We’ve arrived!

We’ve arrived in Kigali! As in everyone’s lives at the moment, the last 72 hours have been pretty eventful for us too. We were due to fly yesterday (Wednesday) evening. The packers arrived on Sunday to move our furniture to my Dad’s house in Durham. As I was on the train on Monday following the furniture up north I received a message from Anthea that if we wanted to go it had to be Tuesday evening, not Wednesday. Coronavirus was closing borders and airports everywhere, and to get to Goma, via Rwanda, anytime soon, the only possible way was via Brussels on Tuesday. 

We decided to go for it, not knowing if we’d get the opportunity again. We hadn’t been in contact with anyone we knew had Coronavirus. Flights were re-arranged, my Durham visit shortened, class farewells brought forward, last-minute admin delayed andon Tuesday evening we arrived at Gatwick with 15 bags of hold luggage (Rwandair allows 3 per passenger – one of the perks of changing flights) and 2 bike boxes ready for anything!. From then on in it went pretty smoothly. The excitement of airplane food and their own TV screen kept the kids going on the flight. We arrived on Wednesday morning, were asked a few questions, had our temperature taken and were allowed in! Thank you for praying.

 The transition to African life for the kids has been kind – butterfly and bird-spotting, tropical-fruit sampling (Papaya not a favourite) and swimming in the guest house pool (until closed due to Coronavirus). We are 5 of the 8 guests here as people have stopped travelling and meeting.

 We arrived to the news that

·      1 of our bags is missing – the one with all of my clothes, Bibles and theology books, the smoothie maker, blender and cassock, surplice and clerical shirts. Please pray it turns up soon.

·      The Rwandan government has taken very strong measures in closing schools and places of worship and, as of tomorrow night the airport to external flights. We are advised to self-isolate.

·      The Congolese government has followed suite, closing schools, places of worship and airports to international flights for 4 weeks. This means the kids can’t start school until after Easter at the earliest. And we can’t get to Goma until we’ve seen out 14 days in Rwanda. But, like in the UK, the situation changes daily.

So, we’ve had to readjust to a bit more uncertainty. Anthea is able to start her role, but the rest of us are a bit in limbo. But God has been good to us in the midst of it. We just heard that a family who are leaving Rwanda tonight to return to Germany for a month or so and have offered us their house whilst we are here. They have 2 boys aged 6 and 9, a big garden, chickens and a cook. And wi-fi!

Thank you from Martin, Anthea, Silas, Zachary and Imogen