New residence (and developments)

At the beginning of December, I moved out of the house in Kibagabaga. In August, the young brother in our Chinese congregation named Adiel had moved in with Jacques and me at Kibagabaga for a couple of reasons. First, because Jacques was connecting with his girlfriend (now fiancée) almost all the time, he realized that I was in need of some company, which was true. Also, Adiel wanted me to teach him piano, and in furtherance of that end, moved his keyboard (along with himself, for convenience sake) into our house.

However, it was inevitable that we would have to move out of that house when members of the family from Belgium, especially the mom, were to come. So in advance of that, in December Adiel and I decided to move to his family's house located in an area called Gahanga. This area is about 12 km (7 mi) outside of town, and sure enough, it does feel like I'm living in a village, particularly since I haven't seen another mzungu since living here. However, one big difference is that the houses out here are big, and there is construction of more houses of this size going on everywhere. So I guess it would be more appropriate to say these are the suburbs of Kigali.

What is life like in the 'burbs? Well, there's an open-air market, just like in other neighborhoods. The main tarmac road is new, smooth, and wide enough for two cars. In fact, you can go 75 kph (45 mph) on this road, which is about the fastest I ever drive in Kigali. It sure is fun! The road is of this quality because it is the one leading to the new airport they are building; when it will be finished I don't know. Other than that, I notice that here outside of town, I get stared at. A lot. Not like in the city, where I think people are more used to seeing non-Africans.

So I'm here at the house of Brother Kalimunda, his wife, two daughters, and son. Everyone except the wife and hired hand go off to work during the week, leaving me pretty much to my own devices. Of course, there is congregation work, some preaching during the week, and I still have a once-a-week piano teaching job, which is about the only reason to go out in the car. Otherwise, it's just marking time.

Three more months, to be exact. That's because on April 1, I will be returning to the U.S. and leaving Rwanda for good. My parents are needing some help due to the limitations of their age. My younger brother and I have worked out a tentative arrangement where we each spend half the year close to my parents, which means I can spend the other half of the year somewhere else. Thus, there is the possibility that I can return to East Africa late next year. But that depends on how the COVID-19 situation is by that time also.

So...it has been a wild ride! Never dreamed that I would be living here in Rwanda for 7 years!

Conclusion to 2nd language course

Well, our second Chinese language course was interrupted by the pandemic, after seven weeks of classes. That left nine weeks remaining. We, the instructors, decided that we would complete those nine weeks by sending homework (actually, placing it on dropbox.com) and assigning the students to complete it and send it via e-mail to us. We also asked each student to send us an audio recording of a presentation that he/she would create, using another student as the assistant.

So, no more live classes from March onward. It was a disappointment, to be sure, but necessary for everyone's safety. That made the last class in June somewhat of an anticlimax.

But on the evening of Sunday, September 6, we decided to hold a special program for the students with demonstrations, talks, and interviews--similar to what we held for the students of the first course, except that we had no Bible dramas and, of course, no food. The program was presented on Zoom, and there was no limit to the number of friends and family members that could be invited. So we ended up with audience members tied in from various places in the world! The total attendance was several hundred!

Most of the students have transferred to the Chinese congregation. This almost doubled the number of publishers! We're now well equipped!

One significant consequence of the coronavirus lockdown

This is now, as of today, July 27, 2020, Day No. 135 of the coronavirus lockdown here in Rwanda. The latest totals: 1,821 cases and 5 deaths, for a total population of about 12 million, which is surprisingly low. 

But there is one interesting conclusion that I've come to in the last few months. Actually, I came to this conclusion years ago, but in view of the current pandemic, it has solidified in my mind. And that is this: America is one of the most emotionally repressed, touch-deprived countries in the world. It is uncomfortable, in American culture, to tell people that you love them. Really. Whether it be your family members, friends, or even spouse. Touching anyone except in certain society-approved ways, such as shaking hands, is viewed as a perversion. You can hug someone only if you haven't seen that person in a long time, or in the case of men, if it is in the context of, say, a sports victory.

Yet, scientific evidence shows that infants who are touched not only survive but thrive. Those who are not are more likely to sicken and die. But when a person, especially a boy, reaches adolescence, suddenly all the touching stops. Then, for the rest of your life, you are basically expected to 'man up' and not show or receive any affection. Is it any wonder that in America antidepressants and feelings of isolation are so common?

But in many parts of the world, such as the Middle East, Africa, and India, verbal and physical expressions of affection are common. I've visited quite a few African countries and lived in two of them (Malawi and Rwanda), and I can tell you, culturally people do express their feelings more. There are differences between countries; for example, Rwandans tend to be a bit more reserved whereas Congolese let their emotions out more readily. But for the most part, there is a lot of love here! For example, in text messages between brothers in the congregation, they tend to use the word "dear" frequently in addressing the person, such as "my dear Brother Brian." We're not talking about a standard business letter salutation here! Well, I am very proud to say that I have never, not even once, used the word "dear" in a text message. But I might be influenced to change that position....

The result of expressed affection and greater social and community ties is this: the use of antidepressants is uncommon. In the Chichewa language, in Malawi, they don't even have a word for "depression"! (But as Africans adopt more Western ways, such as the idea of living alone, a common practice in America, they are more prone to depression.)

Another example: there is the matter of men holding hands in public, a practice that seriously offends sensibilities in America. But here in Africa--and I have photographic proof--it is common and no one raises an eyebrow. When I lived in Malawi, there was one time when my Bible student Romain and I had to go somewhere, and as we were walking side by side, he grabbed my hand and held it for what I felt was an uncomfortably long time. I was trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation, but eventually I realized that this was just a gesture of friendship. That is all it means in this part of the world, and if you pull your hand away, it is taken as a slight and rejection of the other person's friendship. Sometimes you see a guy sitting on another guy's lap. This is interpreted completely differently here, if you realize that Africa is most overwhelmingly heterosexual compared to America or Europe. (And in India, I saw 25 people all trying to sit on one standard-size bench!) The American concept of "personal space" is just non-existent in this part of the world.

But getting back to the subject of hugs, okay, when I return to America for a visit, I get hugged by everyone because they haven't seen me in a long time. But that one hug is all I get. Here, in my congregation, there was a time recently when I had an older tablet that was replaced by a newer one that came from my parents. The older tablet had an issue, but not one that couldn't be easily fixed. So I decided to give the tablet to a sister in the congregation who didn't have one. Well, after the meeting when I gave it to her, she was so overwhelmed with gratitude that she hugged me (for quite a while) on the spot. Whoa, it's really hard when your American sensibilities start to kick in!

So the realization has come to me, after over four months of lockdown, that not having the physical presence of other people is very psychologically tough. Sure, you can see them on a computer screen or a phone, but that's just not the same as seeing them in the flesh. And getting hugged.

I can tell you this: if or when this lockdown ends, and we are allowed to use our Kingdom Halls once again, at the first meeting I'm going to hug all the publishers. Every one of them. And tell them I love them.

Latest on the coronavirus lockdown

Yesterday was Day 60 of the coronavirus lockdown here in Rwanda. (Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 287, no deaths.)

Needless to say, our Memorial was held in lockdown, like the rest of the world, so it was not necessary to have all seven congregations in our Kingdom Hall meet together while across the street at the stadium the government held their special program on Genocide Memorial Day. Everything was completely shut down. It was kind of strange on the evening of Memorial sitting in front of a computer screen, by yourself, with just the bread and wine on the table. Have we ever experienced this before? I think not.

Last week the government relaxed the restrictions somewhat, allowing businesses to open with essential employees only, restaurants opening until 7:00 p.m., public transportation (but not motos) now operating with distance between passengers. The police will not stop you now, so you can go anywhere you want as long it's not outside the city. Face masks are required for everyone in public.

When you go to the market, there is a line to enter, with marked squares on the ground to stand on, placed apart at the appropriate distance.

Around our neighborhood (Kibagabaga), it's pretty strange seeing all these face masks. It's somewhat like a 21st-century Sci-Fi movie. (Oh, wait, we are in the 21st century.) One guy was wearing a dog muzzle, imagine that. Obviously, that's to prevent him biting someone. Which I feel like doing out of frustration, sometimes.

Stir crazy! That's how I would describe everyone's current feelings. You don't realize the psychological effect that staying at home all day, every day, has on a person. OK, for the first week or two it's kind of a novel thing, reading, watching movies, etc., but after that, it feels like being in...prison.

The situation with schools is that they will be closed until September. Prior to this, the Rwandan school system operated from February until November, with the major holiday period being December and January. But the government decided that this year, schools would switch to the traditional calendar adopted by Western countries, that is, September to June. The change would take place gradually over a few years. But the coronavirus situation has now forced schools to change immediately to the September-June calendar. This means that kids will have six months off from school (which has brought joy to their lives), although many schools are now struggling to initiate some kind of online instruction.

And because the branch has not yet given us permission to hold meetings at the Kingdom Hall or do any public preaching, it still feels like lockdown. Phone witnessing and letter writing are forms of preaching that are rare here...until now. The problem is that if you didn't have many phone contacts (like me), you're up a creek. Most of my Chinese contacts are on WeChat, which is a messaging app that is not recommended to use for preaching because it is monitored by the Chinese government. I can't see accompanying others by Zoom or phone on their Kinyarwanda return visits and Bible studies. So what is left? I did manage to write six handwritten Chinese letters during April. This was a first!

So, as they say in Kinyarwanda, "Komera!" (Be strong!) This is something we all need, that is, strength during this difficult time.

Stuck at home!

So it's Day 11 of the coronavirus restrictions in Rwanda....

There are now 40 confirmed cases of coronavirus in here. None of which are Chinese, by the way.

On the first day, March 15, we were told that the restrictions would be in force for two weeks. Then, last weekend, they were extended until the first weekend in April, for the time being. The authorities have strictly enforced limited travel. Within the city you can go only for essentials, such as food and medical care. Out of town trips are prohibited. Almost all flights are cancelled, except for two specific outbound flights, one on Qatar Airways and the other on KLM, on a specific day, for those foreigners who need to get back to their country of origin. Otherwise, too bad!

Bethel is under a lockdown, which means no one can go in or out. This means that commuters have to stay home and work there, if their job allows some type of remote computer assignment. During the siege of ancient Jerusalem, no one could go in or out also. Is there a parallel here?

What is it like staying at home and not being able to go anywhere? Our household is composed of me, my roommate Jacques, and his teenage Bible student Diamant (who by the way is a good kid, quiet, doesn't make much trouble, and knows how to cook). Well, it's basically like this: read or study, get on the computer, eat, and then take a nap. Rinse, repeat. All day long. After a while you don't even remember what day it is, sometimes even what time it is. But there is one discovery I have made: when you spend more time with the people you live with, you get to know them better and become closer. Also, I've decided to take a walk of at least a half-hour every day. And you know what? Now I'm looking at birds, clouds, nature. It's a great experience! We should have these restrictions more often!

So today we had to go out in the car for the first time because Jacques had a couple hundred euros sent to him by the family in Belgium that he had to exchange for Rwandan francs at a Forex (foreign exchange) in order to pay property taxes on two houses the family owns. Forget about going into town to this Forex that he says has the best rates. We decided to go as far as Remera (Bethel, Kingdom Hall, stadium), which has quite a few Forex locations. Also, we needed to go to the market to buy food.

Do you know that in the 4 km (2.5 mi) we drove till we got to the only Forex open in the neighborhood, we were stopped no fewer than 6 times by police! They pull you over and ask where are you going, what is your purpose, etc. The streets were virtually deserted, like a ghost town. Some people were running around wearing face masks. One policewoman told us that because we had three people in the car, which violated some rule requiring that everyone be at least one meter apart, one of the passengers had to get out and walk. So Jacques got out, I drove on for about a hundred meters and dropped Diamant off at a bus stage, picked up Jacques and then returned to get Diamant. What we didn't say (but only because I don't speak Kinyarwanda) to her was that all three of us have lived in the same household for months, and if any of us were infected, we would have gotten sick by now. Come on!

Returning from the Forex, we stopped at the Kimironko market, which had a long line of people and a couple of handwashing stations at the entrance. The inside of the market had undergone an amazing transformation. Instead of the bustling, claustrophobic place that open-air markets usually are, many stalls were empty. All vendors who sold anything other than food were conspicuously absent. The ones selling food were mostly around the perimeter. I said to myself, I'm not breathing in here, I'm not touching anyone (which is pretty hard to do). We bought our stuff and hightailed it out of there, passing by the bus park, which was completely empty.

Last Saturday we successfully used Zoom to videoconference our meeting for just the Watchtower Study. It's kind of neat: you control your video and audio and can comment by pushing this button that says "Raise Hand." Then, a little icon of a hand shows up next to your name. The only drawback with Zoom is that the free version only gives you 40 minutes for each "meeting." When the meeting is cut off, everyone has to "join" again using the same meeting ID number. For Saturday's meeting, though, the brother who was the host got a popup with a promotion giving us uninterrupted service for our meeting. Unfortunately, for Tuesday's midweek meeting, we didn't have the promotion and so we had to reset 3 times.

My understanding is that Skype doesn't have a time limit on meetings but the number of participants is limited to 50 (Zoom is 100). That's no problem for us, because we have only 22 publishers. We may switch to Skype after doing some testing.

Oh, something else about the meetings. We decided that talks, parts, or comments can be given in any language you want. The whole idea is that of mutual encouragement. Most of the two meetings we have had have been in Kinyarwanda, because that is everyone's mother tongue (except me). So, I don't know, should I switch to the English congregation?

What about preaching? Since these restrictions started, the only means of preaching allowed are letter writing, telephone, e-mail, and text. But here in Rwanda, those methods of preaching are almost never used. So this is an opportunity for all of us (especially the pioneers, who are affected the most) to step out of our 'comfort zone.' Last week I wrote my first letter in Chinese characters. I read characters all the time but never write them. I used the sample in the be book with a few small changes. It took me an hour and 20 minutes! Handwritten letters are more personal than printed ones, and besides, they take longer to produce. We can leave these letters, along with a tract or invitation, at confirmed Chinese homes where the residents are hard to reach.

Also, this coming Friday, Jacques plans to conduct a Bible study with Diamant, starting in the morning and going all afternoon! Six hours of preaching time!

And here's my final comment to anyone burned by the stock market (tanking 30% in a month): Zoom is a very fitting name. Look up the stock.

Memorial complications

Well, I don't know about your Memorial, but the ones here in Rwanda this year will probably be unique in the worldwide field. How is that?

It turns out that April 7, every year, is Genocide Memorial Day. This marks the anniversary of the day when the Rwandan genocide started in 1994. In Rwanda, this is a very serious holiday. Everything shuts down: government and local businesses, transport (except for a few hours in the early afternoon), sporting events, meetings, etc. The only things allowable are government-sponsored events.

In the U.S., you can preach on any holiday you want, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. But in Rwanda, on Genocide Memorial Day as well as another serious holiday, Heroes' Day (February 1), we do not preach. I don't know what would happen if we did, but it would be a serious offense to people's sensibilities. So we stay home. It's even difficult to go anywhere due to the transportation shutdown.

The problem is that our Memorial, the Memorial of Christ's death, happens to fall on April 7 this year, the same as Genocide Memorial Day. I checked the date of every Memorial since 1995 and none of them fell on April 7. So this will be a first-time occurrence. On the evening of April 7, every year, the government arranges an event called "Walk to Remember." Thousands of people walk from the Genocide Memorial Museum, which is located in a neighborhood called Gisozi, to Amahoro Stadium, a stadium that seats about 20,000 and is located in a neighborhood called Remera. This stadium also happens to be right across the street from Bethel, and behind Bethel is the Remera Kingdom Hall, which is where 7 congregations meet (3 Kinyarwanda, English, French, Chinese, and Sign Language). The distance from Gisozi to Remera is about 10 km (6 mi) and the walk starts around 5:00 p.m. This means that the major roads are blocked during this time. Once everyone arrives at the stadium, a program of speeches, interviews, testimonials, and videos begins. The program lasts all night.

Then, the week following Genocide Memorial Day is called the Week of Mourning. Up until April 13, other events are planned which vary by location and time. During that period, we limit our preaching to certain times of the day.

So, of course all of us were wondering, could we hold our Memorial celebration that evening at the Kingdom Hall? Considering that it is so close to the stadium, with police and soldiers all over the place, would it be considered offensive?

In mid-March, members of our Rwanda Branch Committee met with governmental officials to discuss the matter. We explained to them that this is the most important religious event we have during the entire year, and that it must be held on that night, the anniversary of Jesus' death according to the Jewish calendar.

I don't know specifically what else was said during that meeting, but the result was that the officials said, okay, you can have your meeting, but only from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. No other time. Not before, not after. This applies to every congregation in the entire country. So they really did us a big favor.

Unfortunately, some congregations had already printed their Memorial invitations with some other time. We in the Chinese congregation hadn't printed ours, because we weren't sure what the direction would be.

Logistically, now, the problem will be to squeeze all 7 congregations into the double Kingdom Hall. We do have, in addition to our small parking lot on site, a fairly decent-sized parking lot behind the Kingdom Hall where the Sign Language RTO is located. It was decided that the 3 Kinyarwanda congregations would meet, all together, in the larger parking lot under a massive tent. This would mean 300 brothers and sisters, not including interested ones. English would take the upstairs Hall, French the downstairs one, and Sign Language the small parking lot under a tent. Chinese would be in the back room of the upper Hall.

Another thing we wondered about is whether interested people would come, (1) because our invitation campaign is severely limited by the coronavirus, and (2) because many would be afraid to come on the same day as Genocide Memorial Day. Or they might be confused between Genocide Memorial and our Memorial, both of which use the word "Memorial." Or they might try to come but find that the roads are impassable. So we don't have an idea of how many visitors we will have. But even with only publishers attending, you would still have more than 500 people at the same venue.

The direction therefore is, try to come to the Kingdom Hall that evening before 5:00 p.m., because otherwise you might find the route blocked. Don't bring your car. Be prepared to find alternate routes upon leaving. I can still park my car at my previous house, and then walk 6 minutes to the Hall. The roads of that neighborhood should not be affected by blockage.

If, by the time that April 7 comes, we are still under coronavirus restrictions prohibiting large gatherings, then we will have to meet in small groups either watching a streamed talk, or else, as I joke to some of the sisters, 'you can give a Memorial talk to a small group wearing a head covering.'

There is no question that 2020 will be a year to remember....

Coronavirus

Amazed by what is happening on the world scene? I've been in the truth for 50 years and never, never have I seen the hysteria the coronavirus is causing. Even SARS, MERS, and Ebola were not like this. Here in Africa it has not affected us to the extent of China or Europe, but about a week ago the first case in Rwanda was discovered. It was an Indian man who was traveling from India to Rwanda. The authorities quarantined him immediately. Then, a report appeared yesterday stating that now there are a total of five cases here. In the rest of East Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania) there is only one reported case in Kenya. A few more cases in West Africa and South Africa. But the governments here have some experience with monitoring the Ebola virus. Anytime you cross a country border, they check your temperature by putting a probe against your neck. So they are taking this situation very seriously.

The meetings here in Kigali have been canceled for two weeks by order of the Ministry of Health. Assemblies have been postponed. We had a Chinese class going on that has to be canceled for the time being. Preaching is allowed but we are careful. Our congregation is doing only cart witnessing (and phone and letter, but those are not commonly done here). Other congregations may have door-to-door activity but with caution. Now I'm afraid to get on a public bus. Fortunately I have a car so I can get around. I've heard about the price gouging in the U.S. for things like hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, etc. (I brought back quite a bit of hand sanitizer from the Dollar store--because it was cheap--when I was in California even before this all happened. Anyone want a bottle for $100?) And hoarding of all kinds of basic supplies. What is the world coming to?

Also, maybe some of you have heard about the devastating locust plague in East Africa. Millions of locusts have wiped out crops, causing the authorities to believe that a famine is imminent. A report I read, interestingly, stated that China is planning to send 100,000 ducks to Pakistan, one of the affected countries, because unlike chickens, which can eat 70 locusts a day (and are also harder to manage), ducks can eat 200 locusts a day. This, they say, is more effective than pesticides. So, then what? We're going to have a duck plague! All due to climate change, is the conjecture.

So...we need to trust in Jehovah. (Prov. 3:5) Never more than now do we need to follow carefully the direction given by Jehovah's organization!

Anniversary dinner and 2nd Chinese course

In November of last year, we made one year as a Chinese congregation! There were tentative plans for a celebration, but because I was in the U.S. for such a long time, nothing was arranged. After I came back, however, we planned our big dinner. It was held last Saturday at a Chinese restaurant called Lao Tangren. (This is the same restaurant that I am the "manager" of, allowing me to get a visa.) We reserved a room in the back with a large round table and a Lazy Susan that could accommodate 20 persons. This occasion was not only to celebrate our first anniversary, but also to show appreciation for the pioneers' hard work. I and another elder hosted this dinner. For many of the brothers and sisters, this was their first experience eating Chinese food. With chopsticks, no less.

There is another recent development. Ever since we have become a congregation, many of the pioneers have been called to work at Bethel as full- or part-time commuters, LDC, or the Assembly Hall. Now most of the pioneers are in one of those categories. One elder and four out of the five ministerial servants are now Bethelites. The result is that though the weekend field service is very well supported, service during the week usually consists of me and the special pioneer couple, with a few joining in the afternoon. Our circuit overseer jokingly said to a brother in the Service Department that 'you created this congregation, and now by calling in most of the pioneers to work at Bethel, you are destroying it.'

In a way, this is a good problem to have. The proposed solution was to ask the branch for another language class, so that we can get some 'fresh blood,' as I like to put it, that is, more pioneers to support the ministry. After all, that is why we are a congregation in the first place, right? Anyway, that was our argument in a letter to the branch. We also mentioned that it would give the congregation greater stability if we had some married couples and 'older' persons (though that is a relative term, because the average age in the congregation is around 23 years), because you never know when some of these young ones will get married or move out of the congregation. In fact, we just had three sisters that graduated from SKE and were assigned out of Chinese. Benjamin and his wife Alice, who are the special pioneers (and he is the coordinator) also graduated from SKE and, thankfully, were assigned back to Chinese. Prior to this, I thought, I'm going to have a heart attack if they leave Chinese.

So the upshot is, the branch approved our request for a second language class. Hooray! It started at the beginning of this month with 32 students. One has since dropped, leaving 31.
Benjamin and I are the instructors. We are scheduled up to late May, after which I can finally get away for about a week or so on a trip to Tanzania.

So that's the latest. Next week is circuit assembly, then Memorial in April, and then....

Jet lag (three times)

Okay, it has been a long time since my last post. That's because I just returned from the U.S. after more than four months there. The situation is that my brother and his wife have been spending extended time in Germany, where my sister-in-law is from, taking care of her mother, who is seriously ill. So I was elected to house sit for them during that time. Also, someone needed to keep an eye on my parents, who are getting up in years. Although they are doing well for their age (my dad still drives at 92), one never knows what could happen.

So, here I was, in a big two-story house, with just a cat for company. She is 12 years old, and slowing down. Sometimes she'll eat, and other times not. And then, there was a day when she apparently couldn't make it to the litter box in time and made messes in various places of the house.

But, all that excitement aside, I did have access to my brother's and sister-in-law's cars, which gave me mobility, although at first I was completely unused to fast speeds on the freeways (in Rwanda, about the fastest you can go in town is 40 mph). So I preached with the Sacramento Chinese congregation five or six days a week. I also attended the English meetings of my parents' congregation. And this was an additional experience: I had the opportunity, on an informal basis, to sit in on a few vocal recording sessions and practice sessions at the Sacramento RTO.

In October I set a goal of putting 130 hours of field service time in, just to see if I could do it. Well, apparently not. After three weeks, I had 90, but was so exhausted that I unfortunately backed into another brother's car in the Kingdom Hall parking lot. My brother had previously added me to his insurance policy for just that reason. But I did manage 107 hours after all.

All that food in America of course resulted in weight gain, which is usually the case, of about 8 kgs. (17 lbs.).

Then there was the big TV at my brother's place, so that I could keep up with American football (something that never happens in Rwanda). Amazon Prime, Netflix ... so this is what I'm missing living in Africa!

Finally, it was time to come back to Rwanda. Carrying five phones, five tablets, and a laptop, no less. I arrived on a Thursday, and then it was time to "hit the ground running." On Saturday, there was scheduled the orientation meeting of the second Chinese class, then the regular congregation meeting, then the pioneers' meeting with the elders. The next day, Sunday, was the KM School for Elders. I had parts in all these. Even with jet lag. (Time difference between California and Rwanda = 10 hours.)

Okay, it has been 11 days since returning, and I had reasonably adjusted to the time here, but then yesterday evening my roommate and best friend Jacques and I went to this restaurant in town called Lavana. It is an upscale place and one that I discovered while checking the Internet in the U.S. as being the only place in Kigali where you can watch the Super Bowl on a big screen. (For Rwandan readers = championship match of American football.) Of course, while in California I followed the San Francisco 49ers, and now here they were playing in the Super Bowl!

The only drawback to this is that the game starts at 1:30 a.m. and finishes at 5:30 a.m., local time. So it was a struggle, once again, to stay awake, although drinking a Coke helped somewhat. We ordered fish tacos and pizza, my favorite in the middle of the night (ha!) and settled in, in the same room with about 30 people or so. There was some cheering, if one realizes that at least half the people were Rwandans and it is not their nature to be loud and boisterous. Except for this one couple from San Francisco sitting behind us, as well as a Burundian man from Toronto, who very obviously supported Kansas City.

Jacques, who knows nothing about American football, although he did tell me he played rugby in the past, was quite energetic and vocal, even hugging and dancing with the Burundian guy during particularly exciting moments. He even rooted for Kansas City, just to be contrary. So he got quite the experience, especially seeing the lavish half-time show. I hope he doesn't suddenly get the desire to emigrate to the U.S.

Anyway, it's back to the regular routine. Good to stay busy!

History of Chinese congregation in Kigali, Rwanda

Hey, we made one year as a congregation!

Enjoy the video.

Getting kids to eat vegetables, and other ravings

Well, this is late August, and you know what that means. The pioneer time is mostly done, and since I am recovering from a bad cold (called "flu" here) that started last Sunday, perhaps getting some rest is just as well. Except that the brothers and sisters in the congregation are telling me that they like my voice in this condition (sounding like Darth Vader), but of course it won't last.

There was an outbreak of Ebola in the border town of Goma in DRC recently. Previously, Ebola was found hundreds of kilometers away. But now, it has hit closer to home. So we have had several letters from the branch read at the congregation level about the need to wash your hands several times a day, to go immediately to hospital or clinic at the outset of any symptoms, and to follow the instructions of the authorities carefully. But, folks, not to worry unduly! Ebola hasn't made it into Rwanda yet (though it is awfully close) but we are taking every precaution to protect ourselves.

It hasn't been as hot in July and August as it usually is, so that is definitely a blessing. So what has been happening in my life lately? We had a wonderful English regional convention in mid-July. I gave the baptism talk, which is a first for me. There were three candidates. There was supposed to be a fourth one, a sister, but unfortunately the previous day her fleshly sister passed away. So this sister, the candidate, was at the convention on the day of the baptism, in tears. Many were trying to console her. Another thing is that she was pregnant. So it was decided that she would return home and not get baptized this time. So, as I was giving the talk, I wondered, should I say something about this? A brother mentioned this sister's loss earlier that morning in his prayer. Interestingly, the baptism talk outline had a section describing Jesus' feelings of love expressed toward Mary and Martha and the friends of Lazarus after his death. So I had this subject already prepared for the occasion.

Another first: during the circuit overseer's visit earlier this month I interpreted his two weekend talks from English to Chinese. On stage. Sentence over sentence. With two Chinese people in the audience. I tell you, that was more nerve-racking than giving an actual talk in any language! On his previous visit, I was also assigned to be the interpreter, and spent 10 hours preparing from notes, but didn't actually do the interpretation because on the day of the meeting, no Chinese people came. But I guess...it was good practice.

Another development: during the last three months I had to move out of the Kibagabaga house and back to Remera because relatives of the family in Belgium would be visiting during the summer holidays. As it turned out, there were seven relatives, most in their late teens or early twenties, most not Witnesses, as well as several unauthorized "sleepover" guests occupying the house. I don't want to get into details here, but suffice it to say that they drove my friend Jacques almost insane, to the point that he swore never to have kids in the future, never mind the fact that he isn't even married yet.

But they're finally all gone. Completely. So now, as of the beginning of September, I can move back, and it will be just Jacques and me living in the house, that is, until the next onslaught. But we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

But, now, to the theme of this post: getting kids to eat vegetables. I'm not married, I don't have any kids, and so I don't have any firsthand experience with kids and vegetables. But I can only imagine: you can entice, you can cajole, you can try to make the vegetables appealing in every possible way. And still the kid will refuse to eat them. So what do you do?

Well, getting Chinese learners to study characters must be a similar experience. I should say this: everyone in our congregation is doing very well in learning Chinese. They're improving in their vocabulary, pronunciation, usage, grammar, etc. Brothers are now giving meeting parts and even full public talks in Chinese, and their progress is amazing! But there is one exception: learning Chinese characters. During the language class almost two years ago, we had them study the 120 most common Chinese characters. To date, the average number of characters remembered is probably less than 10. Or even 5. The brothers and sisters are so heavily reliant on pinyin (alphabetic pronunciation system) that they cannot break away from it. We have had Local Needs parts on the subject of learning characters, how doing so dramatically improves one's understanding of Chinese. We have had fascinating explanations of the various parts of characters. We have encouraged everyone to use flash cards, to take a few minutes every day to learn characters. And still there is resistance.

A few months ago, the body of elders decided that we would project on the screen during the midweek meeting one out of the three songs in characters. The other two would remain in pinyin. The one song chosen and announced weeks in advance would be a song that is not too fast and has characters that are easier to recognize. We encouraged everyone to prepare this one song as part of their normal meeting preparation. It went well for a few weeks, but now most have reverted to looking at pinyin on phones and tablets when the character song is projected.

So again I ask: What do you do to get the kid to eat vegetables?

Of course, setting a good example is important. Me, I always use characters when conducting a question-and-answer meeting part, doing a reading, or singing. It's true that I have many years of experience with learning characters. And perhaps that's the problem: the brothers and sisters think that of course Brian knows characters because he is Chinese. It comes in the blood. NOT! Just because I look the part, it doesn't mean that I didn't experience the blood, sweat, and tears of learning these things from scratch (as an adult, no less), just like they are doing.

So perhaps the solution lies in something our coordinator said to me once: we need to get a Rwandan in this congregation to set an outstanding example in learning characters, and then others will follow. (By the way, the coordinator and his wife are making good strides in learning characters, but then, they are very serious about everything.)

So...that brings me to an interesting development this week. One of the young brothers, Samuel, decided on his own and even told me in advance that he would be doing the student presentation Bible reading completely in characters. This would be a first for anyone in the congregation! Well, he succeeded, and got hearty applause for that reading. After the meeting, I asked a few brothers, okay, who will be the next one to do a character reading? So I think this will start to catch on, now that the ice has been broken.

Last thing: I will be going to California for a visit from mid-October to mid-December. Time to fatten up! The next post may be from there, unless something dramatic happens here.  😃

Kampala, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar

With my visa securely obtained, and no possibility of getting booted out of the country (just leaving voluntarily), I decided that being ahead on my pioneer time for the service year entitled me to take off two weeks to do an East African tour. As a "four-star" Chinese restaurant manager, I can benefit from my Rwandan work permit, which allows me to cross into Uganda and Kenya without paying a visa fee. The plan was that another brother visiting from the U.S. and I were to travel together. He was halfway through a worldwide tour that involved 27 countries. I went alone from Kigali to Kampala and met him there.

Here was the itinerary:

Kigali to Kampala (Uganda): 10 hours on bus

Kampala to Nairobi (Kenya): 15 hours on bus

Nairobi to Dar es Salaam (Tanzania): 17 hours on bus

Total: 42 hours on bus

Even just the thought of this is exhausting.

Anyway, we had a reservation to stay three nights at Kampala Bethel, which of course was a great experience. We also took some local tours, namely, to Idi Amin's torture chambers (seriously), and to Jinja, which is two hours away and where there is a place called "Source of the Nile."

In Nairobi, we had lunch at Bethel (their accommodations were full) and stayed locally with a couple who have an interesting history. The husband is Kenyan and the wife is Canadian. She attended Gilead School in the 1960's and was assigned to Kenya, where she served and for a time was also in Benin. But after only about five years, she married a Kenyan, had four children, and stayed in Kenya for the last 50 years, except for a couple of years when they went back to Saskatchewan, just so the husband could get a taste of those Canadian winters (no, actually, they were there for some other reason). Their oldest son and his wife are in Bethel (he is overseer of the Computer Department), and they attended Gilead School a few years ago. Another daughter, who is single, also works at Bethel in Sign Language Translation.

As far as tourist stuff is concerned, we went to the Giraffe Center in Nairobi, where you can stand on the second story of a round building and have giraffes literally in your face, eating pellets out of your hand. Or, if you prefer, you can place the pellet sticking out of your mouth and have a giraffe lick your face while trying to grab the pellet with its big blue tongue. They say that giraffe saliva is antiseptic, but I'm not sure.

Next was our leg to Dar es Salaam, which means "House of Peace" in Arabic. It was a quick overnight there, and then the next morning we took the two-hour ferry ride to the island of Zanzibar.

I have to say that Zanzibar is as exotic as its name sounds. Of course, there are a lot of tourists, but despite that fact, prices are very cheap. There is an area you can stroll through in the evenings that has stall after stall of meats on skewers, including fish of every type, octupus, squid, etc. And each skewer is less than $2.00!

Due to the Arab influence, Zanzibar is heavily Muslim. The architecture and the narrow alleyways take you back to the last century. We saw the sultan's palace and the outdoor amphitheater where the East African slave trade took place.

We attended a Swahili meeting in Zanzibar. There is only one congregation on the entire island. Due to the Muslim and government influence, the brothers have been prevented from having a Kingdom Hall for 30 years. So, the congregation has meetings on a brother's property, under what looks like a carport. Before every meeting, they have to take 80 plastic chairs out of a storage room and set them up. (We spent an hour helping to do this.) They also have to set up the entire sound system for each meeting. Then, after the meeting, everything gets dismantled. However, recently they finally got approval to turn the house on the property into a Kingdom Hall! Jehovah has indeed blessed their patience.

Of the three days in Zanzibar, we spent only a few hours on one day at the beach. That's because we were staying with a family of pioneers, which means that field service took priority. This was fine with me, because now I can say that I did cart witnessing in Zanzibar!

Okay, the return ferry ride to Dar es Salaam was unfortunately very rough. People on both sides of us were throwing up. We were spared that experience only because at the beginning of the trip, this guy was selling these large chocolate bars for 50 cents each that normally would cost you 10 times that in the U.S. So eating that chocolate actually helped us avoid seasickness. Good trick to remember.

Back on the mainland, we had only enough time to attend a weekend meeting and then go out to eat with the family that put us up.

But in case you thought I was willing to sit for 35+ hours on a bus from Dar es Salaam back to Kigali, fuggedaboutit! We had bought plane tickets for the 3-hour flight, including a stopover in Kilimanjaro Airport. My sanity was saved.

Visa miracle

Up to now, which means for the last five years, I have managed to get visa renewals from Immigration. But recently, I hit a roadblock.

The language school I was working at, Edugate, closed its doors, and I was left with a visa expiring in March of this year. A month in advance of the expiration, this is what happened. There is a Chinese restaurant close to the Kingdom Hall called Lao Tangren that is owned by a Chinese man and his Congolese wife. The wife is studying the Bible with a sister in the French congregation. She comes to the French meetings and is progressing well spiritually. After hearing about my visa plight and appreciating what I am doing here in Rwanda, this lady came up with the idea that I could become the manager of the restaurant, but only on paper in the form of a work contract.

Well, Immigration sent three representatives out to interview the lady and me at the restaurant. No, they finally concluded, we don't need a foreigner to do this job, we can get a local person. I asked, you mean a Rwandan who can speak Chinese? Yes. So they denied my visa.

Then, I found another language school called Wibena Language Center, where I got a work contract to teach Chinese. The visa for this, too, was denied, on the basis that Wibena is not certificated with the Ministry of Education. Well, Edugate wasn't either, and they approved that one, but that just shows that you can't figure Immigration out, no matter how hard you try.

Then, an elder in the Chinese congregation who owns several companies for his electrical contracting business offered to put me on as a shareholder of one of his companies. We had to go through the involved process of creating minutes of shareholders' meeting (although he is actually the only shareholder) to add me as a 30% shareholder, change the name of his company to show that its purpose is the acquisition and leasing of real estate (in harmony with my field of "expertise"), and get all these documents notarized. For the notarization, I had to produce my passport, which, you should realize, was still being held captive at Immigration. This required a trip there in the pouring rain and some convincing, but they were willing to let me have it if I promised to return it by no later than the next morning.

I had another interview with Immigration in the brother's office. They asked the brother, if you are intending to have this foreigner train others in the processes of real estate acquisition and leasing, where is your training center? And moreover, as a shareholder, has he invested any money in the business?

The brother was actually willing to open a "training" center and also deposit a sizable amount of money into an account just to satisfy Immigration, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway because at the end of the interview, Immigration said they could not approve my visa for this purpose. In case you are counting, this is now the third denial.

Finally, in a fit of frustration, I went to Bethel and spoke with a member of the Branch Committee. They said, well, we can provide a letter on branch letterhead stating what you have been doing here for the last five years. However, it is not strictly speaking an endorsement because I am not in special full-time service and so the organization is not "sponsoring" me or taking responsibility for my support. (This is the situation of all "need-greaters" who serve at their own expense anywhere in the world.) However, because I have been here for quite a while, the branch was willing to send this letter along with a brother in the Legal Department to speak to Immigration.

Well, it was a two-hour interview with Immigration. Their basic message was: Okay, you've done private teaching, and you've worked at a language school, and then you're a shareholder in this real estate company, and now you come in here with a letter from Watchtower stating that you teach the Bible to Chinese people. So...what are you really doing here?

I pointed to the letter and said, this is what I'm really doing here. But because our organization doesn't sponsor or support people in my situation, I have had to pay for my own plane ticket, my own rent, and my own food, and since I don't make any money teaching the Bible, I have to get secular work to support myself. So, I added, I haven't deceived you (Immigration) in any way; I really did do private teaching, and I really did work at a language school.

The immigration officer was nice, but she said, sorry, we can't approve this. Normally, we give people in your situation a week to get out of the country, but since you've been here for years, we'll give you two weeks to wrap up your affairs. But you really have to leave then. And, if you ever come back to visit, just be aware that you're in our computer system and so if you stay, say, longer than a month, we'll come looking for you. We know how to find people. (How comforting.)

Four denials....

I went back to Bethel highly discouraged. A brother invited me to his room for lunch. And then, something amazing happened....

My phone rang, and it was Immigration again. The officer said, Do you have a work contract with Wibena? I said yes, you should have it in your file (which, by now, must be several inches thick). He said, well, we're considering giving you a visa for that employer. If we gave you a year, would you be happy with that? I replied, yes, yes, indeed!! Okay, he said, we're still considering this, and we'll call you back to confirm. I said, can't you confirm right here and now, over the phone? No, he said, we'll get back to you.

Well, this is one thing that Immigration almost never does: get back to you. So, with a glimmer of hope, I waited a week and then went to Immigration and asked about my visa. The officer returned from the back room and said, "You've been approved." I looked in the passport and, what do you know, the visa was not for Wibena, but for the Chinese restaurant manager position that was the first denial. On top of that, it was for two years! More than I expected! Jehovah performed a miracle!

So the upshot is that I'm now a restaurant manager. Of course, I don't really have to manage the restaurant; the only thing I am required to do is teach the owner and his wife's 8-year-old daughter piano (per the father's request) for a half-hour a week and conduct a Bible study with her (per the mother's request) for a half-hour a week. Also, as "manager," I would have restaurant privileges, which means I get to eat at the restaurant for free anytime I want.

By the way, the father is in his seventies, and the mother in her forties. How these two got together in the first place is beyond me, but it is quite hilarious to see them try to communicate, the father speaking only Chinese (and with a heavy northern accent) and the mother in her broken, Congolese-accented Chinese. And their daughter can understand French, English, and Chinese!

You may remember that most of the year I also stay in a mansion in Kibagabaga, which is managed by my friend Jacques while the family who owns it lives in Belgium. The only time I have to vacate is during the months of June through August, when family members come back for summer holiday. But otherwise, it's free rent!

Free rent, free food....

Can't beat that! Jehovah really takes care of his servants!

First Memorial as a congregation!

I don't know how your Memorial campaign was, but ours was beyond expectation! The previous year, when we were a group that was part of a congregation, we distributed around 100-150 invitations. So this year, we printed about the same number, and they ran out in the first week. Then, we printed another 100, and those lasted another week. The bottom line is, we distributed over 300 invitations!

I was to give the Memorial talk, which was to be held under a big white tent erected in the Kingdom Hall parking lot. (The English and French congregations had the upstairs and downstairs Halls.) Unfortunately, the previous week I had gotten a bad cold, with coughing, from a house guest from Congo who arrived at our place sick from day one. So, on the day of Memorial, my main concern was getting through the talk without having a coughing spell. I fell back on my experience in Colombia when I had to give two public talks in the same day while recovering from the flu. Then, I prayed not to cough, and it worked! That is, until I got off the stage.

Also, my thought was, maybe one Chinese person will come...okay, at the most five. I'd say five was being pretty liberal, eh?

Well, when the meeting started, it was a bit sparse. But then, they came...and came. The final tally: 14 Chinese persons! (Some count me as the 15th, but I would tend to dispute that.) Including our 24 publishers—none of whom, thankfully, defected to another language Memorial—the total was 38!

One of the Chinese guys actually ate the bread, but didn't take the wine. (I would have thought the wine would be the bigger draw...) Of course, we didn't count him as a partaker. The Chinese sang the songs enthusiastically, probably because we projected only characters on the screen and not pinyin.

Afterward, we got a number of WeChat contacts, and they are all being followed up. One of them, Mr. Zhou (same as my surname), also came to our meeting last Saturday. He has expressed interest in knowing more. We helped him to download the Bible, as well as the study edition of The Watchtower.

Everyone was ecstatic about the turnout! This experience motivates us to persevere in our work of preaching to Chinese people!

Out-of-town preaching trips

As a congregation only three months old, we have accomplished quite a bit!

Of course, we have all the meetings in Chinese (by necessity), which means all the brothers have had to 'step up to the plate' in handling parts. Yes, it is somewhat like jumping in the deep end of the swimming pool, but they are doing admirably. Treasures From God's Word talks, Living as Christians parts, and even public talk symposiums!

So last month, imbued with a newfound adventurous spirit, we planned a trip outside of Kigali to do Chinese preaching. A group of 9 of us traveled to Kibungo, which some of you long-suffering readers may remember was a place I went a few years ago to try to find a Chinese Bible student. Though I didn't find him, I did take note of the fact, for future reference, that there were other Chinese in the place.

So one Sunday in January, we set out east of Kigali two hours, armed with plenty of literature. The scenery was beautiful, the spirit high, and the singing loud. We visited a stone quarry. We talked to Chinese overseeing road construction. Many of them were happy just to have someone speak in their language.

We made a record of 15 Chinese people we spoke to that day. We obtained contacts by means of WeChat (微信), a messaging app used by Chinese almost exclusively (mainly because China has banned WhatsApp and its parent, Facebook). Chinese love to exchange, by scanning QR codes, their contact information. We like to use WeChat to establish a friendly relationship with Chinese people, then over time gradually introduce spiritual subjects.

Well, our trip was so successful that we planned another one in February, this time to the north, to Musanze. It was another 10-hour trip, climbing higher and higher to this mountainous region that is about 3-5 degrees cooler than Kigali. This is also a touristic area, where people come to see gorillas and volcanoes. A local brother said he would accompany us and show us where all the Chinese people were.

One experience from this trip: Two publishers arrived at a house where a Chinese lady was standing outside the front gate talking on the phone. Then, she went inside the gate, the gate opened, and a car pulled out. The publishers talked to the driver, a Chinese man, who said he was rushing to work, but would they like to get in the car and continue the conversation at his office? So, they went with him, and in his office, they showed a video from our website about a lawyer who came to the conclusion there must be a Creator. (This video is very effective with Chinese people.) He agreed with the reasonableness of the lawyer's position, and said he would be willing to have further contact with us.

Kibungo group

Musanze group

These trips have invigorated our ministry in the Chinese field!

Bad news ... and good news (the best, in fact)

What a day last Thursday was! First, that morning I discovered after arriving at school that my English class had been cancelled, so I decided to meet the field service group. Well, upon arriving in the territory, I had slowed almost to a stop to turn left into a parking space on the other side of the road, when suddenly: BOOM! I glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw a motorcycle plow right into the back of my car, followed by a cascade of four other motorcycles, all of whom obviously had been going too fast and following too closely. You know how accidents always appear to happen in slow motion? It was almost comical, watching these motos crumple over each other like dominoes. Well, I turned left to get off the road while all the moto drivers and their passengers untangled themselves. Then, a guy who spoke some English came up and said he saw the whole thing. But, he said, instead of  pulling off the road you should have stayed where you were, because that way we can draw diagrams, etc. I replied, in America, where I'm from, you pull off the road because otherwise you'll be a hazard. Anyway, some of the brothers who had been preaching came over, by which time a crowd of perhaps 100 people gathered, typically, to gawk.

I couldn't determine, in the ensuing confusion, which of the motos had been the first to hit me. Anyway, no one appeared to be hurt, and there was a medium-sized dent in my rear bumper, the kind that would cost a few thousand dollars in America to fix, but here only about $25, the biggest challenge being trying to match the paint. So, I concluded it wasn't worth pursuing, and besides that, all the motos took off very quickly, because they knew it was their fault.

Okay, that was the bad news. Well, after about a half-hour of preaching in the territory, Benjamin, one of the special pioneers in our Chinese group, got a call from Bethel. Why would they be calling me? he wondered. The brother from Bethel asked him about Chinese meeting times, and then he added, please check your jw.org inbox. Well, there was a letter from the Service Department that said: "We are very happy to inform you that we have approved the formation of the Kigali Remera (Chinese) Gasabo Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. The congregation is formed as of November 1, 2018. Please receive our warm Christian love and greetings." (Interestingly, the letter was written in Chinese though addressed to the English Congregation.)

Well, we could almost not contain our urge to start screaming! The announcement was made to the entire English congregation the following Wednesday evening. The new congregation will have 4 elders, 5 ministerial servants, and a total of 23 publishers, 18 of whom are regular or special pioneers, as well as 2 Bethelites. Our meetings will be on Tuesday evening and Saturday afternoon.

I can tell you this: there could not be a more satisfying culmination to almost five years of my being here in Rwanda!

First meeting of new Chinese congregation!

By the way, we are the 10th Chinese congregation in sub-Saharan Africa!