I'm currently sitting in the Kenya airport waiting to board my final flight of this lengthy trip. I've been traveling well over 24 hours now and I honestly cannot wait to get to kigali! I haven't even reached my final destination and I can already say that I've learned two very important lessons. 1. Paris should not be visited alone. 2. My character sinks when I'm in highly stressful foreign situations... I'm working on it. This was my first time over seas and I was traveling alone with no cell phone and a 15 minute time limit of free wifi which was the only way to contact anyone. I desperately needed to contact a few people once arriving in Paris to let them know that I had missed my flight to Amsterdam due to my previous flight being delayed. This issue had now changed the whole course of my trip including the airline, the connection country, and my final arrival time. So maybe it was all of that which lead to my minor breakdown or maybe it was the 2 hours of sleep I had gotten in the last 24 hours. Which ever it was I decided to gather my self just enough to make the 1.5 mile long trek to my new gate. I was beyond lost on how to get all of my new flight information to the right people and pretty nervous that I wouldn't be picked up at the airport once arriving to Rwanda As a sat on a bench in the Paris airport very much alone and waiting for my new flight I had a moment to remembered that we have choices in this life, and that choices are important. I can choose to be upset at my situation, scared and angered at the fact that this wasn't the plan or I can choose to quit crying, realize it is what it is and look at it as a new adventure. So of course I took the latter. And so here was another reminder that Gods plan is better, and he sometimes has a funny way of doing things. Sometimes we make plans to do things, good plans too. And yet when they don't work out as planned we can choose to get worked up and even scared or we can choose to look at it as a new adventure. God says trust me I've got you. He wants us to enjoy the journey along the way.
1/29/14
The day started with orientation and eventually we all went into town to buys cell phones and a sketchy Internet USB. Currently we are all staying in a big guest house that almost resembles the dorm/ motel feel but we will be moving in with our host families on Friday. I am still getting use to this place and trying to take it all in. It's lovely and the weather has been amazing so far. I haven't been anywhere where there is air conditioning but it's really not needed; it can get hot at times but it's actually quite nice! Wifi is hard to come by so contact has been difficult but it will most definitely get better. Haley and I decided to go on a walk before dinner while the remainder of the group hung back to nap and relax. Each house is gated and guarded by at least one guard, so there is a sense of safety. School had just gotten out and there were little munchkins in uniforms playing in the street. Just a few yards down from where we are staying is a huge structure where families collect their water and so of course that is exactly where I ended up. A few little ones where there and ran to us as soon as we waved. We each spoke slow and were impressed by some of their English; though there was a language barrier it didn't matter much. Eventually there was a group of 10 boys and girls around us patting our hair, touching our skin, and holding our hand. These children are so beautiful and their heart are full of so much joy.
