After 24 hours of travel, the jet landed smoothly. At 8:00 p.m. it's fully dark.
The steps rolled up to the front and back doors and we hauled our heavy carry-on bags down the steps to the tarmac. City lights are filtered by the vegetation on the surrounding hillsides.
The scent in the air is roasting food and green plants: not unpleasant. This post will not include photos of people because I need permission to publish photos from the subjects and that will begin tomorrow.
President Mavinga sent a kind rescuer member, whose name I didn't process. He helped us get our temporary visas.
President and Sister Mavinga greeted us with a huge bouquet of roses and a friendly hug.
The office couple, the Ensigns, also welcomed us like old friends.
President Mavinga navigates the traffic with exemplary aplomb, as though he wasn't concerned about the swarm of motorcycles around us.
We will have a temporary apartment for two weeks and then move upstairs to a larger, two bed two bath place, which will likely be our permanent home here in Kigali. But here's what we found at the end of a very long journey.
The cupboards are all stocked with food and the freezer is full of ready to eat meals, compliments of the Ensigns (office couple) and the other two senior couples. I'm so eager to get to know everyone.
We have everything we need. The sights and smells and scenery are new and different from any place we've ever visited. The Ensigns left these tiny bananas in our apartment
Now I'm not one to get excited about bananas ordinarily, but these are little flavor bombs. They taste like a sweet banana, pineapple and orange juice smoothies. They're firm like a half-green banana at home. They'll be incredible frozen...if I can get enough to last that long. There were 14 in the bunch (properly called a 'hand') when we arrived. I'm gonna have fun with these! Each one is a little dessert all by itself! (Yes this blog will include food!)
Today was a day to recover from jet lag, unpack, try to figure out how the technology is going to work, take a long walk on the hilly sidewalks, (pictures later) and relax in our tropical little patio garden. The warm welcome we have already received helps soothe the sting of leaving our loved ones behind. I sure do like my missionary companion.
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