Week in Rwanda

Pastors Paul 'Safari' and Rita Nzimbi

of The Nairobi Chapel church plant kindly hosted us for the week.

Trinity Chapel Kigali 

have a look at the photos for August 16

John was honoured to be asked to preach at the service.

 It was great to spend the week together as families.They have two boys, Benzi (11) and Ttei (4) and a girl Alika (10). Rita home schools the children and our boys joined in - shirtless as it was so hot! 

Below is their house. Rwanda was hot and humid, and very dry with a water shortage.

Finlay, Alika, Benzi, Ttei and Jesse 

Ttei and Emily, best friends for a week!!

Hanging out with church kids after the service.

Kigali central city - 

The city is about 2 million, but it is incredibly quiet and peaceful compared with the hustle and bustle of Nairobi. It is also incredibly clean, plastic bags are illegal in Rwanda. The city is extremely hilly. Rwanda is known as the country of a thousand hills.

Kigali has a strict building code requiring all homes to be built of permanent materials. 

bananas or tissues African style!!!

Meet Ashiraf, our World Vision sponsor child!

We had the privilege of meeting his family and having a look at The World Vision Kabuga development project, 

 New School built by partnership between World Vision and Rwandan government.

 World Vision Community greenhouse project run as  a co-op of 19 people in the Kabuga community, The tomatoes are able to supply a supermarket in Kigali, and the profits are able to provide Health Insurance for over 200 families within the community

locals from around the school. 

The Genocide Memorial Museum

We were also able to visit the genocide memorial in Kigali, it is a beautiful site, but sobering and difficult. The museum tells the story of the 1994 genocide in which over a period of 100 days around 1 million Rwandans (20% of the country's population) were killed, mostly with machetes and clubs by their fellow Rwandans. 

The country is still recovering from the trauma of these events. 

Please pray for the continued healing of the country and the people.

After a week of quiet streets, no traffic, and some space for reflection we landed back in Nairobi with a bang - a long drive from the airport along Mombasa Rd at rush hour and we were stopped alongside this bus - when one of its tires blew out!, the shockwave rattled the windows.

(the third most scariest moment of the trip for Connie!)

Welcome back to Nairobi!

A trip to the country - Muranga

This weekend we visited Muranga, a town 91 km northeast of Nairobi. John met Benard back in 2007 and stayed for a weekend with his parents Stanley and Rosemary. Since then Benard has married Perpetua and has two beautiful children; a girl Kelyn and a son Kamuel. They made us feel very welcome.

Stanley and Rosemary, on the farm, with granddaughters and one of their sons, who John didn't meet in 2007, as he was then is Southern Sudan. He now rides a boda boda around Muranga.

 Emily being welcomed into the family

 And on that farm there were some...

 and some...

An old tuk tuk, the backyard entertainment with the neighbours at Benard's and Perpetua's apartment.

Or nighttime football in the rain and mud!

 Baby Kamuel (3 months old)

 The church John preached in in 2007, it is now being doubled in size; this is the new part being built.

 The St James Cathedral, Muranga is famous for a series of five murals by Elimo Njau. Created in 1959, they tell the story of Christ's life in an African context. Above is the last supper.  If you are interested more info here. The article is by the lecturer of the course John took.

 Kelyn, Emily and Kamuel

St Paul's church,  in rural Muranga, about 15k out of town.

John and Benard, The service was in Kikuyu, the local tribal language, Benard translated during John's sermon.

 Walking to church

(Wherever there's a road in Africa there are always people walking)

 The scenery around Muranga: It's hilly and very lush. In parts reminded us of the West coast of South Island NZ. (without the banana trees and maize)

 Chatting with the local kids.

National Museum and Snake park

A visit to Nairobi National Museum and Snake Park

There were many many school's visiting from all over Kenya. We felt like exhibits ourselves as some of the children were so interested in us (especially of Emily).

A beautiful mosaic path and garden (Full of herbs for healing)

Cool seat

Snake Park: Note the sign

Also crocs at the snake park.

Green Mamba Snake. It had just shed it's skin.

Emily desperate to get down the stairs by herself.

Stained glass window in the entrance foyer.

Abuu - A musical instrument made from gourds.

A cross between a zebra and a giraffe!, Called a Okapi

A piece of art made of gourds.

A visit to the 1998 US embassy bombing memorial

On Sunday we spent some time here in these memorial gardens. This is where the US embassy stood until the bombing in 1998. It was the first attack by Al-Qaeda against America.  The bomb blast was enough to shatter windows for three blocks.  The target was the US embassy but it completely destroyed an office block adjacent killing hundreds of innocent Kenyans. We watched an hour long DVD about the attack and it was a moving time. It lead to very in-depth discussion with the boys. Quite a reminder that we live in a crazy fallen world much in need of God's forgiveness and grace.

213 people died on the 7th August 1998 (17 years ago on Friday)

A sculpture using pieces of twisted metal from the bomb site

This is the Corporate Bank building which beside the memorial site. We happened to park almost exactly where the truck was detonated.

Also on Sunday we worshipped at Mavuno Downtown - A granddaughter church of Nairobi Chapel. and afterwards had a wonderful lunch with the founding Pastor (Kyama) and his family.