Location: The rolling green hills of Kigali Rwanda
Time: 11:14 AM
We arrived in Kigali Rwanda. Wow. The journey was for sure the most tedious and grueling transportation experience of my life - okay for a one time shudder - but I hope to never do it again.
We woke up early on Monday morning. We stayed up late talking with Jo and playing with Pastor Amos' kids - so we were running on about 4 hours of sleep. Then we rushed off to the train, and first the van died on the way over, and then we ran out of petrol. So we quickly transfered into a taxi, making it there just in time. But then we found out the train was late, and we ended up leaving an hour and a half late.
We took 3rd class on the Tanzanian railroad. We had an assigned seat, but that didn't mean much. There were at least double the amount of people than seats, and so everyone was smushed in together - piled up on seatbacks, sleeping under the chairs, and for Disa, kids peeing on her feet!
Add to that the luggage. Some of the kind fellow travelers were taking advantage of the moment and decided to transport their family's grain harvest for the year - by train! So there were piles of bags of beans, corn, and rice cutting off circulation loaded up in the ailes. Unbelievably patience building. The train had no air conditioning, and no rules for train stations. People would have to rush through the obstacle course in between the seats carrying bags of potatos and jumping off the train just in time.
We started our odyssey at 9:00 AM Monday morning. Our train ride ended 3:00 AM Tuesday morning. From there we were dumped in a dark field, and piled into a matatu minivan to drive about 1 hour north. We then were dropped in a bus park and told to wait until 6:00 AM. We crammed into another minivan, and that ride had about 30 people occupying 14 seats! Finally we reached the border with Rwanda, and had to take a taxi the last 20 kilometers. We walked across the border, and then hopped onto one more minibus until Kigali Rwanda. We ended up arriving at about 4:00 PM Tuesday. Pretty insane. And with all the confusion we had basically no time to sleep or eat. Just a few snacks and a couple nods of exhaustion.
Coming into Rwanda was breathtaking for all of us. This country is incredibly beautiful. The people are very gracious French speakers. The kids along the road yell out "Bonjour!" which is very different from the rest of the region here. The country is just endless lush greenery dipping and rising with muddy rivers in the valleys and banana trees covering the hills. The weather is much cooler than Dodoma Tanzania was.
We met with ERM President and Founder Emmanuel Sitaki's wife here in Kigali. The team here have been so kind, even though we stumble through the language problems of having English, Swahili, Kirwanda, and French words all swirling around.
We stepped into an internet cafe to update you all, and this afternoon we will be touring some genocide sights. It's almost impossible to imagine these smiling lovely Rwandans gripped in the merciless massacres of a decade ago. I can see how some people claim the Holocaust was fabricated. Just 10 years on you can't imagine the horrors happening here. But they did happen. As we drove into Rwanda, our taxi driver described his job as a UN lorry driver finding body parts and dumping them into a mass grave near the border. There are estimates that 1 in 3 of the people on the street here took part in the genocide. You just can't even imagine the pain that must still reside deep down - the memories - the guilt.
Emmanuel's family is caring for about 10 orphans, one of them is living in his home. Francine's parents were both killed in the Genocide in 1994. And many more of the orphans we will meet here were orphaned during that time. Emmanuel himself lost several dozen family members - only his mother is left.
We need to head out, but please pray for us. We are pretty tired right now, and about to see some pretty awful locations and here some sad stories. Please pray for this country and the immense healing that is needed for both perpatrators and victims. Please pray for ERM's ministry that it will have the support needed to reach out to all those who need help.
- Dan
Time: 11:14 AM
We arrived in Kigali Rwanda. Wow. The journey was for sure the most tedious and grueling transportation experience of my life - okay for a one time shudder - but I hope to never do it again.
We woke up early on Monday morning. We stayed up late talking with Jo and playing with Pastor Amos' kids - so we were running on about 4 hours of sleep. Then we rushed off to the train, and first the van died on the way over, and then we ran out of petrol. So we quickly transfered into a taxi, making it there just in time. But then we found out the train was late, and we ended up leaving an hour and a half late.
We took 3rd class on the Tanzanian railroad. We had an assigned seat, but that didn't mean much. There were at least double the amount of people than seats, and so everyone was smushed in together - piled up on seatbacks, sleeping under the chairs, and for Disa, kids peeing on her feet!
Add to that the luggage. Some of the kind fellow travelers were taking advantage of the moment and decided to transport their family's grain harvest for the year - by train! So there were piles of bags of beans, corn, and rice cutting off circulation loaded up in the ailes. Unbelievably patience building. The train had no air conditioning, and no rules for train stations. People would have to rush through the obstacle course in between the seats carrying bags of potatos and jumping off the train just in time.
We started our odyssey at 9:00 AM Monday morning. Our train ride ended 3:00 AM Tuesday morning. From there we were dumped in a dark field, and piled into a matatu minivan to drive about 1 hour north. We then were dropped in a bus park and told to wait until 6:00 AM. We crammed into another minivan, and that ride had about 30 people occupying 14 seats! Finally we reached the border with Rwanda, and had to take a taxi the last 20 kilometers. We walked across the border, and then hopped onto one more minibus until Kigali Rwanda. We ended up arriving at about 4:00 PM Tuesday. Pretty insane. And with all the confusion we had basically no time to sleep or eat. Just a few snacks and a couple nods of exhaustion.
Coming into Rwanda was breathtaking for all of us. This country is incredibly beautiful. The people are very gracious French speakers. The kids along the road yell out "Bonjour!" which is very different from the rest of the region here. The country is just endless lush greenery dipping and rising with muddy rivers in the valleys and banana trees covering the hills. The weather is much cooler than Dodoma Tanzania was.
We met with ERM President and Founder Emmanuel Sitaki's wife here in Kigali. The team here have been so kind, even though we stumble through the language problems of having English, Swahili, Kirwanda, and French words all swirling around.
We stepped into an internet cafe to update you all, and this afternoon we will be touring some genocide sights. It's almost impossible to imagine these smiling lovely Rwandans gripped in the merciless massacres of a decade ago. I can see how some people claim the Holocaust was fabricated. Just 10 years on you can't imagine the horrors happening here. But they did happen. As we drove into Rwanda, our taxi driver described his job as a UN lorry driver finding body parts and dumping them into a mass grave near the border. There are estimates that 1 in 3 of the people on the street here took part in the genocide. You just can't even imagine the pain that must still reside deep down - the memories - the guilt.
Emmanuel's family is caring for about 10 orphans, one of them is living in his home. Francine's parents were both killed in the Genocide in 1994. And many more of the orphans we will meet here were orphaned during that time. Emmanuel himself lost several dozen family members - only his mother is left.
We need to head out, but please pray for us. We are pretty tired right now, and about to see some pretty awful locations and here some sad stories. Please pray for this country and the immense healing that is needed for both perpatrators and victims. Please pray for ERM's ministry that it will have the support needed to reach out to all those who need help.
- Dan
posted by Dan Holcomb - Lahash at 1:12 AM
6 Comments:
Dan, I appreciate your updates and am praying for you guys. I definately am not sad that I missed that crazy road trip! What a story.
I'm drinking Rwandan coffee as I write this. Tell them that they're doing a fantastic job with it!
Glad to hear of your latest updates. It sounds like a rich, if not tiring time.
Dan,
Good to hear you are safe! We were concerned that the 6.8 earthquake on the Congo border with Tanzania was a little too close to you for comfort. We have been praying for your safety.
Wow! Praying for rest & strength for you during this stretch of your trip.
Laura, We miss you and are looking forward to seeing you soon. The wind chill with the east wind is 15 degrees. That is going to be an adjustment! We are holding you in our prayers. Love, the Pfeff's
Kara, yes, happy penguin day to you as well!
Chad, thanks for the comments and prayers. I'll see you soon brother.
Hey BW, we are trying to locate some of that fine Rwandan coffee in bean form that we can take back with us, but no luck so far. I thin the local people here just drink Nescafe or sometimes the ground local beans. The whole beans seem to be an export item!
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