England 2008

Keri and I began our trip in England with a 12 hour layover before our plane took off to Rwanda. We decided to take a bike tour of the city of London instead of sitting in Heathrow Airport for 12 hours! It turned out to be a fabulous way to tour the city. We were able to get some "exercise" as well as seeing the city's hot spots in about 4 hours time. I was so glad that we did it. The tour guide was very informative and humorous. To top it off, we met Ricki Lake, the American talk show host, on our bike tour. I was going to ask for a photo with her but Keri stated that there was a reason she was wearing the sunglasses and large hat despite there being no sun out that day!

Chris and Jenn, We love you guys! Can't wait to see you again; you two mean so much to us.

Love you guys!

Steven and Keri

I had to get the "tourist" photo in. Nothing like having a photo in the famous phone booths of England.

Keri and I were able to navigate our way through London via the tube. We were quite impressed considering we are both bad at directions!

This is where Princess Diana lived after her divorce with Prince Charles. The gate might look familiar. It is famous because this is where all the flowers were placed after her tragic death.

The guards of Buckingham Palace.

Ok, so maybe we had quite a few tourist photos! I really like this one though. Oh, by the way, Keri and I did not plan on matching. After 24 hours in airports we happened to only have the same color clothing left in our carry on luggage!

The bike was almost too small for Keri, hence the reason why there is no photo of Steven! Did I say we looked like tourists? :)

Buckingham Palace. The Queen was not home.

Big Ben.

This is the site of the 2012 Olympic Beach Volleyball venue. Keep your eye out for it and remember that you heard it here (stevenandkeri.blogspot.com) first.

Chris, Jenn, Keri and I at a small farm's local brewery. It was very cool! I've got my own personal beer mug from there and Chris bought plenty of the local brew since it was his favorite and they were going to be moving to Sheffield soon which is about 4 hours drive away.

Yes, we were cramped! You can see Keri and Jenn if you look closely!

Paul and Sue's house. We stayed there for a couple nights. We had a great time hanging out with Chris' family. Looking back, I am so glad we were able to stay since it was the last time we were able to spend time with David.

The Angel of the North who watches over NewCastle.

Chris and Jenn's "posh" living area. They are house sitting for a friend until it sells. For there sake I hope it doesn't sell for a long time!

Yep, posh!

A very cool evening. Chris and Jenn had so many great things planned and this was one of them. We went to a National Trust mansion and then enjoyed a picnic dinner and outdoor play. It was fantastic. Just thinking about it now makes me want to do it all over again. Another thing that we did that was fabulous was go out to eat one night. Keri and I are still salivating over the food we had at this restaurant. It is called the Granger Rooms. It was by far the nicest meal I have ever had. Chris and Jenn were so generous to us. We are so greatful for our relationship with them. Oh, did I mention that I ate ox tongue!?!

I'm not sure who took this photo but it has a funny story behind it. We went to a palace and had a bad experience. Jenn and I wanted to get a refund; however Chris and Keri did not think that was necessary. Needless to say, Jenn and I (in photo below) expressed our concerns to an employee. No one else wanted to go with us; however it looks like they did want some blackmail maybe?!

Fullwood Church where Chris' family attends in Sheffield. Isnt' it beautiful? I'm amazed at the history in everything over in England.

Blenhiem Palace Gardens.

Blenheim Palace. Can you believe that this was a gift to a general for winning a war!?!

I'm in the wrong business!

We were trying to show how big the tree was.....BIG....

A video of the Buckingham Palace Guards. Enjoy.

Oh, and mind the horse!

RWANDA 2008

Keri and I spent a week this summer in Rwanda meeting with various mission organizations to see if the Lord was leading us to serve him and his people there. The following are some pictures from our stay. Even though we feel that God is leading us to "wait" on moving to Rwanda; the Lord continues to grow our passion for the orphans of the world.

ENJOY!

Headed for the LONG journey.

This Umasambe, or African crane was the pet at our guest house!

Keri and I at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Kigali Rwanda.

250,000 bodies are buried in the photo below under the cement block things.

1 Million people were brutally murdered in less than 1 month in 1994.

The country is still bearing the burden of this horrible genocide.

These are the coffins that those who lost their lives are buried in. Every year there is a mourning period of one hundred days for those who lost their lives.

This is when bodies that are still being found are buried.

They are currently trying to identify bodies. So far, only 1,000 of the 250,000 at this memorial have been identified.

The English-speaking church we attended on Sunday. In the villages this is how people sift the dirt to make cement.

One of the many hills that the city of Kigali sits on.

Rwandans carry everything on their head. When I say everything I mean everything!

Keri, Mark, and Angie near our guesthouse with local children. We "muzungoos" aka white people were instant hits with the kids!

I loved this kids shirt! "I hear voices..." Oh, do you? :)

Rwandan women dressed in their traditional clothing called "mushananas". Keri remembers it by thinking of "mush a banana. These women are widows who are celebrating a year in their new homes that World Relief gave to them. We were able to participate in the celebration dance and ceremony.

Note the baby on the back of the Mom.

The United States Embassy.

Just down the road from the Embassy are mud homes with large families living in one room.

Our guest house. World Relief owns it.

Faustin, the guard, for the guest house. He was always worried about us when we went out at night.

Rafiki was the organization out of the eight that we met with that seemed like the best fit for us. It is an orphanage which will eventually be the home of hundreds of Rwandan children. They are currently building the village.

Keri and I at the entrance to Rafiki Village Rwanda.

Keri and I had the pleasure of meeting Cricket in the states. She is South African and serves with Rafiki in Rwanda. She has such a heart for the children and does such a wonderful job of loving people. We enjoyed our time with her so much.

Keri and Angie with a Rwandan nurse. We were able to go and tour the entire hospital because Keri and Angie are nurses. Pretty amazing.

The entrance sign to Kibagabaga hospital located just outside of Kigali.

A gas station in Kigali. You pay the attendant at the pump in cash. There is not a convenience store.

Roughly translated...Gas was about $2 a liter. And we thought we had it bad.The server told us that one pizza would not feed two of us.

Well it could have, but Steven ate his entire pizza plus half of Keri's!!

This shed behind our guest house was a hiding place for 50 Tutsi's during the genocide.

Not the safest scaffolding someone could create but I guess it'll do.

For those who have seen the movie Hotel Rwanda, this is the real Hotel Des Milles Coline.

Traveling was cramped!

A Rwandan women carrying one of the multiple varieties of bananas to the local market.

I thought this was a cool shot. While we were traveling between Kigali and Musanze these signs were scattered throughout the journey.

We were able to visit Shyra Hospital outside of Musanze.

Notice all the mosquito nets around the beds.

Any women care to give up the comforts of delivery in America for this comfy chair?

Keri only had to wear this hat to go into the OR to see a C-section!

This baby was born minutes before Keri entered the room.

This woman is carrying 30 bricks on her head. I asked a Rwandan who was in the bus with me if that would hurt. He responded by stating that "we in Rwanda have many neck problems." I wonder why!

This is a zoomed in photo of people farming the hill sides. They looked like ants from a distance. There were hundreds of them.

Mark and Angie leaving.

Keri and I at the sacred forest. Hundreds of years ago the Rwandan Monarchy would come here to become crowned King or Queen.

The Land of a Thousand Hills.

A child trying to sell me sugar cane while we were driving by.

I bought the sugar cane!

The chef at the guesthouse in Musanze teaching us how to prepare our sugar cane.