Girls Day

Thursday Sept 20-

Compassion Rwanda

Today was another big day, the three girls were going to meet us at the Compassion office for a day of fun. We quickly ate our breakfast and gathered the bags of gifts. Since the Compassion office was close to home we decided to take motos there.

Fiona's Office

This was quite fun to stretch our wings and fly solo. Loaded down with bags we hailed 2 motos and showed them the directions to the office. Donning our helmets we climbed on and sped down the street to our destination.  About five minutes into the trip my driver slowed down and then came to a stop. I looked around but didn't see any building that had the Compassion sign. Getting worried that we had been taken to the wrong place I looked over to see Sarah's taxi also coming to a stop. That's when I realized that the moto I was on had run out of gas. Fortunately for the driver, it ran out right in front of a gas station. We could hear the chuckles from fellow drivers as they watched us. It was a funny sight, white girls with many bags taking a moto? After refueling we headed off again and got to the office.

Mothers and babies that are helped thru Compassion's CSP Program

We arrived just in time for the morning devotions with all the staff. I could hear their voices singing as we walked down the stairs to join them. The staff shared praise reports and prayer requests. After the closing prayer we were invited to meet with the head directors of the office. We spoke with them briefly and they all thanked us for coming. I introduced Sarah to Eugene Bahire, another old friend of mine. He is the main person that sets up and handles all sponsor visit to Rwanda. We caught up briefly on each others life before he headed out to another sponsor visit.

Seeing Eugene again

Fiona had some time so she showed us around the office so starting at the top floor we worked our way thru the offices meeting the different people that all make Compassion smoothly work. They are the stepping stones that allow kids and sponsors to have the best experience.

Discussing what's for lunch

First meeting

We had just made an end of the tour when we heard that an older sponsor child had arrived early. This I knew was Claudine. Walking up the stairs I saw her sitting by the reception desk. A smile was spread across her face and we embraced. Her smile was more beautiful then I had imagined.

We sat and talked and drank tea that Fiona had brought for us. I heard people coming up the stairs and saw Francoise. I looked over at Sarah and said "She's yours!" It was a sweet moment, watching as my sister wrapped her arms around her girl. They were both beaming. Sitting across from me, I watched as the joy danced in their eye's. More tea was brought as our number continued to grow. 

Then I looked back to the stair case and saw Joseline coming around the corner. She had grown up from the little nine year old that I had last seen and had budded unto a pretty young woman. We hugged and held hands, looking at each other. 

The Girls!

Another chair was brought so that we could all be together. Francoise entertained us with a Sunday school song and dance. But by then our group of 9 had crowded the reception area so we gathered everything up and moved to a bigger room downstairs. Here we sat in a semi circle and exchanged gifts. Proudly, Joseline handed me pretty gift bag and I opened it up to find the most cute giraffe statue.

Claudine had also brought me a gift and handed it to me. Taking the package from the bag I openned the wrap to find a wall hanging. Using different colors of bark they had made a mama and baby gorilla. I loved that it symbolized where she was from. The gorillas will remind me of the cold mountain region in Ruhengeri that she lives.

 Aside from meeting their sponsor I think the next big thing for a child is the ability to give something back to the sponsor. At it's roots, giving is a form of self-sacrifice and love. I could see an empowerment grow as these girls gifted their sponsor with these treasures. Totally saturated with their love I hugged them both.  

Looking at some family photo's

Then with all the gifts opened we went out for a little fresh air. I was invited to jump rope with both the girls. I was never very good at 'jumping in' but I surprised myself by doing it very well.  

 Then when jumping got boring we moved on to tossing the ball. I tried hard to pass the ball like they did. Unfortunately I never got the knack of passing it with out holding it for a few seconds.

Francoise's social worker, Joesline's social worker, Francoise, Sarah, Joseline, me, Claudine.
Claudine's social worker not pictured 

It was quite warm when we stopped playing. After taking some group shots we prepared for lunch. Compassion's office is strategically placed next to a restaurant so it was a quick walk over. Buffet style, we lined up and filled out plates with all different kinds of food.   

Ready to eat

 Being that everyone at the table was a girl [with the exception of John our translator] the table was overtaken by giggles during different points of our meal. We proved that even though there was language barriers somethings are instinctively understood by girls. Once the lunch was completed we went back to the office to say goodbye.  

Time to say goodbye

 Joseline and her social worker were the first to leave. Waving to them as they walked away I pushed back the tears welling in my eyes. 

Claudine, Sarah, Francoise

Francoise was the next to leave. After taking the last photo's she and her social worker waved and walked to their bus. Claudine was the last and was waiting for her social worker to come back from running some errands in town. We were ready to leave so I hugged her one last time and walked away.

                You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” Amy Carmichael