Far From An End

Dear Reader,

This is my last post, but the reflections – and the journey – go on, even here in the United States, where I touched down fairly recently after spending just over 8 months in Rwanda. Before going any further, I want to get to the purpose of this entry: Thank you. Without your participation in what just happened - whether it was reading this blog; Skype, phone, or email conversations of encouragement; prayer; sending me notes and gifts in the mail (I don't think you understand what that chocolate did to me); financial support; or giving contacts and information about the region - the last several months would never have happened. It's been a joy to hear from you and to keep in touch with you. And I cannot quite describe the joy it brings to see my family again.

Thank you for your faithful reading, your time, your thoughts, your challenges to my thoughts, and your encouragement throughout my time in Rwanda. I would love to keep in touch with you. While I was glad to give you glimpses of my life in Africa through blogging, I've found that there's not quite a "good" place to end a blog, because, of course, the conversation has not ended. It will never end. And that, frankly, is the most perplexing part and the most exhilarating part of the whole picture. I never set out as a Kolbe Fellow to solve these issues - I set out to contribute to the conversation. And I hope that you and I can continue to probe, wonder, ask questions, grow the arguments, and realize the solutions.

On one of my last few days in Rwanda, I woke up one morning and joined one of my housemates and now close friend in the living room of my house in the heart of Kigali. Both of us sat across from each other and talked nonstop from sunup to sundown. We could have easily gone on talking. This wasn't the first time. We barely left the room all day. I did not, of course, plan for this to happen - we had completely lost ourselves in time and I found myself suddenly watching the sunset, silently accusing myself of being an uncontrollable Chatty Cathy, and scrambling to get things packed before I set foot on the plane that would take me back. But that conversation was certainly worth the scramble. It struck me that night with full force: It's all about engaging these issues in conversation and taking informed action. It's all about laying out on the table the staggering and complicated questions of our lives today, marveling at them, being humbled by them, disagreeing about them, taking action that improves and advances them, making mistakes, picking ourselves up again, and jumping back in. And in doing so, we impact the lives of those around us, and in more cases than we think, the lives of those we don't know and will never know in this lifetime.

So, then, here is an invitation for you to continue to learn and to learn with me. And if we find ourselves perplexed and about to lose heart as we face the challenges so characteristic of this life, I believe that the very best thing we can do is to be humbled by something greater than ourselves and to be reminded that each of our contributions - however large or small - are the very essence of progress.

Here's to a lifetime of learning,

Grace