The Debutantes

Teri-Lynn, Alyssa, Janelle, our SALTers, after church in their Sunday best

Again, before too much time slips by I must record... I last wrote this past Saturday in anticipation of our trip to Rwanda the following week. The occasion was to drop-off our 3 SALTers at their respective homes. Before leaving we were glad to be able to return to church last Sunday for the first week back and found an old friend, Galen Carey, was preaching. He and his family used to work here and left during our second year. It was good to see him and we went with him to the beach to chat after the service, and also to show the SALTers the more genteel side of Bujumbura. We enjoyed a meal at a table by the beach and were joined by Jennifer and Yolanda as well who was down for the weekend. (Currently this constitutes the whole MCC expat. team)

Galen Carey

Sunday night I began preparing the car with more than a little concern about how we were going to transport our whole family along with the three SALTers and all of their stuff in one car. The Fortuner seats 7 fairly comfortably but that does not leave much room for luggage. To make the challenge even greater, we knew that Teri-Lynn, who will not be living with a host family, but rather in a house near the Hope School in Burundi, needed many supplies to be brought up as well. Among the larger items were a gas canister, water filter, bags of beans and rice, and several boxes of provisions. To fully load the car, I put a full size bed board on the roof and tied several bags down onto it.

By about 2:30pm on Monday we were ready to depart (There were a number of last minute errands that had to be run so we could not get off earlier). This was several hours later than we had hoped because we did not allow for much room for error (or car problems) in terms of arriving at our first stop, Burasira. We generally try not to be driving upcountry at night. God was good, though, and despite the late departure time we got to the Seminary next to Teri-Lynn's house by 6pm. (This is dusk in Burundi.)

Teri-Lynn at the Seminary.

We unloaded Teri-Lynn's stuff in her house and then went over to get rooms in the Seminary where we would stay the night. Jodi, the last tenant of the house had left over a month ago and the house was quite dusty when we arrived.

We had dinner at the Seminary and greeted some of the nuns and priests we knew and introduced them to Teri-Lynn who we explained would be up there for the year. We had dinner together and Rebecca and I took the opportunity to pray with the 3 SALTers before we retired for the evening.

The next morning we helped Teri-Lynn set up some things in the house and took an inventory of supplies she would need; then we headed up to the Hope School to meet Beatrice (director of education for our partner and Teri-Lynn's counterpart.) She was having a teachers meeting when we arrived (in preparation for the academic year) and it was a good opportunity to introduce Teri-Lynn to the group. We also made arrangements for a cook to be hired for her and for her to begin French language instruction.  Beatrice also planned to stay with her beginning on the following Sunday.

When we left after breakfast together on Tuesday, I think we all felt the weight of the moment. I tried to make light of the reality by musing to her about how we get ourselves into these things. I remember deciding to do some climbing and was doing a lead climb of about 60 feet. More than half way up the rope got jammed in a crack and I was stuck. At that moment I asked myself what on earth I was thinking to decide to go out climbing that day. I could have been home watching TV or reading. Now here she was, about to test the strength of her passion to help the marginalized in a very real way. For the next 3 days she would be alone (as far as a foreigner) in the house. It was not the danger of physical harm that was to be the challenge, but rather how to get on in this environment without the ability to communicate to those around her.  (As an aside, school was not yet in session so she had no responsibilities related to her assignment yet either.)

She had her work cut out for her though, as her French teacher promised to come daily for 3 hours and teach her language as well as orient her to her surroundings. We promised to stay in touch by phone daily until she felt comfortable, and to do any impromptu translating over the phone if necessary (the french teacher also has limited English).

Alyssa with host family.

We continued on from Burasira back to the road toward Rwanda and got to Kigali in the evening again. I think the culture shock of seeing their friend left out in rural Burundi was not nearly as jolting for Alyssa and Janelle as the arrival in Kigali--a very large, modern, metropolis with skyscrapers, restaurants, casinos, well-lit treelined streets, and a bustling night life. We stopped at the Bourbon cafe, (sort of like Starbucks) for dinner. Janelle and Alyssa, had a stunned look on their faces upon entering the 3 story MTN center where the restaurant was located. Kigali is a far bigger city than their hometowns, they told me. When they signed up for MCC, their image of the place they would work was far more rustic.

It is quite a shock that I guess I have become used to. It is amazing to see how much Kigali has grown even since our arrival in 2008.  But as I have come to learn, extreme privation and wealth often coexist in close proximity and one should not be fooled by the glitz.

We stayed at the Amani guesthouse the first night and on Wednesday we did errands like shopping for supplies. We made sure they had working cell phones and internet modems for Rwanda. On Wednesday afternoon we delivered Alyssa then Janelle to their respective host parents. Alyssa is staying with the same family that Bethany stayed at last year. Janelle is in the house of one of our other partners. The houses are probably more typical of what a Rwandese family can afford, and I think the size of the rooms that were available for the SALTers was a good corrective to the apparent wealth on display in the city itself.

Janelle with host family.

Both seemed quite apprehensive about being left overnight the first night although the families certainly made them feel welcome. None of the SALTers this year are super comfortable with French so it does make communication a bit difficult. In Rwanda many people do speak English and in the host families the host father's speak it fairly well. But both described later the somewhat awkward first evening of long periods of silence between sparse attempts at conversation. I am sure that will improve with time.

Wednesday evening Rebecca and I and the kids went out to dinner and marveled that it was the first meal we had had alone as a family since we left Burundi in June.

On Thursday we had a meeting at Friends Peace House, where Alyssa will serve in their Mwana N'chuti program.  It is a trade school for vulnerable youth. She will help with teaching English there.  After meeting the FPH staff we went down to the Mwana N'cuti center and greeted the students.  I think all of this was pushing beyond Alyssa's comfort zone, but she was polite and friendly on her first meeting with them.

Mwana ncuti center

One of the biggest challenges for the Rwanda SALTers this year is that our service workers, Ruth and Krystan, who were based in Kigali are no longer there, having completed their term. This means that the new SALTers are going to be on their own much more and will have to try to sort of many of their own problems.  Kigali is at least a 5 hour drive from us in Bujumbura.

Rebecca and I stayed at Ruth and Krystan's house on Wed. and Thurs. night as it is still under lease by MCC and we do anticipate a new service worker to replace them in late October. It is better than the guest house and the kids really enjoyed playing with the stuff that was left by Ruth and Krystan, including some books, games and baby toys.

We made arrangements for language lessons for the SALTers before we left on Friday morning and they were to start an intensive Kinyarwanda study program on that very day and continue for 3 weeks before starting work.

We began the return trip early on Friday because we wanted to stop back by Burasira (over an hour out of the way) before continuing on that same day to Bujumbura. Unfortunately, as we set out, our car began making very concerning engine noises, and not idling properly. We feared, having filled up just the night before, that there may have been water in the fuel or some other contaminant.

This gave us considerable anxiety on our drive back, but the car did make it all the way. Another cause for concern while driving was the fact that rainy season has definitely come early this year. It is, in fact, already upon us. Teri-Lynn lives about 45 minutes down a dirt road that becomes extremely slippery and treacherous when muddy. Fortunately we did not have rain while we were on the road to or from her house.

When we met her after 3 nights alone at her house we felt better. She seemed to be doing OK and had already acquired, or recalled, some french. She told us the nuns had been very friendly to her when she went up to eat meals at the Seminary as well. She did say that she was fairly freaked out by noises in the house--crows walking around on a tin roof, a rat in the rafters, frogs on the walls, etc. But she was hanging in there.

We left her about 2pm to continue the trip to Bujumbura and got home by evening. It was the first time we had been alone in the house as our family for months. We had a quiet dinner together that Marcelline had prepared for us before she had left for the weekend.

Saturday morning we had a yoga class at Nina's house with some of the regular crew. It was good to get back into the swing of things. (Yoga also really helps my back after a long car trip.) After that we spent most of the rest of the day at home getting things ready for school on Monday. We did have our friends Joel and Jeanette Miller (with their kids Hannah, Leah, Samuel, Josiah) over for dinner. They will be starting at the Ecole Belge on Monday, Samuel will be in Oren's class. (Joel andJeanette's blog is here.)

Sunday, we enjoyed being back in church again and Rebecca began teaching Sunday school again as well as organizing the curriculum for the Sunday school class this fall. We are blessed to have many returning families, but also some new ones who are willing to help with teaching. Simon Guillebaud and his wife Lizzie and kids are back and she is going to help with Sunday school along with Courtney Ivaska, (wife of JJ, who is new here with World Relief). It is nice to have young families returning or coming here for the first time. Our church community feels very vital to us here these days.

Our family went to the beach with Jennifer Price in the afternoon. There were many other families there enjoying the 'last day of summer' in anticipation of the new school year. We stayed until about 6pm. The kids really enjoyed playing in the sand and in the lake. We got home and Oren went to bed fairly quickly after we ate dinner. David lingered up a bit while Rebecca and I prepared their bags for school the next day.

We woke up extra early Monday without an alarm and started our familiar morning routine. We dropped the kids at school where they found their classes and friends. Oren and David both have new teachers to Burundi this year from Belgium. Both kids seemed habituated to the school and knew most of their piers in their classes. We saw Simon and Lizzie as well as Joel and Jeanette with their kids. Oren and Sam went into class together and after school Oren told us he did help Sam understand some of the things that were being said. (A far cry from the Oren who seemed to be learning french at a glacial pace.)

While the kids were at school, Rebecca and I dropped the Fortuner off at the repair shop and then went swimming at Entente Sportive. It was great to be back there. It was also a good preperation for my first job of the morning-- getting a visa to DRC as I will be traveling to Bukavu on Thursday.

For me, I consider these visa processes to be a kind of highly specialized Olympic event. One can only achieve Gold if one can have all necessary photos, documentation, payments, IDs, etc. together on the first try, and accomplish the deposition of said items in one visit. I am getting pretty good at this for the Congolese embassy and thought I had it all. When it was my turn to leave the stuff with the consular officer he looked over it approvingly then asked “And where is your health card?” I was surprised I needed this for the visa and did not have it with me (automatic .5 point deduction!).  Not thwarted though, I told him I would be back in 30 minutes and zipped home to get it. I got back in 20, having left my other documentation and passport at the embassy, only to find that by then (11am) the embassy had closed! I was bummed but determined to get the silver medal by doing this in only one trip home and on the same day! As I stood outside considering my options the big main gate opened and the ambassador's car came rushing out. I looked in and saw the consular officer still sitting at his desk. I tried to run past the security officer to hand him my health card, but was thwarted. I begged the guard to get his attention and finally he did agree to do so after refusing at first. When the consular officer saw me he deigned to come over and take my health card. A MAJOR VICTORY! I applied for a visa and it only took the whole morning!

I went back to the office and met a few of the many visitors who had come to greet us. Most of them, sadly are people who like to drop by for a contribution. Fortunately we had to leave again shortly to pick up the kids from school.

The pick up was good and Oren and David seemed very content. It is good that they are habituated to this point with the school and I am glad they are not new this year. We have been in contact with the SALTers regularly to see how they are doing (by phone), and are trying to help them sort out the various challenges they are facing. Prayers for all the 'debutants' (french for newbies) in MCC assignments, and at school this month. I think that many will really need to cling to their faith to get them through the awkwardness of trying to fit in without the benefit of language.