The Road to Hunga: Oh Taste and See!

"Guest" Post - The Rev Dr himself!!:

This past Sunday, we finally had the chance to visit and worship with our sister church here in Rwanda, Hunga Parish. 

Hunga church building - newly added front door and tower!

Our time with them was sweet and not long enough, partly owing to the transit, which is taxing to both time and body.

Hmmm, is it a road? Or maybe a foot path?

For obvious reasons, Mo got car sick. But experience
is a teacher and mommy was prepared!

Sometimes you have to share the road!

The road to our sister church, Hunga Parish, is not wide, straight, or smooth. It is something of a metaphor for the Christian life -- narrow, with many by-ways leading to destruction (sheer drops of a thousand feet), and one long, uphill climb concluding with a joyful reunion of song, dance, and feast. 

I'm sure the regular blogger will give her own perspective on these things, but I thought I'd share some thoughts on this very blessed day.

Many interested children wanting to catch a glimpse
of the newcomers.

They stepped out of the pastors house and were surrounded!

How delightful it was to emerge (much-beaten) from the truck to be welcomed by familiar faces rejoicing to come together again. It was such a joy to me to present my wife and children, whom I had enthusiastically promised to the Hunga congregation to bring someday. As we have heard repeatedly in Byumba, these are the first mzungu children anyone there has ever seen. 

Introductions

 After the anticipated Second Breakfast of tea, white bread, and hard-boiled egg (which I avoided, remembering our previous visit when I kept burping up egg for three hours), we processed into the church. While I have appreciated the times with other congregations, this place and these people felt so warmly familiar. To look out into the congregation and see faces I remember, and find names springing to mind, was like a homecoming.

The congregation

In the service were a number of choirs, but the first to sing was the choir of small children. One small voice began, rising steadily in strength, to be echoed by the others. It was a tiny girl, about the size of our second, singing out in praise to our God. The man next to me leaned over and said, "It's a song that says God is good, he's sweet like honey," and I could see on the faces that they meant it. I had to agree; I felt it. He is sweet like honey. What a God we have, who is above all nations yet brings together into one family all those who have received his mercy and forgiveness. As the little voice filled the place, echoed by her little brothers and sisters, I had to work to hold back the tears.

The children's choir dancing and singing

I've preached in Rwanda about ten times over several visits, but this was the first time I felt like I was actually joining God in what he was doing among the people. As I preached from Luke 4 on the temptations of Jesus, the Lord brought words to mind. How weighty came Jesus's words, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord." In a place where bread can be hard to come by, how precious is the Word of the Lord. His Word is Life. "How sweet are your words to my taste, Lord, sweeter than honey in my mouth." Across the church, the people were silent and very focused while the translator gave each sentence. 

Pastor Jean dD, Rev Dr, translator, catechist

Hunga altered their normal routine of Holy Communion on the last weekend of the month in order to share it with us. This felt really significant to me. Rwandans like routine, order, and following the rules. They like team sports. To shift Communion for us meant they really wanted to have us be part of it. I shared the Table with Jean de Dieu, and each of us served the Bread.   

And when the time for dancing came, I didn't wait to be dragged up. I hopped up! I've been practicing. I had the rhythm down: stomp, stomp, stomp, leap. Arms out, hands curved up, rear-end out. Oh yeah! Jesus is alive! Hallelujah! 

The baby on her back was asleep...until the jumping
began (in heels, no less). The little one's eyes could
not have opened wider!

And then I was tired. Muscles... giving out. Breath... gone. But they were not tired. Will I fall over? I wondered. Finally, a kindly catechist saw my fatigue and took me by the hand to my seat. The joy of the Lord is our strength, but I'm pretty sure that means soul strength. (just a small glimpse below!)

Truly, it was the quickest four-hour service I've ever been part of (and our ladies did great, too!). It didn't even feel long. My Redeemer family, look out. 

Giving the Bibles and cards. In Rwanda,
it is tradition to take a photo when giving a gift.

Following the worship service, we enjoyed the simplest and best meal we've been served in Rwanda. On behalf of the Redeemer kids, the girls presented a full case of Kinyarwanda Bibles, along with the awesome cards from the church kids -- Thanks Brooke A. We talked and shared for another two hours before it was time to go.

Mmmm, what a gift!

To top off this time, so full of the sweetness of the Holy Spirit -- the Spirit of unity in the bond of peace -- our dear brothers and sisters presented us with a gift. Honey. Filling an emptied bottle of Communion wine, members of the parish had brought bits of their honey to contribute. 

Both Pastors and their famlies (their daughter,
Peace, is 1 year...and terrified of mzungu!)

New friends!

I wonder, Why is our Lord so good? Why does he do extravagant things like bless us with such gifts? Again and again he seems to say, "O taste and see that the Lord is good." 

on the road home...

Coram Deo - The Rev Dr (and Sweet Friend!) 

p.s. We leave for Gahini today and will be enjoying Akagera (the game park) tomorrow...praying we see elephants!

   

Shrove Tuesday and Lent

If there has been a day that we were all unanimously sad to be away from home, it was today, Shrove Tuesday. Indeed, today (or technically our tomorrow AM), our church body gathers together each year and feasts on pancakes, bacon, pancakes, sausage, and pancakes...with lots of butter (or without, if you are kinda weird like my sweet friend; but really, pancakes without butter? Is that a thing?)!  Shrove Tuesday (i.e. Fat Tuesday) is not just any feast day; it's pretty much our family's favorite, hands down [well, okay, its neck-and-neck with Saint C. S. Lewis day in Novemeber! We love breakfast food around here folks].

So, what do you do when you are continents away from some of your favorite people while they celebrate one of your favorite feasts? You make pancakes!

That's right folks, we prepared for Lent in style this evening, eating pancakes, hash-browns, and eggs, complete with homemade syrup (far as I can tell, syrup doesn't exist in Rwanda). Sadly, we were unable to include bacon in our feast (the food Lu is most missing, by the way). But thanks to some help in procuring baking powder while we were in Kigali, we had honest to goodness pancakes. Mmmmmm

I found a Martha Stewart recipe online that I roughly followed. Due to a lack of measuring cups or spoons, excepting the 1 tsp spoon that I randomly packed, Ms Stewart may have found my unconventional technique of "eye ball it, dump it in, stir and hope for the best" a little troubling, but they really did taste good! 

[Note to self: pack some measuring utensils next time you plan to live in and cook food in Rwanda (or anywhere) for more than, say, a day. Duh. Though really, my technique has thus far worked out pretty well for crepes, stove-top cookies, and chapati; why mess with a good thing?]

Oh look, same picture, different parent!

We even had the chance to share our Shrove bounty with our friend, Pacifique. It was his first time eating a pancake.  He said it was delicious...then proceeded to eat 4 or 5 more, so I don't think he was just being polite.

Mo took it upon herself to help Pacifique
learn how to eat pancakes!

With our Shrove Tuesday (Shrove meaning "preparation") celebration behind us, we look toward Lent, the 40 days of preparation that leads up to Resurrection Sunday (aka Easter!).  Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and I'm still not sure what Lent will look like for me this year. I mean, I've recently given up the use of all household appliances (save the stove), hot showers (except when in Kigali), driving a vehicle, Chick-fil-a (or any fast food, for that matter), ice cream, and bacon. What more is there? 

I could sound really pious and say I've decided to hand wash all our family's laundry, including cloth diapers, for Lent this year, but, umm, yeah, that's kind of missing the point. It actually takes zero discipline to not use an appliance I don't have. 

Okay, for those for whom Lent is new or foreign, don't worry, its not a mandatory observance, nor is it a way to earn God's blessing [it's also not just a Catholic thing...in case you were like me, a former-Baptist-gone-Anglican, who never knew Lent was for Protestants, too]. 


Lent is, however, often marked by giving up or fasting from something, while in turn adding in time for reflecting on the life, suffering, and Passion of Christ. Lent is a season, a season marked by increased discipline and, hopefully, increased being still and knowing that He. Is. God. Not that we should forgo discipline and listening all other times of the year, but much like the the cycles and changes we observe in the natural world, there is a season for everything and Lent, as a season, has its purpose (Ecclesiastes anyone?)!

This picture has nothing to do with Lent.
But don't they look so cute in their new
Sunday best?

Likely, for me, Lent will be marked this year by the addition of something specific, an intentional adding in rather than a taking out. I'm actually really looking forward to this season, in Rwanda. It will be like no other Lent, I'm sure.

Coram Deo - The Mrs Dr.

p.s. If you are celebrating Shrove Tuesday at the Glover's, please feel free to eat an extra piece of bacon for each of us...and, Janie, my girls are pretty sure you (aka "she's-like-a-real-cook-from-a-restaurant, Chef Janie") will cook breakfast for us when we return, just a heads up ;)

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.

God Is Good: Birds Aplenty

[mostly written late Monday, Jan 25] God is good…ALL the time. I’ve reminded myself of this a couple of times today, with some effort, while at other times, needing no reminding. Shall I expound?

The day [Monday] began with Mo’s body rejecting her morning milk…while lying in bed, cuddling with daddy. Not exactly anyone’s idea of a fine way to greet the morning. She, however, seemed to bounce back quickly and ate some banana, so our plans to visit Rugezi Marsh, with new friends Heather and Manasseh (and their friend in town from the UK), for a boat ride and bird watching, went forward as scheduled!

All seemed well, until about the midpoint of our bumpy car ride through the Rwandan countryside. At this point Mo “re-processed” her banana into my lap. Yes, friends, God is good, even when wearing someone else’s breakfast. I chose to ignore the “off” banana smell (that I would wear for the next few hours) and the un-compassionate onlookers starring into the car, pointing and laughing while murmuring (or shouting), “Muzungu”. And I chose, with some effort, to remember: God is good…all the time.

All cleaned-ish up [read: wiped up with a pile of thin paper napkins and some baby wipes, and still rather damp through two layers], we trekked toward the marsh once again.  Picture large green mountains with miles of tea plants running the length of the valleys…yes, there is no doubt, God is Good!

Rows and rows of tea plants

As I’m sure you can imagine, I wasn’t keen to pull out my camera following the re-processing event just in case a repeat performance was near at hand, thus I didn’t get a shot of the tea laden valley. The picture above gives a general idea, though it was taken on Sunday on the trip home from Rukizi (tea laden valleys are a dime a dozen here).

  

Pink-backed Pelican greeting us upon arrival

We arrived at the remote marsh/lake, with not a sole on it, save a handful of local boys fishing along the banks. We stepped into the large row boat, with a puke container in hand (see, now we are ready!), and shoved off across this serene, picturesque piece of God’s creation, green, crop-filled hills all around. 

Mommy, let go please, I got this. 

[The lack of life vests was a concern for a split second, but given it was a man-powered boat, on a calm day, with no other water traffic at all, I decided to hang on tight to the munchkins and enjoy the ride.

The boat belonged to a local man who uses it as a way to support himself. It’s a water taxi of sorts, sometimes carrying bird watchers, other times transporting local villagers across the water to their homes on the distant, marshy banks. We were the former.

Over the course of our time on this amazing lake we saw upwards of 20 different kinds of birds, some especially rare ones, too - you know, like the ones you see in those National Geographic books or possibly at the zoo but never in their natural setting because their natural setting happens to be in, say, Africa. And, thanks to our trusty Birds of East Africa book (thanks Maillys, we miss you), we were able to identify most all of them!

Great Egret

Hadada Ibis (wings were emerald green!)

Long-toed Lapwing (red eyes and legs)

This Malachite Kingfisher was the most colorful bird that
we saw, but also the smallest and quickest. It is in the
grass to the right - orange, yellow, blue, and red!

 

Sacred Ibis

Grey Crowned Cranes

Seeing these was the crowning moment of our
excursion for Beebs!

God IS good! But, anyone sitting in an old wooden row boat, on a beautiful, quiet marsh, in the-middle-of-nowhere, Rwanda, observing the amazing variety of feathered friends around her could tell you that (no matter how she might smell!).

While having someone get sick all over me, on the way to a remote Rwandan marsh, where quick access to running water and cleaning supplies is not a thing, was not exactly how I foresaw the day progressing (I’m weird like that, I know), it was a good day overall. Talk about an incredible home school field trip! We spent uninterrupted time observing God’s amazing handiwork, and we were off the grid for a half day. Yep, God is good, all the time!

[Oh, and in case you were concerned, Mo did not get sick again, either on the boat or later. She seems to be back to full health. We repeatedly tell her not to put things in her mouth, including her hands, but She. Is. One. We are betting on a stronger immune system when she leaves here!]

  

Coram Deo – The Mrs Dr

A meal, in three parts!

p.s. For those who have wondered: though cooking full meals on a single electric eye with no microwave or refrigeration continues to stretch me, we have moved up from just rice (some days, just barely!). We’ve even had some non-bean/rice triumphs (penne mac and cheese Monday night was a winner). It’s a work in progress that you are likely to hear more about in the coming weeks!