Rwanda Review

Baylor in Rwanda
Youth Sports & General Ministry Team, Social Work Team, Religion Team

It has taken me so long to get here. First the 48 hour return trip from Kigali, Rwanda to Burundi to Nairobi, Kenya (9 hour layover) to London's Heathrow (5 hour layover) to Chicago (for Customs & Immigration) and then to DFW...only to get on a bus and ride another 2 hours to Waco, so that I could drive another 30 minutes home....it was exhausting but a good "re-entry" into society as we know it in Central Texas.

This blog would be too long to tell you everything...so I will start with my talking points that you may hear in person over and over again...and if anyone is interested in exploring deeper, then a lunch or phone call or another blog may touch on it.

Talking Point #1 - Why do I go on these trips?
I do not feel "called" to foreign missions; however, I do feel that part of my calling is to take students to see the needs of the world...to do my part in "educating men and women for worldwide leadership and service" as part of Baylor's mission and purpose. I absolutely LOVE to be with Baylor students when they GET IT. They finally understand that they are among the top 10% of people in the world with regard to education, wealth, lifestyle, etc. As they see the first HIV/AIDS infected person in a hospital in Kigali and they dig deep into their pockets to help meet her basic need for water and juice...this is when the needs of the world become real. I love being with them when they make a decision to "deny themselves" (Luke 9:23) and purpose to reallocate their own resources to make a difference in someone's life.



Talking Point #2 - African saying:

AMERICANS - they have watches but they have no time!

This was said early on in our adventure and it has really stuck with me. We are in a hurry all the time. We are late half the time and apologizing the rest of the time. African culture allows you to get there when you get there as long as you have been all there - being fully present in a conversation with family or friends. They truly value relationships. We seem to value time over people. Lawyers have "billable hours" and service providers have "installation fees" even counselors have "time slots" billed by the amount of time spent talking through issues. One of the most popular series of books starts each title with "The One-Minute...."



The time we spent in Africa, we spent together....with each other, with our brothers and sisters from "every nation, tribe and tongue" sometimes we played, sometimes we worshiped, sometimes we shared, we traveled, we ate, we prayed - together. What a different culture than the one I live in now...where I set alarms to prepare me for waking, eating, meeting, leaving, etc.

LORD! Help me to understand that...
you are not concerned with TIME - but you are in control of TIMING!

Talking Point #3 - Re-evaluation of Community & Commitment
I realize that this will be a controversial topic and I don't intend to be political here. But in 1994, the genocide in Rwanda (as depicted in Hotel Rwanda) devastated the lives of the survivors of over one million people - men, women & children - who were murdered with clubs, hoes, and machetes. Women were raped by HIV infected males and children were killed in their mothers arms. We went to the Kigali Memorial Centre to see the exhibition including photographs, video, written accounts and artifacts (including skulls, clothes, bones, and pictures). As we were there a group of young people employed to sell phone minutes with MTN walked to the memorial as is their annual custom...so that they never forget. We were about mid-way through as they started through. You could hear some sobs, then some moans, then all out wailing of grief...these kids were very young and must have survived - but some of their families did not. The memories overcame them and the sounds overcame me.



"GOD FORBID that anything like this ever happen again in any place, any time, for any reason." This was a line from my journal written on-site. This was one of the countries that the USA did not show up for...the scene in Hotel Rwanda that was so disturbing was when the Rwandan said "Yes, please take the pictures and send them to America - then they will come and help us." The American reporter replied, "Americans will be eating dinner and see this on the news and say, 'that's terrible,' and they will go on eating their dinner."



So, I look at the strides we have made in Afghanistan and Iraq - where women are being educated instead of raped - where democracy is in its infancy - and I cannot deny that our willingness to fight for freedom, education, religious liberty has made a difference.



Beyond the political parallels, there is one spiritual aspect that I cannot possibly describe adequately in words. The Rwandan people have not only survived but thrived. The Hutus and Tutsies are living side-by-side in true community centering around forgiveness, healing, and growing beyond and through the tragedy. It is not uncommon that younger people don't know what they are (as in Hutu or Tutsie)....but more importantly they are finding out WHOSE they are. Many of them are strong believers and our trip was one of encouraging the saints.



I will leave you with a quote originally attributed to Helen Keller, and later Grant Teaff added the action step:

I AM ONLY ONE. BUT I AM ONE.
I CANNOT DO EVERYTHING, BUT I CAN DO SOMETHING.

AND THAT WHICH I CAN DO, I OUGHT TO DO,
AND BY GOD'S GRACE, I SHALL DO.