Alexa and Kelly under a “canopy” (mosquito net)
By Alexa
Gustavus Trip Participant
It’s real. We’re here. In Rwanda. After months of preparing, we have finally arrived in Kigali, Rwanda! We are all so thrilled to be here. It wasn’t too long ago when I was sitting in frigid weather (not my weather of choice). Currently, I am sitting at a little table in the middle of the guest house we are staying at. There is no roof over head and the temperature is perfect! I expect it’s around 70 degrees.
Our flights went really well for the most part. We traveled from Minneapolis to Chicago to Brussels and then finally into Kigali, without any long layovers. It was wonderful. We were fed so much. It seemed as though every time I was about to fall asleep, some ice cream, pretzels, or some cheese would come, and of course I couldn’t pass up food, especially the cheese! The majority of us experienced a bit of motion sickness when we encountered extreme turbulence flying into Brussels. Meanwhile, Emily sat next to me staring out the window wide-eyed with the biggest grin across her face. Oh how I wish I could have enjoyed the landing as much as she did! On the flight from Brussels to Kigali, I had the pleasure of meeting a woman from Tanzania. I enjoyed teaching her how to make friendship bracelets for the orphans.
As if we didn’t get enough food on the plane, we were greeted with a huge meal at nine o clock last night. The food was delicious! Everyone here was so welcoming and helpful. I look forward to getting to know them all. As for now, I’m still trying to get names down. I think we were all pretty surprised with how nice of a house we are staying at. We’re eating well, sleeping well, and all around living well. We have bathrooms, including showers, in every room! Kelly and I were pretty excited to crawl into our bed, complete with canopy, or rather, mosquito netting.
We had our first adventure last night…a walk to get bottles of water! We are all eager to get out and explore more of Rwanda. I am so excited to see the Lord move in our hearts as well as the hearts of the Rwandans we encounter. I am learning to surrender the right to a plan and knowledge of what is going on at all times. I realize I will not always know what is to come, but I look forward to embracing every opportunity and living out God’s plan in the coming days.