Well, today was nothing short of remarkable but what more can we expect from this amazing country!!!

We started the day by visiting the child headed house that last years Rwanda Impact Trip team helped construct.  Our job for the morning was to hoe the sun hardened dry African dirt in the nearby banana plantation in preparation to plant beans!

The locals thought it was a great comedy show as they watched and giggled from afar as we donned rubber gloves and struggled with the basic tools! Hoeing large areas by hand is not something we are accustomed to or well practiced at in Oz so we were quite a spectacle! It was hard work- hot and dusty, blisters forming on our hands, but it was so absolutely satisfying and therapeutic at the same time! The locals really appreciated our efforts  (even though they probably had to ‘fix’ some areas after we left!). We had definitely burnt off our breakfast!

If you would like to feel like a rock star, come to Rwanda and visit a school at a local village like we did for the rest of the morning! The greeting we got was absolutely mind blowing- all the gorgeous children ran from their classrooms yelling and screaming and throwing their hands in the air! We spent time in kindergarten with the beautiful children, singing songs, dancing and giving them stickers, balloons and face-painting!

It’s good for the soul to let your inner child shine! The wonderful thing about these kindy visits is that the children love the novelty of ‘Muzunghu’ (white/foreign people) coming to visit, but WE also gain so much from the experience! It is so wonderful to spend time with the children, tickling them, laughing, smiling and praying for them, and it is amazing how despite the language barrier, a smile can be understood by all!

These children have so little- their clothes are dirty, their shoes are broken and their noses are running, yet the joy in their beautiful faces, the sparkle in their eyes and the flashing of their Colgate toothy smiles is the just the most magical thing you can imagine!

After lunch we had the privilege of distributing some of the mosquito nets that the recent Hertime Occasion funded through generous donation. Often we give money to a worthy cause but do not get to see or hear the impact that small donation can have on an individuals life. It was such a privilege to be able to hand over these nets to the children on behalf of everyone who donated. To see the appreciation in their eyes and know how significant this gift will be to them and their health.

We finished a wonderful day by cruising through the local markets, taking in the sights and smells of the fruit and veg, fish, textiles and other paraphernalia (ie Michael Jackson and Barack Obama T-shirts that appear to be quite popular!).

Each day here is such a blessing to our Riverview team. God is moving strongly in this amazing country through the help of AEE (African Evangelical Enterprise) with which Riverview is a strong partner. Although we are here to assist the local community both physically, financially and spiritually during our time here, we are finding that we have so much to learn from these beautiful people about forgiveness, faith, community and loving our neighbors.

Emma xxx