how we got here, take 1

Adrianne and I decided that our first blog post would be about why we decided to jump on a plane and move to Rwanda, but here’s the problem: we are super different.  We love each other, but neither of us really thinks like the other person, so asking one of us to write a post about the “why” feels like it would miss half the story.  So here’s my half of the story…

We’re moving to Rwanda because we were made for this.  Not necessarily forever – but definitely for now – this is what we think we were created to do.  I believe I was made for this job (even as I tried to diversify my career, all signs just kept pointing back to me being good at consulting).  I have longed to find a way to do what I’m good at in a way that feels more connected to the “common good” (it’s not that Capital One isn’t good; quite to the contrary, I think it is good; but I just got excited about doing work where the outcome of my job would be a clear and meaningful impact on society, and specifically to do that in a way that would address some of the specific needs that exist in the developing world.  And finally, we just get excited about doing this in Rwanda.  In 2006, we got to visit and when Adrianne and I were getting on a plane to continue our travel, I said “I could live here one day”.  When our journey toward adoption had a path that led us to Rwanda, I was ecstatic, and now to have the chance to have our family live in a place we love, in the place where Isaiah’s life started, well, that’s pretty amazing.

I think there’s also an element to the idea that “going” is easier for us than it probably is for some westerners.  It has its weaknesses, but we are about as flexible as it comes regarding change, and we are also both pretty easy going about life’s finer things.  We also were both exposed over our pre-kid lives to the global south and have a unique interest and love for the people and places that have not yet experienced the kind of thriving that has occurred in the west.  So, the thought of the uncertain, power might be flickering, food might be different, roads aren’t paved and amenities aren’t available kind of life that we will experience in Kigali seems to just fit our personalities. 

So, we are excited, and that doesn’t count other things that I’m excited about, like learning a new culture, a new language and new business practices. Or having a pretty direct say in how a small company like ours will be run from day to day. Or getting to have our kids have friends who are from all over the globe. Or getting to experience the natural beauty of Rwanda and the incredible climate.

But, there’s also a ton of sadness. I knew it would be tough to leave our families.  Being at a distance like this one, even if only for a season is painful and sad.  I didn’t know how tough it would be to leave our community in Richmond.  The incredible people we leave behind make it hard to imagine how it could ever be replicated somewhere else.

And there’s uncertainty and fear, too.  There are pieces of my job that will be new and hard for me.  I’m genuinely concerned for my kids ability to cross the ocean and adapt to life here, and not sure exactly how all that will impact them.  There’s a new set of health concerns that have never been on our radar, and I’m now needing to be much more tuned into the political instability that has impacted the African continent in recent times.

But overall, as excited and prepared and sad and fearful as I am, the overall sentiment for me is that this trail has been blazed for me in advance.  I believe that God was at work in the last 12 years of our lives to author our story and I believe that the particular circumstances around this job, in this place at this time have only furthered my belief that we are walking the intended path.  So, I’m confident that we’re heading the right direction, not sure exactly what is going to look like, and excited to see where it goes.