Friday night adventures

It's Friday night and we're having a games night, but I'm so tired already and it's only 7pm!  We've been going to bed about 8.30/9pm and getting up at 6.15am.  Despite all the extra time in bed, I've not been sleeping well at all and often lack energy.  Hoping this will improve over time.

This week we've been sticking labels on pineapple jam and juice, which is made on the premises.  It tastes so good!!  We visited the farm who supply RDIS with the pineapples - who knew that pineapples grow on top of plants and not on trees?! I certainly didn't!  We've also planted trees and visited a school in Shyogwe.  That trip ended up like some weird episode of Glee, where their excellent choir sang and danced for us, and the 5 of us stood up and awkwardly sang a couple of songs back.  (There have been many awkward moments so far - so many 'lost in translation' moments)

There's not always much to do, and we have lots of time to 'rest'.  Apparently we need lots of time to rest - it's a bit frustrating, but also nice that they want to look after us so much.  It's good to have time to get to know the staff a bit better, and spend time reading etc.

I'm able to check my blog, emails and facebook now and then so if you do want to get in touch that would be lovely!  If you would like to write then I do have an address, although I've heard the post can take up to 4 weeks...

Katie Smith
Transform Team
RDIS
BP 142
Gitarama
Rwanda

Phew, was meant to be a quick update...

Internet time here is rushed and stressful, so apologies in advance for mistakes and repeated info!

Still so thankful to be here in Rwanda - it's an incredibly beautiful and welcoming country.

Since my last blog update we have been:

- collecting water for house building - tiring work but it gives a small insight to everyday life for many people here and how hard it can be

- gardening and digging holes - again humbling, as we are laughed at for our technique, lack of strength and generally being white girls

- playing sport

- helping with cooking and washing

- visited a school in Shyogwe and helped vaccinate dozens of chickens

- playing with the kids at a local basketball court and dealing with the poverty they face, language barriers, and the attitude towards muzungus - 'give me ball', 'give me money' etc...

- teaching at a Compassion project - up to 45 kids each, teaching under the trees at the top of the hill outside the church.  it was better this Sat just past - we were more prepared for it!

- singing in church, the services are about 3 hours long. tough going at times

- rainy season is definitely starting - it's much colder then i expected at times

- fairly regular electricity cuts and some water cuts too (makes life interesting after sewating it out in the morning and not being able to wash)

- singing sessions (which I don't enjoy, I must admit - I'm not a strong singer at all)

Prayer points:

- Remembering to love the people we meet, especially the children, even when we're called muzungu and laughed at so much

- Being able to understand and appreciate our differences - cultural, religious views, lifestyle etc.  That they would understand us too.

- That the fog in my head would clear and this experience would be real and meaningful, and have a long lasting impact on my life

- I turn 27 next Monday, and am excited to have my birthday here with a possibility of a trip to Kigali that day.  Birthdays and New Year are times when I tend to over-reflect on my life and the things I haven't done, things I haven't achieved and how my life hasn't turned out the way I expected.  It would be good if this year I could think about what I have done, what I have achieved and how the direction of my life has ultimately been a positive one!

- I would like to be able to trust God more about the future as well as the present, and the plans he has for my life.  (thinking of verses such as Jeremiah 29:11, any other suggestions welcome)

Thanks to all who are reading my blog.  It's great to hear from mum about people who've been asking for me, and to read the blog comments.  I feel very far from home and familiarity so it's good to have this connection with home! xx

Internet at last!

Apologies for lack of posts - our internet access has been much less than I expected.  So I don't have long...

I'm doing ok - we have a busy week this week with house building in the morning and activities like gardening, sports and a school visit in the afternoons.  It's been great to actually do something helpful in the house building.  We haven't actually been doing the building ourselves but have been carrying water, sand, gravel etc.  It's very tiring work in the hot sun.  Also a reality check to walk down the hill 5 times to collect water.  It seems to be quite a community project though and lots of people have been helping.  We get laughed at a lot, I think because we are white girls and they think we aren't strong and wonder why we don't carry things on our head.  It's humbling and humiliating at the same time.

RDIS look after us very well and we eat a lot of carbs!  In some ways there is not a lot for us to do but I think this is positive too as it means they already have a lot of helpers and support.

Church was outside on Sunday - an interesting experience.  I thought I was going to keel over by the end it was so hot!

The electricity goes off most nights and the water stopped yesterday for about 24 hours.

Prayer points would be:

- energy for house building

- we're teaching again this Saturday, which I'm not looking forward to given how last time went.  Pray it would go well, as I think this is going to be a regular activity.

- for continued good health

- thanks that the team get on so well

- for more opportunities to help out and serve

- that I would start to overcome my fears and worries, which hold me back a lot (I find it hard to see what I can add to the team and give to RDIS in our time here)

Thanks for checking the blog and thinking of me/ praying for me!! Much love xx

Expectations

Katie expected to visit the Internet Cafe in Gitarama today.  And didn't.

She expected to write a Blogpost today.  And hasn't.

Katie didn't expect to chat to her parents on the phone today.  And did.

Now Katie trusts her Mum to write the Blogpost for her...!

The first week in and around Gitarama, Rwanda has been a blur of visits to projects and meeeting new people with the challenge of being unable to speak Kinrwandan to people who are, mostly, unable to speak English.  Katie and the other girls have dug holes for fruit trees, have done a bit of house building, have attended a college graduation ceremony and have visited a nursery class.  Quite a mixture!  Today Katie attempted teaching a class of 15 - 18 year olds (without the help of an interpreter) and sang  'Heads, shoulders, knees and toes'  to them. 

The team (aka The Wandering Minstrels) performed to a nursery class, sang at church last Sunday and are singing 'Blessed be your Name' and a song in Kinrwandan at church tomorrow. 

The girls had anticipated joining in with whatever projects were on the go.  Instead they have been asked what they would like to do. This is challenging.

Need is obvious.  On a visit to a Health Clinic where there are no doctors, the girls were asked to send doctors out to help, or to go home and train as doctors themselves. 

It's a challenge to write Kaite's Blogpost  using only information gleaned from a few text messages and a short phonecall.  If the information is incorrect, please don't blame Katie!

Although internet access is likely to be sporadic, I know Katie would still appreciate hearing from you, her friends. Thank you.

Muraho!

I'm here!  Can't quite believe I'm in Africa.  Journey was long and tiring but we got here Thursday lunch time and were met by a guy from RDIS and a British couple who live out here.  There was so much to look at on the journey from Kigali to where we are staying.  I'm still not sure exactly where we are - near Gitarama I think, which is west of Kigali.  Everyone is so welcoming.  We had a dinner last night with some RDIS people, which was lovely but we were all very tired and dazed.  Today we have visited some local projects and have come into Gitarama.  We looked round the local market which was really interesting - so much to see.  i think we caused a bit of a scene, being white and standing out so much.  There was a lot of fabric that I would like to buy.  And I saw someone using a cornelli machine!! (for all you non-textilers that's a very specialised sewing machine which i used at uni and aren't available to buy in the UK).  We have a lady Doreen, who is our translator and guide I suppose.  She is 26 and has a son in the local nursery, which we visited today and were asked to sing a song!

It's hot and I feel a little burnt already but I'll learn.  I think we're all doing ok on the team. It will take a while to settle in and learn the language but we are trying and have picked up a few things.  Muraho means hello.  There is so much to look at.  Rwanda is very green, and hilly.  And beautiful!

We're staying in room which are part of the RDIS offices.  It's comfy enough and we are making it home with pictures.  I still feel a bit dazed from travelling and from the heat but I am glad to be here!  Thanks for the blog comments - please keep them coming!  Much love to all.  Miss you mum and dad (bet you never thought I would say that in public haha!) xxx

Are 5 notebooks enough?

Yes, I did find myself asking this last night.  I was tired, and I like my notebooks!

My packing went from this:

To this:

And so I set off this morning to get the train to London, underground to Heathrow and then fly to Rwanda via Ethiopia and Uganda.  Writing that makes me feel a bit sick.

So if you're the praying kind, please pray for me and the other girls (Alice, Katie, Rebecca & Sarah).  For safety in travel - both for us and our luggage (I'm terrified my bags will go missing) - and for an amazing journey together over the next 4 months.  Pray for my back and left shoulder, which seem to be playing up again and won't enjoy lugging around heavy bags.  I often feel like my head is full of a think fog.  Pray this would clear and that I would experience the realness of this time away rather than float through it.

Thanks to all the kind texts, emails, messages, cards, visits from the last few days.  I feel encouraged, loved and noticed, and it means a lot to me!

Material girl

So I think I've just about finished packing...  I'm sure I'll have things that I never use and things that I use all the time.  And I'll possibly think of stuff that I should have brought but didn't!

As I've been packing today I've also been thinking of the things I will miss:

I feel it makes me look a bit vain and materialistic.  But as Madonna once said, 'We are living in a material world'.  Perhaps it just makes me look normal.

Other things I will miss (aside from friends and family):

- plastic bags (you're not allowed them in Rwanda)

- my laptop

- radio

- the shower

- my bed

- TV

- having my own space

Yes, I think I'm probably fairly normal in these things.  Can't quite think ahead to getting on that plane.  Still wondering why on earth I'm doing this and how did it creep up on me like this.  I thought I would feel more ready than this - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually...  But I guess you can never really prepare for something like this, especially when there are so many unknowns.

Bacon rolls and creme eggs

I've been feeling all over the place today and have spent most of the day in denial about the things that I still need to do and about the fact that I leave so soon.  As much as I would like to have had more time to prepare, it's the waiting around that is getting to me.  The less time I have to worry, the better! 

I'm still scared about forgetting something, not having enough or having too much.  I've not started packing yet, but everything is sitting out in the spare room ready to go in my bags tomorrow.  When I went to the Dominican Republic in 2003, two of my friends came over to help me pack.  Lynsey and Keri very kindly helped me sort my things out and pack my rucksack.  As soon as they left, I emptied the rucksack and started again from scratch!  (Sorry guys, I don't think I've ever told you that but I'm sure it doesn't surprise you!)  So I'll be packing on my own tomorrow!

One of the good things about going away is that I have an excuse to meet up with friends and eat cake.  (Not that I normally need an excuse for either of these activities)  And I also get to enjoy treats like bacon rolls and creme eggs.



Public speaking

I don't particularly like speaking on front of groups of people, and especially not in front of a whole church...  And yet I found myself standing up at the front of church this morning being interviewed about my trip.  So for those of you who missed it, or don't go to my church, I thought I would give a rough transcript of the conversation between Helen and me.

Helen started by introducing me to the church and said that I had been working part time in the office and part time in retail, and was about to go off to Rwanda for 4 months with Tearfund.

H: What will you be doing in Rwanda and can you tell us a little about the situation you will be working in?

Me: I'm going with 4 other girls, and we'll be working with an organisation called Rural Development Inter-Diocesan Service.  As far as I know I'll be teaching English.  However I don't really know anything about the ability or age, or whether this will be in a school or local community group.  So that should be interesting!

H: I know that several years ago you went with Tearfund to the Dominican Republic.  How have you reached this point where you are about to embark on another short term mission trip?

Me: When I was at school I had this idea that I would go to uni, graduate, get a good job, buy a house and get married... all by the age of 26!  I'll be 27 next month and since graduating in 2010 I've been living back home with my parents, single and either unemployed or working 2 part-time jobs.  So things haven't exactly gone to plan!  I suffered from depression for the majority of the time I was at college and uni, so I've found life quite tough at times.  I think these past couple of years at home have been a time of rest and recovery for me, in a familiar and safe place.  But while my circumstances might not be ideal or in line with what I'd hoped for, it's easy to become comfortable in life and accepting of things as they are.  I feel like I'm in the position now where I can and should challenge myself by doing something totally outwith my comfort zone.

H: You're leaving paid employment in order to serve in Rwanda and are not certain about what you will do when you come back.  Have you any thoughts about how God may be leading you beyond these next few months?

Me: I'm not sure!  I have thought about working in the charity sector.  And I've applied to do an internship with Christians Against Poverty, but that's not a definite yet.  I do feel however, that this time in Rwanda is going to be a significant first step in the next part of my life.

H: How can we pray for you?

Me: For safety and good health for myself and the other girls, for a safe journey on Wednesday/ Thursday, and for the people that we'll be working with.  That'd we be able to make a difference and have an impact during our time in Rwanda.  And that I would overcome my fears of the unknown and be open to having a life changing experience!

4 days to go

After a couple of days of productive (but tiring) shopping, I feel slightly more ready for going away for 4 months.  I have enough savlon, suncream and plasters for a small army... well perhaps not that much, but I certainly look prepared!

I must admit I feel slightly less scared than I did when writing my last post.  It does feel very surreal, but the thought that I will be in Africa (for the first time) in a few days is really exciting!  There is still a fair bit on my to do lists (yes, I have more than one list) but it's gradually reducing.

I'm exhausted and in some ways wish I'd finished work sooner so I could have more time to prepare and relax.  It's been a stressful and busy last couple of weeks.

Speaking in church tomorrow morning for a few minutes.  It will be good to let people know what I'm up to, but I can't say I am looking forward to having to stand up in front of everyone.  Don't like being the centre of attention.

Feeling the fear

So it's now only 6 days till I go to Rwanda.  In some ways I just want to be there now!  I applied to Tearfund to go on this trip last October, so it has felt like a long way off for quite a while.  But now it's March and I leave so soon, and there is still so much to do.

I'm feeling really scared - what if I can't cope, what if it's too hot, what if I can't teach, what if I don't fit in...  I'm trying to remember why I said I wanted to do this, and instead I just feel frightened and panicky.  I don't feel I have much to offer to the other girls I'm going with, or to RDIS, the organisation we'll be working with.  I've been trying to make sure that I have everything that I might need so I can pack.  But I don't really know what I'll need!  There are so many unknowns.

This is so far out of my comfort zone, I suppose it's normal to feel worried.  But I don't like it.  I have at least 4 lists on the go, in order to try and feel a bit more in control.  I'm procrastinating and feel very distracted.  I'm tired, and rather than having a relaxing last week at home, I'm trying to fit too much in and am not getting the things done that need doing.

Why am I doing this again?!