Everyday is a gift!

I thank God everyday that I am an artist. Note how I don't say specifically that I am an actor, a producer, a dancer, or a director. These positions all have a common language of telling a story. We are artists because we provide our audiences with an escape, awareness, and hope for a better future. We tell stories for those who are not here to tell them anymore. This morning, the village and I had rehearsal for our rendition of The Diary of Anne Frank. We have everyone playing either a Jewish or Rwandan Anne Frank. Because we explored the genocide memorial yesterday, everyone could connect to the piece on a deeper personal level. The energy and life was incredible today. Additionally, we saw things today that people have seen only in their nightmares. We traveled to the nyamata church, a Catholic church where about 10,000 women, men, and children were killed mercilessly by Hutu extremists.  The clothes of the victims were spread out  on the benches, there were bullet holes in the ceiling, a layout of skulls and bones, and mass graves. We went into a room where dozens of coffins were lined up.  Witnessing this horror, I lost complete feeling in my legs. It did not feel right to disrespect these graves. Some were open. It's one thing to see an assortment of skulls but to see a body decomposed and the bones completely shattered in a tiny coffin in front of your eyes can make you completely shatter inside. I went to our tour guide, a woman named Mary, I hugged her as I was bursting into tears, expressing my deepest grievances towards her and Rwanda. She comforted me, assuring me that everything was alright. I think that I am changed forever from this day alone. Because of our physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion, the village enjoyed an amazing dinner from this place called The Hut. Wonderful atmosphere, hot towels, incredible food, and great service, we were all served to the 9s. I had a hard time picking today's song. All I can think is that my desire to enact social justice through art is even stronger. To that, I have picked We are the World by Michael Jackson. There are people dying, it's time to lend a hand to life, the greatest gift of all. We are the world, so let's start giving. Tomorrow, we travel to muhungo for drama based education training. Talk to you soon.