The people of Rwanda

We have been back from Rwanda for several weeks now. I had every intention of posting tons of pictures immediately, while I was still high on the experience. My American life is a busy one. It's the American way, right? There are tight and hectic schedules. Long work days followed by short nights without enough sleep. Appointments, meetings, chores at home, yard work...we see obligations everywhere we turn. I'm always working on or towards something. And I'm often thinking that once that thing is finished or taken care of, then maybe I will settle down. Maybe slow down. And yet I keep on going. Living the American way.

Don't get me wrong. I love this country! I really do. It provides us with countless opportunities and freedoms. I do feel like, as Americans, we have a great sense of responsibility to help those who are less fortunate... in our country and globally. That is probably another topic.

There are a lot of differences between America and Rwanda. It's obvious really. What might be less obvious is the differences or the similarities between Americans and Rwandans. The people of Rwanda are definitely hardworkers. They seem less concerned with a timeline, less concerned with following a strict schedule, and more concerned with living in the moment and enjoying the day. Rwanda is a culture of sharing. They share everything with friends and with family without hesitation. They seem grateful and joyous. They have seen death and they have lived hard lives and it is obvious they know that life is fragile. There are similarities between us... the desire to connect with others, to learn from them, to help them. This was something that was obviously shared between our team of Americans and the Rwandan team.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the Rwandan people, mostly kids. The kids love having their pictures taken! And they love even more to look at the picture on the camera. I'll save pictures of our team, who we became quite close with, for another post.

We may have been home for several weeks, but I still think of Rwanda, the experience of serving the people there, and our new friends often. I hope that I remember the feelings for a long time to come.

And honestly, I'm going to do a few more posts on Rwanda even though some time has passed...

I hope you enjoy these sweet, smiling faces.