Three Blessings: Malaria, Prison Time, Grandma Jean

I could not resist putting in another picture of David being carried around like a Burundian baby, this time by Marcelline. He really loves to be toted around this way!


I left off last week (our ‘uneventful one’) with a report that Jodi had called that evening from up country to say that she was getting progressively worse and suspected malaria. Innocent, the director of our partner organization that runs the Hope School for the Batwa said he would bring her to Bujumbura the next day. Despite the fact that she did not have a diagnosis, I advised her to start malaria treatment immediately. Generally testing for malaria is notoriously unreliable and one often does not show a positive result when s/he has very obvious and debilitating malarial symptoms, for several weeks.

Jodi got down to us on Monday afternoon complaining of a nearly unbearable headache, and intermittent fever. I was glad to hear she had, on my advice, started the treatment. We had a room made up for her in our house where she could stay as long as necessary. On Tuesday she went for tests, still feeling very bad, and did not get a positive result.

We had our small group Bible study Tuesday evening, and it was really good. After a good discussion of 1 Thessalonians 4, we had a very intense session of intercessory prayer and we prayed for a miraculous healing of Jodi. On Wednesday morning, she woke up and she said she felt weak but well. The headache which she had had for weeks was completely gone. I don’t know if it was the Coartim, or the prayer, or a combination of both, but she was really a different person that day. She stayed with us the rest of the week and went home this morning, but I will come back to that.

The main event this week was the arrival of Grandma Jean (Rebecca’s mom) on Wednesday morning. This was a very exciting event, and one Oren was anticipating greatly. We did take him to school in the morning and went and picked her up and brought her home to unpack several suitcases of goodies (including a replacement camera for the one that broke!). Then we went over to the school to pick him up. He was thrilled to see her and show her his school.

I am glad we have two extra guest rooms as we went from a relatively quiet, guest free week, to a houseful once again. Oren who is quite a socialite, was quite happy to have both ‘Miss Jodi’ and Grandma Jean staying with us. This visit from Jean is in anticipation of our rapidly approaching 3 week vacation in Kenya with Rebecca’s parents.

Wednesday was also another day that I was told by Zenon, that I might be able to obtain permission to go into the central prison in Bujumbura. (I was not optimistic as I had been told this about 6 times before, only to be disappointed.) By noon, though, he was able to confirm that I would be able to go at 3 pm. I asked if I should prepare to say anything, and he said yes, prepare a sermon, I would be the main speaker.

I do thank God for the wonderful refining of the Kairos prison ministry I participated in for several years in New York. It really gave me the faith to trust God in these circumstances to provide the words when there is not adequate time for preparation. Although, I have preached in French at the partners retreat, I was glad that Zenon said he would translate my talk from English directly into Kirundi.

I had about 20 minutes to prepare between getting Oren from school and having lunch, but I was given a message in that time. I felt led to share two stories from the Bible which contrast two encounters with Jesus: The story of Nikodemus in John 3 and the story of Zaccheus in Luke 19. Using these two stories I planned to consider the question: For whom did the Gospel truly sound like good news--- Why, for the righteous and well positioned members of society, it is a hard teaching, but for the marginalized and despised, it is truly a blessing. My conclusion was that it is only when we confront the reality that we have ‘nothing left to lose’ (our true spiritual condition) that we are able to surrender to Him. At the end of the Zaccheus story Jesus says that he “Did not come to call the righteous, but to save the lost.” And at the end of the Nicodemus story he says that he ‘Did not come to condemn the world but to save it.” For the ‘righteous’ Nicodemus being ‘born again’ represented a significant loss of both his social status, education, and identity. For the ‘loathsome’ Zaccheus, the opportunity to be reconciled to God and his community was a joyous prospect

I picked up Zenon and several other people: a pastor named Claver, Ali Blair (whom I have written about before at this link.), and Mary, another long-term missionary and friend of Ally. We took quite a few supplies with us, including a TV to show a video about the life of the prophet Daniel, a generator for electricity to show the film, and several bags of charcoal to share with women in the prison who had to take care of their children there.

We got to the main gate and were in after about 10 minutes. It was interesting to contrast it to the max security facility that I used to go to in Coxsackie, New York. The crimes are no less serious here, but the security here is far more lax. There was no elaborate ID process or metal detection, I was even able to enter without surrendering my cell phone! The main gate enters right into the yard so there is a large crowd loitering about in front of it. There were hundreds of inmates (male and female) milling around the yard as well. We passed through the crowds into an open chapel which had several hundred people who had already begun their worship service.

I do have to take an aside here to say that the singing and dancing in the praise and worship at this prison, was far beyond anything I ever saw in a US prison. (or even in church on the outside.) Except for that detail, little else about it compared positively to the US. This is the central prison for Bujumbura, and it is home to political prisoners, rebel leaders, sex offenders, murderers, pickpockets, and I don’t know what else. They are all in it together and what was somewhat appalling was how much the chapel service looked like the population of a regular church. There were men, women, babies, and many, many children and youth who looked to be between 10 and 13, but were obviously prisoners (and not children of prisoners.)

All of the introductions were in Kirundi as was the singing and announcements. I did my best to introduce myself in Kirundi but spoke English for the sermon. While I felt completely unprepared and a bit overwhelmed by what I saw, I really felt I had a word from God for them. I shared the message I had prepared. I was hoping it would have an impact here and give a new understanding of the Gospel. I have said before that the church here is pretty legalistic and Christians are considered to be the ‘upstanding good people’ notable for the fact they do not smoke or drink, or do anything wrong (publicly). There is not much of a theology of ‘saving the lost’ in Burundian churches. Christian’s do their best here to distance themselves from sinners and make them feel unwelcome in church.

My message seemed to strike a chord and I was inspired to share the testimony of a man whom I knew behind bars in the US who had changed his life in prison. ( I will leave him anonymous here) but his testimony to me was that before coming to Christ in prison, he was a really mean, violent man, and gang member. When he surrendered his life to the Lord he felt he was transformed completely from his former self. Others were more skeptical and once a member of a rival gang came up and punched him in the face without provocation. When he did this my friend, looked him in the eye, then turned his other cheek and said, ‘Hit me here.’ This was a stunning response especially among his friends who offered to avenge him later. He insisted that they do not, and said he had forgiven the man for what he did. Given the culture of cyclical violence and revenge that are such a part of Burundian culture I was hoping this would resonate with many individuals in this prison.

The message and story apparently moved many in that place, because after I finished, Pastor Claver closed the service with prayer and an altar call and 30 people came up on their knees to made a commitment to Christ. Ally, Mary, Zenon, Claver, and I prayed for them and laid hands on them. I have to say, I was quite surprised at the response. I had not really thought of the sermon as one that was expressly evangelical, but I did feel the presence of the Holy Spirit at work in ways I have felt it in Coxsackie during some of our Kairos retreats. Please pray for these individuals because discipleship will be a real challenge in that place.

After spending about 2 and a half hours there, we left and waited quite a while outside the gate for Ali Blair. She is one of those amazing people who I believe really sees Christ in everyone she meets. She is a living saint and took time to hug many friends, hold babies, and lovingly encourage many strangers. Where I had trouble seeing beyond the throng of need and despair, she could really look into the eyes of the individuals there and minister to them personally, even in such a large group. I admire her greatly for that and hope I can receive that gift as well someday. I will give myself a little grace as Ally has been doing this for years, and her Kirundi is really good as well.

I am hoping I will have regular opportunities to visit this place. Admittedly it is grim, and apparently, what is unseen, in the back rooms is appallingly inhuman. Huge numbers of people packed so tightly into cells that almost no one can move. From what I did see, the thing that disturbed me the most was the number of incarcerated children, and what encouraged me most was the power and sincerity of the worship in their chapel. I am also even more inspired than ever to get good at Kirundi so I can communicate with them better.

Ally Blair asked me for a ride home and when she heard Jodi was at our house she asked if she could come by our house for a visit. I said yes, but that she would not be able to refuse a dinner invitation if she came by. We had a delightful evening together with her, Jodi, and Grandma Jean.

I should also mention that it was on Wednesday as well that I noticed David’s jowls were taking on the appearance of ‘Boss Hog’. That is to say, he was definitely getting the mumps. He was feverish and acted a bit sickly, but honestly, at this point Rebecca and I are desensitized to the point where we did not even bother with going to a doctor. (At this writing, Sunday he is completely fine.)

Friday was another social day as we had a goodbye party for our service worker and friend Brandon Tiessen, who is leaving the country, having completed his 3 year term with us this Wednesday. It was a nice event and we invited the directors of the partner organization he works with (Help Channel) to join us with their families. Cassien and Norman came with wives and children and Brandon brought his girlfriend Grace so that we had a group of about 18, all said and done. The occasion was also REBECCA’S BIRTHDAY, and I had ordered a nice cake for her. It was a very pleasant evening, which meant that between the Bible study on Tuesday, Ally’s visit on Wednesday, and this on Friday, we had three really great life-giving (rather than draining) relational experiences here in one week!

Cassien and Norman’s family brought traditional Burundian gifts in baskets. The Burundian tradition is to receive the gift graciously, remove the contents of the basket in the kitchen, then fill it with something for them when they leave. (The basket is made to be carried on the head.) So here is a picture of Cassien trying to carry it. His wife Beatrice is really quite expert at it though. Normand’s young children really enjoyed playing with Oren on the trampoline, which was quite an exotic experience for them.

Saturday we took a real day off and went to the beach with Jodi and Jeanne and enjoyed the sand as well as the pool. On Saturday evening, Jean and Jodi gave Rebecca and I the great gift of a parent’s ‘date night’. Rebecca and I have had no time to go out alone since David was born, I think. We went to a very nice French restaurant up the hill with a great view of the city called The Belvedere. It was a much needed evening of reconnecting for us and we were truly grateful for the opportunity.

Sunday was another day of rest and relaxation. After church Jodi headed back up country and we are getting ready for our last busy week and a half before vacation. We need to get a lot done in Bujumbura by Wednesday as we will need to make a trip up to Kigali Rwanda for several days before we leave.


Group photo from Brandon's goodbye party. He is on my left.