A Week in the Life of an Umuzungu



My desk... yes, I have a chair too.

Monday: walk to work, work from 8am to 12:30pm, eat lunch at a nearby buffet of traditional African cuisine, work from 1:30 to 5pm, walk home from work, rest until 7:15, Quiz Night at a local pizzeria, read, and go to bed.

Tuesday: walk to work, work from 8am to 12:30pm, eat lunch at the same cheap and convenient buffet, work from 1:30 to 5pm, walk home from work, rest until sundown, workout, eat dinner, read, and go to bed.

Wednesday: early morning men's Bible study, get a ride to work from my boss, work until lunch, ask around to see if anybody is getting lunch somewhere other than the buffet, work until 5pm, walk home, play volleyball with some locals, eat dinner, read, and go to bed.

The buffet you hate to love

Thursday: walk to work, work until lunch, pray for anything else other than the buffet, work until I have to walk home, work out, eat dinner, rest, happy hour at the Milles Collines Hotel, keep hanging out with people from the happy hour, back home to sleep.




Friday: take the walk, work, hoping I can catch the buffet next door just to make sure I'm sick of it, keep working, play volleyball with the same locals as on Wednesday, shower (apparently the first one all week), eat dinner, watch a movie, and go to bed.


Saturday: eat my standard three donuts at the local bagel shop, go for a run to work off said donuts, wait around until something crazy comes up


Sunday: walk to a local coffee shop for journaling/devotions while sipping on an iced mocha (don't worry, I'm still not a coffee drinker), catch up on emails, write a blog entry, brunch buffet and swimming at the Milles Collines OR ultimate frisbee with the Brits OR volleyball with the Germans, shower, watch a movie, and do it all over again.


I should mention that my weekend plans are only by default in case an opportunity for an adventure does not present itself; however, it's got to be a darn good adventure to make me miss out on donuts.

Battles Won in God's Army

Another busy week behind.  Another busy week ahead.  I'm still only scratching the surface.

The day's end as viewed from my bedroom window



Although my work has yet to produce much fruit, and it may not while I'm here, it has been a very fruitful week for IJM-Rwanda.  Two cases were brought to trial, both of which the defendant plead guilty. The two girls, currently young mothers as a result of the rapes, can now make great strides in the healing and rehabilitation process.  In the face of such evil, there is Justice.  Amidst such despair, there is Hope. Despite overwhelming callousness, there is Love. There is a God, one God, who fights for the poor and oppressed, and He uses us as His warriors. Praise God for such a tangible victory!

Another miracle witnessed this last week was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between IJM and the NPPA (National Public Prosecution Authority).  I claim such an event as a miracle because of the odds that stood against IJM in this process.  Although I can not go into details, know that God truly revealed His power in this signing process.  This MOU gives IJM official credibility bestowed by the government, it will allow IJM to work more efficiently in investigating cases of child sexual abuse, and there will be a stronger partnership with the government now than in years past.  Praise God for such a tangible victory!

Amidst the excitement, I remain busy behind my humble desk.  I'm currently working on two projects while offering my advice in a third and juggling daily meetings. My first project is a report writing training for all staff who are involved in report writing.  As I brought up the suggestion for a training as a result of my observance of some areas of improvement, I was tasked with the organization, presentation, and implementation of such training.  Although daunting, I'm excited to have a positive impact on something as important, but often overlooked, as the investigative reports.  My second project is a high profile case involving child sexual abuse.  Unfortunately, that is all I am able to disclose due to the nature of the case and that it is still under investigation.  Please pray for guidance, wisdom, and humility as I pursue both of these projects.

Other than that, and a cameo on the Rwandan National News channel, all is quiet on the African front.  Yes, that's right: I was on TV in Rwanda.  As I was sitting in a crowded court room, waiting for IJM's case to be heard, another high profile case was taking place.  I happen to be in the audience as the news camera swept the room.  I'm not sure what was said, but they must have thought I was there representing the Italian businessmen the case was against... a large amount of money being withheld from a large amount of people.  Typical Italians.  On the positive side, my celebrity status doesn't leave much room for competition since I was the only white person there.

Solitude and Silence

Getting out of LA was the goal.  I often tell of how there's too much concrete, too much traffic, not enough trees, and no easy escapes to the outdoors.  That's all true, but there's more.  There's more to why I know I needed to leave.  I was comfortable and stuck.  I knew that I had built up so many comfortable distractions that I could not draw close to God.  I was good at my job.  I had a steady paycheck.  I had my own apartment.  I had a nice motorcycle and a goofy car.  I had a big TV, a blue-ray player, and a Wii.  I had money to save.  I had money to spend.  No challenges.  No commitments.  I had surrounded myself with innocent, even good, things.  However, they filled my life leaving no room, rather, no desire to make room, for God or His work.  I was fully aware of the world I created.  I was even fully aware of the eventual destruction.  Radical life change was not the only answer, but I believe it was the best answer.


As I searched for opportunities, God provided the best one:  total abandonment of what I had created.  I kept praying, "Here I am Lord, send me,"  and He did, to a world unlike my own, to a continent I have never desired to go to (in fact, avoided), to a life dependent on Him.  I quit my job.  I left my apartment. I spent my savings.  I even gave up, although temporarily, that nice motorcycle and goofy car.  I tell you this not to give you reason to sign up for the Anthony Angelo Fan Club, but to provide context of the journey I needed, even longed for.  The journey that I am now realizing has much more in store for me than I ever imagined.


Lesson of the Week:  solitude and silence.  The first full week of work has been quite challenging and fruitful.  Every day, it is IJM's SOP (standard operating procedure) to provide the first thirty minutes of the work day in "stillness" - a time set apart to quite our hearts, and let God takes the reigns.  No talking.  No journaling.  No reading.  Not even praying.  A time to listen to the whispers of the Almighty.  A time to recognize Who is at work.  A time to understand the necessity of letting go.  How challenging this has been!  Although I am a relatively quite individual, I've never been the one to sit still very long.  But I'm here, and this is part of why I'm here, so buckle-up.  Sitting still is one challenge, clearing my mind is another, lasting the whole thirty minuets without looking at a clock is yet another.  I still have plenty of room for improvement in all of these areas, but just one week of beginning each day with solitude and silence has increased my desire for God and decreased my desire for myself.  

Villagers take the long, tiring, daily journey to get water

There is a long journey ahead of me, both in seeking justice for the poor and oppressed in Rwanda and reclaiming my heart to God.  It's not an easy road.  It's not a short road.  But it's a necessary road...  a road full of fear, challenges, and tears... a road that leads to life and life abundantly.

First Week

Coming to the end of my first week, it has been a whirlwind to say the least.  It’s like I was thrown into the deep end of the pool, expecting to know how to swim.  Okay, it’s not that bad; I can at least touch the bottom while standing on my tip-toes.

It definitely feels worse than it is.  This is my first experience living overseas, and there’s a huge difference between this and just touring/visiting on a short-term bases.  I feel as if I’ve moved here permanently, leaving everything I know and love behind.

The view over the valley while ascending Mount Kabuye

My first week: finding (still looking) a house to live in, figuring out how to navigate through a city with no street signs or names, budgeting my money in a foreign currency, eating local cuisine, eating non-local cuisine done in a local way, meeting Rwandans, meeting Americans, meeting Germans, hiking Mount Kabuye, being followed by a group of little kids who kept asking for money while hiking Mount Kabuye, talking with my boss about what my role is, talking with my boss’ son about legos, blowing the fuse in my converter, frying my surge protector... figuring out new life in a strange land.

It is a lot harder than I thought it would be.  Reflecting on this past week, I’ve been shown more areas in my life where God is at work.  It’s as if He is telling me, “This is not just another one of your adventures.  It will be hard.  This is not a vacation.  I have you here for a divine reason.  I am using you to help accomplish My goals.  There are real, evil powers at work against you so that you don’t accomplish the work I have for you.  You will feel as if there is no hope.  You will feel as if it will never end.  But, do not fear, your hope is in Me.”

A wise woman told me a quote by John A. Shedd: “A ship is safer in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for.”  God’s work is dangerous.  It’s a danger I never truly respected, and, therefore, for which I never truly prepared.  Yet, here I am, in the midst of not necessarily physical danger, well, not any more than the streets of Los Angeles, but of spiritual danger.  A danger that is just as real, just as pervasive, but vastly more crippling.  Here I am, a ship without a harbor in sight.