Tuesday, June 18, 2013

reality

It's been a week now that I been travelling Rwanda. I've met those in utter poverty and chronic sickness, the middle class and the wealthy. Most of the time has been with the poor and it is hard to express the juxtaposition of their complete faith in God's salvation and the endless knowledge of no way out.

These beautiful ladies greet me each day with a hug, lots of smiles and love. They say "yes'ashimwe" to me and I reply "ahimbazwe". "praise Jesus", "let him be praised". They believe in their heart of hearts this is the best way to give and have hope. And their lives are in a cycle of constant battle on every front. They are sick in the belly from bad water, some have HIV, most are always in a state of feeling ill. Charcoal pills take away the belly aches for awhile. The poor are fighting for their lives.

I am an Anglican and so their undying faith is not foreign to me. I feel His strength in my own life and that goodness will always come from difficulty and sorrow.

As I scrubbed my clothes tonight in a tub and felt the ache in my back, it was tenfold for their ache. My stomach aches because theirs do. My heart is full because theirs is for our being together.

This is Diana, she is sick today. Her throat is swollen and she has a headache.
She's on antibiotics and will improve.

Thanks for listening....be thankful.

10 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this.

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  2. Yes, always grateful and thankful... You are a bright light in their day.

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  3. Thank you for your post. We here in the US are so, so spoiled and caught up in a tremendous amount of materialism and we complain to have more. We, as a society, are far too out of touch with what happens in the rest of the world.

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  4. oh, nancy, i think this trip will be HUGE in every way for you.

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  5. Lauriella7:44 PM

    I've always heard of the plight in Rwanda, but reading it from your eyes, is a whole new perspective.

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  6. Thank you all. It's a side of traveling to such a place most aren't able to help in some way. I sure hope I can with a little help from my friends.

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  7. So thankful and full of prayers for peace and loving kindness to guide you and to support the people you meet through whatever journey they come to in this life. Such a gift to travel and understand the blessings we have and the burdens others carry.

    Grateful for your mission and discovery of the bigger picture of things.

    Safe travels.

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  8. Certainly you are changing the lives of each other in some way for the better through giving and sharing what you can. Isn't this the way way we should all be living.

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  9. Leigh, I am grateful to be in their midst.
    So true, Betsy.

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