A Little Slice of Heaven (Day 11)

Thursday, May 23, 2013.

Written By Kevin Matznick

Today has been somewhat of a closing to our time in Rwanda. Even though we still have three more days in Kigali, the “meat” of our trip has concluded. This morning we were met at the house by Bishop Alexis to say our farewells. He came by to thank us for our time in Gahini and Karangazi and to pray with us before we set out for Kigali. Our time sitting around the living room with him was really enjoyable. He is such a wise man who loves the Lord so much. 

One of our team members, Kenny, posed the question of how to work so well with very many different church congregations to bring a sense of unity among them. His response was perfect; he said that they (as Anglicans in Rwanda) were not trying to build their own “empire”, but rather simply wanted to build the kingdom of God. That was their only desire and purpose. This answer made me think about the churches back home in Greensboro and even the high schools within Greensboro Young Life. How awesome would it be to get many churches and high school ministries to come together with the one common purpose of building up the kingdom of God, regardless of their social standing, denomination, or size?

From there, we loaded up our things once again in Stella (our bus name) and headed off for Kigali. The drive was a great time to contemplate on the past days spent in Karangazi, Gahini, and other small towns. The land of Rwanda is just so beautiful that you can easily get lost in the awe of it all. Rwanda is often called “The Land of a Thousand Hills” and driving through the country definitely proved that title. Another thing I noticed was how much Rwanda was in the process of modernization. It is encouraging to see how much growth and potential is going on throughout the country.

"Bourbon Cafe"

After spending a week in the country and rural Rwanda, driving back into Kigali really opened our eyes to just how big of a city this place is! It’s just like being in a decent sized American city. We settled back into the place we are staying and some of us headed to a coffee shop up the road to relieve our coffee addiction. It was so good to get a delicious macchiato. 

The group then headed to a restaurant called “Heaven”. This place was so nice and very “Americanized”. I got a burger with cheese, onion, and barbeque sauce with a side of fries. I can’t explain to you how good it tasted after a week of rice, chicken, beans, plantains, and some kind of spinach dish. We were able to sit back and enjoy a relaxing night at the restaurant.

"A Night at Heaven"

It is hard to believe that our time in Gahini and Karangazi has come to an end. I have so many faces and people that I have come to love in those cities just from a week’s worth of getting to know them. I have been so encouraged by their simple faith that God is good all the time, regardless of circumstances. They don’t need much except the knowledge that the God of the universe loves them deeply and will always be there for them. This genuine joy and trust in the Lord is what I hope to take home with me. I can’t express enough how thankful I am to have been able to experience the time with those people. It is crazy to think that we only have three more days in Rwanda. We feel like we’ve been here for a long time, but the trip has flown by as well. Thank you again to everyone who has been reading our blog posts and praying for us throughout our trip.

-Kevin