Recap with Pictures!

Greetings from Kigali!!  

The internet has been either very slow or just not working... that is why things have been quiet from Kigali!  THE BIG NEWS FIRST~~~~~The wedding update:  LOOKS LIKE I CAN STAY!!  MY NIECE MAILED OUR WEDDING LICENSE!!! (Thanks, Julie)

Now it will be up to the officials in the government here!  Bruce is so happy that he doesn't have to foot-the-bill for a big wedding!  HA!

Let's try the pictures again.... Heather tells me they just take a long time to download.
Since life is a lot slower here... maybe i'll have enough patience to wait 'em out!  Before I start doing the pictures i just want to say that i took a long walk around the neighborhood this morning... only to find 1 other white (muzungu) person... a mom with a little girl.  I must have looked suspect to her because she wouldn't even speak.  However... Every African worker on all the red streets.. outside the walls and inside the walls tried to speak...whether in French, Kinyarwanda, or broken English.

I think the privacy of the walled houses is nice.... but the isolation from any other neighbors is strange.  Security is what they call it and i suppose they are right, but all these big beautiful houses and you don't see anyone in them or even around.  So, contrary to me knowing everyone here... it is just the opposite.  Well, i might get to know all the workers... that are continually singing gospel songs or hymns.  Yesterday all afternoon a roofer kept singing "Guide Me oh..Thou Great Jehovah".  No, not in English... but the tune was the same. So, I hope to give you some more glimpses of life here... Text first, pictures, second..  I think that might work better!  Let's try!

I have now been here 2 weeks.  Bruce had me drive him to the airport to get him off to Kenya.  I couldn't go because the officials have my passport.  Anyway.... it was my first long drive with a stick and a Land Cruiser... I made it but I'll have to say my nerves are still on edge.  (and there really wasn't any traffic at 5:30).

On the way back we (Innocent and I) picked up 6 little ones walking over 3 miles to go to primary school.. AND they PAY to go to school... Many children don't go here because they can't afford it. School starts at 7:00am... so most of the kids are leaving their homes before 6am.  Anyone want to complain about school in the States now?
WOW-- We are so blessed.

So hopefully now, an update with pictures!  Love to you all!

Flying over Greece in the Winter Time on the way to Rwanda

The Walls!   Oh, the Walls!

Another barrier?  Yes the internet connection.  I think tonight i will go to a place 

that has a better connection and see if i can a few more pictures to you.  These 2--- took 1 hour and 10 min. and the next two tried to download for an hour and then just disappeared.  Wow!  Patience?  I didn't know the meaning of the word. 

More later today or right now....  IT'S WORKING SUDDENLY!!

Our Little Red Street!!  All other soil here is black.

 Only the roads are red and very bumpy!

Our Wonderful House!

Innocent, our terrific Houseboy (age 30) in front of our wall!

Some pictures from the Market

Yes!  We have some Bananas

Live chickens to take home and kill and dress!
We didn't get any.... in case you are wondering.

Lots of people and lots of food!

Colorful veggies and outfits!

The Sawmill

One of the furniture makers.... The Sander.. or the Sandman!

Innocent and Lionel laughed and laughed after I said how much i liked this furniture.
 They said this is the "simple man's furniture"!  I said,
Well, now you know who you are dealing with!

More carpenters!  Going there today to have some furniture made.

Hope this gives you a little "picture" of where we are and what life is like!
xoxoxo from  Margie from Rwanda

A Sunday Afternoon Drive

After a great church service in the morning, we decided to take a drive heading North-Northwest into the mountains.  Bruce set his GPS on his phone and off we went.  Within 15 minutes we knew we could never trust the GPS again!  While it sets up great routes and shortcuts... it has no idea what kind of roadbed you might actually have to drive on! 

Between the crater-like holes, the washed out gullies and barely enough space for one

car to drive on we also encountered several villages of people looking at us like we were 

crazy.  They kept yelling and waving "Umuzungu"  which basically means "the white guys"!

They were all smiling and kids greeting us along the way.  But i was so "entrenched" watching the huge trenches that Bruce was carefully driving through that i didn't take any pictures of the road.  But once we got through the winding red clay we came to this:

 Looked like it wouldn't even hold people...

 But Bruce drove right over it..... I held my breath! 

And what do you think we found 

on the other side? 

Fields and fields of rice!


By the way, the rest of the hillsides or any little piece of ground you see is now being
cultivated by men and women each day this week.. They HAND HOE all of it and the moms just carry their babies on their backs as they work. It 
is astonishing how much they get done each day. There is no machinery... not even electric hedge clippers, let alone a tractor, cultivator or planter. 

And beautiful birds!


I am having a lot of trouble getting the pictures up that I want to share with you.  I'm so sorry but I'm going to end this and see if i can figure out where the rest of the things i wrote and downloaded went.  There is a lot more to this story so I hope i can get it to you!   Thanks for your patience.  I've run out of mine tonight.

Good night!

Picture Testing, 1, 2, 3, 4

Good Morning.... It is Monday and today we are going to do yard work.. but first....

teaching an old dog new tricks is really tough when it comes to technology.

I thought I had this figured out last week.. but then, no... it wouldn't work. 

Someone, please let me know if these are too big to send.  I have so many 

i want to share with you, but this is just a test.  More soon.

Sunset from our Bedroom Balcony

Bruce being interviewed on BBC

Ladies at the Market

 

Sweetness at the Saw Mill!  

We're not Legally Married!

Left this morning at 8:00 am to start the visa process to become a
temporary resident... after 2 1/2 hours of paper work and discussion the
official said, "Where is your marriage certificate?
Because you are claiming you are this man's dependent you cannot

receive a visa unless you can prove you are really Bruce's wife.  We

must have your original marriage certificate for this."   WHAT?????

Well.... I don't know how hard some of you are praying for me to 

come home.. but please let up a little, ok?  If we can't produce this

document i will only be allowed to stay for 3 months.  Bruce already 

has his papers for 2 years. 

The problem?  Thirty five years ago are house was robbed in Ill. and 

all of our legal papers were taken when our little safe was stolen. Therefore,

we do not have the original document nor can we reproduce it.  

The rest of today i will spend trying to see if the Livingston County

Court House in Pontiac Ill. can send us something.. but it won't be the original.  

So much fun in one morning!   The ladies at the office had the best 

solution though!   They think they should throw us a wedding here... 

so be on the lookout for your invitation.  We just might be getting married

in Kigali!  

Wireless Comes Today!

So, a couple days ago i told Innocent, our houseboy, that I never use a cell phone in
America.  He said.."How can you talk to people that you want to reach?"  I said, "Well,
I just use the phone attached to the wall... in our house."  He looked at me funny and said,
"The what? What is that?"
And then i realized that they have never had "land lines" here.  They went from having no phones to having cell phones!  Bruce said that they do have desk phones in offices, but they are only for contacting people inside the building you work in. Amazing, huh?

Since our little tiny wireless modem isn't too consistent we are having a wireless system from All Tec..installed today.  For a mere $150.00 a month-- and that doesn't include TV and phone but we don't have a TV and Bruce has his fancy phone and I, a little $25 phone that simply makes phone calls. HA!  I'm really stepping up in the world.   Stop laughing!

Picture it...  the guys started this morning at 7:30... Innocent began cleaning the bath rooms, the All Tec guys are all over the house and i am hiding out with you and this blog page on the patio... since I haven't even been able to get back upstairs!  So, I'm comfortable in my robe and messy hair,  enjoying a beautiful spring-like balmy day.  The hardest thing for me here so far is having no personal space.  Someone is always around... but i love the help!  But i wish there were people around that I really wanted around.. like
all my little ones!  Miss my big kids and my little grand kids!!!  (and of course, all my Hebron little ones and friends, too)

More on yesterdays adventures when I can get my pictures for you!  Until high-speed
is connected-- I'll talk to you later.  Oh.. they are burning the fields now to prepare for planting and it smells so good!  The sights, the sounds, the smells.. awaken a whole new side of life for us here!

In Kigali!

Greetings from Rwanda!
Had a great--- seamless trip here. Thank you all for your prayers!
(Thanks, Rosanne and Jeannie for getting me to the airport!) Left Thurs. at noon
and arrived here in Kigali at 8:00pm on Friday evening to find Bruce and
Michel and Isabel (the associate director and his wife) waiting for me.  All my
luggage even arrived in one piece the same day, which isn't all that
common...so I was even more grateful!  We had a great reunion!

You know that scripture in John when Jesus says He is going to prepare
a place for us and then He describes the mansions that will await us?
Well, i felt like that is what Bruce prepared for me.  Our house is huge
but I don't have my pictures downloaded yet, so I'll include them next time.
Still have lots to do and things to get to "make it home" but the palm
trees and beautiful landscaping around the house make it just
like a mini-resort.  With 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms ---it feels like
a resort.  So... you MUST come visit!  We have lots of room!

Had a movie date last night in "Heaven"--the name of an open-air thatched
restaurant that shows American Movies.  We got to see the Iron Lady
with about 50 other expats!  (Burrito bar for dinner)  Fun to go out again!
The Brits loved it and said it was exactly the way it was during MT's reign.

Church this morning was great --to meet some of the locals that Bruce
has come to know.  The pastor is leaving soon so they had the succession
of leadership today on their 5th anniversary.  The pastor is going home
to recruit more folks to come be a part of ROCK.. their ministry here
at Christ Church in Rwanda. (CCR)

We were also reunited with the Rugege family that I've told you about.
Anxious to see more of them in the future.  The best thing about church
today was the first song that talked about "Not wasting your life."
At the very beginning--over 2 years ago when the idea of coming to Rwanda was
just beginning to become serious I had read John Piper's book,
"Don't waste your life"... so when the song started this morning it was
yet another confirmation to me that we are to be here.  I hope i won't waste
my life or my time here.

Bruce is very busy --in fact you can check out the press conference that he had
last Friday right before i arrived at http://kigalitoday.com/spip.php?article1851.
Good luck trying to figure out exactly what happened. At least you'll get to see him!

The funniest part of the service today was that Bruce was recording/video taping
some of the very loud music on his phone.  Great idea to be able to share.  So just as
communion was starting he must have bumped PLAY and play it DID!
He couldn't get it turned off so he just held on tight to the speaker so it
wouldn't be too loud!  One of those giggle moments in church when you
can't stop laughing and don't know what to do!

Innocent, our house boy took us to some unbelievable places this afternoon
to buy a hoe and work boots.  But that is a story for another day. Almost
everyone works here on Sunday... only a few shops were closed.  We did buy a
mosquito net for our bed.  Had a few of the little guys swooping in last night.

I'll try to write every few days but...the internet cables have been damaged in the
ocean due to a ship dropping anchor (off the coast of Kenya) on the cables so our internet is not good here right now..  However, we are sitting at a coffee shop about 2 miles from our house and since they are with the other internet company.... their's works great!   In fact.... Rob and Michelle and boys skyped us while we were here.  They even got to meet our waiter!
Have a great week ahead. I will just been unpacking and getting settled for
most of this week so it might be an uneventful time...except for the beautiful birds that sing from sunrise to sunset and the little swallow-like bird that sits right outside our door each evening... atop the pillar and the tiny little ants that like our kitchen.. ha!
Love and miss you all!
margie

Trying New things!

Sitting at the airport in New York.. waiting to go to Brussels... and want to see if
i can attach pictures to the blog page!
This morning at 7 a.m.--2 hr from departure, Carl's Tree Service called and asked if they could come trim the trees before i left.  It had rained the day before...so they couldn't come.

Well, they started... This post is just an attempt to see if i can do this..Here goes!!    It worked!  Our pretty little pink dogwood (that was diseased) that held our swing is gone--Time to plant another one!   Now if i can remember how to do this next time, we'll be in business!  Thanks for being my guinea pigs!!  I already feel like I've been gone for days and it's only 4 pm.