Muraho Kristen (and others),
I can hardly believe that I'm writing to you from Rwanda, Africa! In some ways, this does feel like the opposite side of the world, but in others, it is so similar to America. But first – for you parents – all the students are healthy and doing well. The two days of traveling to Kigali, Rwanda were the longest of our lives and we slept wherever possible, even on the floor of London's Heathrow Airport. However, once we landed in Kigali all of the wonderful training we had in the States completely left my mind as I realized I had no idea how to get from the airport to our hotels. So, I was so thankful that people were there waiting for us. I wish I could remember more of the National Genocide Museum in Kigali that we saw that first day, but as you'll see in a later photo, we were all too tired from traveling.
I do have to brag about my team. When we boarded the planes in the States, I gave them a half-sheet Kinyarwandan-English dictionary (it had words like Muraho=hello and Amakuro=How Are You). But, with every Rwandan they met, they learned more words and they then taught these words to the rest of the CBU teams.
Now, we are in Butare and I have barely seen any mosquitoes. The food that our hosts are preparing is wonderful. We even had apple pie the first day. The water rationing over the past couple days and the spotty electricity do remind us that we are in Africa. But, I have never been prouder of anyone than I am of my teammates. They are considerate, are eager to share their testimonies, have boundless energy to meet new people, and have rarely if ever complained about anything. I am so blessed to serve with these students.
Well, I should send this off before we lose electricity. All of us on Team Black Sheep send our love.
Imana ibahe umugisha (God Bless You),
Erica and the rest of Team Black Sheep
