This summer while in Rwanda, my team had the opportunity to build a house for a widow named Veronique in a tiny rural village. For five days we carried bricks, slung mud, and most importantly, built relationships with people who lived in the village.

When we first visited Kayonza, I don’t think anyone on the team had any idea what we were getting into. There we were, nine mzungus in a rural village where nobody speaks English, and with all the local people staring at us. We got used to building with Rwandan techniques and kept up our spirits by enjoying the challenges of overcoming differences in language and in culture. Throughout the days we were building, there would be lulls between the times when there was work for the team, so during these times we would play with the large crowd of kids that gathered.

Over my time in Kayonza, I worked hard, got extremely dirty, and built relationships that I will never forget. One girl in particular grabbed a hold of my heart, and I will never forget her.

One afternoon there was no work to be done, so I was playing with some kids when I noticed a toddler. Her name was Mutessi, and she was probably about 3 years old. I picked her up and was holding her for a while when I realized that she had fallen asleep. She stayed in my arms for a couple of hours, sleeping peacefully. Later in the trip I broke down over this little girl, extremely saddened by the fact that I had everything I had ever wanted or needed in my life and my future could hold anything I wanted it to, while her future probably would be living in the small village her whole life. I will never forget about my little angel, Mutessi.