Dear Rwanda

This visit has been along time coming. In some ways it’s been 30 years in the making, but even once the decision was made it took another four years for us to feel your orange soil beneath our feet.

We have loved the warm, warm hospitality of your people and give thanks for so many hand shakes.

We have glimpsed your pain and heard a little of its impact upon you.

We have breathed in your verdant green hills and thousands of small farms.

We have loved exchanging a wave and a fist-bump with your beautiful children.

We have watched as you crisscross lake Kivu in your small boats.

We have watched the hippo and interacted with the elephant, puzzled at the height of the giraffe and the speed of the impala.

We have glimpsed the rhino, the leopard and the Nile crocodile.

We have been in awe of the power of the lion and chuckled at the mountain monkey.

We have savoured the taste of a truly fresh banana and ripe pineapple.

We have been surprised by the new taste of the tree tomato.

We have enjoyed cassava and Irish potato in the simplest of households with the warmest of people.

We have wondered at what can be carried up, and down, your hills on a bicycle pushed by one, two and sometimes three people.

We have marvelled at the ladies carrying a hoe on their head as if it’s the most natural place for it to be.

We have tasted your fine coffee and smelled the fragrance of the tea plantations.

We have enjoyed your vibrant fabrics and fine Sunday dress.

We have become used to sleeping with the gecko, almost.

We have been astonished by your ability to talk, actually talk, on a mobile phone in any and every situation.

We have loved listening to your intricate language and stumbled our way through the simplest of greetings. We are so grateful for your ability to speak our language.

We have experienced your fine new roads and the Rwandan massage on the dirt track.

We have watched, wide eyed, as your vast workforce of motorbike taxis going about their daily work on their red TVS Victor GLX 125s.

We have become used to explaining that we live near Manchester. We have come to expect “Manchester United” as a reply and been surprised by those who say “Manchester City.”

We have been surprised by our lack of breath before realising that we were at 2,500m, way higher above sea level than our lungs are used to.

We have spoken with some left paralysed by backbreaking work and heard a little of the impact that this has on their family. We have been thankful for those seeking to make a difference.

We have worshiped with a people of joy in the church and the workplace.

We have swayed and clapped with many choirs.

We have witnessed just how much can be done in bright yellow sliders.

We have given thanks for the work of a hospital and a polytechnic having lasting impact in the midst of a mostly rural community.

We are so very thankful for those who spent hours driving us and serving us in so many ways.

It will soon be time for home and I can’t say whether we visit you again.

Some have asked if we would be your ambassador as we talk with others, that I will gladly do.

Thank you for the adventure

Header Image: sunset over Lake Kivu, if you look closely you might spot a small boat.