Three Strikes Out of the Comfort Zone

Here are some pictures in our new house. It is great for hosting guests, although it has some unusual appointments, like the bidet in the bathroom and the palatial master bedroom. I love the front porch!


This Saturday morning is beginning like many others. I am up early with Oren (and David as well.) We are huddled around the computer, they are watching a movie (Bolt) while I begin to write this week’s blog. One variation on the routine is that we are at the ANLM guesthouse in Kigali, and not in Bujumbura. This is my third trip here in a month, and I won’t deny that I am getting tired of the 5 hour drive. At this point I am on a first-name basis with all of the border guards.

The occasion for our return this week is to install our new service workers, Ruth Plett and Krystan Palikowski into their home in Kigali. We will also be picking up some MCC peace reps, Amy and Gopar, who will be visiting our partners in Burundi. Finally, we are getting Oren’s cast removed…

We arrived Wednesday evening and plan to return on Monday. (By the time you read this blog we may be back in Bujumbura as we are having internet trouble in Kigali.)

The three days prior to our arrival are worth reviewing because I was, on three occasions, taken out of what I would call my ‘comfort zone’ by a considerable margin.

The first incident happened last Sunday. Rebecca and I went to church at PTI (the place we attend.) The morning routine was normal, and we arrived just in time to join in the first 15 minutes of singing--only 5 minutes late. Then one of the ‘elders’, Jean de Dieu, pulled me aside and told me that Emmanuel Ndikumana, the pastor was sick and had asked Simon to preach. (Simon is a missionary I have mentioned in the past. He is the father of Oren’s friend Zack) Simon was to be preaching in French, and since one of the translators was sick, Jean de Dieu asked if I would be willing to do the translation of the sermon?

My immediate reaction was fear. I could not have felt less prepared. I even left my reading glasses at home that morning so I could not read the Bible passage he would be preaching from. Despite some serious reservations about my capacity to do it well, I agreed. I felt like this was an opportunity God was giving to me, to begin to develop this capacity. I was also aware of being tested by Him. I know God is aware of a sort of spiritual shell I have felt I have retreated into in recent weeks, especially with the disintegration of our small group here.

What is hard about translating, I have found, is not understanding what is being said, but rather, remembering how a person ended a sentence. Often you are so concentrated on remembering the beginning that you realize only too late that you missed the end. Fortunately Simon does speak English and could translate what I missed. He is also a very good preacher and got the message about the urgency of our call to be Christ’s ambassadors across quite effectively.

I have to say, despite my fears, it was the most alive I have felt in worship for quite a while, and I was honored to be asked and to find a way to share more in worship. I would, nonetheless, not grade myself above B- on the effort. But in time I may improve.


The second incident of being out of my comfort zone occurred on the following Tuesday. This is a difficult topic to write about, but I feel it is important to include because it is a sad part of life here as an expatriate, and worth some reflection.

Rebecca and I had to dismiss one of our house staff.

It is interesting, in all my life, I have never been in a position where I was obliged to fire anyone. The very idea of doing so is deeply unpleasant. The problem was stealing money, and I have been told it is often a problem one has with staff. I admit that I naively believed that this problem would not be visited upon us because we pay our workers better than most anyone I know. I believed that the problem of theft was due to the lack of a fair wage.

We started noticing money disappearing from our wallets and other places in the house beginning about a month ago whenever he was working.

Because this worker speaks primarily Kirundi, we asked Zachee to help us translate. (I felt bad for Zachee having to be involved, but grateful for his gentle diplomacy.) The conversation was fairly short and awkward. He denied the charge despite the overwhelming evidence. I did not insist on a confession, and resisted the urge to ask the question why, or what changed that made him begin to do this. What was hardest for me is that I am really sympathetic to the temptation our workers must feel. There is such a disparity between our lifestyles. I imagine that there is also the perception that we would never miss a few hundred dollars.

Despite his dishonesty, I did give our worker his last month of pay. I do not feel any indignation, just sadness, as he was a nice guy. I do pray that he will make better choices in the future. As far as justice, I don’t know what that means in this context. There is the small injustice of being robbed which in my heart palls in the face of the greater injustice of structures that put my family and his in such dire economic juxtaposition. I think of the parable of the man who is forgiven a large debt by the king, then shakes down his own worker for a small debt he is owed. I have no doubt that when the scales are righted, I am will not have much of a case for any complaint against him.


The third incident that put me out of my comfort zone happened once we arrived in Kigali. We left Wednesday after Oren’s school and got to Kigali about 6 pm. We were blessed to be able to give Bridget, Zachee’s wife a ride up with us as she had a conference to attend up there as well. She is such a resource of information and insight to work with our partners as she has so many years of experience.

On Thursday our family ran some errands in the morning, including making an appointment to get Oren’s cast removed at 6:30 pm. Then at about 2 we headed upcountry to Byumba to pick up Ruth and Krystan from their ‘live-in’. We rode up with Eugene, whose house they were staying at. We got there about 4pm. I knew that there would be quite a bit of relational interaction between us, them, and Eugene’s family, and I was a bit concerned that we might not be able to leave an hour and a half before we were due in Kigali for Oren’s appointment. My concerns were justified as Eugene did invite us to sit and have a meal. Many people who had met Ruth and Krystan were invited to join us, and there were a series of speeches and gifts given. We were invited to give speeches as well, and were not able to leave until about 7pm.

I don’t want to underplay the importance of this ceremony or the emotional depth of it. Eugene was deeply touched that we had asked him to take care of them. And he was humbled by how gracious Ruth and Krystan were. They apparently left a very good impression on everyone they met there, and ate the local cuisine--cassava paste and fermented sorghum juice—without any complaints. (Krystan did spend 3 days with diarrhea and vomiting from the latter, but was a very good sport about it nonetheless.)

Besides missing Oren’s appointment to get his cast removed, the bigger problem of leaving at 7pm was that it was pitch black and I had to drive us back to Kigali from upcountry. I really do not like to drive long distances at night around here as it is dangerous. It is hard to see people and the roads are narrow. We also had no guide. Despite my anxiety about it, we got back fine a bit after 8 and had pizza for dinner in Kigali.

On Friday we did get Oren’s cast off! We also spent that day as well as Saturday setting up Ruth and Krystan’s house. MCC had some stuff in storage that was brought over, then we went out and bought a stove, fridge, living room set, and dining room set. We also discovered an interesting thing about Kigali which I wish I would have known about before—Kigali has very inconsistent running water and sometimes goes a month at a time without any. It was then I started to notice that most every house had a huge water reservoir on a tower on the property. We are now talking to someone about building one for the place Ruth and Krystan are staying.

The trick is getting a tank that is sufficient to store water in the shortage time, but not so big that it crushes the tower by its sheer weight. This is not such an easy task as people will build anything you ask for, but there is never any consideration of engineering principles when construction is going up, unless you happen to be an engineer or know one. (I have seen more than one crushed steel tower in the neighborhood.)

Hiring house staff also needs to happen, and fortunately the Thomas’ (a missionary family I wrote about before) are right next door and can help them.


It is now Sunday night and we are wrapping up our time here, getting ready to go back to Bujumbura. We do have 2 passengers coming back with us. They are MCC peace program coordinators, Amy and Gopar. They will be visiting some of our partners’ projects in Burundi next week. I am personally looking forward to getting back to Burundi

I am also realizing how much travel this job entails. I will be upcountry several days next week with Amy and Gopar. Please continue to pray for our morale, the job has felt hard the past 2 weeks and will continue to be so in the near future.

There are some things I am thankful for worth mentioning:
-I am getting better at Kirundi and can have conversations now! I was able to do some negotiating for Ruth and Krystan while we were getting them some household items.
-Oren is really doing better, and continues to love his school.
-We are blessed to be in our new house and are looking forward to living in it.
-Friends have been reaching out to us when they see us floundering
-David is doing very well and smiles more than any baby I know.
-Rebecca is a great wife who keeps track of much that I miss.