Hail to the Chief!

Its Tuesday, and I'm sitting in the FH office here in Kigali listening to helicopters patrol the sky. On the way to work, there was a much heightened presence of military personnel strewn along the streets. President George W. Bush is coming to town today.

A bunch of us Americans here in Kigali are kinda pissed that we won't get to meet him. He won't be here long; he's just cutting the ribbon on the new US Embassy in Kigali, visiting a genocide memorial, and heading out in his Air Force Ones. But the Ambassador could have at least invited us to the Embassy for tea and cookies or something. Part of me wishes I would have camped out at the front door of the embassy, waiting to get a look at him and his wife. But then again, this isn't the premier of Star Wars; its probably one of the most heightened security situations in Rwanda's history, and even though I am from Texas, I just don't have enough vigor to resist or enough smile to charm the secret service today. The best I can hope for is that he makes a detour to the FH office on his way back to the airport.

Either way, here I will be, sitting at my desk, hoping the sound of 'American Pie' can drown out the beating of choppers overhead and reveling in the fact that this is possibly the closest I'll ever be to the president of the United States of America. Who would have thought it'd be halfway around the world in the middle of the poorest continent on earth?

In Respons to Jason & Jenny's Comment on the Previous Post

Here's the text in question from my last post: "An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter Scale (shoutout to Mongoose) hit on the border of Rwanda and DRC this morning."

The story goes back to Junior High. I, being the incredibly bright and creative child that I was, decided to doodle a couple of characters on my gridded notebook, creating the beginnings of a potentially delightful comic book story. The characters were a dunce cowboy named Arizona Duhaus and his untrusty steed Feenicks. After consulting with my good friend Matt Morgan, we decided that there was needed a nemesis for this Duhaus character, as well as a treasure that they continually vied for and which kept them at odds. And so was born Richter Scale, the arch enemy of Arizona Duhaus, a clever, menacing fellow who would always attempt to steal away Arizona's romantic interest, Pretty Dame. Arizona, being a numbskull though he was, would always somehow outsmart Richter Scale without knowing it. And so the story would go...

After about three minutes of playing around with this concept, I emerged as the embodiment of Arizona Duhaus and Matt became Richter Scale. The names don't really have much symbolism to them, except for Pretty Dame, which is fairly self-explanatory (We labeled Ashley Rojo as Pretty Dame, not because we had a crush on her, but because she was an easy target). After another four minutes, I ran out of material and nothing really ever came of it. But throughout our high school and college years, Matt and I would regularly reminisce about the story line and wonder at its potential to become a legitimate comic strip. Matt was more dedicated to its success than I was, as he actually created a couple of scenarios in comic strip form while sitting in his engineering classes at Lamar.

So every time I hear the term "Richter Scale," I automatically think of that character and Matt's slyness, as I imagine Matt does and perhaps our other friends as well.

So that's where the shoutout comes from. The reason the shoutout went to "Mongoose" is because that is what they used to call Matt on the basketball court, either because he made high-pitched squealing noises when he was fouled or because he was really quick. I can't remember which. Maybe both.


And there is a window into my childhood.

The Pains of Childbirth

"For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now."
-Romans 8:22

An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter Scale (shoutout to Mongoose) hit on the border of Rwanda and DRC this morning. At least 30 people were killed, hundreds more injured, and they are expecting another one between 8pm and 12am (GMT +2) tonight (Sunday, Feb 3). I'm in kigali, which is about 150 miles from the epicenter. I felt it in church this morning, but no buildings collapsed and no one was injured here as far as i know. I am safe (God willing), but the word is that we are urged to not be inside between those hours just in case.

I feel sort of like having an Earthquake Party outside on the lawn, in the same spirit as those who have hurricane parties on the gulf coast, only whereas they are ordered to evacuate and don't, I'd be taking the necessary precautionary measures.

It was my first earthquake to experience, and it was quite surreal. It is a situation where you are left totally at the mercy of the trembling earth below you. I've always wondered what it would be like to experience one. Granted, I was far away from the epicenter, but the feeling of utter helplessness was very present. It was incredibly awe-inspiring and humbling, and it is a very poignant reminder of the earth groaning as in the pangs of childbirth, awaiting the revealing of the sons of God. And tonight I join in, longing for the creation to be set free from its bondage to decay and for us to know the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Oh Lord, haste the day...