Visiting parents!

My (Kristi) parents came to Pasadena to visit us last week. We were grateful for the chance to reconnect for the first time since our wedding--for me it felt like a bridge between my 'old life' and new life of being married.

We saw several of the local sites, including the Gamble House, the Getty, and a hike in the mountains. Unfortunately, the weather was rainy and cold (for southern California), but we still enjoyed ourselves, and the rain also meant that we saw a few rainbows! Here is one at the Getty:
The Getty museum is incredible--huge, with a wide variety of art, and free every day. How could it get any better? My dad felt a special kinship with a sculpture of Old Man Winter:
One of the great things about the Getty museum is that they not only have great art, but also beautiful gardens! Exploring the gardens was the perfect solution for 'museum fatigue'. Here is a shot from one of the gardens that also shows some of the immense size of the buildings.

Then, on Saturday we all went hiking. This was a miracle for 2 reasons: 1) The weather forecast for that day was cloudy and rain, but then spontaneously it was sunny, all morning. 2) Bob hasn't exercised or been outside much since he got sick almost a month ago (and he got sick the day after a hike, incidentally, so was particularly nervous about hiking). We drove a very scenic route through the mountains, then hiked a bit near the Mt. Lowe railway. It felt great to get outdoors and appreciate the beauty of creation!

The red-coated hikers. And yes, that is snow in the corner!

sick

Bob is sick this week. After a visit to the doctor today, it appears he has a throat infection, and she prescribed an antibiotic and rest for the next week. So, the winter sick-season even happens in California! This is unusual though--Bob hasn't seen a doctor in a few years and doesn't get sick very often. So, for that we are grateful.

Last week Bob preached at Knox, and we had the opportunity to share some pictures of our recent trip to Rwanda during the children's message. We were really glad that he was able to preach (since he was weak and sleeping most of last week!), but the extra efforts expended there might have extended the recovery time. Live and learn. :)

Now I just hope that I don't get it too!

Transformers: "more than meets the eye"

We watched the Transformers movie last night. Bob started watching it on the plane on the way back from Rwanda when he couldn't sleep, but it cut out about 2/3 of the way through the movie. He wanted to see the end, so tried TWICE more to watch the end of the movie by turning it on when it was part-way through (we were on that plane for 17 hours, so there was time for the movie to loop a few times). Each time the movie cut out before the end.

We rented it this week just to see the end. Afterward, Bob commented that there were some great examples of cross-cultural issues in the movie. The humans and the autobots at first fear, mis-trust, and want to kill the other species. But near the end Optimus Prime says that he is willing to give up his life so that human life can continue, because he has seen some good in them. At the end, Sam, the human hero, risks his life in order to save the autobots (even to the point of being pushed off a building by Megatron!). In the last scene, Sam refuses when Optimus tells him to "push the cube into his chest" (which would kill Optimus but save the humans), but ends up pushing the cube into Megatron, thus killing the key villain and saving the world. (Sorry if I gave away the ending...I don't think this movie would be watched by most people that would read this!) The key at the end is the mutual respect that each species gives to the other--they really value each other, despite how very different they are. If only we could always do the same! :)

More Rwanda photos

I thought you might enjoy a few more pictures from our trip to Rwanda. If you got our updates, you might have seen a few of these already.

The one below is Bob preaching at Agape Church, with Anastase interpreting. We really enjoyed re-connecting with the churches we had been a part of in Rwanda!

The next one is of Japhet's family, one of Bob's colleagues at AEE. We got to visit many of our friends, and it was especially fun when we got to be in their homes and see their families.
For New Year's eve we were with Kristi's adopted family in Rwanda, and she received a goat as a gift! Here's a picture of the goat, after he was successfully caught after a grand chase:
And one more...we went to a Catholic retreat center for 3 days to get some time to process, pray, and rest, and here is a picture of us standing by Lake Kivu:
That's it for now! For a whole week after we got back we were waking up at 3 or 4am, but I think we have finally adjusted to the time. Now back to the grindstone! :)

Rwandan Wedding Celebration!

Yesterday was our wedding celebration in Rwanda. It was an incredible experience, and we wanted to share a few pictures. Any Rwandan elements that were missed in our wedding in the US were included in this ceremony!

traditional Rwandan clothes

The ceremony included many elements of a traditional dowry ceremony in Rwanda. The two ‘families’ were represented ‘elders’ from AEE and Urewgo who ‘negotiated’ the union. Fortunately, they were able to come to an agreement, despite the Urwego elder’s request for at least 100 cows. :)

The cutting of the cake and feeding each other the “first bite” are important ritualistic elements in Rwandan elements as well. After cutting the cake, we served the members of each other’s “family,” symbolizing the significance of hospitality in our home.

A Rwandan Christian dance troupe from a local church came and performed at the ceremony. With loud beats from the drum coupled with exuberant singing, women and then men dancers performed some of the most elaborate and skilled dancing we have yet to see in Rwanda. As we suspected, they invited us into the dancing.

Antoine and Bob dancing

The dancers presented several traditional gifts to us. The picture below is of a wooden container of milk. Milk implies a desire for a home blessed with many children.

AEE, Urwego and Le Rucher all presented gifts to us. Pictured below is Antoine Rutayisire presenting us a gift from the AEE Rwanda team.

We felt so honored to be celebrated and loved by our friends and “Rwandan families” here. We truly felt immersed in Rwandan culture, feeling a deeper connection with the people and their traditions.