Travels westward, part 1.

Friends,

I promise I haven't forgotten you.  You'll have to forgive me.  I've been busy acclimating back to life in Minnesota.  I have a class of third graders to teach, friends and family to hang out with, and winter clothes to find (and purchase.)  I realize I've been holding out on you, though.  I have lots of photos to share that document my journey back to the land of lakes.

When I decided to move back to Minnesota, I knew I wanted to spend time "in between" the two homes I love so much.  As I began to think about what that would look like, I knew I wanted a few weeks to just be somewhere different.  I knew big changes were ahead, and I wanted time to process, to pray, to walk, to adventure, and to reflect on how the last two years have changed me.  A stopover in Europe seemed like just the trick.  And it was.

I know I am lucky in the friend department.  The people who I've been fortunate enough to walk alongside in this life are incredible, generous people.  Billy and Marta are no exception.  I spent 9 days with them, doing some tourist-y things and some everyday things.  We walked and biked the streets of Krakow, visited Marta's family a few hours away, sat in cafes, drank wine in cave-like bars, and ate lots of hearty food.  I cooked for them in their lovely apartment, took a few solo walks and bike rides, and relished in their company.  Great conversations and loud laughter were a daily occurrence.  Milly and Barta - thank YOU for such a warm welcome.  Friends like you make this life incredibly sweet.

Here I am sandwiched between two of the smartest and most generous people I know, a-top a castle in Poland, nonetheless!  They are a part of an incredible community of friends in Minneapolis that has slowly started moving to various corners of the world.  I'm grateful their corner was on my way back to the states.

There were church celebrations one of my first days in Krakow.  Flower petals covered the streets, music filled the air, and there were processionals of people everywhere.  Quite a way to be welcomed to my first European city!

This woman stood out among the men in the procession band.

Music.

Marta and I picked out a bicycle for me and all of their future guests to use. It had a big brown basket, good for holding lots of goodies from the market.

Beautiful vines.

It's a good thing we got a bike.  Marta is a part of a group trying to raise awareness and support for biking in Krakow.  We joined 1,000 other cyclists in the city and went on a critical mass ride!  Marta helped to organize the event and it was a big success!  Here she is in the main square, right before our ride.  She's a mover and a shaker, this one.

Post-ride.  Bikes hoisted.  Cycle power.

Art / garden / (clown?) car.   There literally was a clown standing in a nearby doorway.

Look closely at this photo.  Look very closely.  (Hint: cat, leash, and altar.)

Holy meat, batman.

Billy posing in front of his language school. 

So many beautiful flowers.

Texture and color.

Such a beautiful city.  

Long overdue: Pete, Laura and Olivia's visit!

Wonderful family and friends: This is a long overdue post.  I'm writing you from Minneapolis, where I am once again a resident.  Most of you know that I left Rwanda at the tail end of May after a wonderful school year.  I decided to move back home to be near family and friends again, and teach here.  I miss Rwanda like crazy already, but am also very glad to be back in Minnesota.  I'm hoping to write a few more blogs in the next couple of weeks to update you on my last few months in Rwanda as well as my travels on the way back home.

So, let's rewind about two-three months.  At the very end of March, I was thrilled to host Peter, Laura and Olivia for 11 days of Rwanda and Uganda-filled fun!  We did so much and it was so fun to share my life of the past two years with them.  We documented the trip well.  Olivia rented some amazing camera lenses (did you know you can RENT camera lenses, like really good ones?!)  It was such a privilege to use fancy schmancy ones.  Photo credit goes to all of us, as we were constantly switching cameras and snapping shots.  Here's a quick look into our adventures.  Enjoy!

We had a party for my current and past students at KICS.  Pete enjoyed playing basketball with them on the new court! It was built this year.

A typical view on the road: log bridge, many people in the back of a truck.

We visited my roommate Kelly's "boys":  a group of former street boys who were orphaned in the genocide, who now have learned traditional dance.  We were fortunate to attend a rehearsal and see their amazing dancing and drumming.

A child playing with rocks at the dance rehearsal.

We went to visit Hope for Life, a ministry for street boys.  Two of my roommates work with this organization.  This is one of the boys after a soccer game on a hot day!

One of the neighbor boys near the home, sporting a Favre jersey!

This is Chantal, who has sewn many clothes for me over the last two years.  She has become a good friend with whom I can practice my French.  She has a sewing station at the biggest market in town.  I brought Pete, Laura and Olivia to the market a few different times, and Chantal made us some beautiful clothes.

Meat stall at the kimironko market.  Beef anyone?

Perhaps the coolest part of their visit for me was introducing them to the kids at New Hope Homes. HEre is Laura with Rebecca and Arianne.  They were all confused when Laura and I were standing next to each other.... confusing who was who!

Here is Olivia and Gizelle.

Pete as a human jungle gym.

We went gorilla trekking after visiting the New Hope kids.  And boy, was it muddy and rainy! This is at the beginning of the trek, too.  By the end we were soaked and had mud up to our waists!

The siblings and the gorilla.

Here's a close up of the silverback in the group!

Olivia, future national geographic photographer.

Traditional dancers before the gorilla trek.  

Then we headed to Uganda to go on game drives at Queen Elizabeth national park.  Here's Peter on the equator!  

Here we are at King Fisher lodge in Queen Elizabeth Park.  Such an incredible view... from our rooms!

Baboon and her baby.

Some birds enjoying leftovers from our lunch.  (They weren't shy!)

Elephant behinds!

Hungry, hungry hippo.  

Fishing village on the canal.  

Elephants playing in the water.  This was so incredible to see!

Me and my whole fish for dinner. (One of my favorite things to order.)   Excuse the grainy phone picture.

Kelsey, Laura and Olivia shopping in Uganda.

Laura, Peter, Dennis (our driver and guide), Kelsey, and I on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda.

An amazing shot of a bird on Bushara Island, Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda.

Pete and Olivia rowing a dugout canoe on the lake.

Olivia and the lake.

Pete with the fancy lens.

Thin Places

Rwanda is a truly beautiful place: the light, the green, birds chirping, peoples' voices echoing up through the valley, cool nights with bright stars.  All of these things continually bring me to marvel at how a place can hold you, stop you still, and draw you to the Creator of it all.

A few years ago we were discussing "thin places" at a house church gathering in Minneapolis. A thin place is "a place where the boundary between heaven and earth is especially thin. It’s a place where we can sense the divine more readily." In our discussion we shared of places where we had felt a strong sense of God's presence.  Many of us shared that places away from home, whether it was a mountain pass, a calm lake, or rocky beach, were places where we could more readily rest in God's presence.

For me, Rwanda is a thin place.  There are less bright lights, smaller patches of concrete, more people walking from place to place.  People are more rooted to the earth here.  For the majority of the population, the fruits of the earth are their livelihood.  Storms seem stronger.  The green is greener.  The sun seems brighter.  Smiles seem a bit brighter.   Maybe I connect to God more strongly in this place because I am away from what is familiar, what is normal.  

It's interesting, though, because after almost two years in this captivating country, the things that used to be novel and intriguing have become a part of my normal landscape.  I no longer gawk when I see someone carrying a huge volcanic rock on their head.  I look straight ahead while driving instead of admiring the man pumping his bicycle up the hill - with 100 kilos of potatoes strapped on the sides.  (Let's be honest, I should be looking straight ahead while I'm driving ALL the time!) The newness of this place has worn away, and things have become normal.

In the normalcy is where I'm challenged most to be grateful and to seek God.  It becomes more of a discipline, something I must make effort to do.  I'm trying to do that.  And the amazing thing is that God is present - everywhere.  There is not one place where He isn't alive and working.  I need to be willing, though, to see it and be apart of it.  I need to be grateful for what is in front of me right now.  Here are some pieces of my everyday life, for which I am grateful, for they come from God.

26. The bird that flies into our bathroom window every morning.
27. Encouraging letters from second graders.
28. Skype calls with good friends.
29. Homemade hot chocolate.
30. Reading Charlie and the Chocolate factory to my class - and their completely spontaneous impersonations of Grandpa Joe when he got out of his bed and danced.  The look of wonder on their faces as I read Road Dahl's words is so great.  I love how stories can move us.
31. My students' parents: their encouragement and generosity.
32. Peter, Laura and Oliva are coming - TONIGHT!
33. The anticipation of sharing Rwanda with three people I love dearly.
34. A roommate (yes, that's you Nat) who makes fantastic bread and bagels, and shares them.
35. Cribbage with (previously mentioned roommate).
36. Morning walks.
37. Coffee.
38. Baby geckos crawling across the porch.
39. Rock candy that actually crystallized!

40. A student wearing 17 shirts and 8 pairs of pants for Wacky Wednesday.
41. The sun that dries laundry so incredibly fast.
42. Fruit trees: lime, orange, mango, avocado, and papaya trees.  All in our yard.
43. Yoga outside, at night.
44. Morning workouts with Janelle.
45. A new classroom arrangement. (I've always loved rearranging furniture.)
46. Old clothes made new.
47. 80 degrees in March. 
48. Heavy rain (also in March.)
49. A scooter to get around on. 
50. Beautiful people who I call friends and family.