring an Executive Chef for the MOC. He and his family will be moving here in late spring. I also got in a trip to Vegas with my mom and sister, and Josh was able to come down from Jackson to meet us, so that was nice! Christmas was great this year, since Josh’s girlfriend of four years, Kathi (who is German and lives and goes to school in Germany) was able to come to LR for 10 days. First time all six of us have been together, and it made my heart soar! That honestly is the still hardest part about living here… being away from family and friends!

But, it’s been awesome getting back to baby Elizabeth, who isn’t a baby any longer. At 19 months, she is walking and talking (in English – YAY), and as stubborn as ever – that’s my girl! All of the staff is making great strides in English, although we are still working on getting some phrases out of their vocabulary. For example, instead of “little by little” they say “slow by slow”, and for “last night”they say “toooo night”. It cracks us up! And the teaching continues!

Our car is finally in the process of getting fixed because we lugged six trunks – most of them with car parts – back with us! The funny thing is, when the mechanic went to do a“test drive” yesterday, one of the tires was flatter than Flat Stanley, and off he goes… while three guards were watching… I literally chased him down to stop him! You know it’s bad, when I am the one giving car advice – EEECK!! Frasier Crane is fine and dandy and still stalking people… and I mean… follows you around and spreads his wings when you don’t pay him attention! But, his plumage is really getting beautiful!

In the next seven months we have LOTS of visitors coming and people moving in… Frances, a Canadian teacher, and the new head of our English Institute, and her husband are now on campus. We have a chiropractor that is trying to get that going here in Rwanda moves in next week, and then we have some folks that will be joining us for a few weeks or months at a time. We have several different sets of business folks coming and Fellowship Bible is sending a mission trip over in June… SOOO, things are hoppin here at the MOC and, God willing, will continue to do so.

In closing, I would like to say that if I didn’t get to see you much (or at all) while we were home, I am truly sorry. I even got a few “oh, hi, I’m Brittany… are YOU my mother?”from my very own child! I never would have imagined that this “let’s move to Rwanda to help as best we can, for a YEAR OR TWO” thing would have turned into such a large scale, over the top, will only happen if God shows up BIG TIME, kinda project, but it has, and the only thing Russell and I know to do is to be as faithful to that as we can. Anything other than our very best just isn’t acceptable. I hope that next fall we are able to find more of a balance between work and down time. I honestly don’t know if we (or at least I) can keep up the pace we kept this fall… but, since we are all in, I’ll let you know how that goes! And if you didn’t get a Christmas card and letter this year… don’t feel slighted… for the first time in 27 years, I didn’t get one out… THAT is how busy I was! Oh, the shame!

I’ve included some new photos of the campus (and the rainbow roofs), along with Elizabeth and Frasier. We would LOVE a visit from any and all that want to come! Our door (or gate as it were) is always open – not really, it stays closed and locked, but we’ll keep the lights on for ya!

The Campus with the new green roofs

Mama Bear's new pink/green minky blanky - thanks to my kids!

Ahhh...William Sonoma Hand Soap & Lotion

A little taste of home along with the other comfort items - I just love the "Gone to Wal-Mart" sign - I wish!

Our living room/dining room area

Our Bedroom - tent included!

The front of the campus with the Rwandan flags painted on the roofs!

The flower bed in front of our house!

Yellow Roof!

Frasier Crane!

Our ornamental lettuce!

The biggest American flags EVER!

The peppers are looking GREAT!

As is the califlower!

That would be the "Frasier Crane look"!

My favs - the hydrangeas

And this would be the "Elizabeth look"

Mt. Muhabura as seen from our house!

Mt. Sabyino as seen from the north side of the campus!

And WHAT is a Southern girl to do without her Tervis Tumblers??

Bulk, Bugs and Goodbyes....

Well…at least I’m not a month since my last post. We continue to try to get the compound running at a smooth pace. I would say we are making progress, although we are still figuring things out. Some things are coming more easily…some things are still a continual struggle. The water situation has been much more consistent, thanks to some ingenious engineering by TCBITW. Power and internet still come and go (internet less so thanks to some battery back-ups), although I have determined if I have to live without any one thing…power and internet are MUCH easier to do without than water!  

Our two 40 foot containers got off from Little Rock this week…can I hear a big WOO HOO…come mid-August (please Lord, mid-August), we will have a plethora of things we either can’t get here at all, or are so expensive (and cheaply made), they aren’t worth buying. We have everything from generators to furniture to toilet paper (and DO NOT EVEN JUDGE THAT DECISION) coming in bulk, and oh how grateful we will be for all things large and small! I have to give a great big shout out to some folks without which the containers would not have gotten off (much less with all the things we need)…the whole wolf pack (Braswell’s, Chapman’s, Greenwood’s and Woodham’s). They did everything from coordinating the shipment to runs to Sams, Home Depot, etc. at the last minute. Russell’s mom and dad, Roy and Salliejane, who lent the use of one of their garages as a staging area, and had to put up with daily UPS arrivals and being there on pick-up day to make sure everything made it. That saved us a lot of time and money not having to have a separate storage area for all the container stuff, not to mention the hassle, for them, of having stuff piled up for months and months. My mom and dad, who put up with Josh, his bum knee and his friend, Coop, who got into LR right in the middle of all the hoopla.  And, last, but not least, Brit and her husband, Kelly, who have been a continual source of help with us living here…They are always willing to do WHATEVER they have to do to make sure we get what we need, when we need it! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…we simply couldn’t be doing what we are doing here without the STRONG support of both our families and all of our friends.  We would be half as productive (and let me just say that half as productive and we might as well not be here) and A LOT more stressed (and people, I could not TAKE a lot more stressed) if it were not for that support. Words honestly can’t do justice to how thankful we are for them all!

One thing we are still trying to get a grasp on here in beautiful downtown compound land is the creepy, crawly bug situation. About two weeks ago, I popped up with 47 bug bites (yes FORTY-SEVEN…I counted every last one). The biggest, itchiest bug bites EVER…to the point that I did a round of steroids, didn’t sleep for days on end and was pretty much M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L. E!!! Here’s a hint…buy stock in Benadryl…I will personally see that you make money on that investment! So…after a few days and the steroids kicking in…itching subsided and bumps begin to disappear…but we still don’t know the creature that caused such a plague on my body…the Dr’s. King suggested several things…African Ju Ju Chiggers, and bed bugs were discussed…I don’t know if the African Ju Ju Chigger is actually a pest here, but apparently they do have chigger like bugs, and well, I did all the research on the dreaded bed bug, and all I can say is EWWWWWWWWWWWWW…..I immediately went to work to try to find out if we, indeed, did have the little things, and let me just interject here, that we, in fact, have bed bug specific covers on our mattresses and all the pillows, and Katie and I tore those things apart looking for tell tale signs, and well, there simply were not any. AND, TCBITW has yet to experience one bite, so I am leaning towards the African Ju Ju Chigger! All’s well for two weeks and then BAM…yesterday – 10 bites! DANG IT!! At least it’s not 47, but still miserable, although no steroids this time...can’t exactly stay on those for long periods of time, but see above about Benadryl investment – just sayin. If anyone knows where I can get a black-market supply of the twenty year banned, DDT, please send it my way…I’m willing to try just about anything….oh, to just have Orkin or Chem –Lawn!

We also said goodbye to Katie Rainey last week. Bittersweet for us all, and beautiful, downtown compound land is simply NOT the same without her. She was a joy to have for four months and we hope that it isn’t the last we see of her! She completes degree number two in December, so she will have a little more freedom after that! Her house will be waiting on her, should she decide she wants another go over here. Christine, Chantal and Jan Viere gave her a “surprise” going away party (photos included). It was very touching and sweet, and reminded me, yet again, why we can’t take our presence here lightly. The staff and people we work with do become attached and when we leave, they still don’t trust that we will, indeed, be back, even when we assure them that we will. We tend to think of what we do here as a project; they see us as their lifeline to a better future. Oh, the pressure of it all!! With her leaving, we also said good-bye to Lucy, Blanket and Charlie (since she was their primary caretaker, and thanks, but I don’t do the whole goat thing). We donated them to the deaf school just a kilometer up the road from us, and they intend to use them to teach the Orphan head of household kids how to care for livestock and use the milk for the deaf boarding students.  We wanted to make sure they went somewhere they didn’t just end of on the bad end of a shish kebab! And since I start my volunteer work there next week, I can keep an eye on them!

So…we continue to just plod along, doing the best we can….each day a different (and sometimes the same) challenge, but step by step, little by little, we are making progress! Prayers please, for the expedited arrival of the containers! We seriously don’t need any Atlantic hurricanes or Somali pirate takeovers of freighters….

Till next time….

Jan Viere, Christine and Chantal....

Christine and Katie..

Steps Forward....

Wow….I can’t EVEN believe it’s been OVER a month since my last post, but welcome to my world these days… days fly by at a rate that I can’t believe and when the end of the day does come, we are so tired, all we can do is fall into bed… no joke… I’ve never worked so hard in my life to have things continue to be so hard…

Since my last post, we are trying to settle into the compound!! (Actually called the Musanze Opportunity Center) Not an easy task given the size of the place and the fact that the cutest boy in the world keeps letting people move onto the campus. Now, don’t get me wrong… that’s all fine and dandy, and we love everyone that’s here, but we are having a hard enough time keeping water, power, internet and cell service… ME worrying about everyone else does not, I repeat, does NOT help my stress level. So far, besides ourselves and Katie (and Josh for the month he was here), we have, Charles, a British guy who is working with Caleb King on some hydroelectric projects, Katie Jo, a college junior, who is working with the OneEgg.org folks, Nolan, a twenty something filmmaker here for a project and then sometime in the next couple of weeks, Bill and Susan Boyd will be here. All of a sudden, six houses occupied. Honestly, no one else can move in… we are flat OUT of all resources, like furniture, until our containers start to arrive in August… But, we have been very honest with everyone that we really aren’t ready for folks, so it is what it is… but it’s still hard for me, Miss Hospitality, who wants to make everyone all comfy and cozy. Ummm, yeah… that is SOOO not gonna happen for a titch of a while!!

So, everyday is filled with just whatever doesn’t work that day! We didn’t have internet (or reliable internet) until just this week… power outages have been a pretty constant issue, and we have now been without water for four, going on five days now… let’s see… oh, and we now have 20 employees, not four, for which we have a sit down lunch every day! Washers and dryers and refrigerators have blown up (but fixed by the cutest boy in the world), and the creepy crawlies are still an issue! The goats are all doing fine, although not producing the amount of milk we thought they would, and Frasier Crane has become a stalker… pecking on our doors when he wants attention or is hungry. Man, are we ever havin fun now!! When we DO have things functioning, we are doing our best to teach and train… a learning experience for us all!! But, on the up side… the yards and gardens are taking shape, signs are getting painted and the men and women on this campus (our employees) are learning what it is to be REAL men and women… not what the culture of Rwanda tells them. Men are respecting the women and the women are gaining confidence in themselves and their abilities. It is AWESOME to watch the change! We did just have our first “Big Dinner”…a Mexican feast for 20… minus the cheese dip, but I was tired of not tasting Mexican, so we just FIGURED IT OUT!! AND… we had our first taste of the goat cheese from Lucy’s milk (a week’s worth) …Katie’s pet (pardon the pun) project, and she FIGURED IT OUT!! SOOOO YUMMY!!

We were able to take 3 days and go up to Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda on a safari with both Josh and Katie… although what we were told was a 5 hour drive, turned out to be 12, but it was great, and actually spent our 26th anniversary there on May 4th.

It was SO great having Josh here, but even THAT ended up somewhat stressful, in that on Mother’s Day, of all days, he and Russell decided to go for a bike ride and on the way back down the hill to home (while they were RACING), his fender came off, rotated under his wheel, causing him to lose control and go down. He was hurt pretty badly… lots of cuts (some major) and bruises, and he clearly injured his right knee. He refused to go to the hospital, so RR and I proceeded to try to fix him up, but he did go into shock and for a few hours, it was pretty scary… but we all stayed calm and got him comfortable, but for the last week he was here, he was laid up on our couch and left here on crutches and looking like a mummy because he had so many bandages. THANK GOD he had on a helmet, since it was completely trashed, and CLEARLY saved his noggin from any injury at all (WEAR HELMETS PEOPLE AND MAKE YOUR KIDS WEAR HELMETS), but, he is getting better (and in Germany now) and will have an MRI when he gets back to the states. All Rainey’s are now officially banned from bikes here in Rwanda – honestly!!

We got Josh on the plane out of here on the 14th, and later that morning, Russell and I got on a plane to Cape Town, South Africa… we haven’t had more than 5 minutes alone in so long and were both so fried from all the stuff leading up to and moving into the compound (and frankly, I had HIT THE WALL), we just flat took a break, and was it ever JUST what we needed. We worked our way through the South Africa wine country… did nothing but relax and rejuvenate and drank a little wine here, there and everywhere (although we did hit up a bunch of home depot type stores to try to get as much electrical equipment as we could to help the power situation). The highlight of the trip was a helicopter ride (Valium anyone??) from the waterfront of Cape Town down to Cape Point and back up the other side, and around Table Mountain… a spectacular hour long flight… and a way to see that area like none other. So… 10 days in the South African wine country… lots of good food and wine (sushi three times -woot woot), and all relaxed to get back and face the next four months here in beautiful downtown compound land… except… it took us two days to get home due to some scheduling changes and conflicts of the airlines… but, an extra overnight in Johannesburg, and it all worked out in the end…

Katie was glad to have us back, I think, as she shouldered all of the burden while we were gone… and again… every day is just a “OK, God… whatcha got today kinda day” …the consummate planner in me is learning to take it as it comes (although I am not giving up easily), and realizing that this is a marathon, not a sprint… all lessons I find difficult, BUT I'm giving it up to the ONE who knows all, sees all and loves all… sometimes it’s just for me to follow, not lead, not ask why, just follow… I’m trying my best… sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but I am making headway… I THINK, in that area… and we really are making progress here on the compound… baby steps, but steps forward, nevertheless… so I'm always thankful for steps forward!! Here's to continued steps forward……

Till next time… enjoy the photos!!

Our newly painted sign...

Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Sunrise over Lake Edward - QENP, Uganda

Here kitty, kitty - QEPN, Uganda

African Kob - QENP, Uganda

Water Buffalo - QENP, Uganda

Hippo - QENP, Uganda

Our 26th - May 4th

Wine Tasting @ The Big Easy - Stellenbosch, SA

Room with a view - Zorgvliet Winery - Stellenbosch

Zorgvliet Winery - Stellenbosch

Klein Oliphants Residence B & B - Franschhoek, SA

Gardens of same...

Cape Point from the Air

And the same...

Table Mountain and Cape Town Waterfront from the air

Me riding shotgun...

Add here we go....

And a big thumbs up to our pilot, Stephen...