Waterfalls are probably my most favorite thing on earth. I think they might even top ice cream for me. One of the reasons is because I feel so connected with God through His creation. I think God must of thought of me when he created waterfalls, and that thought makes me smile. :-)Last weekend, I was able to go hiking in Nyungwe Forest with some teachers, and I saw my second "African" waterfall. The first was in Tanzania. And both have taken my breath away like a bowl of ice cream could never do. :-) So refreshing! Makes me think of that verse in John..."Whoever believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from within them."
The forest was amazing. We spent 5 long hours on bumpy African roads, and I suffered a bout of food poisoning from some bizarre-looking green vegetable soup. (I was just really hungry!) But it was all worth it. On the way, we had views of gorgeous tea fields, deep terraced valleys, and plenty of green trees. (something I've missed in Kigali!) When we got there, we hiked 8 miles into the largest remaining mountain rainforest in Africa! Definitely got rained on, saw some cool monkeys, some weird-looking plant species, and even a black viper snake! Ok, it was only a baby snake, but still, it was only 4 feet away! Not cool! The Rwandan guy who was with us took our arm and hurried us past it, but said we had nothing to fear. Only afterwards did he tell us that if one bites you, and you don't get this special medicine powder from the village, you die within 5 hours. Great. Made us feel a lot better. He actually said he had been bitten before, but this special "powder" saved him. Hmmm....We didn't see any other large animals, but we learned that the government is trying to reintroduce an elephant species in the forest. The last elephant was seen here in 1999, and since 2004, they've tried to introduce other elephants, but poaching is still a serious problem here.
Sunday morning we were supposed to be on the 10am bus back, but time is a relative thing in Africa. That's one of the first things they will tell you when you get here. "Oh, no worries, it's African time!" We ended up waiting 4 hours in Gisakura village by the roadside trying to flag down every bus. I had a blast. I met almost everyone in the village, got soaking wet during a thunderstorm, and ended up having a fantastic time playing and singing with the kids.
I love observing life in an African village. I guess I could write a whole seperate blog about this. I love just watching the action, watching life....the parade of women in brightly colored cloths with babies tied to their backs and carrying loads of something on their heads; young, barechested men hauling entire stalks of banana trees, or huge wooden carts of logs; older men ambling along in their best suits, trying to get down the red clay hill from church; young boys pushing thier homemade "go-carts" made from tire leather and wire, leading it wobbling down the road; others on ancient bicycles, carting milk or water jugs; a group of youngsters chasing run-away pigs or chickens, and swatting and laughing at them; young girls trying to keep up with their mothers, some with babies of their own to carry. Life. I love it!
The day (and the weekend) wasn't what we expected at all, but it turned out to be a wonderful way to spend our Sunday morning! It was one of those times where I was glad that I was able to just be still and know that he is God. And spend time with those He loves! It was a beautiful "un-busy"morning spent drawing pictures, learning new Kinyarwanda songs, and teaching all the kids how to use a digital camera. :-) One precious girl could sing "I will Make you Fishers of Men" in English. She was so proud. That was the only song she knew. A perfect song to know. Eventually, at 1:30, the WHOLE village of men ran out in the middle of the road during the rainstorm to stop the next bus for us...and thankfully they finally let the mzungus on. :-) It was a hilarious, random, and pretty awesome morning. I didn't get to go to church in a building, per se, oh but I had church. I was with the church! And He was with us! Good memories. We finally made it home around late Sunday night, totally exhausted, but fulfilled and refreshed!
I want to apologize for the lack of updates lately...the power has been very unstable all week. They say it's unusual for Kigali, but we've had a few 24 hour periods of no power this week. Don't know what the deal is, but it's all good! :-)
Hope you enjoy the pics! Peace!
