A Few Of My Favorite Things

It is hard to believe that I have been here for four weeks already! In many ways it feels like the time has gone by very, very quickly. In other ways, it feels like a lifetime ago that I was saying goodbye to my mom and brother at the airport. Regardless, I have come across many things that I love here in Rwanda and I thought I would share some of them with you:

• Walking to work and then home again in evenings and being stared at by the schoolchildren. Most are brave and say, "Bonjour" and their smiles become a million miles wide when I start speaking French back to them.
• Going for runs in the morning and seeing the sun rise over the hills of Kigali
• Chapati - why I have to run in the first place
• Clemence, my office mate, who makes me laugh more than anyone else here
• The guards - whether it be at the office or at home - they are so cute and I just want to hug them all (no worries, I won't)
• Song 146 in the green song book. I don't know what it says but I constantly have it stuck in my head
• Spending time journaling. I don't do it nearly as much as I wish I did but when I do, I love it
• Getting emails and facebook messages from home.
• CitrusMint gum - my after lunch treat
• The smiles of the pastors that we come in contact with and the huge hearts that they have for their congregations
• The old women who always hug me and and grab my hands. I'm not sure what they are saying to me but I could "talk" to them all day
• Walking home past the embassies and the Rwandan "White House" every day - kind of like DC...
• The 75 degree weather every day

I'm sure there are a million more but these are the ones that come to mind immediately as I sit here. Life is good and I'm happy.