Easter musings

Happy Easter y’all! It is quite the day here in Gisenyi. Perfect weather, woke up somewhat tired from a long day of doing not much and attending a pool party hosted by a bunch of Californians until late night. But it is a holiday, so as a practicing Catholic, I had to find a church to celebrate Easter. More on that in a bit. 

In fact, Catholic mass in general here is an interesting experience. Most masses are in Kinyarwanda, and last for at least 2 hours. It is really difficult to follow when you do not understand anything. So I searched for mass in English. When I initially arrived in Butare (Huye), I had a lot of problems with this. I was told which church to go to by many people for Mass in English, but there was either no mass that day, they no longer offered English mass, or they never had a Mass in English in the first place. After a month of trying, I decided to do mass online, www.thesundaymass.org. It is an awesome, online mass from Upper East side of Manhattan. Great homilies, 30 min in length, indeed, perfect. After a few more months, I finally heard about a mass in English at a Church near the University at 1030 AM. Well, that was only partly true. You see, kids, there are only so many priests that speak English, and they are not always there. So, after another month of going to mass at the appointed time, and there not being mass, I finally got the phone number for someone who was in charge of organizing that mass, and started getting regular information about when it was offered, and I going whenever I was in town. There are more English masses in Kigali, but usually far from where I stay, and difficult logistically. 

It is sparsely attended, mostly University students, but a good mass. The best part is the choir made up of college-aged singers (The main campus of the University of Rwanda is in Huye, and just down the street from the church.) IMHO, they are better any any choir I have heard in the US. I have made some recordings on my phone, and I will try to get them uploaded soon (I know, I know, I also owe you guys some pictures; I am not serious!) 

So, back to Easter mass. I confirmed the place and time with 3 different locals. They all said 10 AM at this one main church. I got up early, got some coffee and a light breakfast, and go for a quick swim in Lake Kivu. I get to the church at 945, and what do I find: church already half over! I guess it started at 9 AM. Ahhh, Africa! Time is a whole different commodity here. So I embraced it, and I stayed for the end. A muzungu attending mass in Rwanda is usually a spectacle, but today I was stared at a lot more than normal. You get used to it: but from someone who hates being stared at, it is tough to get over. Besides that, the best part was the African drumming during communion and after mass. (Again, I will post pics and vids soon.)

As for the rest of the day, not really sure. I will be getting a good dinner tonite (A Conard Easter tradition: some kind of roast or ham, potatoes, and more, if they have?) 

Until next time: Enjoy Life, Love Liberty, and Be Happy!

Craig