IF YOU ARE GOING TO KILL EACH OTHER, START WITH US!”

The rainy season began in Burundi at about 6:37 pm this past Tuesday. It came in the form of a torrential downpour and high winds. We woke to find all the gutters around our house and along the roads full, but no break from the heat. (We did mark our first power failure.) That was OK though, because we headed for the high country Wednesday, on the road to Kigali, Rwanda. This promised to be an adventure, my first time driving the 8 hours, crossing the border, and with 2 kids (Timmy, our program officer Zachee’s 3yo son, and Oren.) They are becoming good friends and it was nice to have them together. Zachee, Rebecca and I were the other 3 passengers.

The road to Kigali would certainly fall in the category of treacherous by any measure. Not so much in terms of security, (although detachments of armed soldiers every 2 or 3 miles takes some getting used to), but the road is narrow, winds along the contours of steep hills, and is frequented by large fuel trucks making a journey south from a port in Dar-Es-Salem. They take up a lot of the road and are hard to pass. They also provide a thrill for Burundian taxi drivers who seem to love to take their chances passing around blind corners. The trucks also usually have in tow 4 or 5 bicyclists who would otherwise have to pedal up the hills on their own power. Here is a picture of a truck with bicyclists hanging on. They like to swing out for a look around the corners.

But it is nice to go to Kigali. The development in Rwanda is a striking contrast to Burundi, and evident as soon as one crosses the border. The roads are better, cleaner, speed limit monitored, etc. The whole trip takes about 6 hours of driving time and anywhere from 30 mins to 3 hours at the border. We got to Kigali a bit after dark and found our way to the missionary guest house where we were staying. It was a nice place, although a group of 25 students from the University of Oregon were there for 10 days doing mission work, so it was a bit loud (Brought back fond memories of youth ministry for Rebecca). The couple running it had picked up their lives to do mission work after raising a family in Idaho. They really did seem to take to life in Kigali and offered a nice place to stay. They did have pet rabbits in the yard which were a big hit with Timmy and Oren.

One reason we were there was to do some strategic planning with some of our partners from the Evangelical Friends Church. They have a peace and reconciliation ministry here called Friends Peace House. They do quite a few projects related to peace and development. The planning we did involved a meeting where we interviewed them using an ‘affirmative inquiry’ approach to evaluating our relationship. It has been really amazing to hear some of the stories of the people who lead the organizations we partner with. I cannot tell you how courageous they are, and all have a story of overcoming fear that has led them to a life of sacrificial service, and commitment to a Christian witness. As an example, I would mention ‘Onesphore’. (Actually he is a partner here in Burundi.. We interviewed his as well last week). We asked him to share how his work in his organization was connected to his core values. He said it began with a faith commitment that he had had since birth. In his first weeks of life he was dying of fever and about to be abandoned by his parents who were fleeing their home during the war. They decided to keep him one more day, and he lived. When he was told about the miracle as a young boy, he felt his life was not his own, and gave it then to Christ.

The real test came in Secondary School. In 1994 during a time of upheaval, there was great fear among hutu students of violence against them. (Their fears were well founded.) Onusphore, saw their concern and challenged his fellow Christian students to refuse to become involved in the ethnic tensions and in fact to stand in solidarity with the victimized students. He said that as Christians they were neither Tutsi, nor Hutu, but a new ethnicity in Christ. When the tensions were rising to the point of a murderous confrontation he stood before fellow students and said, “IF YOU ARE GOING TO KILL EACH OTHER, START WITH US!” His Christian fellowship group refused to be ethnically divided and committed to stand by anyone who was under threat, regardless of what tribe they were from. Their courage and commitment to solidarity changed the entire mindset of the campus, and they resisted ethnic division in that school through the time of crisis.

One thing that I have learned as Rebecca and I have been supporting local partners in doing development work, is the real impact a Christian witness can have, and the opportunity to heal a marred identity where a secular approach would fail. Here where tribal loyalty has created such division, the call to unity and love of one’s brother as a tenet of Christian faith is a powerful critique of the social norms. I am also particularly appreciative of the Anabaptist, commitment to pacifism espoused by MCC. It is such important work in places like Rwanda and Burundi where ethnic hatred has had such a crippling effect on the nation, and traumatic effect on so many individuals. One thing we found in interviewing our dedicated partners--not one of them was left untouched by the war. All lost loved ones, usually spouses and children. Yet there desire to bring a message of grace, and an example of forgiveness, modeled after Christ, is unwavering.

We drove back to Kigali today (Saturday). It was quicker coming back. I will say the air is cooler in Kigali, and it is really a clean city. We also enjoyed a quick fix of high speed internet to Skype Grammy. She enjoyed seeing Oren. Here is a picture of Oren and Timmy at Club T last Saturday.

Rebecca is definitely looking pregnant and we agreed that she would not be making that trip by road again before the baby is born. It was good to travel as a family though, and I will miss them when she goes back ahead of me to Baltimore to deliver. In true Mennonite fashion, she does not complain about the obvious discomfort she must have experienced bouncing the 300 miles to Kigali we journeyed this week. Keep her health in your prayers in these last 2 crucial months.