Muraho (Hello in Kinyarwanda)!
Ahhhhh I have finally made it to Rwanda! I cannot even begin to describe to you what an incredible, challenging and interesting experience it has been thus far. My word, it is unlike anything I could’ve ever imagined. I’m going to share with you, in a very small nutshell (because the internet cafes here are EXTREMELY slow and I haven’t figured out how to use a taxi yet to get into the cafes with wifi!) what life has been like these past few days….
The plane ride: Very long! But got to talk with some great people
which made it so much better 
Almost had a slight breakdown on the
plane from Chicago to Brussels, as I watched “Up” and had a stark
realization that I was leaving everything American behind for a
year… but I just kept praying and reminding myself the reason why I
am going! That helped
Tuesday Night: I arrived at the Kigali airport! Went through customs
just fine (praise God!) and went through the gates to find Phineas and
the others from AEE. Haha, slight problem there as I did not see them
and thought they had forgotten about me! I asked around to different
people, hoping they spoke English, if they knew anyone from AEE.
Eventually, after about 45 minutes, we found one another (I had just
missed their sign!). What a relief that was!!! They greeted me with
hugs and a very warm welcome. I cannot tell you how happy I was to
see them!
Phineas brought me to the guesthouse and showed me my room. It is
very simple, just a bed with an amoire and table/chair. And a
mosquito net! Phineas was quite surprised that I had never used a
mosquito net before so I asked him to show me how to use it. They are
GREAT!!! Seriously, we need to start using these in Minnesota!!
After showing me my room, they had prepared supper for me so I went to
the kitchen and ate with Patrick, one of the AEE staff. For those of
you who know me, you are not going to believe this… but I actually
ate fish!! ahhh! Actually, I could only eat about 1/4 of it because
it was so fishy and I could barely stand it but I didn’t want to be
rude so I tried to eat as much as I could. Patrick was so great and
told me a lot about his life, Rwandan culture, etc. It was nice to
have this background and education coming into Rwanda on my first day!
Wednesday: Woke up after a great night’s sleep, pulled away the
mosquito net and decided to head for the shower! Ohhhhh my goodness,
I’m pretty sure that after that morning I will always think of hot
showers as a luxury!! At least I don’t need coffee anymore to wake me
up, hahaha! The water is quite cold but towards the end, you just
kinda get used to it. I learned very quickly to dunk my head in right
away (just like at the lake!) and eventually, it doesnt feel so cold
anymore. After this new learning experience, I joined the rest of the
AEE staff for fasting and prayer. Everything was spoken in
Kinyarwanda but Jean and another man helped to translate. It was such
a great time of prayer and helped me focus again on why I am here in
Rwanda. Several of the men prayer over me which was such an
encouragement. Afterwards, Jean took me out to buy a carton of water
and, in the process, taught me many things I need to know as an
American in the Rwandan culture. This woman is amazing. I feel so
blessed to have her here as she has helped me acclimate so much to
this new culture.
In the evening, John Kalenzi (director of AEE Rwanda) took me to
downtown to purchase a sim card so I now have a phone!!! He took me
out for coffee/tea as well and explained more about AEE and what I
could do as an intern. There is much to do and he is a VERY busy man
but am so grateful I was able to take that time to chat with him. He
is leaving for Nairobi tomorrow but I will hopefully get more
direction as to what I can do when he comes back next week!
THURSDAY: Phineas, the sweet man who came to pick me up from the
airport, had found that his mother died the same evening he came to
get me at the airport. Her burial was today and I was invited to come
along. I drove in a small car with 3 other staff from AEE (we
eventually picked up a 4th) for 3 hours to the Eastern Province of
Rwanda where Phineas’ mother lived. When we arrived, Jean and I were
the only white people there and my word, did we get the staredown!
Haha, I think this is something I’m just going to have to get used
to…. Some of the other Rwandese said this was probably the first
time most of the villagers had ever seen a white person (muzungu)!
The burial service was very long, about 5 hours, but was truly
beautiful with lots of singing, praising, preaching, testimonials and
the final burial. The village was incredible and so unlike anything
we have ever seen in America. I also got to meet Antoine Rutaysire
briefly, who was the previous AEE Rwanda director before John Kalenzi.
What a privilege that was, as he has done INCREDIBLE things with
reconciliation in Rwanda!
FRIDAY: After sitting around for quite some time, unsure of what to
do, I called up Jean and explained my situation. She just laughed and
said not to worry, as this is very common when interns first arrive
and that after some time, I will find my place. She directed me to
the internet cafe here and said it would be a good experience for me
to walk here and practice getting used to being stared at, hahaha!!
Let me tell you, it is quite an experience to say the least! I’m just
hoping I can get a really great tan so I can blend in a little more,
lol. I’m sure with time, too, I’ll get used to it all.
Please continue praying for me, that I would adapt to the culture,
understand the culture and learn the language! Pray that God would
open up doors for me to develop friendships and relationships with
Rwandese and that I would follow his leading.
Please pray that my funding would continue to come in as well. I
still need to raise about $5000 and do not know where this is going to
come from! However, I am trusting that God will provide and know that
it will come through. If you are able to donate, would you please
consider doing so? You can donate online at www.africanenterprise.org
and click on Donate. Complete your information and just note/comment
that you would like it to go to Melissa Roussin.
Also, here is my number for those of you that want to contact me!!
078 541 7140… I haven’t the slightest idea how to call from the US
to my number but i’m hoping it works!! Right now, it’s not allowing me
to text so i need to figure that out but will let you know when that
problem is solved.
Ok, so i thought this was going to be short…. haha oh well,
hopefully you enjoyed hearing a bit about my life here. I will send
pictures soon!
Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. Much love to you all!
