Tuesday September 6

Tuesday September 6

Spoke to Michelle today for the first time. Long overdue. I won’t say it was good to hear her voice. It sounded strange and far away. Definitely good to talk however and hear the news and tell my latest. I guess I miss most telling people about my day. It’s not loneliness yet, just very quiet. Looking forward to my radio – that I bought in Kigali and will get in a box with other stuff this weekend when I meet friends in Butare and get on the internet to send some emails. It’s 6:40 and the power has just gone off. I didn’t notice it because someone had just come to the door and introduced himself. He knew Doutsen who lived here before. It was on when I came home but off most of the day at the office. So we have had a total of one and a half hours since last night. I did charge my batteries but figure I should invest in a rechargeable lamp. Just cannot read by candle light and kerosene lamp. Yesterday and today was the monthly meeting of all the priests in the Gikongoro district. At lunch today, walking back to work, one of the parish priests here in Kigeme told me that I was expected to introduce myself at 4 pm and had I been told about this? Well I hadn’t and Eusélie came in at 2:45 and told me at around three that I was expected at the meeting. I then pumped her for about 5 Kinyarwanda phrases of welcome which I practised and delivered at 4. I got a round of applause. There was time for questions and I underwent a gruelling session, first about my personal life, then my children, did I have a husband and then about my views on homosexuality and divorce. One of the priests had to translate to Kinyarwandan because they did not all understand me. Knowing full well the African churches’ stand on these issues, I asked if I could be honest and they all nodded. I stated my beliefs, my tolerance, that I had friends who were in homosexual relationships and that this has been the case in all my adult life – starting in Holland in the early seventies. They were curious to know how I could marry my Christian faith with my views regarding homosexuality and divorce, given what it says in the Bible. I painted a picture of North American and western culture : many cultures, many influences and that some protestant churches do not interpret the Bible as literally in all its teachings; that within these churches there are varying opinions and that we do not all agree on all things. I tried to explain that Christians are involved in homosexual relationships and still strive to live as good Christians. I was also asked that, given the views I have, how would I deal with these issues in the classroom, given they were accepted in my culture. Here I could give the VSO answer which is that I am here to share my background and culture with theirs, not impose it and then my own answer, that I would never talk to a classroom of young people in the way I had spoken to them, that young people need information and then need to make up their own mind and that I spoke to them honestly only because they assured me I could be honest. Well the whole thing lasted 45 min and I was not quite expecting the number of direct questions. It does concur however with the general curiosity of all Rwandans. They want to know everything about us, from the west, even in the street when they talk with you. Hard to know how I came across, but Bishop Augustin assured me my honesty was appreciated and that now everyone knows where I stand. I hope I won’t regret today!!!