We’re all dead tired tonight. Catherine has had a big day with the kids, I had a busy one at the hospital (4 gastroscopies, 2 colonoscopies, a surgical consult and a few ward patients,with lots of admin in between) and no-one slept much last night.
William and I had a long day yesterday; a 13 hour round trip to Kigali. William was very excited to have a day outing with his dad, even though we warned him in advance it would mostly involve travelling, queuing and shopping. And so it proved to be! We did the 2 and a half hour trip on the bus each way, caught 2 minibuses and a motorbike around the suburbs of Kigali, shopped at 3 supermarkets and 2 bookshops, spent an hour each at the Directorate of Immigration and Tigo Internet office. William walked everywhere and was beautifully behaved, only putting his foot down when it got to 1.30pm and lunch still hadn’t arrived (breakfast had been at 7am). He seems to be entering a new phase of relationship and language learning, quizzing our student fellow traveller on the bus about how to say “dog”, “tree”, “handle” and about 70 other animals and objects in Kinyarwanda. The other day he held up a knife and asked Catherine what it was called in Kinyarwanda… while she was still racking her brains for the word, he answered his own question: “icyuma”!
The good news from the Kigali trip is we now should have a stable, if somewhat limited, internet connection, as well as having our passports back, complete with holographic Rwandan visas valid until Dec 31st! We still need to make 2 more trips to Kigali to submit and collect our “green card” identity papers, but progress is definitely being made. We also test drove a car last weekend, but decided to keep looking, which probably involves more trips to Kigali to shop around.
I’ve been asked by a colleague to read and edit his PhD which is ready for final submission, and the medical department is pressing me hard to begin a gastroenterology outpatient service, for the many patients with GI complaints. I need to get our endoscopy service upgraded and a functional test for Helicobacter (a stomach bug) up and running, with staff trained to administer it. I also need to get letters of appointment straightened out with hospital and university, 2 research projects up and running, and finalise a teaching roster for the new interns on our ward. April is looking like a busy month already…
Our house is progressing steadily. The new bathroom has been fitted, plumbing is complete and all the tiling is done. Inside cabinet making, kitchen fitout and painting and decoration as well as furniture still need to be organised, while outside is still a wasteland. I don’t think we’ll be moving in before late April at the earliest.
While life is busy, emotionally we’ve all been at a bit of a low ebb too. We miss all our friends and family in Australia, and it takes energy to focus on those people God has put around us rather than just feel sorry for ourselves or long for visitors. For me, at the moment, it’s a real spiritual challenge to rely on God alone, and not on roles, busyness with tasks or little comforts to sustain me. Your prayers are appreciated!
Finally a few pics.
Hannah tends to lead and William to follow at the moment, as evidenced by the puddle-drinking behaviour observed below:
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William and Catherine made a very fine hat which Hannah took great pleasure in wearing, to the great amusement of all she met:
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And finally, a contemplative moment for Will on a weekend walk:
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