Joel Farrior finds himself preparing for another school year at Tyl Middle School as a completely changed man.

He recently returned from a two-week journey to Rwanda, where he toured the African country with four other teachers and Carl Wilkens, a renowned humanitarian aid worker and author.

Farrior observed a teachers' workshop that offered instruction on how to educate students about the Rwandan genocide.

The trip also provided the opportunity for Farrior to visit with people who suffered greatly as many of their family members and friends were killed in the 1994 genocide. The genocide pitted two ethnic groups, the Tutsis and Hutus, against each other. Estimates have put the death total between 500,000 and a million people.

Seeing the impact of this tragic event left Farrior, an eighth-grade social studies teacher, viewing life in general in a completely different way.

"Is it possible to feel homesick about a place that isn't home?" Farrior asked one of his friends from the trip recently. "A piece of your heart stays in Rwanda. You've experienced something that you'll never forget."

One such experience was a trip to Nyamata Parish Catholic Church, which houses the remains of thousands of the victims of the genocide. Farrior said he toured the church and examined the skeletal remains of several victims.

He also met a native woman with a particularly inspirational story. The woman's son was killed during the genocide and later she went to work in a prison.

As the wife of a pastor, she led prisoners in prayer. Eventually, she came across the man who had killed her son and also wounded her in an attack.

She offered him forgiveness and upon his release from prison he had no place to stay. So the woman invited the man into her home and he has become a part of her family.

"She took him in and he ended up taking care of her when she got sick," said Farrior, who was struck by the woman's strong faith. "He nursed her through. … He has become their other son. She showed him love and forgiveness."

Farrior also shared stories about visiting a dump where many children live and sleep. He and the others in his group were surrounded by a number of smiling children when they arrived on their visit, which made for an emotional moment.

Now these experiences will play a part in Farrior's life back in Montville. He said he is already in the midst of preparing a detailed lesson plan on Rwanda for his social studies class. He will mix in first-hand stories from his trip abroad.

Farrior, the president of the Montville Education Association, a teachers' union, also said he sees the trip shaping his future, as well. He said he would consider joining or starting a nonprofit organization that would aim to assist schools in Rwanda.

"I feel like there's a bigger thing I need to turn this into," he said. "I want to turn this into something that's long term."

jeff.johnson@theday.com