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Seeing More

I am undone by the beauty and promise of the people I am encountering in Rwanda.   

I see creativity.   Off to the side of the dirt road there is a small boy smiling as her plays with a bicycle rim, rolling it down the slight incline.

 I see necessity.   The branches within reach have been stripped from the tree trunk to to be used for a fire to cook their meal. I see stacks of mud bricks being formed and placed in the sun to dry.  I see sturdy tree branches and trunks being used as roof trusses.  It seems every thing God has provided is needed for provision and shelter.

I see hope and expectancy
as a wedding party make their way down the dusty road. the bride is dressed in white, beautiful and smiling as family and friends make their way to the church.  This marriage promises belonging and new beginnings.

I see pain and suffering as a young teenage girl approaches me. Her hand extended asking for help. She points to her withered hand, deformed from birth or a trauma. I wonder if she comes on her own or if someone requires her to beg.  It would be easier to look away but I can't I know my eyes must remain open for me to see. As we drive away, my heart bursts and the tears begin to flow.  I am being awakened to the world beyond what I know.
I see the future bundled on her mother's back. Walking along the road and working in the fields I see mother's with babies swaddled tightly on their backs. The future clings to the security and safety found in their mother's presence.

I see promise  in the rich, fertile soil. There is something that glistens in this soil, a shiny substance that catches the light of the sun.

 There is promise and potential in all people, especially in this land and within the people we are meeting through  ALARM, Inc. in Rwanda.

This land and its people are resilient. They are warm and welcoming.

I am finding that even though thousands of miles separate us, we belong to each other and our world is one in the same.

As we listen and look around, we see more and more what is and what is possible. 

 And there is more to come...
www.AfricanWomensLeadershipTraining.org

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