Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Homeleave Midpoint--Watersports and Family Reunions


Out of Africa—a blue bellied roller, native of West Africa that we saw in the Baltimore Zoo this past week.


I would have liked to have started writing a bit earlier in the vacation to keep fresh in my mind the first impressions I have garnered from being back in the US again after another year away. 

One of the clear warnings I have read in at least one ‘re-entry resource’ is a reminder that it is not only us that change as a result of living overseas, but that the culture at ‘home’ is not stagnant and moves as well.  It is a mistake to come back and think that things here are basically the same, so I try to stay tuned not only to my changes in perception, but in movements in the culture as well.

A personal perspective that is echoed by my children's impressions as well, is the amazing cleanliness and openness that is evident here even as we drive from the airport.  The trees along the interstate are varied and twice the height of any we see in Burundi.  It is a relief to not see hectare upon hectare of eucalyptus. 

Even more striking is the sheer nakedness of homesteads here.  We drive through neighborhoods to Rebecca’s parents’ house and pass houses, farms, shopping centers, all open for public viewing.  There are no walls here!  Or at least the walls that exist are invisible to the eye.  This particularly impresses David and Oren who live most of their lives in Burundi behind the 10 foot walls of a school yard, or our own cloister which encloses a house and a small surrounding yard with almost no view of the world beyond for a short child.  I have no idea of what other houses in our neighborhood in Bujumbura look like.  Some have a second floor that sticks up higher than the wall, and others take care to have decorative brickwork and some gardening around the outside of the enclosure, but by and large we live hidden from each other in Burundi. 

The kids love to run around outside here and prefer it to being inside the house.  I am amazed that they can play outside on the lawn all day, and not come home dirty!  It is like there is no exposed dirt here, it is all soft grass, and clean asphalt.  We almost don't need to bathe them!   In Burundi lawns are a luxury and shoolyards, playgrounds, are all carpeted with dirt, not grass.  There is no smell of burning in the air here, no large crowds walking down the roads, and best of all, we have a brief respite of blessed anonymity.  We are not a public spectacle here when we walk around, shop, drive, or otherwise emerge from behind our wall --No staring or surprised exclamations of Muzungu!  

I am not used to people knowing how to line-up anymore.  I was very anxious, standing in line at a store as the mother and child in front of me left nearly a 3 foot gap between themselves and the person in front of them.  But no one even thought about jumping into the gap, much less cut to the front of the line upon arrival.  

I am surprised about driving.  On the one hand, the sense of order and respect for the law is a welcome change, but people drive much faster here on the highways.  I am not used to being able to drive much over 45mph anywhere because of road conditions and traffic.  Ironically the highways here seem more dangerous to me now than the treacherous drive along the winding route upcountry in Burundi.

 There are other changes here that I have noticed.  I spoke last summer about the sense of self-reliance here that has become a cultural principle to the point of near absurdity.  One can do just about anything without ever contacting another human being.  Buying gas, renting videos, grocery shopping, getting directions, shopping, can all be done without ever contacting another human being.  The automation, a part of the advance in information technology has advanced significantly since we left.  I am amazed at what one can do with the help of a smart phone or an ipad.   As much as Burundi has moved a bit into this world through cell phone technology, I cannot see it becoming a predominately ‘virtual’ culture for many years, if ever.  Real human relationships are the basis of all meaningful interaction there.

All that said, it has been great being back with our families.  We did find that our kids had a fabulous time with their grandparents.  Oren loved the time with Rebecca’s parents where he spent much of it harvesting the fruit that grows on their property—raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and apples.  He also made numerous trips to the library and has improved his English language reading considerably. 

David enjoyed the stay at my parents’ house although he took quite a while to get over jetlag and enjoyed more than a few 2am breakfasts before getting into the rhythm.

We came back and spent the first week with Rebecca’s family at their home in Fallston MD.  We had a lot of important business to take care of right off involving dentists and doctors, in preparation for another year abroad.  We also shopped for new shoes and clothes and other necessities for the year ahead. 

We did take in some of the sights of Baltimore as well.  We went to the zoo with Rebecca’s Mom one day, and the train museum the next day with her Dad.  These are favorite venues for our kids and they know them from past home-leaves.  They race ahead to see their favorite sights in each.  It was interesting to note that the animals in the safari exhibit seemed less impressive having just seen them the previous month in the wild and at times up closer.

We have been to several pools and also made a trip to the Gunpowder river where the kids like to wade and ride on their butts down some small rapids.  Visiting some favorite playgrounds was also on the agenda as well as catching up with a few friends who live closer to Rebecca’s parents.

The weather has been unseasonably cold after the first day of our arrival and several evenings we enjoyed going into the hot tub on Dave and Jean’s (Rebecca’s parents) deck.  This is a bit surprising since we often find the weather in the summer much hotter than in Burundi. 

After our first week in the US in Baltimore, where we did accomplish most of the tasks we set out to do, we prepared to leave for a week in Kansas City, Missouri to attend a large family reunion on my side of the family.  To be precise, it was a reunion of the son and daughters of my maternal grandmother (Ruth Hawkins) as well as their children and grandchildren. 

It was a special group of people because my mother’s family was close and the 3 sisters and brother often got together in summers on my grandparents’ farm in Cherokee, Oklahoma when I was young.  I remember many summers, coming back from overseas to spend several weeks with a dozen cousins at my grandmother’s house where we would stay nights together in their dorm style basement, and spend the days on the farm helping my uncle with the work there was to do.   (One of the favorite tasks was driving heavy equipment such as tractors for plowing, discing, springtoothing.)

The last time we got together in this particular grouping more than 10 years ago.  My grandmother has passed away but the family connections remain.  We chose to meet at one of my Aunt’s houses this year and it was amazing to see all of the cousin’s children playing together in much the same way we as cousins did when we were young.

It was great to catch up with cousins and Aunts and Uncles from all branches of the family.  The Calavans, Pearces, Mosleys and Hawkins’ were all represented and we had a great time visiting, playing Frisbee golf, fishing, singing, playing guitar, and worshiping together. 

One of my cousins’ wives had done some research on our lineage and found some very interesting, albeit troubling aspects of our background.  We are in fact descended from a long line of sailors, who worked for the Crown of England since Elizabeth 1.  Among the notables were Sir John Hawkins, an Admiral, who was known for his ferocious piracy against the Portugese and Spanish.  (He was a professional pirate!)  He was also heavily involved in the slave trade in Jamaica as were many of his descendants.  Sir Frances Drake, whose mother was a Hawkins is also in our line, which I found interesting as well. 

Southern Comfort: Enjoying a family favorite--
biscuits and sausage gravy.
Saturday evening and Sunday morning were particularly meaningful.  On Saturday my brother Jonathan and cousins Brad and Brian played some jazz guitar together.  They were very impressive.  Afterwards some of the Aunts and Uncles shared with us the memories of growing up in the family of Clarence and Ruth Hawkins.  They were remembered over and over again for their sacrificial generosity and their work ethic, both of which they instilled in their children.

Among the interesting conversations we had on Saturday that related our work directly to the experience of my agriculturalist relatives was talking about the fields around my Aunt’s house.  My brother commented that he was surprised that the wheat chaff had not been plowed under at this time in the year as we used to see when we were young.  My uncle explained that they no longer till the soil, but have a seed drill that can plant the wheat right into the untilled field.  It is the same conservation agriculture technique, on a mechanized scale, that we are teaching small scale farmers about in Burundi.  I was really quite surprised to see that conservation agriculture was largely in practice here in the US even on very large farms. 

On Sunday morning we worshipped together on the back porch of Binnie and Bill’s house.  We sung songs and my cousin Brad Pearce and I were invited to share a message with the group.  I was very happy to do so, especially in light of the fact that this side of my family also has a heritage of Mennonites and Brethren in their line (my Grandmother was a Hiebert) and now I am working for the Mennonite Central Committee.  It was nice to reflect back the Mennonite values we work under in MCC to them, particularly since one of my great Uncle’s, the late PC Hiebert was one of MCC’s founding members in the early 1900s.  The Gospel, expressed through deeds of sacrificial service and hospitality has always been a family value for the Hawkins-Hiebert family.

I did take the opportunity to use the story of Moses’ last look at the Promised Land from Mt. Nebo before his death as recorded in Deuteronomy 34.  Moses had brought his people over 40 years right to the edge of the Promised Land but was told by God that he himself would not lead them on. 

I talked about how Moses might have felt about that and concluded that he was probably joyfully content because he knew that God had promised the best for the next generation, not his own.  I made the point that the Bible is always pointing optimistically at the future.  To be a person of faith is to have a hope that the future will be better than the present and that God reserves the best for next generation. 

The originals:  Binnie, Lonnie, Arlene, Bunny
I used this as a take off point to talk about the challenge of overcoming fatalism in Burundi where poverty robs people of a hope in the future and the theology is one of a helpless trusting of God, with no agency by people to say, plan for the education of one’s children.  (That is God’s problem to take care of them, not mine.)  I talked about our work with farmers groups on encouraging them to save and setting up village savings and loan associations.  I emphasized though, that without the hope the future would be better than the present, no amount of work by us will change anything.  Poverty is a spiritual issue and change requires a belief that offers a hope for a better future.

I compared it to our own culture in which we suffer a similar malady but it is more nihilistic than fatalistic.  We do have wealth that gives us security, but we often embrace a theology that claims “God wants the best for me now.”  Many of us live here in great debt, as we have borrowed from the future for the sake of making the present the Promised Land, even at great risk to the future we will leave.

Both theologies miss the real profound optimism expressed in the Bible, that assures us that the present is a time of suffering through which we will pass, but the future is the promise of glory, for us, for our children, for all creation. 

I think it was well received and Brad followed by talking about his work over many years with Young Life and connected to the idea that most of the kids he works with are seeking reliable adults who can assure them that their future will be better than the present where some (especially in the innercity) are suffering greatly in the face of parents in prison, divorced, or otherwise absent.

It was good to see the generation of our children there, and the generation of my parents.  The time together reminded me so much of the times when we were young, only we were now the Aunt’s and Uncles and our parents are now the grandparents.  I do have a hope that the Promised Land will belong to those who come after us, and that they can share that hope with their children as well.

My apologies for missing anyone, but I want to thank especially: Lon and Karen, Binnie and Bill, Arlene and Wayman, Bunny and Henry, Brian and Lonnie, Brad and Sue, Mark and Kay, Linda, Cindy, Beth and Matt, Christine, Jonathan and Emma, (and Rebecca) and all the young cousins.  I love you all, and I hope we can do this again sometime.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Back in Baltimore and a Tribute to Yolanda


Yolanda and fellow SALTers arriving for the first time in Burundi in August 2009.



I find that I have a considerable expanse of time to write today, that is as long as the computer battery lasts.  I am currently on an Ethiopian Airlines 777 beginning to cross the Atlantic Ocean.  We came overnight from Addis Ababa to Rome, refueled, then continued and will follow the morning for the next 9 and a half hours to Dulles airport. 

Yolanda looking out the window
 of the first place she lived in Gitega.
  She made the bottle top design
on the front of it.
While I would enjoy passing the time watching movies on the personal entertainment center provided at my seat, I find that mine has a problem with the sound software which makes it pretty unusable.  So blogging seems like a great way to pass at least some of the time.

This trip ends our 12 days of exile from our children who we had sent on ahead of us with Rebecca’s brother’s family after our Kenya vacation.

I would say by way of synopsis that without the children we have had one of the most productive weeks of our lives.  Having entire days to work without interruption has allowed us to complete all of the things we wanted to do before leaving and even organize the house (without having it disorganized faster than we can organize.)  BUT, I have to honestly say that I have never felt our work to be less meaningful and interesting as I have in this time when we have not had children to distract us.  Nonetheless, I am happy that we are going to join them feeling like we have left our program in good condition to be left for a month.

first apartment with stove
Felix our program assistant, is staying although he will be on his honeymoon for at least a week of the time we are gone.  Jennifer remains in Bujumbura, Melody is in Gitega, and Matt Gates is in Kigali.  Those are the only team members remaining in the region this month.

We did have some time of closure as part of this week at our house.  Over the weekend Matt came down from Kigali and Melody and Yolanda were in from Gitega.  We had picked up Teri-Lynn last week from upcountry as well and Janelle is staying in Bujumbura with Jennifer.

We had a very full house at our house as our housesitters have also moved in in anticipation of our departure.  We would have had to double up on rooms except for the fact that the kids were gone and their room was available. 

Yolanda with GF coordinator on
a field visit to a women's group in
Bukira Sazi.
Saturday was Felix’s wedding which I wrote about last week, but Sunday was a day of saying good bye.  We went to church in the morning then had a team gathering midday.  It would be the last time for the team to say good bye to our one year SALTers—Teri-Lynn and Janelle who were leaving Wednesday.

It was also the last opportunity for us as a group to say goodbye to Yolanda who will be finishing her term this Sunday.  For those of you who read regularly, you may know that Yolanda joined us 4 years ago as a SALTer and has been with us ever since.  She is our longest term service worker and her work with our local partner UCPD has been stellar.

Yolanda participating at GLI
conference, Kampala.
She has lived the last three years in Gitega, the second largest city (about the size of a small town) in Burundi.  She has become conversationally fluent in Kirundi, and has lived the last two years in an apartment block with other Burundian families.

She has truly modeled what MCC tries to be in its ideal—an NGO that works in the local context, immersed in the language and culture of the host country, sharing the lives, language, and values of those we serve.  I will say that at our best, MCC does stand out in this regard.  Yolanda has been a true ambassador of us at our best. 

Yolanda with fellow service workers
in our kitchen.
In our gathering Sunday we all took an opportunity to affirm the three who are leaving.  All have made great contributions to our work here.  Janelle, despite having to leave Rwanda, finished well in Burundi by helping out at the Discovery School run by Joy Johnson, one of missionary friends who serves a local church with a French/English/Kirundi primary school.

Teri-Lynn, despite a huge language barrier, committed to live a full year in a very remote rural setting without another mzungu within 100 kilometers, serving a school for the very marginalized Batwa (pygmy people).  She taught English to every level from preK to 7th grade and left behind a complete English curriculum to be used for future years.  It was an incredibly difficult assignment for her and her willingness to stay with it is a tribute to her faith and tenacity.

In the apartment she shared with
Melody Musser
While she will not be with us another year, she is going to teach next year in a remote part of Northern Ontario on an Indian reservation, accessible only by air in the winter. I think her year in Burundi will prepare her for that.

Yolanda… she has been like a deputy country rep. to us at times.  She has gone far beyond the call of duty in serving her partner, a peace and community development groups that works in a very underserved commune in central Burundi.  She has also been a leader on the team in planning retreats, organizing activities, and especially orienting new service workers in Burundi and Rwanda.  Her knowledge of local language and culture had made her invaluable in that regard.  Her departure will definitely leave a hole in our program that we hope will someday be filled by those who have come in the past year (Matt, and Melody.) 

A relaxing moment at a team
gathering.
Personally Rebecca and I will miss Yolanda as a colleague and friend.  She has frequented our non-work gatherings over the years---church, yoga, square dances, and many team retreats. 

I am including several pictures of her dispersed through this blog as a tribute to her time her, from the first I took of her upon arrival to the last one at Felix’s wedding this week.

Matt, Yolanda and Melody all headed out on Sunday afternoon and we were left with just Teri-Lynn at our house until Wednesday when she and Janelle got on a plane back to re-orientation in the US.  We took Teri-Lynn out of for a last pizza at Ubuntu that evening.

With Jennifer and
Rebecca at
Felix's wedding.
Monday, Rebecca and I worked all day to finish financial reports and End of Term reports for our three departees.  We did have dinner in the evening with Tim and Janette Van Aarde, our South African friends, and their daughter Isabel.  It was nice to have a meal with a family with whom our children have friends.  It did remind us of how much we were missing our kids and I admit that beginning Monday I was really beginning to get antsy to get on the plane back to the US.

Tuesday was similar in terms of work although we did not have any special dinner plans.  Wednesday was a bigger day because it was the day the SALTers left.  We took them to the airport in the early evening to board the Brussels Air flight back to the US. (They are Canadian but have a reorientation with SALTers from the rest of the world who all departed at the same time last year to different asssignments.)

Teri-Lynn and Janelle
at the airport
The good-bye was very teary.  I think that this is often the case for an experience which passes the ‘fun’ threshold by its sheer intensity and power.  I don’t think either would characterize the experience as a ‘good time’.  But it was a once in a lifetime experience that changes a person by having done it.  It was sad to see them go.  It is hard to believe that in a month a new group of 3 will arrive to begin another year of such an experience.  I will say this, no two years have been the same thus far.

I should mention that we had a small celebration of Rebecca’s Birthday on Wednesday prior to the SALTers departure with Jennifer bringing a sampling of awesome pastries from the Belgian patisserie CafĂ© Gourmand.  It is really hard to believe how amazing it is to have this store in Bujumbura.  It was fairly anticlimactic compared to the big surprise party last year, but it was not easy to plan much given the circumstances of the week and the absence of the children.

Visiting the Tim, Janette, Isabel
On Wednesday evening, our last evening in Bujumbura , we spent with JJ and Courtney, another couple from our small group.  They have two girls that are somewhat friendly with David and were in my ballet class this past year.  He is now directing World Relief here as Thomas Spanner, our Danish friend has left with his family this year. 

JJ and Courtney have moved into Thomas and Naja’s house, which is actually a very good thing because Rebecca and I have always enjoyed visiting that house.  It has a beautiful porch and view of the lake and mountains.

Rebecca's Birthday pastries.
We had a very nice evening with them and are glad they are one of the families that will be staying here next year.

Thursday morning we got up and like the two days prior, had our morning swim at the pool before starting work.  Rather than go to the office, we packed and cleaned the house until the moment we left for the airport about 1:30 pm.  

Felix took us to the airport with Alice, his new wife.  We felt we were leaving the house in good hands with our housesitters and felt like we had accomplished all the tasks on our list for the last week and a half, even managing to get Bella our Golden Retriever her rabies booster.  We know everything is in good hands with our housesitters, staff, and remaining team, so we left in peace. 

The flight is long as we have an extra leg to Addis Ababa before heading back West to the US. 

Kids at VBS Music camp rehearsal.
ARRIVAL IN BALTIMORE;

I am finishing this update in Baltimore on Saturday morning.  We arrived at Dulles yesterday midmorning.  Rebecca's mom picked us up and took us back to Baltimore where we found the kids around noon at a VBS music camp getting ready for their show.  We watched surreptitiously from the balcony of the church  so as not to be seen.  We were eventually spotted but they finished the rehearsal like pros before a very happy reunion.  

Yolanda will leave Burundi this Sunday.  She will be pursuing a graduate degree in Geography in Canada.  Someday we hope to see her return to MCC again.  Until then Yolanda  "Imana Iguhezagire!"

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Childless in Bujumbura


Oren in snorkel gear diving near a coral reef in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Kenya.



Midnight last Sunday---Rebecca, me, Oren and David were jetting through the night sky over the inky black rift valley.  The only unusual thing was that we were on separate planes.  Rebecca and I were on our way back from Nairobi to Bujumbura, while the kids were with their Aunt, Uncle and cousins headed toward Addis Ababa, Rome and eventually to Washington DC where they were to be met by their grandparents. 

David, hang in' out at the guesthouse.
The last day in Nairobi set the mood perfectly for the way I was feeling on the ride home.  Melancholic---cloudy, even cold, in a clammy kind of way.  We shivered throught the morning at the Mennonite Guest House before heading off to the airport in the early afternoon.  We went together even though Rebecca and my flight was leaving four hours after Oren and David’s.  We all went through customs and immigration and hung out to the last possible minute. 

When the boarding call for their plane was made they headed bravely to the gate, David holding his cousin Miriam’s hand.  It was interesting to see our kids doing this.  It was evident that they were not happy about leaving us, but they seemed to have a clear idea about where they were going and were excited about the prospect.  There were no meltdowns.  They went quietly into the waiting area at the gate as we waved goodbye.

When our flight finally left it was very late and although I was feeling quite sad and even a bit out-of-sorts not having to mind 2 children at every moment, I dozed peacefully until our arrival in Bujumbura at 2:30 am.  Luckily we know a cabbie who is willing to work at that hour.  We got back to our house around 3.

Before moving forward any further, though, I want to reflect back on the last two days of our vacation.  We had left the safari in Northern Kenya and headed to the coast near Malindi and were enjoying ourselves at the Turtle Bay Beach Resort.

Maasai dance exhibition at Turtle Bay.
There were several high-lights, one was the ‘kids club’, which kept the children occupied most of the morning and in the evening giving the parents some chance to be alone. 

The other highlight was the snorkeling trip.  The beach is near a very impressive coral preserve with exceptionally large marine fish.  (Things would find in a marine fish tank, only super-sized)  Paul Sack and I tried it out a couple days ahead of the group and we had a great time, except that I came in contact with a jelly fish and was stung on the back.  It was quite painful and even caused some numbness to radiate down my arm.  By the next morning I was fine though.

On Friday, we took everyone out to snorkel.  I should mention that the snorkeling trip to the reef is a 20 minute boat ride to a place in open ocean about a half kilometer from shore.  It does take a bit or resolve to jump in.  The water is shallow but still about 15 feet deep (in low tide). 

I was amazed to see both Oren and David jump in with enthusiasm.  Oren had practiced snorkeling the pool the day before and had no problem swimming around with the snorkel on.  David enjoyed jumping in with his life jacket and some bread in his hands (that the boat driver gave him).  He was swarmed by beautiful fish who came to take the bread and he loved it.

golden palm weaver
All of the adults took turns going out while others stayed with the kids near the boat.  Rebecca described it like bird watching underwater.  We all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly except Paul Sack, who, like me before, ran into a jellyfish and was stung multiple times on the shoulders.  He spent the last bit of the time sitting in the boat feeling very sick.   (Note to other snorkeling readers, we did not see the jellyfish and never did after we were stung.  They are small.  Good advice is to wear a swim shirt rather than going bare on the upper body.)  Paul recovered later that day, but both of us had had some mild systemic reaction to the venom for several hours afterwards. 

Despite this, the snorkeling experience was well worth it and watching the kids enjoying swimming and snorkeling in the ocean was a lot of fun.

We left on Saturday and took the short flight back to Nairobi where we spent the rest of the day at the Mennonite Guest House enjoying the grounds, trees, and swings.  As I mentioned the day of our departure (Sunday) was unseasonably cold.  We did enjoy a Mennonite hymn sing in the guest house canteen on Sunday morning and did see several MCCers there.  (Ratzlaff’s and Zimmerman-Herrs)


Back in Bujumbura:
We arrived at our destination ahead of the children and we were anxious to receive word of their arrival and pick-up at Dulles in Washington DC.  Paul Sack sent us an email from his iphone in the late afternoon saying they had arrived safely and things had gone well on the 17 hour flight.  He had a picture attached with our kids and both sets of grandparents at the airport. 

Being in our house without the children, from our arrival at 3am to waking up midmorning was completely surreal.   Rebecca and I have never been in Burundi without at least one child.  It was strange to not have to be considering how to care for them while we worked, shopped, went out, etc.

Trade school we support in Rwanda.
Fortunately we did not spend much time wondering what to do with ourselves.  We had come back to do a ton of work before we went on our own vacation to the US in 10 days.  We spent Monday working , catching up on emails, and doing administrative work in the office.  We have several service workers leaving in a week and there were a lot of things to do to prepare for their departure.

We had one day in Bujumbura before heading off to Kigali on Tuesday morning for 3 work packed days before leaving them for another month.  We did get a morning swim before our departure, and arrived in Kigali in the early evening.  Our first meeting was later that very evening to talk about our large conservation agriculture/food security project.  We had recently received word that our project was approved by the Canadian Food Grains Bank and there was a ton of logistical work to discuss with Matt Gates, our agronomist service worker, and partners about how subventions would be distributed and administered.

We went to bed late on Tuesday then started early on Wednesday.  We had to split up to cover all of our meetings.  MCC is in the process of registering as an independent NGO in Rwanda and I had meetings related to this process while Rebecca met with partners. 

Teri Lynn with her house staff.
We did try to relax a bit for dinner and did go out to dinner at Meze Fresh, the burrito place on Wednesday night.  Thursday night was our anniversary!  10th!!  We took the opportunity to really enjoy a date night without kids.  We went to a very excellent Asian restaurant in Kigali called Zen.  We had dim sum, although we had trouble choosing between that, thai, and sushi.  I highly recommend this place if you are living in Kigali.  

Teri Lynn, Rebecca, Beatrice
We left early Friday morning to return to Burundi, pretty fried from meetings but feeling very good about the state we were leaving our program in, in Rwanda. 

We stopped in Burasira, where Teri-Lynn lives to pick her up and pack her up.  This is the end of her assignment at the Hope School.  (Her blog about that here).  It was a bit sad, but also pretty logistically busy as we had to pack her things up in the car, and close up the house.  (We are holding on to it for a few more months in hopes of finding someone new.)  We also had to dismiss some of her staff, and meet with the coordinators of the partnership, Innocent and Beatrice at the Hope School to do some final goodbyes and reporting. 


We did check on the progress of the new library at the school and the solar power installation that will light it.  Things continue to be on schedule.

We headed on to Bujumbura in the afternoon and got back by evening on Friday.  We came back to a full house.  Melody was down and Matt Gates came later.  Every service worker was arriving in town that day for a very special event on Saturday.

We all had planned to have a final team gathering to say good-bye to Yolanda and the two SALTers (Janelle and Teri_Lynn) AND to attend en masse, the marriage of our program assistant Felix Kanyamuneza to his fiancĂ© Alice Munezero. 
 
The wedding was quite spectacular with 600 or more in attendance, and the MCC team’s presence was not easily missed as all 6 of the women on the team dressed in the traditional Burundian ‘imvutanos’ – a sari like dress – matching!  Matt and I wore suits as that is traditional formal wear for Burundian men. 

We went to the service which was at our church, then to the reception which featured drummers dancers, fantas, and speeches.  I was able to execute my duties as MCC chief with a speech that was mainly in Kirundi and started with all the proper formalities necessary.  It was very well received and I think our presence really did honor them, especially in our efforts to be culturally appropriate. 

Rwanda delegation presents gifts
We got back Saturday evening and the team went out without us to celebrate the Birthdays of Teri-Lynn and Janelle.  Rebecca and I enjoyed a quiet evening at home.  We marveled that evening at how uncomplicated everything was without having to worry about what we would do with the kids--during a 5 hour ceremony for instance.  But despite that, we both feel a deep empty space in our hearts without them.  We have skyped most evenings.  They seem to be having an awesome time, Oren at Rebecca’s parents’ house and David at mine.  They are getting very special attention from grandparents and loving it.  I am now really looking forward to joining them there this week.


The women of MCC:
Teri-Lynn, Melody, Yolanda, Jennifer, Janelle, Rebecca