We had a Talent Show on Saturday night and
it went really well. Starting Friday night, you could feel the excitement as
kids were busy running around planning what they would do and practising. Many
kids did dramas or comedy sketches and there were a few songs. I told a story
about a very fast monkey in Rwanda that I made up, and the mamas closed us out
with a beautiful traditional Rwandan dance. We had a great time, even though
half the time I was guessing what the plays were about. At one point a crew of
kids acted out a long story about a man who took everything he needed but
didn’t pay… and he eventually ended up in front of the official (Arown) who
decided the case against him. Art imitating life, I guess.
Sunday night I did family time and did a big
quiz challenge, Jeopardy-style. The kids competed in their family groups and
they all had many chances to answer correctly, in order to win up to 4 marbles
each. The marble prize went over well (thanks for the donation, Auntie Donna!)
and yesterday I saw quite a few kids playing marbles after school. I’ll admit
the game was rigged to give them more than enough chances to ensure the
equitable distribution of marbles --- even the worst team ended up winning
their 4 each, just before the end. Another story is how long it took me to find the marbles in the village… in case
you wondered, the word for marble sounds like “bee-yay”. I wandered around
asking children (in Kinyarwanda) where to buy marbles, figuring they would know
best. One girl finally got it when Debbie mimed shooting a marble in a game to
get the word across. Turns out I was saying “bee-hay”, which was not that
useful to the quest.
In other news, photos of my new dress are
not yet available. I have to take it back to alter it slightly so it will fit…
well, to be honest… alter it so I can breathe. But it looks great and the small
fix won’t take long.
Aside from all the good times with the
kids, I’m also making progress on the projects I lined up for myself while I’m
here. I’ve made contact with a few organizations to see if there are any
options for training or opportunities for our kids and staff through their
work. And as I’m posting this, I’m in Kigali waiting to pick up my old friend
Mark at the airport. Mark and his wife Nadine are good friends of mine and I’m
excited he’ll be here in Rwanda soon! Mark and I will put our heads together
and see what else we can do while here to help the orphanage.
Some of you who followed my other blog when
I was here previously may remember the generous couple I met in Kigali who
donated many clothes to the orphanage. I was able to reach them in Kigali the
other day and it was pretty fun catching up with them again – and of course,
they had a bag of clothes for me to bring back here. I always find such
generous people everywhere I go – it’s awesome!
I think I mentioned last time that I also managed to swing by Arlene’s place
(the children’s home down the road) to catch up with her and check out the projects
she has on the go over there. I love Arlene! She’s going from strength to
strength in her “retirement” here in Rwanda, and I always learn a lot from her.
Not the least of which is her persistence and hard work on behalf of her kids
here – a good example to follow.
The time is flying by, and already I feel
like I’ve been here for months instead of only two weeks. The other day I sat down
and blocked out time for each of my areas of focus, and that’s when it hit me
again: I’m only here for a short time! So I’m trying to make each day count.
Any day I can see Jaime laugh as I tickle
her, or kids happily shooting marbles in the driveway, or Cody drumming on the
buckets for Bibi to dance, or kids trickling in after school in their uniforms
and backpacks saying “Good Afternoon”, or people falling over with laughter
during the Talent Show, or the mamas dancing while the kids cheer, or kids yelling
and cheering from inside Surambaya as
Papa Jojo comes up the driveway after a soccer game and “beats” the other
vehicle home, or the look on David’s face when he showed Mama Jojo his 4
marbles… those days count.
Kids watching me take pictures of the marble games
A present from the kids :)
The neighbour's tree that I like
Beautiful to look at - and to smell!
Sunset over the hills
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