The Seeing-Eye Rabbit

Apologies for not writing as often this trip. I got into the groove of Africa and just didn’t make this happen. Sorry – I’m back at it now.

I am now with the second ZOE team to Africa and this time I am in Rwanda. The team is fantastic and includes my bishop and (you need to know this for the story I am about to tell) his wife who became blind six years ago due to a virus.

The past few days have been fairly emotional. We went to the genocide museum in Kigale and saw the mass graves for 280,000 Rwandans. When we started making home visits, we came across the worst situation I have seen in Rwanda – a child-headed family who is getting kicked out of the house that they are using by their relatives. The younger sister has an open wound on her leg due to malnutrition and Epiphanie promises me that they are much better than they were three months ago – that girl could not even get out of bed and had sores all over her body. My heart broke as she shared a cup of sorgum soda with her five-year-old cousin that they adopted.

We have seen situations that are so desolate that it takes every ounce of faith not to count them hopeless. And in the face of such desperation, the staff here promises – and I believe them – that in three to six months, the kids will be food secure and will be empowered to accomplish their dreams.

We saw that today when we visited an orphan who had only been in the program 8 months. He had four younger siblings and was so pleased to be visited by our group – especially since the bishop was present.

He showed us his water tank that sifted rain water into good and bad – drinking water and water for the garden. He showed us his contraption to wash his hands when he leaves his outhouse so that he does not have to touch anything. He showed us his 3 large rabbits, 10 baby rabbits, corn, cabbage, carrots, and the old house where he used to live.

But the true grace occurred as we were leaving. The group was about ready to circle up and pray when the 20 year old orphan (who looks 15 from malnourishment) walks out of his house with one of his 3 adult rabbits by the ears and two large heads of cabbage. He walks over to the bishop and Mrs. Bledsoe and offers them to us as a gift.

This child gave us 33% of his adult rabbits because he was grateful for all that he has received through Giving Hope.

Here in Rwanda, many of the children are taught to beg from mzungus (yes they still call rich people and white people mzungus in Rwanda, too). They open up their hand and ask for a little bit of money, or water, or anything that you have.

This child, though, opened up his hand and offered us a tithe of his harvest. He had 10 baby rabbits and so he gave us one adult rabbit.

In the bus on the way out of this village, Greg Jenks (ZOE’s Executive Director) was joking about taking it home with him to North Carolina. Mrs. Bledsoe offered to use it as a seeing eye rabbit in order to get it past customs.

The truth of the situation is that this rabbit is exactly that. It teaches us how to see missions in a completely different light. It taught me to see that when we do missions right, the people do not merely stick out their hand asking for a little something to eat but rather we empower them to hold out their hand and offer what they have to somebody else.

That rabbit taught me to see my work in a whole new way.

[I also need to add that this story would not be complete if I did not tell about the other things that the orphans gave our group today. A different orphan gave us another rabbit and a chicken and a working group of orphans offered us a few kilos of beans from their harvest that day and 10 ears of roasted corn. I was walking back to the bus with a rabbit in one hand and an ear of corn in the other. Greg was walking back with an ear of corn in one hand and a chicken in the other. They were so proud that they could not wait to share God’s bounty. And the people of God said “Amen”.]