In Byimana.

I had the privilege of spending the past two days with the boys at Umuryango. What a pleasure! Yesterday we arrived at the home before the boys came home from lunch. We were dropped off by a taxi and then walked the .6 miles to the home. What a joy. We were surrounded by beautiful village kids along the way. It was so neat to watch the kids run up to Theresa and Valerie, who teach them English for an hour/day. They adore their teachers. I recogized some of the kids from last year. When we arrived at the home we took a tour of the home and the TWO that are being built. It is so very exciting to watch the progress. I plan on putting up pics when I have faster internet in the home we are staying in.

The boys came home from lunch and it was glorious. They ran over to me with smiles and gave me big hugs and kisses. Even the newer boys, who I hadn't met yet, welcomed me with open arms. It is so great to see them all again. The boy I sponsor, David, just kept hugging and kissing me. He sat next to me on the couch for a long, long time and we tried to communicate as best as possible. We spent much of the afternoon playing the game Sequence, which is now a favorite of everyone.

Today was a very exciting day. We wanted to do something special for the boys since it is a national holiday here. So, we rented a large bus and picked them up early. We headed over to the "Muzungu Mall" and got them all ice cream. This was a special treat that most of them had never ever had. And, to our surprise, most did not like it. It was way too cold for them. After that we headed to a soccer (futbol) stadium. We had lunch on the bus and then got tickets in one of the national stadiums for two matches. We watched the two matches, which proved to be a really crazy experience. The second match packed out the stadium and there were all sorts of people climbing the back wall and then getting hit by clubs by policemen. I didnt realize what a huge sport futbol is here. This second match was the national championship match, and President Kagame showed up too! After the matches we headed to a fine dinner in Gitarama. The boys were so thankful and appreciative of the day and it was a pleasure to watch them experience their surprises.