a prophetic voice-

If twelve hugs daily is supposed to make us thrive, then I should be in excellent shape for the remainder of our trip and beyond. Yesterday, we visited the Nyanya grandmothers in the countryside outside of Kigali and were so warmly welcomed that it brought tears to my eyes more than once. Beautiful, determined, incredibly strong women surrounded us at each site, eager to show us their projects: growing peppers, preparing to grow mushrooms. Dressed in their best garments, they presented the image of a colorful bouquet, each flower unique and lovely, each one adding to the overall beauty of the whole.  There is no way to adequately describe what it means, how it feels, to be welcomed so warmly and unrestrainedly by complete strangers...and in "real life", it all to seldom happens. We Americans have become suspicious of strangers, the "Other" who does not look like us, sound like us, smell like us, experience life as we do. But as I looked into the faces of each of t...