I sat there amidst the many.

Overwhelmed, my mind raced. It was like a thousand hearts had found their way to mine in the blink of an eye. What could one ever do to prepare for this?

Many had walked for hours just to see us. What brought them there? ..to find hope? What brought me there? ..to offer hope?

Behind each face was a story. “What was theirs?” I pondered.

With no translator, it was just me. Sitting there on the grass under a hot sun, I was surrounded by children. I mean, literally surrounded by children. So much so that my glasses began to fog up as sweat began to pour down my face.

With bracelets on their wrists, they began their wait. It was day one of our medical clinic near the Burundi border in Southern Rwanda.

Everything happened so quickly. One moment I was standing there…