A day in the life.....

Good Evening from a very tired girl! In the past two days I feel like I have been transformed from sadness and disgust to very amazed and surprised at how a country 21 years ago was filled with no hope and devastation to today becoming a community that is developing and progressing everyday! They are proud and confident in everything they do. Also they have pride in their country again, and everyone has smiles on their faces. Rwanda is a beautiful country filled with amazing people who inspire so many!

Yesterday we went to an organization called Aziz Life and met women of the "Twivane mubkene" (struggling from poverty) co op who welcomed us into their homes with open arms! They greeted us with song and dancing when we arrived at their homes. Together we began our day preparing our lunch which consisted of peeling and boiling sweet potatoes, cooking beans over their stone stove, and shelling more beans.

After preparing for the meal, Pastor Joe, Pastor Annabel and I were taken to the garden to harvest sweet potatoes! I think we may have actually harvested 4 whole potatoes. The rest we cut in half in the ground but the women still are able to cook them within the next few days. The sweet potato crop is amazing; it will reproduce again by just planting the leaves back into the ground. I find it funny that one of the women noticed I was "single" and said to me that I was a hard worker. Although I would love to come back to Rwanda, I'm not ready to be married off just yet to a son of hers!

Harvesting and replanting potatoes is not an easy task but the neat part of the co op is that these women work together to produce an amazing meal for their families every single day. After working in the garden it was time to take the hike to get water. I would consider myself to be in decent shape; however I am beyond impressed by the women of the co op who hike down a mountain to get water and without dropping it, hike back up with a full jug on their heads! I was able to keep a small jug on my head down to the water and was pretty impressed with myself until I found out I was carrying a jug that kids start to carry around age 5!

We continued our day cutting grasses to feed cows, and then we sat down for probably one of the best meals that I have ever had. The community around us eating together and sharing stories was amazing! Fresh avocados, beans, and boiled sweet potatoes was very healthy and very delicious!

The last part of our day was spent weaving with the women. I was paired up with a woman named Eugenie, who helped me weave a set of earrings and also a bracelet out of banana leaves. It was an amazing day and I am so thankful to have gone through a day in the life of a Rwandan woman. It opened my eyes to the things that we take for granted everyday. I have the luxury of running water and driving to the grocery store to get food any time I want. I can also go out and grab a meal quickly if I don't feel like cooking.

Proverbs 18:23
~the poor useth entreaties; but the rich answereth roughly

Matthew 25

Psalm 113:7
~He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill