Aaron's Blog
Giving Thanks
Posted Nov. 21st, 2006
As we transition to our new home in Rwanda, the words of a friend who has lived and worked in Africa for many years seem very pertinent. In response to a question about how he holds the memory of this place when he is back in the comforts of the U.S., he responded: “I can’t turn on a hot-water tap without thinking about Africa, because even the most basic things that we take for granted are a luxury. What a miracle it is that when I’m home in the U.S., I can walk up to a sink, turn a handle, and clear hot water flows out.” This, my friends, is a luxury that I will likely not experience for some time to come.
We arrived after two harrowing days of travel, exhausted and nursing three sick family members (everyone but me) to a home that will one day be quite comfortable for us. I still don’t know how far off that day will come. At present, we are still struggling to fix a myriad of minor problems, any one of which would be a small inconvenience but altogether make for a challenging transition. The items that still do not work include the stove (leaking gas), the toilet (leaking water), the bathroom sink (leaking), the hot water heater (who knows if this will ever work), and bathtub faucet (which, without the former, is not that important anyway). There are also numerous leaks in the roof, although the only one that really matters to us at the moment is the one over our bed. Thankfully, it hasn’t rained yet during the night.
Despite the challenges, it’s more a time of facing the contrast between worlds than it is a time of discouragement. Our home is truly beautiful and the view is absolutely stunning. We have a small bit of grass in the front yard, partially shaded by an enormous avocado tree in one corner, dotted with ripening avocados that would net us a small fortune if we could sell them at Albertson’s. The kids are beginning to adjust to the new time zone and are thrilled about all the bugs that surround (and infiltrate) our home. Just yesterday, David dictated a delightful little story to me called “The House of the Termites”, during which he spun a tale of being shrunken down into a termite and sharing a meal of juicy ants (they taste like cake to termites, in case you hadn’t heard) before becoming teaching a small cadre of bugs about what it means to have a family and be a big brother.
On Sunday, we also had a delightful time at the Friends Church, which is across the street from our home and part of our sponsoring community here in Kigali. The African rhythms and harmonies lifted my spirit and the boys made it through part of the service without making too much of a scene (a small challenge for most Western families). David was thrilled to make a whole group of new friends, with whom he chatted away and insisted that they understood at least some of what he was saying. “Dad, I just opened my cookies and suddenly I was surrounded with new friends,” he told me with pride and wonder afterwards. “That wouldn’t work so well in El Paso,” he ruminated, “but in Africa cookies make great friends.”
And thus begins our transition to a new life in this strange and wondrous place. There will certainly be many more challenges to come in the days and months ahead, but we are beginning to get our feet on the ground and already have a small community of supportive friends/acquaintances who are happy to help us in times of need. In the coming days, we expect most of the inconveniences in our home to be taken care of, and have already moved the bed over a couple of feet in the hopes of sleeping through our first night-time rainstorm. I can already tell, however, that it will take a long time before I will ever be able to turn on a hot water faucet without thinking of Africa. May your thoughts and prayers be with us as well.
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