Monday, February 11 – Kigali, Rwanda

Today was a rich day of learning and relationship building.  Throughout the morning our team was inspired as we listened to the history of Wellspring, learned about the School Development Program, and were able to hear from Wellspring leaders about the impact Wellspring has had throughout the nation.  I kept thinking about Wellspring as a Joshua or a Daniel with great access to the powers that be; the “little engine that could” making a difference far beyond what they could have ever asked or imagined.

We were invited on a tour of the Wellspring Academy by Joel Olsen.  Joel took us to see the cutest people on the planet – the Kindergarten students!  Their little lives and voices brought tears to our eyes!

After some delicious Rwandan cuisine for lunch, we were surrounded by bright-eyed, cheerful, and energetic students at the Wellspring Academy.  These upperclassmen all shared their hopes and dreams for the future. From business, to politics, to engineering, to astrophysics… their dreams were huge, and beautiful, and inspiring. We heard comments like: “I want to be an astrophysicist,” and, “I want to build skyscrapers.” What inspired many on our team was that each student, even if their university education took them to Europe or North America, was committed to return to Rwanda to live, work, and give back to their home land.   These bright Rwandan students have a love for their country and want to see the nation of Rwanda thrive.

A little later we had the chance to split into 3 teams – one team read to students, another interacted with a Social Studies Class, and the final team got to play soccer with some kids in Grade 4. I was in that third group… and lets just say that these ‘ol lungs and legs sure don’t work like they used to.  One Rwandan kid looked at me and said: “Why is your face so red?” Alas… my dreams of impressing those kids like Lionel Messi were dashed on the rocks.

This day could be summarized with one word: relationship.  Today was a day to build relationships, friendships, and to look our Rwandan friends in the eye and hear their dreams.

As I close, back to that circle of amazing bright-eyed dreamers – a young girl named Tara spoke up about her hopes & dreams for the future.  She simply said, “I want to study project management because I want to start a school like Wellspring.”

Man, I remember how I felt about my school in Grade 12 and how eager I was to run for the door… so when a Grade 12 student says that her dream is to start a school exactly like the school she is in – you know this place is really making a difference.