Another Ho-Down In Buja

 Kids playing on the trampoline while parents danced.  Dance photos on this blog by our cook Marcelline.  

It has come to my attention that there are a lot more ex-pats, especially anglophone ex-pats in the country than there were when we moved here. It is evident in nearly every sphere, at the Ecole Belge, church, the beach, and most recently at our quarterly folk dance which we held last Saturday. We have an email list that we use to send out invitations about a week ahead and in the past we have hosted between 30 and 50 adults and children. This past week, though we had closer to 80! What was even more interesting was how many of them we did not even know. I think this event gets around by word of mouth and it seems to be a good place for newcomers to meet folks who have been around for a while.

It was, as always a great time, and it is a small offering we enjoy making several times a year to those who enjoy it. I am not sure the majority even had a chance to do some of the dances (with the exception of 'Cotton-eyed Joe' which the young girls and Jennifer Price did about 8 times during the evening). But we did have several other favorites including 'Dashing White Sargent', the Hora, and a square dance set for which we made squares in both the living and dining rooms. We finished off with the 'Virginia Reel' which again we had to make two lines, one in the living room and one in the dining room. Actually for me the dancing highlight was watching David join into the marathon set of Cotton-Eyed Joe and really try to dance it with Jennifer and the girls. I don't think I have enough bandwidth to upload the video I made but it was hilarious enough to be on 'Burundi's Funniest Home Videos'!

The dancing was followed by a pot-luck in which just about everything was eaten including a delicious Birthday cake for Nani (one of Astrid and Travis' daughters). It was good to catch up with everyone and find out who is 'still here'. I would say that fewer have left than newcomers that have arrived. We also had several members of our Burundi MCC team down for the event including Saffy, our new service worker who will be based in Bujumbura, Yolanda from Gitega, and Teri-Lynn our SALTer who is teaching up at the Hope School in Nyangungu.

Actually Saturday began with a yoga class that I taught at Stephen and Laura's house, some friends from the Ecole Belge. There were about a dozen folks there as well. We had brunch after the class then Rebecca, Teri-Lynn and the kids and I went back home and began getting ready for the party. We have it pretty much down to a science and can have the living room and dining room cleared and furniture set up outdoors in about an hour. Food takes a bit longer but is usually prepared in advance.

Breakdown is also pretty quick. Since most of the guests are families everyone is usually gone by 8:30 pm. Bt 10pm we have usually finished cleaning up and restoring everything back to normal. Since Yolanda and Teri-Lynn were staying with us over the weekend it went even faster.

Sunday was the third week in which we went to the beach following church. Swimming in the lake seems to be the preference of the children these days, particularly when it is a bit choppy. Eating out also gives us a much needed break from cleaning the kitchen. We got home in time for small group at 4pm and were very pleased to welcome a new member, Natasha, a Burundian who has been living out of the country for many years and has just emigrated from Canada with her daughter.

We had an interesting discussion about forgiveness modeled by Joseph in the Old Testament when he was reconcilled to his brothers. I had not heard the sermon because I was helping with Sunday School (David is apparently acting out a bit in class), but Rebecca did hear it and gave us a synopsis. The topic was, does Christian forgiveness replace the need for State Justice? (In short, our answer was No.)

The weekend was a restful cap on a fairly busy week. Much of it fell into our routine of office hours in the morning and splitting the parenting and work in the afternoons, but there were some exceptions. Keeping up my perfect record of traveling every week (which will continue indefinitely) I spent Wednesday in Gitega. The occasion was to take Saffy, our new volunteer to meet the partner she is seconded to. She will be working with an organization called UCEDD. This is the partner that runs the Hope School for the Batwa. Saffy will be working with them for the next 3 months to do a new action plan for the Hope School and help them with some other efforts to bring awareness of it to other donors.

I should add at this point that we continued to be without our car all last week and while we did have a small rental, I chose to go by taxi with Saffy to Gitega. Although the route is somewhat treacherous, it is the normal way most folks travel including most of our other service workers. It is always a humbling experience to be crammed into the backseat of a fairly compact car with 4 others, no seat belts and a trunk (hatchback) stuffed with various merchandise heading up the mountain.

We did not make great time primarily because there were about 8 police checks on the way. Usually cabs are stopped at all of these while non-commercial vehicles are not. I don't know if this is for heightened security because of some recent threats to security, or just a chance to shake the drivers down for a 'fanta'. But we did stop frequently and at one we waited for about 15 minutes.

We did eventually get to Gitega and met Innocent and Beatrice along with the Honorable Alfred, a Batwa parliamentarian who is also their legal rep. We had a very productive exchange outlining Saffy's duties and where she would be based. After talking for several hours we had some lunch and then got in a cab to head back down the mountain. This one was less crowded because Alfred had hired one for himself and we rode along.

It started to rain as we headed out of Gitega in the late afternoon. That is never good news if one is headed down the mountain, but a daily reality of rainy season. Accidents are frequent on this road but it seems like the rain is the underlying cause of many of the really bad ones. Our driver did not drive insanely fast but I did feel like he was going faster than was safe for a slick road. We had gone most of the way down though before we came to a line of cars ahead of us as far as we could see just over the plain of Bujumbura. We knew there was an accident ahead and by the number of cars waiting, we expected a big one. The wait delayed us about an hour and the reason was evident when we got to the sight of the wreck.

Apparently a large truck heading down hill carrying a container lost its brakes in the rain and was speeding out of control. He hit one taxi and slammed it into the embankment. Next he hit another taxi and pushed it backwards until it slammed into another container truck coming up the hill. All 3 vehicles went off the road just inches away from the cliff. The 2 trucks were on their side on top of each other and the taxi and several bicycles were crushed underneath the whole mess. I do not know how many perished in the wreck. Yolanda and Jennifer Price, who were in a bus coming down the mountain from Kigali at the same time but a bit ahead of us, apparently took several of the injured to the hospital on the way down when they got through.

The scene was a sobering reminder of the danger of driving here. I think it is actually more dangerous to drive up the hill than down, especially in the rain. This is because going down, you can control your speed, but going up, you cannot control the recklessness of the other drivers coming down. Many will happily pass on blind curves, or have a mechanical failure like the container truck. I will think twice about driving up in the rain.

Rainy season, though, does have its benefits and it is great to enjoy the cooler air and the settling of dust. Our mango trees are full of fruit this year and I am hoping that we get to eat some before it is all stolen. (It seems that everyone steals mangoes—especially school kids.) We don't want to be greedy but we do want to have at least a crack at the best mangoes that come off of the tree to the left of the house which are exceptionally good mangoes.

Oren had a good week as well, going to karate at the French School Tuesday and Thursday. It rained both days he was there so David got a bit wet waiting for him in the playground. Oren went to karate quite willingly and even said on Tuesday “You know, I'm really beginning to like karate.” I was surprised to hear that since he did not seem to be doing it by choice the entire last year.

It was good to finally get our car back on Friday. It actually took about 2 weeks of repair on what seems likely to have been caused by putting contaminated gas into the fuel tank. Apparently the whole fuel system was gummed up and several pumps, spark plugs and other things had to be replaced and the whole system flushed several times. It was an expensive repair and I really want to go back to Kigali and complain to the gas station, but there is little recourse in terms of recuperating the cost since it would be almost impossible to prove and there really is no well functioning 'consumer protection bureau' here.

We loved having our car back over the weekend and returning the rental. The only small annoyance was that I failed to do it all in a single trip and in fact had to make several trips to each place for various reasons. It ended up taking 4 hours to return the rental and pick-up our car. I am used to this now, but do marvel at how efficient things like rental car returns and store check-outs are in my own country in general. Here everything takes 3 to 4 times as long. (Don't even get me started on waiting for a check at a restaurant)

This coming week I have another trip up to Gitega and the Hope School. I do like to visit the latter and should only be gone overnight. I will be dropping Teri-Lynn and Saffy off up there. Saffy is going to do some research and hopefully give Teri-Lynn some company for a few days.

Just about finished all of our reporting for the mid-year period only a day after the deadline so we are feeling pretty good.

Bonus Video:  David, the ladies man trying to do Cotton-Eyed Joe with the big girls.

A View from the Other Side

A truck packed with people, one of the few vehicles we encountered on the escarpment between Bukavu and Uvira.

I am sneaking in a blog report despite the fact that we are up late and will be up late for several more nights trying to complete our reporting for the mid-year. This is a fairly stressful week as was last week as the Friday deadline looms and we need to report on about 25 plans and a dozen partnerships. I have found we are not at our best under stress, but fortunately it does end on Friday.

To make matters worse, we have been carless the last 10 days because the problem with the Fortuner has taken quite some time to repair. Apparently the gas we put in in Kigali was contaminated with something and completely messed up our entire fuel system. Many parts had to be replaced including the fuel pump and the entire system had to be flushed several times.

The unfortunate event did not prevent me from having a bit of an adventure though, and in light of the circumstances I decided to be open to being pushed out of my ever expanding comfort zone.

I had been planning a visit to Bukavu for several weeks to meet with a new MCC service worker who has been assigned by the MCC Congo program to work in Bukavu. Since Bukavu is only about 2 hours away from Bujumbura by car (and very far from Kinshasa even by plane) our program has agreed to be a secondary support system for him.

Since we also have some complementary programming related to the Great Lakes region in general we are actually quite excited to have someone from the DRC program so close. Tim Lind, the MCC country rep. For DRC was to be in Bukavu this past week installing Michael Sharp (the new volunteer) into his new home. (A Swedish Mission guesthouse for now.) He wanted to have one of us come up to meet them so we could talk about some coordinated programming that might be possible between our programs with Michael in place.

I was pleased to be able to go, although the car breakdown meant I would not be doing it in comfort. Not to be thwarted, I decided that on Thursday I would go up by matatu (mini taxi bus) to meet them in Bukavu. Up to that point in the week, Rebecca and I had been nearly reveling in the pleasure of our routine with the kids back in school for the first week and us back into a daily routine of swimming after dropping them off then work until noon. We did have many visitors drop by, but generally we got things done. We did rent a tiny Chinese made car to get us around town and to and from school more easily, not bad for a Burundian rental, all it lacks is side-view mirrors.

But Thursday was the last day of normal routine for me as I prepared for a 3^rd class road trip. (albeit short). I did get to swim prior to the scheduled 11:00 am departure. I took a cab to the bus station and waited for an hour and a half for us to leave, but at 12:30 we finally did get 15 of us packed in with a ton of cargo and started off. (These vehicles are the size of a mini-van in the US.) I will say we were squeezed tight. I did bring an ipod to make the trip more bearable but found that I was wedged so tightly in the seat that I could not even reach in my pocket to turn it on.

Despite the squeeze the trip was only about 3 hours with the border crossing and I was at the DRC border before 4pm. Tim and Michael met me on the other side in a car and took me over to the Swedish Mission Guesthouse. It is usually quite crowded and this was the case again, so much so tha the only bed available for me was in the living room of the small suite they had rented.

We had a great introductory meeting and it was fascinating to hear how Michael Sharpe ended up in the position. He had come fresh from several months of immersion French in Belgium, and has experiences in other languages as well and seemed quite up to speed in French. He has done quite a bit of peace work in the Israel Palestine situation and in Germany with wounded soldiers trying to get out of the army. He seems enthusiastic and up to the challenging environment of working in Bukavu.

We talked for several hours about various things related to the MCC Rwanda Burundi program and points of possible intersection, then went to dinner at a place called the CoCo Lounge. This is definitely a place expats visiting Bukavu should check out. The menu was excellent, but also, for $200 they run day trips out to see gorillas in the wild up close. (Yes gorillas, not guerillas) This is far cheaper than the prices one gets in Rwanda for the mountain gorilla tours. I would love to do it someday, but I think the kids have to be quite a bit older to do this. (Anyway, that is my one tourist plug for visiting Bukavu.)

We actually stayed up fairly late talking and trying to catch up on email. I was to return the next morning the way I came and they were going on to a town called Sange, about 3 hours south of Bukavu heading toward Uvira. (about half-way). When I heard they were doing this I considered that perhaps I could, rather than going back to Bujumbura the way I came (via Rwanda), I could go down with the and at Sange find a ride down to Uvira and cross there as it is right across the Ruzizi river from Bujumbura (about a 20 minute drive.)

My interest in doing this was partly driven by interest in continuing to talk with Tim and Michael and to see some of the work they were doing, but also because I knew that the route on the DRC side of the river went across the spectacularly high mountains one can see in Eastern Congo from Burundi and Rwanda. I really wanted to see what it was like looking down from them.

I proposed the idea to Tim the next morning and he was happy to have me join them. The only problem I had was the rising anxiety I felt as I woke and found it had been raining steadily much of the night. Rainy season her means treacherously muddy roads and I did not know what that would mean for our trip.

We had a brief meeting at 9 with a church partner then headed up country at about 10. The road proved be every bit as treacherous as I had feared and for the first 30 minutes we had the harrowing experience of riding up a mud covered road along the escarpment, rising higher and higher above the plain, slipping along like a snowmobile as the driver over-compensated to the right and left, risking going over the edge or careening into the side of the mountain. Fortunately there was little traffic coming the other way as this is not a well used route.  I admit there were several moments where I really regretted not taking the route back on the other side the way I had come.  But I did feel it was good to be in solidarity with Tim and Michael who do this trip more than once to visit partners in Sange.  I did find that one very helpful way to calm my nerves: I put on a very calming piece of music (Barber's Adagio for Strings) on the Ipod and listened to it repeatedly for the worst hour of the trip.

 By the time we reached the higher altitudes the road was dry and the day improved markedly. The views were spectacular but the road remained narrow, with a 1000 foot cliff along one side and was unpaved and extremely windy and bumpy. So much so that one of our Congolese partners was massively carsick the whole way and we had to make about 6 stops for him to get out and throw-up. This did allow us to look around at some of the great views. There are several pictures in this blog showing the mountains and the switchback road we were on as well as the Rusizi river thousands of feet below, that separates DRC from Rwanda and Burundi.

The constant stopping did cause me some concern about our schedule. I knew once we reached Sange I still had to get to Uvira which meant finding a cab and then continuing on to the border (something I had never done before so I had no sense of how much time this would take.) Threre was a looming deadline as I needed to be home by 5pm since there was a parent teacher conference at 6 I needed to attend.

We did get to Sange by about 1:30 pm. Tim and Michael went to visit a school where they sponsor some Mennonite orphans. The story behind these orphans is sad but interesting as it was in the news last year. Sange was the town where a large tanker truck full of gas overturned by the road. As gas leaked out, hundreds of people came with small containers to collect it. This went on into the night and at one point a woman came out with a lit torch to look for her son. The torch set the gas on fire and caused an enormous explosion that killed about 600 people who were around the truck collecting the gas.

It turns out that there was a Mennonite Church in the town who lost many members and found themselves supporting many orphaned children. These childern are the beneficiaries of MCC scholarship money. I found a taxi parked across the street from the remains of the tanker truck. It is still lying there on its side.

The cabee wanted $40 for a 1 hour drive to Uvira. It was steep but he did not have anyone else in the car, so I did not feel it was really unfair. I agreed and we started off. At this point I was feeling less anxious as it was not even 3 and we seemed to be making good time. Then as we approached Uvira we hit an impasse. It was a police roadblock and the officer working there had no intention of letting the driver through, it turned out, without an enormous bribe. I surmised this from the heated discussion the driver was having with him behind the car. The driver was obliged to pull off the road for no apprent reason. I guess the cop figured I would eventually give in and pay something (I am sure this happened because he saw a mzungu in the car.) I asked the driver what to do. I honestly felt a bit like a hostage. I had heard many horror stories of people in this situation forced to simply sit for hours on end, maybe days before being allowed to proceed or pay through the nose to leave earlier.

When I asked the driver he handed me 1000 francs and told me to get out of the car and grab the next taxi-moto (motorcycle taxi) that went by and take it to the border. Just as I opened my door one came by and I jumped on it and took off. The police officer looked a bit flummoxed but what could he do? It was the cab he was preventing from going not me. I drove off feeling like I had just broken out of jail. It was an exhilarating ride to the border where I crossed easily and took a cab back to our house in Bujumbura. I was home by 4pm no worse for the wear but I can categorically not recommend taking the road that goes through DRC from Bukavu to Uvira over the mountains unless you are into extreme thrills (like skydiving off cliffs).

The harrowing journey was not the end of the day as we did have a parent teacher meeting scheduled at 6. Rebecca also had a church elders meeting so we split up leaving the kids with Jennifer and Yolanda who were over at our house that evening. The teachers meeting for the first week of school is now quite familiar to me, and it was good not to feel like a newcomer. We met the directors of the school then proceeded to our children's classrooms where the teachers briefed us on the curriculum for the year. I think Oren's teacher Mdm. Marie, and David's Mdm. Magdalie seem very competent and nice. So far the kids have a very good impression of them as well.

The weekend felt like a real break and we actually did virtually nothing Saturday after yoga. This is what Oren likes best. We did not leave the house, but stayed home all day watching movies, jumping on the trampoline, and playing games together. We actually played a family game of Carcisone!! Even David helped me. Oren actually almost won as well! It is amazing how fast they grow. One correction: We did not all do nothing. Rebecca spent much of the day preparing the Sunday school curriculum for the entire semester. It was a lot of work, but doing it all at once actually will save time in the long run.

Sunday was a busy morning. Rebecca got the Sunday school rooms set up and after worship I decided to accompany the kids down since Rebecca was teaching the older kids and our kids were in the younger group. I had head that David was not very good in class the week before. I am glad I went because Lizzie and Simon Guillebaud who were in charge of the younger group that week had about 30 kids and really needed 'all hands on deck'. The lesson was well prepared but getting all the little kids through the games and activities took a lot of adult supervision. David, was, in fact, one of the trouble makers in the group.

One nice bonus for Sunday morning was seeing Naja and Thomas Spanner (our Danish friends) with their kids Elias and Aviaja. Oren was happy to reconnect as well. After church we went to the beach with them and had lunch there and swam in the pool. We returned home about 3, in time for our first small group meeting since we left in July.

It was good to be back in the small group although several of us were not there because they had not returned yet, but Tim and Jeanette, our friends form South Africa did make it as well as JJ and Courtney who are new to Burundi. He is working with World Relief and they seem like they will be a great addition to the group as cell group ministry is part of their own church background in the US.

We had a nice 2 hour discussion about the sermon (that JJ synopsized) and prayer time. It is another pattern that I am glad we have reestablished, part of what keeps us sane here.

After they left we had supper with the kids and I fell asleep with the reading stories. Rebecca stayed up later to cover Oren's book. (parental homework assignment)

This week began with orientation of a new worker. Saffy will be with us for 3 months as a short term worker helping us with our partner organization who runs the Hope School. She has been in Burundi the last year and was part of my adult ballet class so we knew her pretty well. She was working with the Quaker Peace and Social Witness at an AIDS clinic for women. We are very happy to have her joining our team for the next several months. (Sorry no picture but will post one next week.)

A bit of travel expected in the week ahead, but also looking forward to our first social dance of the season this Saturday!

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.

A Jolt Back to the Other Reality

Burial site of the Reverend Pastor Moise (Moses) Bigirimana (1963-2012)

I usually begin a blog entry 'in the moment', to put my state of mind into perspective as I reflect back over the past week. I fear today I have really let much go by in an albeit short span of time. We are, to begin, back in Bujumbura. It is about 10pm on our 3^rd night back (we arrived Wednesday night). It has been a long day for me, primarily because I found it important to attend a funeral that was held upcountry in the town of Kibimba. The deceased was very sadly the recently elected Legal Representative of the Evangelical Friends Church, The Reverend Moise Bigirimana. He was only 49 and one of the precious few PhDs in Burundi. Besides his work at the church he was also a Sociology Professor at Hope Africa University. It is a great loss for the church as he was a promising leader and the transfer of power to install him was tense.  The church is in a somewhat vulnerable state again with this loss. Since he had his office across the hall from us we saw him frequently. His death was unexpected as he was killed on a motorcycle enroute to an upcountry parish. He leaves behind a wife and 3 children, one was born just last week. The prematurity of his departure was further higlighted for me by the fact that the service and burial were held at the exact place of his inauguration just 4 months ago. (My blog about it here.)

It is a hard thing to come back to. MCC is under the auspices of the Friends Church and changes in leadership are a bit unnerving for us. But even more, it was a real jolt out of the honeymoon vacation in the US and back to the reality here where death comes unexpectedly most often and culls the young as quickly as the old. In the month of our departure this is actually the third tragedy. One of our Rwanda advisors lost his wife (under 50), a Ugandan MCC colleague lost his 2 year old daughter, and then Moise died this week. It is quite possible that all of these deaths could have been prevented if they had access to a health care system as advanced as ours. (All died in a hospital). I used to be outraged about this, but now I feel something like resignation. Death is accepted here as an unexpected visitor, life is seen as a gift, and the assurance of Resurrection into Eternal Life is a hope one clings to daily.

Birthday cake at Dulles

We really did enjoy our month off, and I even did feel some tinge of regret at the end of our vacation as we drove to Dulles airport, but now that I am here, I am ready to be back. Going to the funeral was more of a reminder about reality here rather than a bad omen in my view.

I last posted almost 2 weeks ago on our summer break so I will try to bring you up to date. I will say that the vacation was about as perfectly choreographed as one could make it with a very dense schedule of relational time, renewal, and travel, but it really did go off without a hitch. I left off in the last blog in Poughkeepsie. Although it was too short to see all of our friends (sorry Vassar crew) we did enjoy spending several days at Bob and Frances Thompson-Gee's house and connecting with friends. We were able to see our small group on our arrival, but then went to the Poughkeepsie Farm Project (one of our old haunts) on Saturday with Don and Rosaura. We had lunch with them then dinner with Courtney and Anthony Caremeko and their two boys Asa and Alexander. Oren was thrilled to see his buddy Asa again, and I really think he has remembered him even after all of these years.

We were blessed to be able to share the message on Sunday morning at the Poughkeepsie UMC where Rebecca had been a youth pastor. We used the passage at the end of Acts 14 where Paul and Barnabus come back to their sending community as take off point to talk about our work in Burundi the past 4 years. This is a group that really knows and loves us and we appreciated sharing in both services as well as 2 fellowship. For us, one of the mos exciting things to see was just how missional this church has become. We have characterized it as our Antioch. They run many mission trips at home and abroad each year. They have an ongoing relationship with a church in Mexico as well as a regular community service mission trip right in their county (Bridge Builders). Many of their youth have gone off to the mission field in one way or another during and after college as well. It was a great joy to fellowship with them and share our experiences here.

After church we had lunch with our friend Heidi, husband Mike and her sons Taylor and Ryan. (Older pals of Oren's as well.) Oren loved going back to his old haunts and both kids were thrilled with all the different new toys everyone had.

We left Sunday afternoon to return to Baltimore and got there pretty late at night. We did stop at a favorite McDonalds playland that Oren used to love to visit on our trips. We arrived at my parents house and crashed until the next day.

We were down to our last week so we did have to do some shopping on Monday while parents watched the kids. We also were able to do some exercising. I did get to take my long run around Loch Raven several times in the last week. It is something I love to do (about 13 miles) and I have used it often as a way to connect to God. Especially as a preparation. (I ran it on my wedding day, before we left for Burundi many times, etc.) I am thankful that I am not too old yet to do this.

Tuesday we took a trip to Washington DC. The kids loved this because we rode down in the MARC commuter train (which is a double decker train). Then took the Metro to the Smithsonian. They love the museum of Natural History (as I did as a child) and we walked around it most of the day. Oren who really fancies himself to be a paleontologist loved the dinosaur exhibit while David adored the insect zoo and returned to it two times just to have a chance to hold the Madagascar hissing cockroach. (3 inches long.)

We spent time with Rebecca's brother and sister in law on Wednesday, it was great to hang out with them and Oren and David love their cousins Miriam and Gabriel. They played wiffleball and watched movies. The adults talked and we had an excellent grilled salmon for dinner.

Thursday was met with great anticipation because Rebeca and I had scheduled a couple retreat at Charter Hall for 3 days. We arrived on Thursday evening. The kids were divided up, Oren went to his Grandma Jean and Papa Dave's house while David stayed with my parents. Rebecca and I enjoyed perfect days of canoeing, hiking, and relaxing, completely alone. It was a very refreshing break from the kids. They on the other hand had fun going and seeing a reptile exhibit at a library, picking rasberries at a farm, going to playgrounds with cousins and generally having a great time with the Grand parents.

We returned Saturday night, fortunately prepared to preach at my parent's church on Sunday. Valley Baptist is a church my family has been part of for most of 25 years and it is always good to visit. I was invited to preach and was able to share some thoughts on God as a God of the future through the scripture of the Valley of the Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37. Using testimony of challenge and hope in Burundi I hope I was able to provide an opportunity for reflection on how God calls us even here to share in his vision of optimism for the future, that the best is prepared for the next generation, and not to let ourselves become a bunch of cynical old codgers lamenting the loss of the 'good old days'.

It was good to catch up with these folks as well, and we were happy to have visited and shared at our 3 favorite churches in the last 3 weeks of our stay. We ended the evening by providing a dinner for our parents while Paul and Gwndolyn watched our kids. It was good to be able to thank them again for their prayers and support. (and for living so long and being there for the grandkids!)

Monday was definitely a day of preparation for departure and was spent packing and doing last minute shopping. The kids and Rebecca did go with their cousins, Aunt Gwendolyn and Grandma Jean to the zoo though, which they loved. We had our last dinner at my parents house, salmon once again with asparagus which was just what we wanted (neither are available here in Burundi).

Tuesday morning we let the kids have their last bike rides in the streets of suburbia then loaded a minivan to go to Dulles airport. Dave and Jean drove us and with 8 bags were were really loaded down. Fortunately the check-in at Dulles was fairly painless and we had some time to eat some Birthday cake with Grandma Jean before heading through security to our gate.

We anticipated meeting our new SALT volunteers there and with a little discernment were able to pick out 3 young women hanging-out in a group looking excited. They are Janelle, Alyssa, and Teri-Lynn. I will say more about them during the year, but they seem like an excellent trio.

The flight was fine except for David who decided to throw a tantrum on the first leg about just about everything. We were relieved to get him to sleep but because of a tailwind we got to Brussels in just over 6 hours, so the night's sleep was not nearly enough. We spent several stuporous hours in the Brussels airport before boarding our Burundi flight.

We did see several others we knew returning on this flight, most notably Simon Guillbaud and family. He has been out of the country for 2 years so it is exciting to see him again. His kids will be at the Ecole Belge with ours.

Jennifer and Yolanda with SALTers
Alyssa, Terri-Lynn and Janelle
in our living room.

We arrived Wednesday evening and were picked up by Felix with two cars (for all or our luggage.) We did have a scare that one of our bags had not arrived but after filing a report it did show up just as the last car was leaving. We were really happy we did not have to deal with chasing it down on another day.

Orientation began in earnest on Thursday. We were happy to find the house in good order and all of our staff well. David was thrilled to be back to see his dogs. Oren was somewhat morose. He really loves to be in America and coming back is hardest on him.

This brings me back to today. We had received the news of Moise's death enroute to Burundi. Despite our exhaustion and work ahead we knew it was important to show solidarity at this time.

Next week we head upcountry and to Rwanda to drop off our volunteers. Pray that our refreshment from the vacation can carry us through the exhaustion of setting up our service workers in new homes.

NO proofing tonight, will try to fix typos another day.  There were just too many photos to add them all, for more photos of the past 2 weeks click here. (homeleave etc.)

The Guilty Pleasure of Self-Sufficiency and a Family Vacation

"Kowabunga! Surf's UP Dude!"--my brother Jonathan boogie boarding at Ocracoke  Island Beach, NC.


Definitely time to get another post up.  I do a modified writing schedule during home leave because I have thought that our vacation in the US might not be as interesting to read about as our work in Burundi.  But I do remember that we have Burundian and other expat. friends in other countries that probably would like an update.  I also want to have a record of these days as well.  Looking back over last summer's homeleave entries has been inspiring, especially as I find how much my perspective of my 'homeland' has changed from being away for so long.

The biggest challenge that has remained though is the extent to which we filled this vacation with travel.  Although we thought we had done well to limit our activities, I have found that cramming at least two 1 week trips into a 28 day stay has made us feel that we are on the road quite a bit and not really stable.  Don't get me wrong, the opportunity to visit friends and family has been invaluable, but it will probably also make us welcome a return to a more regular, rhythmic routine back in Burundi.

It is good to feel that there are things to look forward to  in returning to Burundi.  There is so much here that is so much more convenient and comfortable--most notably, the way we can walk unnoticed down the street, leave a driveway without opening a gate, go shopping without being asked for money by strangers.  Even occupying a house without having to manage 3 or 4 houseworkers is a relief.  Grassy lawns, public park with playgrounds, sidewalks safely distant from moving traffic are also things I no longer take for granted.  In fact, I was commenting to Rebecca on our long drive to Poughkeepsie yesterday that I regretted that I was not absorbent enough to take it all in, all the beauty and cleanliness here, the green trees, clean air (not smelling of burning charcoal), and even pot-hole free highways with an abundance of food and fuel stops, that we can experience even at 60 miles per hour.

This is not meant to gloss over the many challenges we face as a nation, and I have no desire to add political commentary to my unmediated experience of being here after a long absence, but I think it does one good to be reminded that much of what we take for granted here as entitlements, are actually privileges bought and paid for collectively, and stewarded by our federal, state, and local governments. The contrast to a poor country like Burundi is most notable in this way where good stewardship of the environment and civic infrastructure is minimal to nonexistent.  Security as well is not so much a matter of a well disciplined law enforcement service as a high wall topped with barbed wire, a night guard, and a dog (if you can afford it).

But there are some changes here, even in the relatively brief span of 4 years, I have noticed that my experience in Burundi seems to critique in an interesting way.  It is subtle but I am aware of the extent to which individuals in our culture are becoming more and more isolated from each other, and how much of the technological innovation I have encountered seems to encourage this movement.  Certainly it is evident in information technology, particularly social media networks like Twitter and Facebook, even blogging.  We inhabit in more and more of our time 'virtual communities'.  And while the people in these communities are real enough, we exert far more control and are far less vulnerable in our social interactions than we are in the more brutal 'real world.'  But this was not only evident to me in the information technology domain.  In fact, I have spent many days on the road and have stopped at many gas stations.  I am used to self serve gas, but in the attached convenience stores I found a shocking number of other 'self serve' conveniences,-- coffee, cappuccino, milk shakes, even entire restaurants where one can do short order food through a touch screen.  The very brief interaction with a cashier at the end was the only human contact I found.  I am struck by the extent to which even more machines have replaced the service sector of our economy, especially in convenience stores.  Maybe I am making too much of this, but our desire for self-sufficiency in these places seems to fit in well with this trend of social isolation which enables us to control more and more our social interactions and avoid being vulnerable to others.  Are we moving toward becoming a society of avatars?

I can actually understand the temptation toward this trend, especially when information technology allows us to tailor make 'virtual communities' which agree completely with our sensibilities.  In Burundi, where social interaction is constant and having a moment of privacy is a luxury beyond the reach of most, the idea of having some control is understandable.  As I said above, virtually no one in a home in Burundi is without at least one houseworker.  In a poorer home it is likely to be a 'volunteer' poorer relative.  For us it is a cook, cleaner, and night guard.  All of these folks have lives, hardships, ambitions, and proximity to them makes their business your business.

This goes even more for colleagues, friends, fellow church-members, and acquaintances, in a culture where people rely heavily on non-vitual social networks for very real needs--especially financial ones.  Cross-cultural social interaction can be messy, embarrassing, awkward, as well as deeply rewarding, but it is largely unscripted and one has little control over it.

So all that to say, I am savoring the guilty pleasure of some self-suficient privacy, and shielding from the constant exposure to need that sometimes seems to assault us in Burundi.  I am enjoying not being approached by a waiter, or any person who has an excuse to make my acquaintance to see it as an opportunity to ask for something.  But, I actually don't want to get used to this, or feel it again as an entitlement.  I do think that there is something unhealthy, even dangerous about the trend toward isolation and the radical individualism that is cherished here as a cultural value.

Our old small group reunion.

OK, I did not know I was going to be starting this entry with a sermon.  I usually don't plan ahead what I am going to write.  I do want to report a bit on the activities of the past 2 and a half weeks to share some news with friends.  I am currently writing from Poughkeepsie, New York, our third trip in the past 14 days.  We got here yesterday (Thursday) evening and are staying with Bob and Frances Thompson-Gee (pastor of PUMC and Rebecca's former boss).  We got into town, dropped our stuff off and had a dinner with our old small group.  (Garrett's, McNeill's, Hart's)  It was great to see them though we did see some of them at Rebecca's surprise party 2 weeks prior.  We also actually had a small group prayer and share which was great to do together.  They have continued to meet since we left and it was good to report to them our success in creating such a support group in Burundi as well.

on the ferry

This morning I met with an old friend and spiritual mentor Bruce Hempel who is a part of the KAIROS prison ministry.  It was great to catch up with him and to report back the extent to which my work with KAIROS was probably the most important place of spiritual formation that prepared me for the cross-cultural ministry I am in.  He had news and updates about the work of KAIROS here and a 3 hour breakfast get together seemed like far too short a time to share reflections, joys, and concerns.

Daugthers-in-Law with Abigail.

Backing up from Poughkeepsie, I should mention that we did have a week in Baltimore after Rebecca's party which was filled almost entirely with various doctor and dental visits.  I am happy to say we will be returning to Burundi with clean bills of health.  On Friday (July 27th) our family got in the car and caravaned to North Carolina with Rebecca's brother and sister in law and 2 cousins (Paul, Gwendolyn, Miriam, Gabriel).  Oddly we were heading to different vacations in nearly the same location, the outer banks of North Carolina.  They were going to be with Gwendolyn's family and we were going to spend a week with my family in Ocracoke Island.  We stayed the night at a hotel in NC on Saturday evening.  The kids enjoyed playing together in the hotel room (primarily jumping on beds) while the adults played a card game Rebecca received for her Birthday called 'Dominion'.  I can highly recommend it, but also caution a buyer that it would be best to have someone who knows how to play, teach you how to set it up and use it.

3 brothers in the corner.

We parted ways on Saturday morning and Rebecca and I departed by ferry for Ocracoke Island.  This was my first visit to the outer banks of NC and I have to say, I see why they have such appeal.  Our family arrived first to the rental house where we were staying and we picked up the keys and unloaded our stuff.  The next to arrive was my brother Jonathan and his wife Emma and son Fletcher from Nashville, TN.  My brother Mark with wife Christine and two daughters followed shortly thereafter and my parents finally got there much later that evening having gotten stuck in traffic crossing the sole bridge to the outer banks, a nightmare on Saturday afternoons.

Grandpa and Grammy at the beach.

Once we were all there the vacation really began.  Although one of the families stayed in a nearby house, we pretty much did all of our activities and meals together.  It was great to have everyone on this side of the family together and an increasingly rare event with all of us so spread out.  I don't want to sound like a travel brochure but the outer banks boast some of the most beautifully rustic beaches in the entire country, and even in high season there were relatively few people on the beaches we went to.

My Brother Mark's family

Unlike the exotic coral reef of Zanzibar, the Atlantic East coast beaches are more subtle in their appeal, but their beauty is unmistakable.  There was also a very excellent tidal surf that made for awesome 'boogie boarding'.  Among the very satisfying experiences I had there was the opportunity to teach Oren how to ride the waves and how to dive under the really big ones that would easily crush him and send him in a tumble.  Oren and David both love waves and they had a great time there on the days we spent at the beaches.

We also did other things like ride bicycles, run, a bit of hiking, and many family games (mostly Quirkle, Monopoly, and Dominion) some reading, some watching of the summer Olympics, and a lot of visiting and eating.

Among the more intentional activities we did was afternoon tea for the adults and 2 older girls.  We did have tea, but also took the opportunity to share one by one on a particular topic.  One day we talked about memorable summer vacations of the past, another day we talked about rewards and challenges of the last year, and the last day we shared about hopes and fears for the year ahead.  We ended the last day with some prayer for each other.  It was great to take this time for some intergenerational sharing and to appreciate the time we have with each other.  Maybe living so far from home makes me take these times of togetherness more seriously, or maybe just getting older makes me appreciate them more.  I do feel that living in a place where long life and good health are not guaranteed, the chance to be together with one's loved ones is not to be taken for granted.

food prep.

We returned from Ocracoke the following Saturday and caravaned back with my parents to their house in Baltimore where we stayed for the several days before leaving for Poughkeepsie.  On Sunday we had the chance to go to North Baltimore Mennonite Church, Rebecca's home church in Baltimore, and did a "Missions Moment".  It was good to talk about our work with MCC there, particularly since Ruth Clemens, our friend and boss (Director of MCC International Programs) is also a member there and was there on that Sunday.  Since she and her family had recently visited us, it was good to see them again and remember our time together in Burundi.  We did make an unapologetic appeal for members of the congregation to think about doing a service term with MCC as we are definitely in need of more human resources in our mission.

We spent Monday and Tuesday in Baltimore and the kids got to do a visit to the train museum with Rebecca's parents.  Their cousin Fletcher, who had returned from North Carolina with us (to have a longer visit with Oren and David) accompanied them as did their cousins on Rebecca's side, Miriam and Gabriel.

Tuesday I had the chance to do a long run (12 miles) around a reservoir called Loch Raven.  It is a run I have done at many times in my life, including my wedding day and it is an opportunity for spiritual reflection and renewal.  While I was doing that the boys were taken by Grammy and Rebecca to a mall to get some excellent haircuts (buzz cuts but well done).

MCC office, Colette and Sue.

On Wednesday we left for Poughkeepsie but stopped for a full day in Akron, PA, the home of MCC headquarters where we had a full day of meetings.  (Mercifully the grandparents took the kids for the day to an historic railway exhibit in nearby Strasbourg, PA.

Fletcher introducing Oren to
video games.

We met many people during our visit to Akron, and I mused that we can get a month of work done in a visit there in a matter of hours.  (This is because internet communication still remains slow in Burundi, and getting several people together in one place can be difficult.)  We stayed the night in Akron, and truthfully the MCC USA headquarters has the aesthetic feel of a retreat center as does the quiet rural town.  We enjoyed some time outdoors in the evening at a public park and playground when the kids and grandparents arrived before the latter headed back to Baltimore for the night.

That catches me back up to the beginning of the blog.  I probably will not write again before the weekend after our return to Buja in 2 weeks.  We will be flying back with several of our new volunteers.  In our last week, we will be preaching at PUMC (this Sunday) and at Valley Baptist Church in Maryland next week.  In between Rebecca and I have scheduled a 3 day personal retreat together without the kids at Charter Hall.  Having time alone as a couple seems like the one aspect of renewal we still need in our time here.

rainy days did not stop the fun.

I will end with an amusing cultural anecdote.  In our last week in Buja, during our small group meeting, Rebecca was sharing with a Burundian woman, the need we felt for some time alone as a couple.  She nodded in strong approval of the idea and said:  "Yes it is so important as a couple to have time alone.  You will go to your home and have time with your parents, and he will go to his family and you two will have time with your families to remember your childhoods and the good times you had.  Then when you come back as a couple you will be so happy to be together again because you have missed each other."  Not exactly what Rebecca meant, but probably makes a lot of sense to a Burundian woman who moves to the family into whom she has married and may be treated as an outsider in that family with her husband's loyalty more focused on his mother than her.  But I will say, we have both taken the opportunity to have some time alone, with our respective parents, to enjoy the time we have been blessed to have with all of them even to this day.