Rough nights often lead to interesting days. Today was one of them.
Alycia was asked to be a part of the media team for the conference being held here--meaning she is helping some of the young people set up the blog for the conference, take pics, etc. The team came over to the hotel this morning to do some work. It was fun hanging behind the scenes watching all the action.
Then we headed over to the conference itself. As we climbed out of the cabs we were immediately met with sniper fire and the secret service rushed us over to the...wait a minute. I must be sleep deprived. For a moment I thought I was running for president, trying to beef up my foreign experience credentials.
The conference is hosting about 70 young people (18-35) from Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda. The purpose is to talk about how to bring about reconciliation--a timely topic especially for the Rwandans.
We got there in time for a some singing and lunch. Then we had the first session lead by a Rwandan government official who talked about the reconciliation process in Rwanda. It poured rain during the event so it was very refreshing once we could open the windows again.
There are two pastors here from California. They also have a sister church in Rwanda. Both brought a couple of youth from their church.
Right before the session I had a chance to chat with Josephat. Josephat belongs to a Lutheran church in Kenya that was recently burned down during the political uprisings. Quite a story. The church, preschool, and pastor's house were all burned. The church decided that rather than rebuild, they first need to rebuild their community--to bring about peace and healing. He talked of the new sports teams they've put together and the hope of seeing something great happen.
During the political unrest he came across a friend who had been slashed and beaten. Josephat didn't quite know what to do. On the one hand, if he stopped to help, those who beat the man would beat Josephat. On the other, he couldn't turn his back on the man. Thankfully someone drove up at that moment and they put the beaten man into the car. Josephat has no idea what happened to him. Imagine having to make that decision!
He also talked about how difficult it was being forced to use weapons to protect his property. As a Christian he struggled with whether or not he was actually protecting his home or doing the attacking. Hard to get our brains around such a world. He, along with other Kenyans, are hopeful that the new agreements will bring peace.
So quite an eventful few hours.
Alycia is currently crashing, thank goodness! Once she wakes up I'm hoping we can head out for some pizza. I don't think I can tolerate one more ham and cheese sandwich.
2 comments:
The value of traveling is you do run across people from varied situations and backgrounds so it's great to hear some of these stories. Can't imagine all that the peoples of Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya have been through.
Can you also explain more about the ham sandwiches? Is it a Rwandan taste treat or are they all the hotel cooks? Inside joke that we have to travel to Rwanda to understand?
No inside joke on the sandwiches. I am a very cautious eater, especially in places like Africa. So I really limit myself as to what I think is safe, which is usually a ham and cheese sandwich. :)
Post a Comment