Post and Pictures by Leska Meeler (board member for R&H - thoughts on the Board of Directors trip to Africa from 1/28/2010 - 2/8/2010
10 days in Africa… It has been a week since I arrived back on American soil and even though I am back in my familiar surroundings with my daily routine, I will never be the same. The journey to get there has been a long time coming, almost 19 years, but well worth the wait.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, I had heard stories, seen pictures, but nothing is like seeing Africa with your own eyes. And boy, did we see Africa! Three of the board members joined Jade and Shelah on a 10 day excursion to see 8 different towns/villages in 3 different countries (Uganda, Rwanda, and DRC Congo), plus all the places in between. I didn’t want to close my eyes for fear that I would miss something. And, though their were many LONG, bumpy, entertaining drives and flights… the journey was rich.
I hadn’t really thought about traffic in Africa, but New York or Los Angeles would get a run for their money for crowded streets, honking horns, dare-devil drivers, and traffic jams. It would have been funny, well, who am I kidding, it WAS funny, in spite of the fact that I was sitting in the front seat holding on the bar in front of me for my dear life! … And I thought Alabama drivers were aggressive.
No matter where we were (top of a 9000 foot mountain, or the middle of nowhere); what time of day/night it was; or whether it was raining or blistering hot, there were seas of people everywhere. I couldn’t scan a remote area without seeing someone a few yards away, either walking along the road, or towards a field or village. I could hardly wait to sit and talk with people one on one.
My first experience with the people was at a church in Kaberamaido. We walked into the ‘bi-lingual’ service, but my ear hadn’t quite gotten familiarized with the dialect, so, every once in a while I could pick out what they were saying. However, the most unusual feeling overcame me as I sat, overwhelmed with the beautiful sounds coming from the congregation. They were singing, praising the same God that I praise… I couldn’t understand the words, but the realization that our voices were being heard all the same by Jesus swept over me and I couldn’t stop the tears from coming down my cheeks. I heard the same sounds coming from the widows and children in Outoboi when we arrived. They were so happy and joyful, excited about our visit. I have never met such an exuberant group of people, so happy, in spite of their circumstances.
By this time in the trip (about day 2), I started seeing the vision and ministry that Jade and Shelah had spoken about so many times. The needs are overwhelming in these countries; it is hard to pinpoint where to start. However, God has given the Acker’s a beautiful discipleship model for the people they are working with. They are taking individuals and training them, providing educational opportunities, opportunities to grow their own food, start their own businesses, and the really cool part is that these individuals are taking this information and bringing it back to their villages, families, and friends to train them. For instance, the widows will pool their resources each month and select one lady to start her own business. Making a difference one person at a time, reaching 100’s, even 1000’s through the impact of those individuals. I love it!!!!
My favorite part of the trip was getting to spend time with the original purpose of Refuge & Hope, the Sudanese guys. I was able to spend a little time visiting with Saudi and Lino at the Acker house. It was really great to get to know them a little after hearing about them over the last 6 years, I felt like they were old friends.. Hee hee, poor Lino came back after a mission trip and finds me in the office with such excitement saying, “Welcome home LINO!” I am sure he was thinking, ‘Who is this crazy lady!?’
Then there is Harriet and Peter…. What a blessing they are to Jade and Shelah! They work in the office and in the field with R&H. They are 2 of the most flexible, professional, and passionate people I have met. I am so thankful that the Ackers have quality people like these two surrounding them and supporting the ministry. The people in the different towns/villages were so responsive to both of them.
As a counselor and someone who has worked with foster children for the last 11 years, I thought I had seen the worst of the worse situations. I have an image now etched on my brain of a baby girl, less than one year old, sitting in the middle of a busy intersection median. She was crying, it looked like she had a sore on her foot, and there was no sign of a parent anywhere to be found. I couldn’t look away… everything in my body wanted to just look away, but I couldn’t. Then walking into the churches where the Rwandan genocides happened, actually seeing all the clothes and bones of the victims. I remember looking down and seeing a little shoe of a child whose last memory was of this brutal and horrific slaughter and my heart wrenched.
I had seen a movie about the genocide and cried, but it wasn’t personal, it wasn’t a permanent image. Going through the memorial, our driver John who was a Tutsi and had lost 11 family members in the genocide, John saw a picture of both his uncle and cousin. We walked through together and read how easily propaganda, corrupt politicians, and other nations could have stopped this slaughter of over a million Tutsi’s. Politics had always been safe and kind of a nuisance until now… now, understanding what was happening in politics had a new relevance to protecting people and preventing horrific things from happening. World news had now walked through the front door of my life and sat down on my couch permanently etched in my brain.
I grieved for the suffering and loss I saw. But more than that, I rejoiced at the hope I saw in those who had experienced these tragedies. Rwanda has moved forward and seem to be a city that has not forgotten their past in 1994, but is trying to have a better future for their children. The children in Goma, which at first sight seemed desolate and grim, one of the most impoverished places I had ever seen, face to face were laughing and playing, they had such an amazing force of life within them. They loved life and had hope in spite of their circumstances. I didn’t leave feeling sad; I left feeling hope. The people in these 3 African countries gave me the gift of hope in humanity, hope for how God can bring light in the most desolate place and horrific displays of anger and hate, and hope in how healing can come to those that have experienced tragedies that we can’t even imagine.
You can’t come to Africa without being changed. I fell in love with the people, the places, the country… I have gone outside my little bubble of the world and seen suffering, seen a way of life world’s apart from what I have always known, I have been where I am the very small minority and I don’t understand the language…. I would think I would be glad to be back in my comfortable world after experiencing that, but it is odd, I don’t ever want to forget and can’t wait for my next visit so I can have more time to spend getting to know the people.
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