Ene, Mine, Mene, Mo...

Ene, mine, mene, mo… with which language should I go…?

Just a few days ago I downloaded “teach yourself French” unto my computer. As I went through it I was surprised at the ease of it and felt excited that the four years French in high school were not a complete waste.

Mid August I will be blessed with Isabelle. She will help me in my house and with the children both at home and on location. I am so excited about her joining our family! Isabelle is fluent in English, Kinyarwandan and French. She is willing to help us learn French or Kinyarwandan, so here my debate starts.

When I think about the villages and the great amount of time we spend there I want to master Kinyarwandan. I want to be able to sit down with the other women and have a real conversation something beyond the “how are you”, and “how many children do you have”, conversation. Only the educated of Rwanda speak French. Though I’m seldom around the educated, I do have a great foundation in French which would make it so easy to master this language.

Then I think of Nani and Zoey and the future of Jasmin and Yaida. What would benefit them most? Should we go for the odd, but currently practical Kinyarwandan or should I think more general. What if they would want to go to college in France what if the Lord calls us to The Congo or other parts of Africa where French is so common? But what about tomorrow when we are in the village and they try to make themselves understood by the village children?

Ene, mine, mene, mo…. With which one would you go?