A few nights ago we went to the African dinner with authentic dancers. They were absolutely incredible. After a while of watching they pulled Mary up there to dance and a few other people. Mary rocked the floor and was the best one out there.
On Friday the day after my birthday we went to see the gorillas. We woke up at 4:00 a.m. and drove across the country to the rain forest. We met our guide and started our hike. Once we got close to the gorillas we met up with the trackers and walked through the bamboo forest. All of sudden I looked up and there in front was the silver back gorilla. The family of gorilla’s we tracked had 1 silver back 5 wives and 5 babies. We were able to get so close and yet at the same time I felt so safe. They are gentle and extremely peaceful creatures. It was such an incredible experience that words cannot describe it. When we were leaving the silver back approached the the guide and pulled him to the ground and checked his teeth. The guide said he was not sacred and that he knew the gorilla well. I feel so blessed to be able to experience such wonderful creatures in their natural environment.
Once again I felt extremely blessed on my birthday. I turned 27 on September 6 and it was wonderful. First off we got a private driver to take us around Kigali to get more pictures of local bike shops. When I got back to the hotel I saw that Jeff had left me a gift so that I had something to open on my birthday. He is such an amazing guy that he even had fresh flowers delivered to my room. I was so surprised. At night we went out to dinner with two drivers that we met in Africa and four missionaries from Zambia. The woman (Jackie) from the car rental place even made us reservations and paid for my dinner. I am so blessed. Here is a pic of me and my flowers. Thanks Jeff, you are awesome.
Here are a few more from the trip.
This is where we had to make a bathroom stop
We are so blessed to be in this country we had another amazing day traveling through villages. Last night we went to the Bishops house for dinner which is a huge honor. He told us horrifying stories about the genocide and brought tears to our eyes these people have lost so much and at the same time they have so much to give. When we pass in the car kids run after us screaming “Muzungu” which means white person and “be strong, be strong!” Today Tom and I walked through the town to look at the local bike shops to see how they repair and maintain the bikes. Here are some of the pictures.
