The car is broken down so it must be Sunday morning

I have to say, it is starting to feel a bit eerie that every incident of car trouble we have had, has fallen on Sunday morning. This has happened 4 times, and last month it occurred on two cars simultaneously (both batteries died). Each time, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the cars the night before.

So this morning, we all went out (the usual frantic Sunday morning rush to get to church before the end of worship music) only to find the front driver’s tire completely flat. There was no problem the night before, so we were quite stunned. This could have been a problem that would have prevented us from arriving at church altogether, but fortunately we still have Zachee’s car in our driveway, and it worked fine. We all piled in and went to church with the kids on our laps.

We had a big car load because… The SALTers have arrived!! They actually got here this past Monday, and have been living with us and getting oriented to Burundi this week.

They are Brandon (a different one than the one who left recently), Robin, and Yolanda. Brandon is a radio technician and will be working with one of our partners who runs a Christian radio station that is very popular in Bujumbura. Robin is a nurse, and will be serving at an AIDS clinic run by the same partner (World Outreach Initiative). Yolanda is a peace worker and will be building capacity and helping with the peace programming of our partner, Moisson Pour Christ.

The week has been spent orienting them to life in Burundi. It began with me picking them up at the airport on Monday afternoon. They had flown from Dulles, to Addis Ababa to Bujumbura on Ethiopian Air. When I saw them emerge with all they were going to have of personal possessions for the entire year, carried on their backs and hand-carrys, I was reminded of the arrival of our family just over a year ago, with everything we had in 2 suitcases for each of us.

It is an interesting kind of paring process, getting down to the bare essentials, and comfort objects you need to decide on bringing for such an assignment.

Spending the week with them in our house has been demanding, but also a great opportunity to get to know them. They seem to be excited about the work, being in a new culture, and willing to try anything. On Monday afternoon we took them out for tea with the two directors of the partnerships they will be working with.

On Wednesday evening we invited their host families to an evening gathering at our house so they could all meet. I must say, I am very pleased for the answered prayer with regard to families who are glad to welcome them. We all met together, and, not surprisingly, all the families found out that they knew each other. (I swear, everyone in Bujumbura knows each other.).

I think the placements will provide an interesting and varied experience. Yolanda and Robyn are going to be staying with two neighbors (next to each other) who are close to our house. They are very good friends of Zachee. They are Catholic, and while the Catholic/Protestant division can be intense among certain denominations in Burundi, these families were happy to accept our SALTers.
Brandon will be staying with two single young adults who share a house. They are brother and sister of a family that had 13 children by one mother and father! (Burundian families are typically large.) She is a coach on the national junior women’s tennis team.

We also took them to their workplaces where they were introduced and had a chance to see their workspaces. Typically introductions of this type involve sharing food, and we were all obliged to eat several extra meals at various times during the week as part of the ritual of hospitality and welcome.

For dinner on Thursday we had their language teachers over to meet them. We have hired two, one to teach French to Robyn and Brandon, and another to teach Yolanda Kirundi (as she already speaks French.) Our feeling on the matter is that French is far easier to get conversationally adept at than Kirundi, and most people in Bujumbura speak it. The SALTers will do a one month intensive of language study and then continue less intensively as needed after that.

Oren had a final week of summer school, and will be off for a week before the fall semester begins. It is amazing to me to think that we are already at the end of summer (in the US). Another school year is beginning. As one who has lived most of his life on the academic calendar, I am keenly aware of the shifts in the academic year that a change in season means. There is something a bit sad about being in a job now that does not have quite the same ebb and flow of an academic year, and being in a country where the change in seasons is really quite subtle. It does not get really hot here, and it definitely does not get cold either. I would love to have the sensation of taking a run on a cold fall day. I never thought I would ever say this, but I will miss the snow this year.

On the good hand, there is the tropical fruit here. I am looking at our mango tree right now, which should be bearing fruit in about a month. There are over 1000 mangoes on one of three. We also have been getting far more lemons, limes, oranges, and avocadoes off of our trees in the yard than we could possibly eat. In addition, we have some other interesting fruits that are less prolific, to wit: I ate a guava and a stick of sugar cane from our garden just yesterday.

We had our first visit to Club du Lak Tanganyika on Saturday since we have been back from break. We wanted the SALTers to see a place they could rest and relax from time to time. It was interesting to see Oren, now, so willing to go into the big pool with his water wings. He also showed his ability to hold his breath underwater. He had a great time. We stayed for dinner and ate fish briochettes.

David continues to be a delight. He smiles constantly at the sight of new people and visitors and is becoming more and more adept at locomotion in his relentless pursuit of abilities possessed by his older brother (and following him around). Oren can be very sweet to him as evidenced by the picture of them in the crib, but more often than not he is excessively rough when they play and David ends up in tears. I am not sure how long this phase will last.

Next week will be a bit hard as I am going to take the SALTers up to visit Jodi in Burasira for a week of cultural immersion and language study beginning Monday. While they are there, I will continue on up to Rwanda to do some business there and visit partners. I will come back and pick up SALTers and proceed to Bujumbura Friday if all goes according to plan. It will mean a week of Rebecca with the boys and me away from the family. I am not looking forward to that, but it seems like the best thing for this trip. I will let you know how it all goes next week.

Fixing a spare on a Sunday afternoon might seem like a curse, especially given the uncanny number of car problems we encounter on Sundays, but I prefer to see the blessing in it. First, we have not had to change a car tire until now, so it was good to see that all the necessary tools are in the jeep to do so, and they all work. We also discovered that there is a key lock on the spare, which is attached to the back door. After some diligent searching, we realized that it is the ignition key that unlocks the spare. I changed it without too much problem. So now I know, that if it it ever happens on the road, I will be able to make the necessary repairs. I am going to be thankful for the dress rehearsal, rather than complain about my bad luck.