During March and April I lived in Kigali, Rwanda and my team partnered with Successful Christian Ministries. These two months were very eye opening because we lived alongside locals in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Kigali (our Pastor told us we were living in one of the slums). We had the opportunity to work in a nursery school and in the church— it was both heartbreaking and hopeful. The people we were serving and living alongside had barely anything, but they were incredibly joyful. I am unable to put my time in Rwanda into words, but I wanted to share my experience with you all. Through this photo blog I hope to share a glimpse of my time in Kigali!
This is the street that I lived on! You were unable to drive cars on it because there were many holes in the ground, so we would have to walk about half a mile to the street to be picked up by cabs!
The school we worked in had three classes— top, middle, and baby. The students were separated by how old they are and most of them were between the ages of 2-6. The goal of the school is to keep the kids off the street because typically at the nursery school age kids would be tempted to run away from home, turn to drugs, and live on the streets.
Here are a few of beautiful faces of the students I worked with! I taught the “top class” and worked with them on their English pronunciations. Also, we sang many songs, danced, and learned how to draw animals!
Our students just really wanted to be loved on! They always wanted to sit on our laps, hold our hands, or give us hugs. We were happy to give them all of the attention!
Another large part of our ministry was hanging out with our host family’s sons. They became our “brothers” over the course of two months, and we spent many hours playing uno, going on walks, and doing sport together!
Also, we did lots of church ministry! We would play with the kids during church services and often times would preach to the congregation. In addition, Savanna and I created a website for the Church, so they could receive donations easier!
My favorite part of Rwanda was being able to travel to Kibeho and visit the site of the only approved Marian apparition in Africa. It was such a prayerful experience to be able make a pilgrimage to this holy village during the season of Lent!
I really enjoyed being able to pray in the many chapels and to just sit where the visionaries saw Mary and Jesus.
I hope you enjoyed seeing a small piece of my time in Rwanda, but don’t let these photos fool you! These two months were my most challenging months of the Race. I entered a season of suffering with Christ and it was really hard, but we walked through it together and I am stronger because of it. I look back fondly at my small joyful moments, but overall Rwanda and I have a love-hate (emphasis on the hate) relationship— and that’s okay!
xoxo
claudzilla
