So we’ve all heard about people eating salads and getting
horribly sick in foreign countries, but that’s because of an unintelligent
decision on the consumer’s part. What if
you did nothing wrong, but still got ill while traveling? Yes, that was my Monday.
Monday I woke up ready for the beginning of Hope Shine’s
2013 Camp at SINAPISI orphanage.
Excited, I woke up early, ate a huge breakfast, and started reviewing
the planned activities with the other volunteers. Then, suddenly, I felt “it.” I place quotations around “it” as “it” is the
thing you never want to feel when you’re traveling. “It” is the middle ground sensation deep in
your stomach of unsettled unhappiness. I
might even attach the title of, “ache” to what I felt inside my stomach.
I quickly assumed I was just nervous; as I was, and pushed
on to talk more. 15 minutes after I ate I had to excuse myself to regroup. Unfortunately regroup meant hugging the
porcelain throne for about 10 minutes.
My roommate, Kaliegh, walked in the room and I warned her of my need of close
proximity to the bathroom. The fear I
read on her face was the same emotion I was forcing myself to subdue. I did not want to admit that I was sick.
I gathered myself, walked down the stairs, out the door, and
into our mode of transportation to the SINAPISI orphanage.
If you’ve ever traveled you’ll understand that I had no
choice but to push forward. I had to
have faith that I could get through my day.
Monday was bigger than me, I had 100 children depending on me to show up
and spend time with them.
It’s moments like these that I love while I travel. Your life perspective opens up and you don’t
let anything get in the way of your mission.
From July 25, 2013-August 11, 2013 my mission is my kids in Rwanda. Sick isn’t an option.
If I had stayed home sick I wouldn’t have met little 2 year-old
Yuegette.
Yuegette is the most observant and helpful child I’ve come
across thus far in my life. This little
nugget is so smart, she has surprised me already so much in just three days
time.
On Monday all the kids were tracing out something and I just
gave Yuegette a piece of paper and showed her that she could draw whatever she
wanted. She’s a 2 year-old. She won’t be able to understand that the
older kids are tracing, let alone trace!
Wrong! She looked at
me really confused and then in about 5 minutes she stood up, grabbed the
template to trace, and attempted to trace it!
The tracing was an abstract interpretation, but this little child
actually did the project with everyone else!
As of recent, I’ve had people consistently ask me, “Why
Africa?” To me it’s quite simple as it’s
not about Africa, but it’s about Anne Marie, Sophia, Diane, Etien, Poseidon,
Anita, Rita, Sonya, Mary, Marta, Linda, Linka, Mucho, Ivan, Jean de la Croix,
Jean Paul, Elvis, Diana, Jenifer, Odielia, Kesia, and many more…
I think we spend so much time looking at the big picture and
not at the little details. My kids here
in Kigali are the little details and they challenge my emotions, my spirit, my
temper, and most importantly my heart everyday.
I look forward to these next two days with my SINAPISI kids,
but also loathe the fact that it’s only two more days. Saying goodbye is always the most difficult.
Until next time,
Chelsea
