[Rwanda]

It is very refreshing after a good nights sleep under a mosqitoe net, to be awaken by a nearby church singing worship songs in the Rwandan language. I can’t help but think today that every morning is truly a brand new day and gift. I can choose to remember yesterday, and dwell on the worries of life, or choose to life today to the best of my abilities and let go of the small stuff and keep my heart opened. Yes, my heart might get hurt at times, but taking chances are worth it because I am worth it. Today, I am going to let it all go and let God be. And I hope you do too! Today, I am going to see Kigali, the markets, and the genocide memorial. I will write when I get back.DAY 2: Afterthoughts of the Day

My day was definitely NOT what I expected. I felt a sickness all day, that not even food or throwing up could take away. It is one thing to read about or see pictures of the Rwandan genocide, but it is another to see it with your very own eyes. You yourself would be sick too of what a true horror it all was. I’ll see forget when I saw the array of bullets holes that left a bloody stain on the side of buildings.


I walked through rooms of pictures all over the wall, faces of men, women, and children who have been murdered in cold blood. The rows upon rows of skulls and bones, many of them with bullet holes, especially in the skulls of children brought tears for my eyes. Rows…and rows…of skulls…. Families were killed by family friends, people they trusted but yet they still kill because of who they are.

Women tortured physically, only to die by a machete, rifle, or suffocation. Numerous children were forced to kill their own family before killing themselves by force. Some Rwandans were forced to take a machete or a rifle to their own family members. Many children saw their parents be chopped up before being suffocated or choked. Some were shot and their bodies fell into a deep pit with thousands of other bodies. Many women were put in septic tanks after they were tortured and beaten. What is torture? Your eyes being taken out, fingers chopped up, being shot so you live, legs chopped off, …and left to LIVE for days and then finally shot. Yes, I am being very vivid.

Seeing a heap of clothing ripped and stained by blood is disturbing. The most interest part: no one did anything about it. The government did not stop it, international countries did not come to help, and local missions left. These murders were happening and no one stopped it. The sickness and sorrow I feel is overwhelming.

My driver refuses to go inside the memorials because it brings on too many feelings, as he is a survivor himself. You can do nothing but cry when you see the mass graves of so many Rwandans, a quarter of a million bodies in these mass graves. I ONLY SAW a quarter million graves…two million were murdered.

Today, I also went to the home of the man who was president right before the genocide. The day before the genocide started, the president’s airplane was shot down as he was coming home to Kigali. It just so happened that his plane crashed on the property behind his home. To see a plane crash, never cleaned up, never touched is heart-wrenching and chilling….