November 8, 2009 (Sunday): Akagera National Park

We spent the night in Kigali at the home of Laurent & Chantal M., which is a gorgeous modern home on a beautiful property overlooking a lake and the city of Kigali. We got up early to go to the airport for a helicopter tour of Akagera National Park in Eastern Rwanda. The Savannah lands border Tanzania, in the Rift Valley area. We saw elephant, zebra, wart hogs, hippos, impala, cape buffalo, topi and water buck. It wasn’t a long trip, but it was the only way to see the Savannah animals and more of Rwanda by air in the time we had.

Most of the afternoon was spent at Bourbon Coffee brainstorming with Jonathan about how to raise funds for Kids Across Africa Camps. All charities are feeling the effects of the bad US economy, so it is especially hard to raise funds for a brand new effort. We believe that God will provide a miracle, however, for this tiny country that he is using to show the world His power of forgiveness and redemption. His Excellency, President Paul Kagame, is an enthusiastic supporter of the camp and he is providing exceptional leadership. He has a “zero tolerance” policy on corruption and he has even turned over several of his closest friends to the court system for suspected violations. One of his friends is currently serving a ten year sentence for accepting gifts. His administration outlined their ambitious goals in the Vision 2020 program, and they are doing everything they can to encourage foreign investment.

We spent the night with the Mbandas again, and watched Hotel Rwanda and Sometimes in April back to back. These were sobering reminders of the incredible pain that was suffered by so many, and the ongoing pain for the survivors. However, the films also provide a perspective of just how miraculous the recovery of this country has been, and the resiliency of the human spirit.