Ballet in Burundi and Other Opportunities to Minister:

Oren and friends practicing the drums after church this week.


It is interesting to see how much one’s sense of entitlement changes once one is deprived of something long enough. At this point we have settled into a weekly routine of about 6 hours of power every 24. It is by no means regular, so might go a day with 12 hours on and 36 off, or maybe 3 hours at different times. The most annoying is 6 hours between midnight and 6 am when we don’t really need it. Our washing machine and refrigerator sit empty most of the time, and are becoming more and like museum pieces--relics of a bygone age. We rarely store leftovers now, but do try to do some loads of clothes at any hour we can.

The reason I say that one’s sense of entitlement changes is that after about 6 hours in a day, I feel I am anxiously awaiting the sudden cut off. If it does not come, I feel I am positively indulging in some kind of decadent waste of power and light. (Actually, we do know that our friends in the next neighborhood get it when they turn ours off.) Tonight, for instance, it is already 9:00 pm and we have not lost it and I am actually getting a creeping feeling of guilt as each moment goes by.

This has been a really good week, despite the constant complaining I do about power. (Actually we are quite used to it now, even the kids.) Watching a dvd is no longer part of the morning routine before school for instance. But Oren does really like to go and we are feeling a real sense of connection to that community, especially since many of his friends are there including Timmy, as well as the children of our German and Danish missionary friends.

This week was the beginning of extracurricular activities and we signed up Oren once again for the ‘obstacle course’ which is kind of tumbling and muscle coordination for preschoolers. This meets on Thursday afternoons. The other more daring activity was my own offering to teach 2 ballet classes a week, (1 hour to 5-8 year olds, and 1 hour to 9 and up.) This is also on Thursday afternoons and I started this week while Oren was doing the obstacle course. It has proved to be one of the more popular offerings and I have 2 large classes (all girls). Fortunately I did bring a couple of ballet cds and had some others sent here from home this week.

The bigger challenge is trying to figure out what to tell parents about getting ballet shoes ( and tutus—which all the little girls want to take class in). The US (since 9-11) does not allow us to use credit cards overseas to buy anything in the US online. So it is a big pain to try and order on line. I will research some European sites to see if I can find a place to order these things. If anyone wants to donate a bunch of pairs of kids ballet slippers, they would be gratefully accepted.

The other big challenge is teaching the class entirely in French. Fortunately all the terms for ballet steps and positions are already French, but I found myself brushing up on anatomy and other little-used words to make sure I could communicate. The kids are happy to help me though, and dance does not require too much language.

For music I bought a cheap radio that runs on battery and broadcast my ipod through it. That way I can work without power (The class is in the late afternoon). I had my first test of that this week as there was no power at the school.

The room I teach in has a concrete floor and no mirrors, but there are barres and I felt it was not bad. (My standards have definitely changed since leaving the US.)

After my classes I go to capoeira, so Thursday is a pretty active day.

It is interesting to see how the week tends to have a rhythm of activity that moves from routine Monday through Wednesday to more and more unusual at the end and through the weekend.

On Friday Rebecca and I took a road trip up-country in a direction we do not usually go, to a town called Ijenda. We have been looking for a place to have a retreat for our expanding MCC team in November. We found some really lovely hotel-retreat centers that would be nice. There are some great views across the hill country and even some hiking opportunities. We will make a decision about where to go this week. The whole trip was accomplished in the afternoon, after school on Friday, and Oren, David and Zachee were all with us on the ride.

Saturday morning I had an opportunity to go back to the prison. I have been waiting another chance to get permission, and this time I was given 2 days notice that I would be preaching a message when we got in. I did find a good meditation I had used on Luke 7:36 about the woman who washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, and Jesus telling the Pharisee that those who are forgiven much love much, and those who are forgiven little love little. I was excited to go and picked up Zenon, a pastor and friend that morning.

When we got to the prison we found it was in lock-down and no one was being allowed in. There had been an escape attempt and some shooting inside the night before. We were disappointed that we could not get in, but I have to say, in my experience with prison ministry, not getting in for similar reasons was not a completely unusual occurrence. We will wait for God’s timing in this, (which is tentatively rescheduled for this Wednesday.)

Saturday afternoon was spent with our missionary friends from Denmark and Germany. We were at Thomas and Naja’s house this time, which is up on the hill a bit in a neighborhood which only a year ago was virtually controlled by the FNL rebels. Things have really changed around here. We played games and talked about work and how to do things well in this cultural context. It can so often feel that everything we try to do to help, has the danger of creating a dependency.

I am personally feeling that money coming from us is more of an addictive drug, than a cure for any of the myriad development problems we are dealing with here. But how to intervene in ways that really make a difference to the most vulnerable is a real challenge.

One thing I am convinced of though is that schools and education are a very good investment, as well as human resources that can help build capacity. I am glad that our MCC team is growing for that reason, and I am very pleased that we support an excellent school project for the Batwa, with a service worker and financial resources.

Saturday eveningm Rebecca made a social call to huge wedding reception -- a relative of one of the SALTers host family's was getting married. (It is important for us to make appearances at things like this.) Meanwhile Astrid and Travis brought their 5 girls and video projector over to our house so we could watch a movie. (Their house had no power.) It was a fun evening.

Sunday we have settled into a routine of church, beach, church, dinner, blog. This was what we did this week as well. It does feel like a Sabbath to have times for worship and rest.

The weather has been a bit unusual. Rainy season began for a week than stopped completely and we have really had nothing for several weeks. It feels kind of constipated, honestly. We get, at least 4 times a week, a gathering of black clouds and a bluster of wind, thunder and lightning in the hills. It looks like we are going to be drowned out, but we get about 5 minutes of a light spitting, and then the sky is clear again. We really need the rain to get things growing again. I am particularly keen on seeing our mangoes ripen. (Oren and his friends have taken to picking them off the tree green and eating them that way skin and all.)

I asked Rebecca to write a brief recount of some difficult times for our staff. Sadly her story here is not atypical of what life deals to many who live here:


On Wednesday mornings, I have started meeting for Bible study and prayer with a group of other missionary women. They are very inspiring people, who have a clear vision of the will of God for their lives. As one woman said, the will of God is not a mystery. Are you caring for widows and orphans? Are you visiting prisoners? Are you praying for and healing the sick? Are you welcoming in the outcast and the stranger? If you are wondering what God wants you to do with your life, it’s pretty easy! Just start doing the things of God. And these women are daily living with and caring for orphans, the sick, and the vulnerable.

My prayer this week has been to see what it means to do the things of God here. I do believe that we are following God’s call and that we are doing good work. It’s just that most of the time, the good work is being done directly by other people. We read the plans and offer advice; we give the funds and visit the projects; we call and support volunteers who work alongside our partners. But as far as our MCC work is concerned, we are not “implementers,” and that is very intentional. We believe that the Burundian and Rwandese partners we work with are better qualified and positioned to work effectively than we are, and we want to support them, not supplant them.

But where does that leave us? It’s hard to experience God’s presence when you are not called upon to minister in Christ’s name. Being a pew-sitter is deadly to my faith, I must admit. You’ve got to be on the front-lines in order to keep being equipped. Thankfully, my eyes are opening to see what ministry looks like for me here. Actually, it happens all over the place – not in regularly scheduled office hours or prayer sessions.

For example: Gaspard, our night guard, received a letter from his wife, saying that she was very sick. His wife and four young children live several hours upcountry from Bujumbura and he visits them once a month for a five-day weekend. His wife’s illness was a major crisis, and he left as soon as possible. In fact, he still hasn’t returned, so we pray that she is recovering at this point. This is a very heart-rending and common situation. Even if both spouses are healthy, it must be emotionally and practically hard to be separated nearly all the time. But if she becomes incapacitated, who takes care of the children? And if he must care for her, who is earning an income for the family? I admit sadly that there was an opportunity for ministry that I missed with Gaspard. I was able to send him off with his salary and an advance for medical care, but I did not think to pray with him and for his wife.

Another example: We got a call last night that our substitute night guard Epaphras had gotten in an accident. He wasn’t killed, but he was suffering. Without any further facts, we were very worried for him. Thankfully, he was well enough to come to work this evening, so we had the chance to talk with him about what happened. He was riding his bicycle and was nearly home when a motorcycle swerved in front of him. He hit and then flew over the top of the moto and landed with his face in the ditch. He suffered pretty terrible abrasions on lots of parts of his body and face, and his bones and joints are very sore. A few other people were also involved and injured. He was quite shaken as he told us about this. Truly it’s a miracle that he wasn’t killed.

But the aftermath of the accident is financially quite devastating. His bicycle was totally destroyed in this accident. And his glasses were also broken beyond repair. Of course, the motorcyclist had no insurance. And Epaphras has no steady job at this point. He only works for us a few days a month while Gaspard is at home, earning about $20 (which is an incredibly high wage for five days here). It will take him years to save up enough to buy another bicycle, and his glasses are essential, but how will he replace them? Even a medical bill of a few dollars is more than he can afford. People like Epaphras live on the edge to extent that is hard to even fathom. We were able to listen to him, and we did remember to pray with him first, and afterwards gave him his salary, some bandages, and a contribution so that he can replace his glasses.

And a final example: I realize there is a choice between just keeping my kids occupied and ministering to them. Really playing with David and teaching him things can actually be ministry. It’s giving him love and attention that he needs, and that no one else in the world is qualified or able to give him. I can choose to be bored when he doesn’t know how to stack blocks, or I can chose to minister to him and teach him a new game (he learned peek-a-boo this week, covering his own eyes and then peeking out and smiling). And we’ve known for a while that Oren struggles with being in Burundi and missing his home and family. He really needs assurance and love and direct attention. I haven’t done anything much differently in an outward way this week, but he has been very sweet and we’ve had some good moments. And in fact he has also been more obedient, for which I am thankful. I am seeing now that one of the most challenging spiritual tasks we’ve been given is to raise children who experience and understand the things of God innately because of the parenting they have received.

So, I hope that there are opportunities for ministry this next week that don’t involve other people’s tragedy, but my eyes are being opened to see them when they come.



Bonus photo: Oren entertains David at breakfast with his finger-puppet show.