Kigali and Pets

I realize I am quite behind on keeping the inter-webs up to date on our lives in Rwanda. We've had some wonderful experiences over the past 10 days or so, including Umaganda in Kibali with a visiting team from IAC (a church in Colorado Springs, from our PEAR Diocese) and a wedding last weekend. I'm hoping to do a separate post about those topics in the coming week, as they come with fun(ny) stories and pictures all their own.

a teaser picture of the wedding...

But for now, I will report on our trip to Kigali this past week and our day today!

Last Tuesday we had the chance to travel back down the mountain to the hot capital city and stay with our friends for two nights. We really are pampered in Byumba with highs around 80 and lows in the upper 60s (winter? whats that?), so, while we didn't particularly love the extra warm weather in the low lands, we absolutely loved more time with the Hanlon family.

We were much in need of refreshment, in the form of not being stared at and having rich conversation, thus our time in Kigali was treasured. We count the Hanlon's like family (our girls call them aunt and uncle), and since both Beebs and Lu had expressed feelings of homesickness, our trip down came at just the right time. Our trip included the acquisition of some creature comforts (i.e. donuts, banana bread, kitkat bars, a homemade pie), to help sooth the longing for home.

Kari and I tag-teamed on a Mango-Raspberry pie.
And, yes, it was as good as it looks...complete
with whipped cream, such a treat!

The Rev Dr met with Cedric twice more while we were there and has completed one part of his writing project!

Claudine was unfazed by the dinner chaos!

We were also able to visit with Claudine (she came over to enjoy homemade pizza)! Claudine is currently a university student in Kigali.  Our church body back home sponsored her through secondary school at the Sonrise School and continues to offer support and encouragement while she completes her education. She is a kind and gentle soul, and we very much enjoyed introducing our children (her sisters!) to her.

Two large chocolate chip cookies in lieu of a cake

We ended our time in Kigali with a small celebration for the young mister Hanlon, who will turn 3 this coming week. Since we would not be in town to celebrate on the official day (a fact that brought many tears of disappointment), one of our littles insisted that we celebrate before we leave.

Birthdays are a big deal, just ask our middlest!

If you know our kiddos, you can guess which one was obsessed with the birthday details! (I'll give you three guesses, the first two don't count!)

Since returning to our Byumba home, we've found the stream of constant children at our door has ebbed, as the local kiddos all returned to school on Feb 2 [the long school break in Rwanda is Nov-Jan, while the summer break is only a couple weeks - the reverse of our American schedule]. My hope is we will now more easily fall into a consistent home-school routine, too, as soccer breaks and interruptions for games of tag and running about will be much reduced!

Meet Gouda

Today was marked by a long lazy morning (while my sweet friend taught a lay leaders class on Church history) and...domesticated animals! That's right. Pets. First we had a visit by a cat that I'm told only comes around when Mzungu are here and has been coming around for more years than anyone seems to remember. The cat likes cheese rind...so, the girls named it Gouda (which just happens to be the main kind of cheese found in/made in Rwanda).

Then later, we had lunch (chapati pizza...Malinda, thought of you!) and a fun afternoon with Heather and Mannaseh at their home...complete with 3 puppies!

The view from Heather and Mannaseh's street

They recently became dog owners, and our girls thought cuddle time with the puppies was just about the best. But, then we topped that off with a little rabbit time! Technically, the rabbit is not a pet and may well be Easter dinner next month...but, for today it was a pet - as in, it received pets from small humans.  And since we won't be here for Easter, it will forever be a pet to our girls.

We ended the day with a hearty vegetable stew and stove-top cookies! Yep, that's right, food stuff is looking up around here (most days). And, yes. You can bake cookies on the stove. Maybe that needs to be a post in the near future!

We look forward to worshiping the Lord at the English service here in Byumba tomorrow (my friend preached at the Kinyrwandan service last week).

Coram Deo - The Mrs Dr.