Border Run

One of the beautiful things about the schools here is that they take a break in between quarters.  All the teachers out there know that there comes a point when students and teachers just need to get away from each other every once in awhile, so periodic breaks are a great way to preserve the tranquility and productivity of schools.  The fortunate thing for us is that Fall Break, between the first and second quarters of school, happened to fall just a few weeks before our 90 day entry visas expired.  We have both applied for work visas, but until those arrive, we have to be lawful citizens and keep our entry visas up-to-date.  Fall break afforded us the opportunity to make a border run and get another entry visa, and we welcomed the opportunity to see more of what this beautiful part of the world has to offer.

First things first, we rolled out of bed in time to catch the van we were sharing with an eMi family (travel is lots cheaper split two ways!).  This was 5:30am.  Not the most ideal time to start a road trip, but this also gave us the opportunity to marvel at how little traffic there is in Kampala in the wee hours of the morning.  After a few hours of driving, we stopped at the Equator to be all touristy and take care of our photo op.  Then we were off on the next stretch of driving towards Kigali, Rwanda.

The roads are slightly less than ideal, well, anywhere here in Uganda, and that made for slow, bouncy driving at times.  We like to think it gave us a better opportunity to absorb the beautiful scenery.  The fun thing about road trips in Africa is that when you see animals grazing by the road, it’s not just cows – there are zebras mixed in – and no, those aren’t deer, they are impalas.  How cool is that?!

Upon crossing the border into Rwanda, there were several fun things we noticed.  First, the cops like to pull over mzungus.  We got pulled over several times to check to make sure lights, wipers, horn, etc. were working properly; another time we got pulled over, the cop made us nervous at first when he walked around and demanded that the van door be open and that we hand over our passports – he then proceeded to practice pronouncing our names, pass back our passports, and send us on our way – we breathed a sigh of relief and then had a good laugh.  Second and most markedly, Rwanda is BEAUTIFUL.  I mean, it’s the kind of beautiful where you wonder if it’s even real.  It was so green and lush.  The hills were sectioned off into perfect terraced stretches of farmland and dotted with simple, rustic brick homes.  It's called the land of a thousand hills and a million smiles, and we found that to be absolutely true.  It is also very clean.  You see no trash on the sides of the road, which is a very big problem in Kampala.  When crossing the border entering into Rwanda, they even confiscate any plastic bags you may have.  Plastic bags apparently was one of the biggest causes of litter, so now they won't even allow them into the country.  It was also interesting getting used to being on the right side of the road again - although at this point in our stay in Africa, we aren't really sure which side of the road is correct!

We arrived in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, around 8:30pm, which was 15 hours after we started (to go roughly 325 miles...).  We could blame the ‘dynamic’ roads for this as well as the fun of crossing the border at the same time as 2 full buses of other people and that stopping for African fast food takes at least one and a half hours (but it sure is tasty stuff!).  After we arrived, we amused ourselves as we watched Caleb, our 6-year-old travel companion, literally fall asleep in his dinner plate, and then we had a restful night sleep in a modest apartment.

The following morning we headed to one of many genocide memorials found around Rwanda.  The Kigali Memorial Centre wrought so many emotions, it’s hard to describe.  There is the sadness of knowing this happened recently enough that victims’ families are still dealing with the daily struggle of mourning loved ones and healing from their own wounds.  There is the anger from knowing the indoctrination that was perpetuated by people who came to Rwanda in the name of Christ to help them.  There is the shock of seeing the evil that humanity is capable of.  There is the profound disappointment of knowing people that were respected and held great influence chose to do nothing, either to preserve their own self-interest or because there was nothing of perceived value to protect.  There is a sense of regret knowing that this and other horrible things have happened – continue to happen – and all we do is say a quick prayer that things get better and thank God we’re not there.  There is the shock of knowing you are taking this all in while standing on the unmarked grave of a quarter million people.

The upper floor of the center detailed other genocides throughout history, and there have been more than we would like to admit. One thing that surprised us is that there was actually one that the United States does not formally recognize for "military strategic reasons."  How we do not recognize the murder of 1.5 million people is hard to understand.  Just to make sure we were sufficiently shaken to the core, the final exhibit was the children’s room.  At first, we thought this was meant to try to explain this incredibly deep, heavy stuff to kids, but we were wrong.  The whole thing consisted of huge portraits of children who had lost their lives in the Rwandan genocide – complete with biographical information such as what they wanted to be when they grew up, who their best friend was, what their favorite food was, and the method by which they were murdered.  That was too much to handle and the beautiful gardens surrounding the facility provided a welcome refuge from the vivid documentation of the horrors of the genocide.

It may be easy to look at the chronicles of the genocide in Rwanda and other places and think, “Surely we have learned from this.  Surely we will never allow this to happen again.”  And it is true that Rwanda offers much reason to hope that this is true – it is a vibrant and peaceful place that has made astounding strides forward.  But one of the quotes towards the end of the exhibits stated, “When they said ‘never again’ after the Holocaust, was it meant for some people and not for others?”  This was said by a Rwandan, but how many Sudanese may be saying this today?  How many others down the road will wonder why they had to endure hardships at the hands of their fellow men?  After this experience, we firmly believe we have a collective responsibility to make sure nobody else is ever forgotten in the midst of such trials ever again.

After a sufficient dose of harsh reality, we took off back towards Uganda – the long way, through the mountains and volcanoes – to get a healing dose of the reality of God’s creation.  We hope the pictures capture the beauty we were able to experience – no description necessary, just to say that doubling our travel time in order to see this was so worth it.

 We spent the next day on a small island in Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda.  It was a refreshing oasis away from the noise and crowds of the city.  We rested, we read, we walked our stunning little island, and we ate (a lot).  We have decided that someday we’ll have a house with plenty of avocado trees and a lake stocked with plenty of tilapia.  We are so thankful for the opportunity to serve in this part of the world and just amazed by the experiences we are having, but it can be pretty tough too.  Getting out and getting away - to enjoy the wonder of creation and have some time to reconnect with each other – was just what we needed.  Well, actually, we really just needed valid entry visas, but the refreshment was an added bonus!