Walking with the Poor

It was the title of a famous missionary book, actually one of the few which really interested us during the stay at All Nations Christian College for our mission training, but despite the strong recommendation and our sincere desire, we didn't read it (in the past few years our reading occasions are limited to bed-time stories and online news articles), so Mattia's decided to just... DO IT!

Since his arrival here he walks a few kilometres every day, around the dirty roads of Gikondo (our sector in Kigali) and further away, with the street children or just by himself; the post comes today after the longest walk, about two and a half hours in the morning,  up and down the hills, with short breaks at three schools visited to place children or to ask for info, accompanied by Alexi, the latest addition to the street children gang and a "real street children", by the way (more on them in their dedicated page).

Apart from the fitness benefits (not having much time or opportunities for training, at least the former athlete keeps the hope of future sport activities alive - and the weight in constant decrease, due to the heat), it is a real blessing to be able to walk with the locals, to walk through their lives, among their houses, as this way you really come to understand them and their situation, get to know them better, get them to know you, try your luck with the local language, talk to the kids while taking them from one school to another... in short feel and be felt more integrated.

And your feet, if wearing sandals, assume not only that unusual stone-like texture on the sole, but also that funny striped colouring on the top, which at first seems only dirt, but after the evening shower reveals itself as sun-tan...