More notes from Rwanda, Africa                                                 9-23-07 

 Church services in America are so short!  Even those boring one-hour sermons when the entire congregation is yawning and counting the number of buttons on the pastor's Sunday shirt do not compare to Rwandan services.  Some can go for as long as FIVE HOURS! We went to a short service, only four and one half hours, and we made sure we were two hours late.  We arrived at the two story cement building where the church meets in the Smyth's diesel Nissan at 10:00 AM.  We arrived mid way through one of the many sermons that occurred that day.  It was on the love of God and was preached by a woman in traditional Rwandan garb speaking loud Kinyarwanda.  Dan, Mrs. Smyth, and I had two translators.  One sat between the two of them, and the other was just out of my hearing range, as he was also translating for Pastor Rogers who is the senior pastor at the church.

Here is Ben with missionary Rich Smyth, an RN, preparing to treat any minor medical needs that the street boys have.

 Muraho!

 You would not believe the driving here!  Three lanes of traffic turn where only one should.  Every road is a passing zone.  Once, we passed a vehicle on the wrong side of the road because they would not move back to their side.  They fit twenty-five people into a Toyota bus (looks like a hippy bus), and drive until they run out of gas.  The motor taxis weave in and out of traffic with sometimes two people on the back.  I saw one go by on a main road with a sixteen foot length of 4" PVC pipe.  The pedestrians step into the traffic without looking both ways, and walk between stopped cars at the few stop lights that Kigali has.  We saw a UN truck run a red light the other day, it was pretty funny.  If you are turning left onto a road, you drive halfway across, wait for the other side to clear, and then proceed the rest of the way. 

 Three days ago we went to the street boys ministry on the other side of Kigali.  Nearly two hundred kids from 5 to 15 come there to eat lunch, and learn a little carpentry.  An enormous 3' by 3' pot of rice feeds all the children.  They can also get soap and water to wash themselves and their clothes.  We are going back there tomorrow to start Mr. Smyth's medical clinic.  Many of the children have infected cuts and other medical problems that need attention.