June 7,2019

     Today I got to experience the life of a Rwandan woman. Let me tell you, it is not as easy as they make it look. A 20 minute walk to get a gallon of water turned into a 40 minute walk back to the house. Before I get into that I want to tell you all about the energy and love that was received from the women as soon as the village and I got off the bus. Three kisses on the cheeks, a hand shake and a beautiful smile from all the ladies there. After everyone was greeted we all went to the house of one of the ladies and they told us about themselves. Many of them had a husband and kids. They told us about how they joined Azizi life and their journey. After they had your girl peeling potatoes, something I despise doing at home, but  I most definitely enjoyed it here! After that is when we all went to fetch water, this was the hardest thing I had to do since I got here. The walk was not easy and I definitely need to go to the gym when I go back home. A little while after fetching the water a couple of us went to go turn the soil in one of the fields, it was so much fun but a lot of hard work. I commend the women and men that are out there everyday from sunrise too sundown. We then went on to cut some of the leaves that we gathered and carried on our heads. It was so much fun I really enjoyed doing this part it was different! When we were done feeding the leaves to one of the ladies cow and sheep we went back to the house to eat a delicious meal and to just all talk. They asked us questions and allowed us to ask them questions. They were very open, more open than I expected them to be. After we had the choice to either weave a ball or a bracelet and of course I chose a ball, which was difficult to make but was very beautiful when I was done making it! To end the event  we had a dance completion which I was really enjoyed I released my inner dancer once again. It was a fun 2 minutes dancing with some of the members from the village and some of the women from Azizi life. This experience was breath taking, tiring but so amazing. This is an experience I will always have and cherish!
      Today we also got to meet Mama for the first time. She is AMAZING and filled with so much energy and her personality is big enough to fill a room. She has an incredible sense of humor and has so many incredible stories to share. Her story was my favorite, I love what she does for the children and how much she truly loves them! We got to have dinner with her and some of her kids which is how I got to meet the wonderful John. He is an amazing boy who is in the 5th grade. He is so nice and we had the best conversation which ended in me being called “Lazy, Lazy,Lazy” He was a pleasure  to meet. I believe John is one person from this trip I will never forget. WHAT ANOTHER AMAZING DAY!!!!!!!