Visit to Mukingi Parish – Aug. 26, 2014

Shirley and I visited the Mukingi Parish in Gitarama Presbytery on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014. Celestin Nsengimana, the president of the presbytery, and Alphonse Ndererehe, the vice president of the presbytery, went with us. This parish had been part of the Ramba region previously. The approximately two hour trip there was quite perilous, as we left the hard top road after one hour and then spent an hour on mountainous roads. The trip back was even more perilous as it had started to rain, turning the roads to mud and making them very slick in places. Our visit to Mukingi was brief, as we realized the danger of travelling mountainous roads in the rain, still it was a visit where we were wonderfully welcomed. This certainly could be described as a mountain top experience, as that is where Mukingi is located! Here are some photos that tell the story of this visit.

This will give you an idea of the roads we travelled to reach Mukingi. They were roads cut into the sides of mountains, with sheer drop offs to one side and no guard rails. They were steep and winding roads, marked by breathtaking scenery. We crossed the ridges of several mountains, and drove through numerous little mountain villages. We had to ask for directions several times and took a few w…rong turns. And if you think the trip up was an adventure, just imagine coming down these same roads when they were slicked with rain and muddy! Fortunately we didn’t encounter another vehicle on these roads coming or going, although our driver kept honking his horn at every sharp curve like this where visibility was limited.

Here was our first view of the Mukingi church. Yes, it sets at the very top of a mountain! We could tell we were at a high elevation as it was downright COLD, and we were above the clouds! You can see the members of the church and community that turned out to welcome us. Evangelist (lay pastor) Nzirorera Fulgence (with the blue folder) is standing in the foreground. Celestin Nsengimana, the president of the presbytery, is taking a photo on his cell phone behind Fulgence.

The children of Mukingi peering at us through the cloud cover on the mountain top as we arrived. This is the pastor’s house behind them.

View of Mukingi from the mountain top perch of the church. You can see the road stretching along the spine of the mountain, and the traditional mud block homes with tile roofs. In fact, you can see where someone is making mud blocks in the foreground.

View of the distant mountains. We knew we could not stay long, as it was threatening to rain. Mountain roads can become impassable in the rain. Celestin kept cautioning that we may need to spend the night in Mukingi and return to Gitarama in the morning.

View of the Mukingi congregation from our seats at the front. This building did not have any glass windows, only wooden shutters that opened to the inside. At some point a fierce wind started to blow and the rain started to fall, and the shutters along one side were closed.

 The view of our seats of honor at the front. Many of the church’s elders were also seated at the front. The pastor had both the elders and the deacons stand. We learned there are 25 elders and 25 deacons in this parish. Notice the car battery that was used to power the PA system and the keyboard. There is no electricity at Mukingi.

View from the back as one of the choirs was singing. The woman with the stick kept the children in line, and occasionally chased away the local children who were peering in the windows and doors.

Another view of the front of the sanctuary. The pastor presented a very thorough, well organized, printed report in both English and Kinyarwanda. There are 903 members in this parish, spread among 4 chapels. We also learned that NO ONE in the entire congregation makes a monthly salary. From the report: “They live in bad situation, in general they are poor.” Celestin committed us to buying a sheep for the congregation (us along with him). Later Shirley chided him saying, “I don’t remember agreeing to help buy a sheep in advance.” Celestin responded, “The Holy Spirit was pushing you through me.”

After the worship service, we were invited to the pastor’s house (pictured here – notice the puddles of water). Here we were served Fanta, and we could not begin to imagine how far that Fanta had been hauled or what hardship hauling it had placed on someone. They wanted to serve us lunch, but we respectfully declined, again fearing that we needed to get DOWN the mountain sooner rather than later.

At the pastor’s house, we were presented with gifts. Here is Fulgence presenting honey to Celestin.

Here is a lovely photo of me, accepting a basket of passion fruit from Fulgence. The basket has the name of the parish woven into it.

I knew we were in trouble when it looked like this as we started down the mountain. To our driver’s credit, there was only one time we became stuck in the mud and had to get out and push. There were numerous times however when our vehicle slid toward those sheer drop offs. Both Shirley and I later confessed to each other that we were praying hard the whole way down!

 One of the breathtaking views we experienced going up to Mukingi.

 
Another breathtaking view we experienced going up to Mukingi.

 
Beautiful scenery the whole way!

The Nyabarongo River can be seen in the distance, also known as “the source of the Nile River”.