Hello! Well it’s mine and Lukes third full day here in Rwanda and I would say that we are adjusting well. I mean of course I’m still waking at about 1-2 oclock in the morning unable to go back to sleep so I’m pretty exhausted but other than that it’s going great. Luke and I started on the surgery team and we have been extremely busy. When we arrived we were definitely on an adrenaline rush. We were in Africa, meeting all of our friends, and ready for the adventure ahead! I can say now that the adrenaline has worn off and the tiredness has set in. I am impressed with the rest of the team and the energy and enthusiasm they are still able to put forth. I believe everyone is looking forward to a restful and rejuvenating weekend.

William and I went on a little exploring adventure today down to a local school. There is a medical student from New York, Carie, who took a sabbatical from school for a year to live here in Kibogora. She invited us to come play soccer with her and some of her friends and we were excited to be able to go. We had the basic idea of the direction to the school and after a few minor detours we found where we were supposed to be. From our complex to the school was probably about half mile walk and very steep decline down to the ”soccer field”. The children immediately swarmed William and his camera. Very shortly after we started playing we realized that a torrential downpour would be upon us soon, and also on Williams camera. We hightailed it back saving the camera but in the process almost dying ourselves. The steep decline turned into our Mount Everest and we were barely able to make it back without a lung exploding.

We are having a wonderful trip. There are many many heart breaking cases here for sure, but also some that offer hope. It’s would be easy to look at the despair and become overwhelmed and lost in the pain of the people here. But we must always remember the hope that we have in Christ. I’ll end with a verse: 

1 Peter 1:3-5; “According to his great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded by faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

-Bryan