Azizi (beautiful) Life...

What a fun day! I thought after the last post about the horror of the genocide, I would share some stories from the adventure we had living the life of a Rwandan village woman, well, for a few hours at least!

We left early and headed west in our coaster, out of the city and through the beautiful countryside of Rwanda. Little by little the shops and crowds and swarms of motorbikes thinned out and we were surrounded by flowers and rivers and green hills. And everywhere people working, digging, building, farming, all alone and in groups, it amazed me to see the labor of just living. I thought about how much time we waste here doing mindless things, how much sitting and watching we do, while the hours slip by. But for these, the work doesn't end, there is no easy way to provide food and shelter, it's all hard, endless work. After 2 hours of driving, we were ready to find out what a sip of that reality tasted like. This is their website https://azizilife.com and it's full of information about their co-ops, artisans and mission. Pretty amazing.
When we first sat down with our hosts, we listened as they told us their names (so sad that I didn't somehow write them all down and memorize them) their ages and marital status. Kind of summed it up about identity right there. It was funny how we all followed suit when it was our turn. They gave us skirts to wear and tied them on us in the traditional way. But before we could leave the room, they reminded us that they were Christian and we needed to start our time with prayer. And so we did.

Welcomed by the women in the co-op

First, we peel the yucca and potatoes!

On our way to get water

Hello, cow!! We cut grass and fed her by hand

The children came out to see the Muzungu (white people!)
 Such infectious joy in their giggles and smiles

Making friends!

Sweetness

COFFEE Beans!!

Waiting to come and play

Banana leaves for fuel 

There was almost a fight over this baby lol!

Lunch time!!!   Best. Avocado. Ever.

Weaving bracelets, we needed lots of help!

The spring, about 1/2 mile from the home

Precious sisters

Preparing the sisal for dyeing and weaving

Playing the Rwandan version of Duck Duck Goose. These kids were so precious, patient, and well behaved. 

In the midst of this experience, we connected with the hearts of these women. At lunch we sat around the table and shared about our families and asked questions about theirs. We had a wonderful interpreter, Eric, from Azizi that grew up in a similar village and shared with us about the fate of some of his family members during the genocide. It's a question you don't really ask here, out of respect, so when a person opens up and shares, you can't help but feel honored. 

One of our group asked the women about a time in their life when they felt brave. At first, I don't think they understood the question and I realized that brave isn't something they think about being, it's just what they do. They live their lives that way, moving forward in grace and doing what needs to be done. 

When an answer came, it leveled the rest of us. She shared about becoming a widow. Ok, I could relate, definitely need brave when that happens. But then she went on, about the shame of not having a husband, the insecurity of not having support, the brothers and other men that wanted to take advantage of her and when she refused, they burned her house down. The hardest part to hear was when she wondered about what she did to deserve this and hinted about her questions for God about it. My heart broke for her because I knew just how she felt. I may not have shared her complete story, but I knew that sorrow. I wished I could speak her language and sit and share with her about God's love for her and His goodness in the midst of it all. There's knowing and then there's knowing. Somehow the language and time constraints kept me from really sharing one on one with her, but I spent the rest of our time being near her, hugging her, smiling at her. Can you see her clutching my arm in the group photo? Melted my heart. Something that would happen again and again on this trip. 

At the end of the day, we danced and sang and piled back in the coaster to visit the shop and support our artisans! I have to say, we definitely did our part and it felt much more meaningful than just 'shopping.' It was a day full of insight and learning and understanding. And it was just the beginning.