Friday, May 30, 2008
Saying Our Goodbyes.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
A Day of Rest.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Remembering.
All of the groups had breakfast together this morning on the 4th floor of the hotel then headed out to the Kigali Memorial Centre.
The Kigali Memorial Centre is a museum that is dedicated to the genocide of 1994. A Documentation Centre is also on the grounds with permanent records of the genocide, such as testimonies and pictures.
Surrounding the centers are gardens that feature themes of unity, division and harmony. Mass graves are the main focus of these gardens. There are 285,000 bodies buried on the grounds – twice the size of Waco, a fact pointed out by Maxey Parrish, leader of the G.M. team. A wall of names is given for those whose remains were identified.
The Memorial Centre contains three different exhibits – an exhibition focusing on the genocide in Rwanda, another called “Wasted Lives” that tells of other genocides that have occurred throughout the world and through time and a children’s exhibit that has pictures and facts about children who were killed in the Rwandan genocide.
Video interviews with survivors puts a personal face on the results of the genocide. The same people tell their stories throughout – about seeing their family members die before their eyes, how they survived and the effects of the genocide on their lives.
A video clip was just a silent film of clips of the bodies that were found in the streets after the mass killings. Mutilated bodies of all ages were shown – attempting to make those who weren’t able to experience it feel the horror of it all.
One room contains photos that family members have brought to the museum of those who have died. This is their attempt to memorialize those who they lost. A visitor can walk along the walls covered in photos and try to imagine those who faces stare back at them – how it felt when they realized they were dying and how their family must have felt incomplete without their presence.
The “Wasted Lives” exhibit featured genocides across the globe – including the Holocaust and the genocides in Cambodia and Bosnia, among others. One of the main facts that shocked the students was that the US has never acknowledged the genocide that occurred in Turkey.
The Children’s exhibit focused on those children whose lives were cut short by a machete or other forms of murder. Large photographs hung from the ceiling showing a child’s innocent face. Underneath the photo was the child’s name, the age they were when they died and facts such as their favorite activities or best friend.
One little boy’s last words were not to worry because the UN soldiers would save them.
After encountering this mass of information on the loss of lives, students gathered outside to reflect and recover. There we were able to hear a student from the UK speak to us who works for the Aegis Trust. He told us how we could help to end genocide and bring attention to the events that are occurring currently – such as in Darfur.
Tonight the G.M. and Y.S. teams had church at the home church of Zachary where they sang “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” in inkinyarwanda.
The S.W. and Religion team had dinner with the Baylor alum who works for the microfinance bank that they visited last week.
Tomorrow we leave the city of Kigali for rest and relaxation at Lake Kivu.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Healing Hands.
Monday, May 26, 2008
On a Thousandth Hill.
The guide shows us a wooden object that looks like a makeshift wooden boat. He says that they use it for making beer. This is the container that the Hutus would slice off the head of the Tutsis. They wanted to compare blood - not believing it was possible for them to have the same color blood as each other.
Sunday Services Bring Singing.
Sorry for the missed blog on Sunday, 5/25.
Due to internet difficulties we weren't able to publish one. But here is the recap of the day:
Today the groups split up again to head to different churches for Sunday morning service.
The S.W. team headed to a church where the pastor works on reconciliation after the genocide – his entire family, siblings and parents, were killed in the genocide. He said that during the genocide he resided in Uganda, but he returned to Rwanda afterwards. He felt led to work in the prisons as a chaplain, even though it was difficult to work with the people who had killed his family.
The Y.S. and G.M. teams headed to a church in one of the nearby villages. There they sang for a crowd of 900 people then they did Sunday school with about 300 children.
Tommy and Paul were even able to get in a game of football in the rain with the children.
The Religion team headed to the local church of Phoebe, our guide.
Several different choirs treated us to performances before we headed off to teach children’s church.
Nick taught a lesson on David and Goliath complete with hand gestures and then we met a group from a bible society that had
provided the children with their material for children’s church.
After church, we were able to spend time with the pastor and discovered that his seven children and wife had been killed in the genocide, and that people in his own church had tried to have him killed as well. Every year he holds a memorial service for them though he has no hope of ever finding their bodies since their killers threw them into the river. He has since been married but hasn’t been able to have a child yet with his current wife though they pray daily for one.
We also were able to meet a group that helps the local poor. They have built homes and also provide food and services to those who are in the hospital. Everything that they do comes from their own pockets – they pay dues every month to help continue their giving.
Tonight the G.M. and Religion teams were treated to a special treat by Phoebe’s friend, Jean Paul Samputu. Jean Paul is a traditional African musician who has won several awards worldwide. He also has local children perform with him who he has taken off the street and taught how to dance traditional African dances. They also taught us a few of their moves and we had a great time dancing along to the music. The organization is called Mizero - Children of Rwanda.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
A Little Culture Goes A Long Way.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Day Three Brings Rain.
Today the Religion team traveled out of Kigali to the second largest city in Rwanda - Butare. They took this five hour long trip (round trip) to visit a local seminary. This is the only school that is located in Rwanda that trains students to become pastors.