The Return - Yvonne

I'm writing this in the Chicago airport. We are maybe three hours away from breathing some semi-fresh Minnesota air. It's been a long day(s) of travel but everyone is in a decently good mood. I encountered some interesting people along the way. The first woman I sat next to on the plane to Entebbe, Uganda was coming from Amsterdam to check in with the field office of the NGO she works for outside of Kampala. She said she has not had an opportunity yet to see any gorillas but is trying to work it into a future trip to Uganda. The next person that got on that plane was from Georgia. He was part of a mission group. Apparently, they spent a week evangelizing and "saved" six people at one point. They also visited a hospital and prayed around a young boy that was malnourished and refusing to speak or look at people. The boy apparently began to make eye contact and interact after they prayed for him. Another story he told was about a 24 year old man they met that was also "saved." The man had left Uganda to join a child army in the DRC but during an ambush felt that he needed to escape and find his sister back in Uganda. This sparked a conversation with an American woman in front of us who said she works in the Congo at Virunga National Park. This was especially interesting to hear because of how close we were to the border just the day before. The morning that we left Gisenyi (the town by the border) the news station mentioned briefly that the DRC claimed 300 rebel troops were trained in Rwanda. It will be exciting to keep track of the future political situation in Rwanda. I think the encounters with the different people on the plane was a great way to wrap up the trip. Of all of the different ways to see and visit Rwanda (missions, business, etc.), I think traveling for education is the ideal way to go. I am so thankful for all of the incredible people I met and have come to know on this trip. It really doesn't matter where you go but rather who you meet along the way.