Away from HOME

Away from HOME…

The busy-ness of all that we were doing to register the organization got the better of us – and we realized that we would never stop and rest if we stayed at HOME…so, we decided to take a bit of a Honeymoon after all. Neither of us had actually stopped to rest in over a year…so we felt it necessary in order to have to energy to continue our work here in Uganda.

Roger’s late Mother was originally from Rwanda, belonging to the Tutsi tribe. So we decided a small jaunt down into Rwanda would be a good idea. Roger had never been to Rwanda, and we wanted to go and see where his Mother had come from. We asked relatives for any connections that might be possible in Rwanda, or if anyone knew the name of the Village from which Roger’s Grandmother fled with her family….but the information has been lost. (Just after independence was granted in 1962, warring tribes –Hutu vs. Tutsi- and the resulting bloodshed lead tens of thousands of Tutsi to flee to Uganda)

We spent five nights in Rwanda. We found Rwanda to be beautiful and remarkably clean, however far too expensive for our budget! The people were friendly and welcoming and kind, and the country has an extremely high level of safety and security. We slept cheaply and ate cheaply, but splurged on nice places to swim and a two-day journey to Kibuye and Lake Kivu. It was here that we were able to visit the Genocide Memorial dedicated to Roger’s Mom’s Tribe. Kibuye was the hardest hit of all the prefectures during the killings in 1994, with about 90% of all of the Tutsi Population Murdered. Beside the displayed skulls of many of those slaughtered during the Genocide, it is written (translated):

“WE FAILED TO KNOW LOVE AND BROTHERHOOD”

Simple, but so powerful.

It was deeply moving and intense to walk those roads and see that countryside…knowing that it was not very long ago that those horrors took place there….not ancient history, but recent. Roger and I talked about the giant trees that we walked under enjoying their shade….wondering at the atrocities and terrors they had been silent, stoic witness to. The hatred and horror…. I mentioned to some people upon our return…and still feel the weight of, the guilt in my ignorance at that time. I was happily enjoying my second year of Bible college and passed that year unaware of what was going on in Rwanda. Most of the world remained oblivious and within three months one million people were butchered…can the International community find forgiveness for not stepping in and helping our fellow man? Is there redemption after turning a blind eye to such events? I don’t have that answer.

The place we found to enjoy swimming and sunshine was “Hotel Des Mille Collines” or more commonly known as HOTEL RWANDA. It was surreal to be enjoying the luxury and leisure of that beautiful swimming pool, at the same time aware of the fear experienced by those who took refuge there during the Genocide. There is no mention anywhere of any connection to the story depicted in the movie, as if people want to move on and leave their recent history behind them. The main reminder of the genocide in the capital City Kigali (where we spent most of our time), are the many Rwandans with missing limbs….the impeccably clean countryside, and the tight security.

Five days was all our budget could allow, and after the 12 hour bus ride back to Kampala, we were happy to be back HOME. The break was refreshing and it was nice to be away from work….and to truly have a bit of a vacation. We returned with new energy to continue our work, with joyful and thankful hearts.


“Deeper than our instinct to live is our longing to be alive. The latter is a struggle to survive; the former, a thirst for life. All of us have an intuitive connection between being alive and living free. We all long for freedom….our freedom must never be about us and us alone. Freedom is the gift of serving others out of love.”
-Erwin Raphael McManus