Saturday Blog - part two:

At lunch time we left the sombre environment and headed off to Pastor Brandon’s home.  Andy’s SatNav took us along a road less-travelled and though driver Paul tried his very best to navigate the very hummocky dirt track, a disconcerting clatter issued from below the truck as an extremely deep pot hole claimed our exhaust system.  Ooops!  As we drove up to Brandon’s house he noticed the ‘trailing muffler' and immediately apologised for lending us a faulty vehicle, whereupon Paul had to confess to his reckless driving!

Brandon’s home appeared to be ‘little America,’ full of his team and their families, all invited round for a feast to welcome the Brits and to show us a good’al US BBQ, a foodie’s paradise!  It was interesting to meet the many team members and learn about the diverse elements of their ministry - working with women in the slums, developing rural agriculture, setting up pre-schools in outlying villages and encouraging business enterprises. 

These serious conversations were sporadically interrupted by the team’s several delightful children.  Brandon’s 3 year old daughter Elsa, was very taken by a praying mantis she spotted in the garden and less enthused by Andy trying to teach her to play noughts and crosses in chalk on the patio.  One year old Ivan has just this week discovered the thrill of a story book and placed a card board book, ‘The Blue Truck,’ in Isobel’s hand as she was making a cup of tea in the kitchen.  He promptly plonked himself down on the concrete floor in the middle of the busy kitchen and without words clearly indicated it was now story time!  (Even 1 year-olds can spot a teacher a mile off). She could not fail to accept this invitation and sat down cross legged to regale the delights of ‘The Blue Truck,’ its beeping sounds and the accompanying noises of the cows, sheep and toads, to which he pointed expectantly on the pages! 

Whilst we were enjoying the BBQ and banter poor Daniel, one of Brandon’s obliging colleagues was dispatched to a garage to get the exhaust fixed so that we could drive home in a less clattering vehicle.

In the evening we went for a wander into the shiny newly developed area of Kigali, much of which has developed over the past year.  A new shopping mall with trendy cafes has sprung up near to last year’s pride and joy, the new convention centre, which resembles a spinning Easter egg, trimmed with multi coloured lights.  As Kigali expands in its quest to become a modern city, ‘the little people’ are being squeezed further and further out to the margins.  Many of the small churches are struggling as developers are eager to bulldoze and build on their locations.  As we wandered past a demolition site, with an excavator devouring a previous building, several men in hard hats stood on the pile directing a feeble dribble of water from a hose pipe at the ground in a vain attempt to damp down the huge clouds of dust that were being created.  Hannah, keen to photograph this curious site, was soon pounced on by one of the security men and ordered to delete her image immediately!  She faced similar hostility as she tried to photograph a pretty hibiscus plant daring to grow dangerously near to the US Embassy!

Having shopped in the mall and had some fun with various shop workers, we managed to get home without further stoppages for our team time, drinks and bed!

Thanks for your prayers and support. 

Grace, Isobel, Hannah, Paul and Andy

PS tomorrow, Jonathan will rejoin the team from Kigeme Diocese.