Teachable Moments and a Birthday

The Renaissance Man?  Teaching 4 and 5 year olds how to bouree.



Ladies night out was the occasion I had to start this entry this week, but I unfortunately fell asleep with the kids while putting them to bed and find myself writing this at a particularly uninteresting forum I am taking in part in this morning. 

 For some reason the many little stresses we face in our work and home life here seemed to add up to making this a particularly straining week emotionally.  It is hard to explain why the many small things can come together in this way but because they are relatively independent of each other they can sometimes gather into the same space of time.  Discipline issues with children and their routines, a series of unexpected requests, preparations for upcoming events, necessity to use our free time for work, and also some physical limitations (an injury), all conspired to make this a particularly challenging week.  I think what makes these things particularly stressful is that they can interfere with Rebecca and I to having time together to talk and coordinate.  We end up having to play ‘zone defense’ to deal with all the problems and have no opportunity to support each other.  We talked yesterday about the need to try to simplify and prioritize, especially when we think about turning this program over to another set of reps.  We want to leave something that is manageable! 

Picking up from last week’s post, I was returning from a trip to Kigali (the third in the last 6 weeks).  On the way home, I went through Burasira, where there is a nice Catholic Seminary and guesthouse where I spent the night before continuing on to Gitega.  It was practically deserted when I got there and I was the only one staying in the guest house.  It felt a bit like a spiritual retreat in its solitude, although one of the nuns, Soeur Anise, did sit with me at dinner and we chatted for quite a whie.  I have known her from visits to the Seminary over several years, but it was nice to have a one-on-one conversation of substance.  I asked her about how she decided to enter “la vie religieuse” as they call it here and she talked about making a decision to enter the order at the age of 17, against the wishes of her family.  Burundian girls deciding to become nuns is still not an unusual choice here, and may even be the best of other less appealing alternatives, including a bad marriage and life of poverty. 

 I told her that very few young women in my culture would make such a decision at that age.  She said she knew as she had spent time in Switzerland where all the nuns were very old women who had decided to enter that vocation late in life, and lamented the fact that our culture does not encourage this more.  She does, in my opinion, reflect the love of Christ in the hospitality she shows, and always asks after Rebecca and the children.

Michael teaching at GLPI

 I continued on early the next morning to Gitega to visit the GLPI seminar.  (Great Lakes Peacebuilding Institute).  This is a one month training seminar for peacebuilders partially supported by MCC.  Melody Musser, our service worker is seconded to our partner MiPAREC who organizes it.  I went while Michael Sharp, an MCC Congo service worker was doing a one week module on conflict theory.  Patrick, the other MCC Congo service worker was also in attendance.  I stayed for the morning session to lend moral support then continued on to Bujumbura.  I arrived on Thursday afternoon.  (I indulged in a swim at the pool before coming back to the house because I felt so physically worn-out from all the driving.)

 

Melody

We had Travis and his daughter Divine over for dinner that night.  They are in the final stages of waiting for her visa to allow them to join the rest of their family back in the US.  It has been a long hard wait, but the light at the end of the tunnel is now in view.

 Friday was ballet and I did ask Rebecca to bring the camera to make a few pictures.  I have quite a few kids in two classes I teach, a beginner group, followed by a more advanced group.  Oren and David had a holiday from school that day but I taught anyway.  October is the month when there a lot of national holidays because of several assassinations of Presidents in the month of October.  There is a morbid joke about October being a bad month to be President of Burundi.

 The weekend was fairly typical as far as yoga on Saturday, Rebecca did have to go to a Saturday meeting midmorning while I stayed with the kids, but we did have a movie night on Saturday together.  Patrick and Michael had returned from their sojourn in Gitega on Saturday and spent the weekend with us at our house.

Joel Miller 

 Sunday was a bit of a departure from the norm as Rebecca asked me to do a short drama in the Sunday school class and tell the story of Isaac and Rebecca from the perspective of Eliazar, Abraham’s servant.  I dressed up in a middle Eastern-ish costume with complete with beard made out of a plastic bag, and sunglasses, and came in and told the story as a kind of grouchy old Arab.  The kids thought it was pretty funny and I had no trouble keeping their attention for the duration of the story.

Ben Carlson

We decided to go again to the standing ultimate Frisbee game on Sunday’s at the park here.  We do have several ex-pat friends who go, as well as some Burundians who had learned Frisbee from the grandfather of ultimate Frisbee in Burundi—Doug Hiebert, our predecessor.  (He taught a group of boys in Gitega ultimate about a decade ago and many continue to play.)  Patrick came with me as well as Rebecca and the kids.  Patrick and I were the only ones who played, until I pulled my calf muscle toward the end of the 2 hour session.  (This game does have its share of injuries with people breaking ribs, hurting eyes, feet, etc.)  I do have to say it is a lot of fun and another opportunity to get together with friends.

We hobbled on to small group directly from ultimate.  I have talked about the group often in the past, and it continues to be a place of real support in our lives.  We were struck during prayer time though that by this time next year there will only be one family left here in Bujumbura.  All the rest of us will be leaving for other assignments.  (JJ and Courtney will still be here.)  It came as a bit of shock to me just how much turnover there is from year to  year.

Monday was another school holiday.  We had a special plan for this day, which was an early Birthday party for David.  He turns 5 on Oct 29^th, but we realized we would be in Rwanda for regional meetings and a team retreat that whole week, and a Birthday cake with adults is just not the same thing to a 5 year old as a party with friends.  We kept it very modest and invite over 3 families with kids his age—Isabel and her parents Tim and Jeanette, the Guilbaud’s and the Ivaska’s with their 2 girls Harper and Zadie.  It was a pirate party and although we pulled it together toward the last minute we had many pirate-themed items and activities.

I had made a pirate ship piniata, and Rebecca made a very cool pirate ship shaped cake made out of secret ingredient chocolate cake.  (the secret ingredient is beets! But you would never know it.)  I had also constructed an elaborate obstacle course in the living room from the furniture and other items in which they could run a sort of circular relay race with the two teams going in opposite directions.  It made for quite a bit of chaos.  We also had a kind of balloon soccer and some games involving the parachute we have that can be lifted and lowered as a group.  Because the number of kids was reasonable, it meant as well, that the parents could talk a bit as well, I was glad that JJ and Simon (2 dads) came as well which gave us a chance to chat a bit.

The kids returned back to school after a 4 day weekend for the first time on Tuesday.  It was a relief to get a few days of regular routine in.  Much of it was used to prepare for the upcoming 10 days in Rwanda.  We will be hosting regional meetings followed by a team retreat.  It will probably be a bit hairy and I may not post again before that is over.

This evening we had one surprise visitor.  It was Nina with her two kids Jonah and Milo!  She is German and used to be here with GIZ, with her kids and husband Bila.  They were regulars at yoga and fellow parents at the Ecole Belge.  It was great to see them and reminded us of all those we have known who have left.  Fortunately it is a small world and I have no doubt we will see them again sometime, somewhere.