African Church Party!

I've done three computer training sessions now, each very different. In Kibungo, I taught some of the basics of computers, networks, and the internet, teaching primarily in Swahili. Now I'm in Kigali where I'm talking to the LWF staff about creating a CMS-powered website for them with the understanding that they would maintain it.

African Church Party! We visited a large Anglican church near Kirihe where Pastor John talked to the youth about about his model for community building. After his seech and some words of thanks and encouragement from the various pastors in attendance, plus Luther Place singing "This Little Light of Mine" they turned on the keyboards and everyone in the church (200 people?) jumped up and ran to the front of the church and started dancing at a pace where I was glad they didn't go on for more than maybe 10 minutes. It was like the Kanisa barabara that I used to hear in Kenya but in which I never participated.

After my morning in Kibungo, I travelled by matatu to Kigali. This was a much easier process than I'm used to from Kenya. The vehicle had a posted schedule and left on time, even though there were a few seats empty.

Once I arrived in Kigali, I wandered around downtown looking for lunch and didn't find much. I called John who passed me to someone who told me how to get to LWF. I wouldn't have found it if I hadn't met Agnes (or, in fact, one of the other 1,000s of people here who be glad to help me.) She was going almost the same way, but went the last leg of her commute by motorcycle. I might have done the same if I hadn't seen the accident on the way up from Kibungo. I saw a group of people putting a woman on a stretcher, her body limp so hopefully unconscious and not dead into an ambulance; the motorcycle was lying in the grass in the median.

I'm appreciating Joan very much. It is unusual for me to operate as a solitary individual and I hope it is doing some good things for me that she will notice when I return. And I'm grateful to Beth for helping Joan while I'm away.