First Update from Our House!

Just a quick update to say that we're in our house!  Last night was camping-out-style!  Today, however, we borrowed a table and 4 chairs from the Soucy's, had Internet installed at our house (= able to school!!), Mom & I went shopping with Kathleen and picked up a couple of power-regulator-serge-protector-type boxes that we need for our computers, etc, some extension cords/serge protectors, as well as bunch more kitchen/house hold items until we ran out of money!, and Dad was able to get 3 of our Visas...we have to get a "long birth certificate" for me to prove that Mom & Dad are my parents (not sure why Caleb's didn't get nabbed!). 

We decided we needed to eat out for supper, as our stove is not yet usable, and we're basically out of food, so there is a restaurant very close to us that we haven't tried yet that we decided to go to.  On our way in, we saw a chef type guy running out...that was a bad sign!  Two and a half hours later, we finally left!  Our poor waitress wasn't having a very good night.  She didn't know much English, so when the menu finally came (after at least 20 minutes), and not much was grabbing our interests on the menu, we asked if you could still order breakfast even though it was supper, and she seemed to think that we could.  She came back after a while to take our orders, and she says that we can't actually order breakfast.  Mom & Dad told her theirs, while Caleb & I scrambled to figure out what we were going to order.  We get that seen to, and then after another chunk of time, came back to say that the normal chef wasn't there because of an accident, so basically the only thing we could order was brochette and French fries!  So we said OK, Mom got beef, Dad got goat, and C & I got fish.  Another note--the power had been off the whole time, but we think that it may have been turned off because of the accident as places around us seemed to have it on.  Then we waited at least another half hour before she came back to say that, as the power was finally on, it would be another 15 minutes or so, and is that OK?  I think it ended up being around 8:00 by the time the food finally arrived.  It did taste really good, however, so that was good!

I think we're all about ready for bed now!!  Tomorrow Caleb only has a half day of school.  And I'm planning on taking the day off, considering our lifestyle at the moment, and hopefully we'll be more settled by Monday!  We're also going with Kathleen tomorrow to order our furniture and beds, etc, and possibly a few other things as well.

Here's a couple of pictures I took while out shopping:

A guy carrying 10 mattresses on his head!

 

One of the taller towers of boxes that I saw being
balanced on a guy's head!

On the Move Again!!

Life is continuing to speed by at a fast and furious pace...hence, my lack of posts!  On Sunday we investigated which church to go to, and were thinking of going to the AEBR church up the street, but Pastor Andre M. was away, and it would be more appropriate for him to be there to introduce us.  So, we ended up going to CCR again.  We went out to lunch with Bruno, and then spent the afternoon at home.  This coming Sunday we are going to go to the AEBR church up the street, and then the next 2 Sundays we are travelling with Pastor Andre to 2 different churches, so we can be introduced at some regional meetings.  One of them is almost to the Congo border!  However, because Rwanda is so small, they are all just day trips (maybe long days, but days nevertheless!). 

On Monday, I started back to school again, and had a good day.  Mom and Dad went in the morning to the CBM team meeting, and then on to the bank with Bruno to do the money transfer for the house.  The branch close to us was closed, so they had to go down town to do it.  Then they got dropped off at their LAMP course.  When that was finished, they headed over with Andre Sibomana to sign the house contract with the owner. There were still a couple of things being fixed, so the plan was to get the keys last night.  That also got pushed back, so we are getting them this morning.  Bruno made a yummy sausage-tomato-based-noodle casserole for supper, which was really delicious!  We have discovered a few of our DVDs that we brought with us, so before bed we watched half-an-hour of the movie Hoodwinked.  Both Caleb & I have seen it, but neither Mom or Dad has. 

Tuesday was another busy day!  I had good day of school--because I worked longer on US History on Monday, it didn't take me very long, and then I had Evaluations in 2 of my other subjects, which are graded, but don't take as long, so I managed to finish before lunch!  Mom and Dad headed down town, and were able to buy a fridge, stove, washing machine, sheets, towels, utensils, dishes, cleaning supplies, etc, etc!  So they got back just in time to grab a sandwich and head off to LAMP.  Then they met with the owner (supposed to get the keys, but didn't happen), and finally arrived home around 7.  Caleb had worked hard to get his homework done, and we were planning on having the rest of the frozen pizza from the bagel place for supper, so Caleb & I concocted a plan, and put some pop in the fridge, got the pizza out to thaw, and set the table.  Then when Mom & Dad got home, we brought the fully-charged computer out to the table and continued to watch Hoodwinked while eating pizza & drinking pop!  We even had a smidgen of ice cream left over that we had for dessert!  So it was a very yummy & fun night!

All this brings us to today--moving day!!  Mom & Dad and Jeanne headed over to the house after Dad took Caleb to school (with a car full of suitcases!), to firstly get the keys, but also be around when the fridge, washing machine, and stove are delivered.  Also, to start cleaning the place.  And then they will head to their last LAMP class.  Because Caleb is getting dropped off here at the Soucy's and we don't have Internet yet, I'm staying here all day.  Then, after Mom & Dad are done their course, they'll come back here, and we'll move the rest of our suitcases and belongings, as well as transporting the mattresses over to our house.  And then we shall sleep in what are now our own beds!!

Tomorrow will probably be spent doing some more shopping, as there are still some near-necessities that we don't have yet.  And we'll try to get Internet set up at our house, so I can hopefully only miss one day of school.

Hope you're having a great week!  We continue to appreciate your prayers for our family!

A HUGE chocolate bar that we found at one of the
grocery stores.  It also costs $115!!!

Sick!

I am very happy to report that I am on the mend!  It hasn't been a very fun week for me!  Monday & Tuesday I didn't feel the greatest, and then Wednesday I spent throwing up and sleeping, and Thursday & Friday still feeling pretty miserable.  But whatever it was seems to have worked itself out of my system, and I'm looking forward to tackling school again on Monday!

Because of being sick, I wasn't out much this week; Mom & Dad, however, had quite a busy week!  I think I mentioned that an opportunity had come up for them to attend a LAMP course (Language Acquisition Made Practical), and that has been happening since Wednesday, in the afternoons, 1-5.  So, that has taken up both time and mental energy!  It finishes up this week on Wednesday.  We have also been moving ahead with the house.  This past week, the owner looked over the contract we had put together, and Mom & Dad met with him and the broker on Thursday after their language course.  The repairs had yet to be done, although the electricity was fixed, so they walked through the house with him, and he made calls as they went arranging for them to be fixed.  The plan is to go over this afternoon to see if the stuff has been fixed, and if it has, on Monday we'll do the transfer, and then sign the contract!  We have purchased mattresses, and have made a list of the necessities we need before we can move in!

Other exciting news this week, is that Caleb started band class in school, and is learning to play the trombone!  He is quite excited and this weekend has brought it home to practise!

I don't think we know yet what we are doing for church tomorrow; we may be going with Andre Sibomana to an AEBR church.

Have a good weekend everybody!!

2 Weeks Ago!

It's really weird that 2 weeks ago right now, we were landing at the Kigali airport!  When going through transitions like this, time seems to s l o w  d o w n and speed up simultaneously!  In some ways, it's amazing all that we've got done and experienced in that time, and yet it also feels like yesterday we were pulleying 70 tubs up into my grandparent's barn!

Yesterday, Sunday, we went to CCR for church.  Caleb was able to point out some of his classmates and teachers, and we were able to meet some more people.  After church we went to New Fiesta for lunch, and while we were waiting for our food to come, Abdoul came in (first house broker and owner of the restaurant) and we were able to chat with him for a while.  It's good to be able to start building our own relationships with people (instead of just through the Soucy's for example).  Then we just stayed at home for the rest of the day.  We ended up playing Oh Stink, a card game that Mom & Dad used to play with the Fawcett's and Prosser's in their ABC days.  It has some interesting strategy, so Caleb & I had quite the time figuring it out!

Today is the national holiday for Idul Fitri since it was on Saturday, so Caleb had another day off school!  I got up though and had another good day of school!  I do love school!  We were going to see a car, but the guy wasn't able to bring it.  And then we were invited to the Maxwell's for some cake and tea, and the Gaskell's were there too.  For Caleb, going to the Maxwell house involves visiting his Headmaster, home room teacher, and classmate!  And Mr. Gaskell is the band teacher.  Grace is their oldest daughter is also in 12th grade, so it was good to make that connection.  Mom & Dad had to bop out in the middle to go to a quick meeting with Pastor Andre, but C & I just stayed on at the Maxwell's.

We managed to have the stuff to make a tuna casserole type meal for supper, and then we had lots of fun washing dishes and listening to our favourite Amy Grant Christmas album!  Dad, C & I are going to play a game, I think, so I'm going to wrap this up.

One thing I forgot to mention was that last Friday, our Visa applications were all accepted, so we should hopefully have them by the end of this week (prayer request!).  Mom and Dad have the LAMP course going on from Wednesday to Wednesday afternoons--another prayer request!

Thank-you for supporting us and praying for us!!  We really wouldn't be able to do this without you!

Update!

It's been a few days since I posted, so now I have something to write about (and some more pictures, too!).

Caleb had his first full day of school on Thursday, and it went well.  They had an assembly/chapel that day, and then on Friday he had his first PE.  It was based on the Olympics, and he won 2 gold!  I had a really good day of school on Friday...it was long, but a lot got done!

On Friday afternoon, we went to see Potential House #1 with electricity on, and meet the owner.  We continue to feel positive about it, however Moses had found a couple more and we thought it'd be good to look at a few more before jumping at the first one.  So this afternoon we went for a few hours and looked at 5 other house...and we are very thankful he found the first one!  A couple of the houses were like ones that I had tried to lower my expectations to at the beginning, but now that we have the first one, we want it.  Mom did like the lay-out of one of them, but the location isn't as good.  And 2 were too far away from either area we wanted to be near (the AEBR/CBM offices or KICS).  So we're sending a list of what needs to be done in Potential House #1, and a potential contract to the owner.

This morning we went to the Bagel place again for breakfast...yum!!  Last week was crazy busy, and this week it was really calm!  We saw the family that we met at church and the pool last week again, and then met a guy from Western Canada affiliated with the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada.  Dad had a shirt on that has "Vancouver" across the front, and as we were getting ready to leave we passed by him, and he says "Vancouver...I'm from Victoria."  So we said we were from East Canada, and he proceeded to introduce himself, and we chatted for a few minutes.  Then, as the conversation was winding down, Mom said that we were the Bustin family, and he pauses and says "Bustins...hmmm."  We're, of course, thinking nobody's going to have any connection to us yet!  So we tell him we're with CBM, when he says that he's from the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada, and that he's prayed for us, etc!  So it was quite a funny way of meeting--in Rwanda!

Tomorrow we are planning to go to CCR (international church), as Caleb will know some of the people.  Oh, also Mom & Dad are going to attend a LAMP course this week (Wed-Wed afternoons) that is learning how to learn Kinyarwanda.  It is a really good opportunity, so they are going for it, even though they weren't originally planning on starting language stuff till September.  So, we're going to go with Andre Sibomana to his church next week.

A fun thing that we've started doing has to do with Christmas music.  We have a family rule that we only listen to Christmas music at Christmas time (November 1st - mid-January).  However, when we are living semi-normal lives, we do a run-through in the summer, when we listen to our family classics, and then maybe each choose a couple that we want to listen to.  With the craziness of these past few months, though, we never had time to even consider doing that!  Every night after supper, we clean up and wash and dry the dishes together as a family to ward off bug attacks, and keep the place clean.  So I had the idea that while we wash the dishes we put on our family classics.  So for the last couple of nights, it's been really exciting to wash the dishes!!

We're continuing to explore the city, and find out where things are, etc.  I think we're all to the point of wanting to get a house and be able to unpack more than 2 suitcases and finally get settled.  We continue to really appreciate your prayers for us as we transition, and figure out a new way of life!

The sunrises continue to amaze us!

Have a great weekend!!

Tuesday/Wednesday of the First Week of School

Yesterday was my second day of school, although my first full day.  It went quite well...it was on the long side, but I'm still getting used to things.  I'm gonna really miss math this year as it was my relaxing course.  However, I do know that next semester I have a couple of different ones, including Photography!  So it'll be worth the wait and hard work this semester!

First Day of Grade 8!

First Day of Grade 12!!

Caleb had his first day of school yesterday.  It also went really well; thank-you for your prayers!  He had already met the Headmaster and band teacher, and when Mom & Dad took him in, he met a few kids in his class.  He said that that was really good, as it was on the confusing side when they had to change classrooms, so it was good to be able to follow those kids and know he was heading in the right direction.  He has 7 periods, and will probably be taking band this semester, which he is looking forward to!

Caleb has been dying to go swimming, so this afternoon we finally conceded!  We went to the one at the hotel near us, and it was a bit busier because it was a holiday, but still really nice.

Oh!  Anther thing that happened today was that Moses, our second house broker, called this morning with a house for us to look at.  So we met up before lunch, and he took us there.  It's just past the Hotel, on the road that leads to the hospital.  That road is paved, and the road leading off of that, so it's really only one hill, and a tiny bit that's the mud.  The house seems really promising!  I had tried to lower my expectations, as we didn't know what to expect, and also coming from a duplex last year,. this place is perfect!  There are 2 bedrooms upstairs (master and 1 child) and 2 bathrooms (again, 1 master and 1 other).  Then there's a large open room and a small office-type room.  Downstairs, there's a pantry and kitchen, as well as the 3rd bedroom and bathroom.  There's a nice back yard, and a patio off of every room upstairs!  There are also lots of windows, so it's very bright and lit up, which we all are pleased with.  So, we're putting together a list of some things that need to be done before we write the contract.  Thank-you everyone for your prayers!!!

I need to go try to understand vectors for physics, so ijoro ryiza for tonight!

An African sunrise!

School & the Memorial

Today was another full day.  I started school this morning, and I'm ready to dive into it again tomorrow.  Mom & Dad went to the CBM team meeting this morning at the CBM office -- and Dad drove home from it, as Bruno was heading to the airport.  After lunch we went as a family to the Genocide Memorial and spent over 3 hours there.  It has a museum part that you walk through, looking at displays and listening to a "tour guide" explanation type thing which has three sections: 1 - the time leading up to and after the Rwandan genocide, 2 - a section about other genocides that have happened around the world, 3 - a section about some of the children who were slaughtered during the Rwandan genocide.  Then there are gardens all around the museum that represent different things, and have different types of trees and flowers planted in them.  Lastly, there is a mass grave where 250,000 people are buried (which is about a quarter of the people who were massacred) and a Wall of Names.

mass graves

mass graves

It's hard to believe that we've been here a whole week already!  Caleb starts school tomorrow at KICS, so it's a big day for him; we appreciate your prayers!!

Our First Sunday!

We went to the International church that's affiliated with KICS.  It was good, quite a mix of people, and worship songs in both English and Kinyarwanda.  After church we mingled for a few minutes and then went to "New Fiesta" (Abdoul's restaurant) for lunch.  Then we got a bit more of the tour from Bruno before he leaves tomorrow, showing us where the pools & tennis courts are, and where to pay for our Visas on Monday.  While we were at one of the pools, we saw the same family that sat behind us in church, so we were able to talk some more with them.  He is doing similar things to what Dad will eventually be doing.  I think we're just home for the rest of the day, resting some.  I'm planning on starting school tomorrow, and we're going to go to the Memorial (Genocide) tomorrow afternoon.  Caleb starts school on Tuesday.  So a busy week ahead of us.  Here's some more snapshots from the last couple of days.

This is the view from our hill of the complex where the
international church is and where KICS is located.

Kids playing soccer!

 This is what we got our receipt in at the restaurant at lunch time.

Saturday!

We did start out the day by going to donought/bagel spot, which turns out to be "muzungu" central ("white person").  It had a Cap Nona feel to it, and we can see it becoming our new Saturday morning tradition!

After that, we went to the bank to finish getting our account set up, then to Frulep to get a few more groceries, and then to New Fiesta to visit Abdoul (just make sure he knows that we're quite urgent about getting a house!).  I was pretty weary & ready to just be at home by this point.  We came home and had leftover tacos for lunch, and then read/built legos/and played a game of Uno until 5-ish.

Then we went out to the "Kigali China Great Wall Restaurant" and had supper (more like Chinese/Indonesian Chinese food than Canadian Chinese food!).  The view, yet again, was amazing.

This evening, we've gone over some cultural/STM stuff with Bruno.  Tomorrow we're going to the church affiliated with KICS, so hopefully we'll start to meet some people there, especially as Caleb starts school on Tuesday.  I've been working on getting my schedule ready for school and I'm hoping to start on Monday.

Here's a few other pictures I've taken in the last couple of days.

A Busy Friday

The internet's back!  Today (maybe because of the rain the past couple days) was much less hazy than it's been, so we could see further.  This is the view from the CBM office.

Bruno Soucy arrived last night and is here until Monday.  So today was spent running around town getting a bunch of things done.  We went to the CBM office first and used the internet there, and were there until lunch time.  We then picked Caleb up from home and went to a very important place -- the post office!

After checking the mail, we waited for a bit in a minor traffic jam on our way to a buffet place for lunch.




traffic jam



Karibu - restaurant we ate lunch at

We then went to a photo place to get some passport-size pictures done (you need them for everything here, from opening a bank account to getting a swimming membership), to souvenir-type place (where I added 2 new key chains to my collection!), the bank to open our account, and then the foreign money exchanger's.

There are garbage cans hanging everywhere you go.

Because the city is so hill-y, there are lots of walls like these
throughout Kigali.

The plan is to start off tomorrow going to a doughnut/bagel/bakery place.  I'll let you know how it goes!! :-)

Internet's Back - Photo Update!!

Caleb crashed on Gato's floor after sleeping very little the
night before!

An article in a magazine about the AEBR.
That's Reverend Andre M in the picture.
Note the Kinyarwanda!

Touching my first African rain!

One of my sheets with words we're learning.

At the check-out - plastic bags are illegal in Rwanda, so
everything is paper bags!

price of gas

What rain does to dirt roads (picture red PEI mud).

Mom is very happy that Frangipani are grown here.

Poinsettias!



Very amazing and interesting flower!

Traditional bee hive.



Mangoes, anyone?

Right, Uncle Den?

The restaurant owned by our house broker.

The source of the Nile is located in
Rwanda...hence the name of this
water company.

With all of the hills around, this is quite a common
site - either looking down at it, or up at it!

The grocery store that is like Kaiser or Ligo in Pontianak.

Inside the store - there were 3 aisles like this plus the
produce section.

A lot of things have the gorillas on them.

There seems to be LOTS of Gouda cheese.

Some unexpecteds - Smarties!! ...

... And even more unexpected - Canadian maple syrup!!