Complicated Acts of Kindness

Among Oren's projects this week, carving a Jack-O-Lantern, he just could not wait until Halloween.

I feel a bit out of synch going into the new week as I just spent the morning at home with David who had a fever last night. This seems to be the inevitable result of his deteriorating sinus condition. His nose has been clogged with green mucous for almost a week and now it seem the infection has set up residence. This is the point at which we pop by the pharmacy to pick up a dose of Augmentin and begin antibiotic treatment which should clear it pretty quickly. We used to see a doctor before starting antibiotics but now we are so used to fighting lingering infections here that a confirmation seems hardly worth the bother.

He was honestly quite pleased to find that he was sick enough to stay home from school, with Daddy no less. We did a half dozen puzzles, played Candyland and watched Dora the Explorer while Oren was at school and Rebecca was at work. I admit I have been feeling a bit under the weather myself so it was not a bad way to start the week (staying home that is).

The weekend prior was not bad at all as far as illness. David started getting a fever on Sunday evening, but we had a very relaxing family weekend where we spent most of our time as homebodies. Friday evening we watched “Prince Caspian” as a family, on a mattress.

Saturday morning started with the regular exercise routine followed by brunch. I think I might have started a delicious arms race to see who can make the best smoothie in Burundi when I prepared a large blender full of banana-avocado-vanilla smoothies for the group to sample. Apparently the gauntlet was thrown down and I expect we will be vying (unofficially) for the title of best smoothie in Bujumbura in the weeks ahead. (not a bad development really given that mangoes are definitely in season now.)

We actually spent the rest of the day around the house doing some deeper organizing and cleaning than we have done in a while and playing games with the kids. Oren is becoming quite good at Carcisonne and came close to winning again.

Saturday evening we went over and had dinner with Thomas and Naja. Oren and David really like to go over to play with Elias and Aviaja. Their newest favorite game is to dress up like pirates and cowboys (from Elias' stock of costumes) and pretend to be bandits. They get the uniformed night guards to chase them around the house. When they are caught they are put in jail (the garage) and have to do chores, like sweeping, until they escape. I don't know what the guards think of the game but they seem to be quite amused by the delight the mzungu kids take in ambushing them and trying to escape from prison.

Sunday was not really routine at all, as I had promised a Mennonite Pastor several months ago to visit a church near the City of Cibitoke, about 45 minutes out of town. I felt this was a good a week as any to make good on my word as Rebecca was teaching Sunday School and the kids were going to be in Sunday School as well. I got a cab, met the pastor at the office and we started off.

The trip was delayed for several reasons, one was a flat tire which needed to be dropped off for repair while we rode on the spare.  The second more difficult problem was finding petrol. This might be the time in the blog to mention that we are suffering from an acute gas shortage here in Burundi and people are in a near panic trying to find a station that is still selling it. This is expected to continue for at least a month and eventually lead to a price increase. It is not as hard on those of us with money as those who depend on fairly cheap public transport, but it takes a toll in other ways, particularly anxiety about running out.

Youth Choir

Long story short, we did find a gas station and the driver filled up the tank with just enough gas (by his estimate) to get us there and back. I was hoping he was right since I did not want to get stuck up there or run out on the way home.

We eventually did make it to the church, only a half hour late, but it was not a problem, I was unquestionably the guest of honor and nothing was going to proceed until I took my place in front of the church between the pastor and the 'Bishop” (or legal representative.)

I do like to go to these Kirundi services from time to time because the choirs are always good. They were not quite good enough to sustain my interest for the entire 4 hour service, but they did pretty well. There were in a congregation of 100, four choirs-- a mixed choir, a men's choir, a women's choir, and a youth choir, all performed about a half dozen songs throughout the service.

I was pleased also to find I am still able to understand at least some of church Kirundi. That is I know a lot of Biblical vocabulary because the text I used to learn Kirundi was written by a missionary and had a lot of these words. I have also been here for a while so it is getting easier.

Pastor Andre with Church in the background, no walls.

The hardest part of these outings for me is the ending. Generally Burundian hospitality is expressed in keeping one as long as possible. When the service did finally end, they insisted that I stay for a meal. I do know that this is always a custom and if food is not shared it is considered to be an unsatisfying, somewhat truncated event. Of course this food may not be prepared in advance, and in this case I waited about an hour for it to arrive.

As is also the custom, eating is done by the 'big men' first. In fact it was only me and the two pastors who were together to share the meal. The choirs were outside the small hut singing. A huge bowl of rice, a plate of fried plaintains, beans, casava bread (ugali), and a stewed chicken were brought out for us to eat. Normally it would be culturally expected that an invited guest would eat enormous quantities of food at a 'free meal', and every time I came near to emptying my plate more food was heaped on without my asking. We did finally finish and were able to take our leave.  I try not to feel like a hostage as I measure mentally the amount of time to linger which will give the impression that I am not rushing off, eventhough that is exactly what I am dying to do.

Going back we had to make several stops, a sick woman from the community hitched a ride with us to a clinic, we dropped off some others, picked up the spare and I did get home about an hour before our small group began at 4pm. (I had left the house at 8am)

In retrospect I keep coming back to this now familiar experience of being treated as a guest of honor--or 'big man' in the way I would describe it. It is a situation which always puts me in deep cultural discomfort; in fact, as a well to do American, I actually find hard to bear. The act of generosity is done in a way that offends me. The well-fed eat while the hungry watch. But I know that there is on their part, not resentment, but a great desire to express gratitude in some way.

I think of Jesus at the house of the Pharisee when the woman came up and wiped his feet with her hair and tears. Or Mary who broke the expensive nard on him. He was able to see beyond the waste and excess and see right into the generous hearts that motivated these actions. I am definitely not Jesus. I can actually do a very convincing pantomime of gratitude and pleasure during the meal, but I am resentful in my heart. I do want to, like Judas complain that this could have been given to the poor.

But then I also think that maybe this is not quite a parallel experience. After all, generally it is the pastor, the non-poor member of the community, that is sharing food with me.  It does make me feel a bit like this generosity is not a big step away from corruption--the local big-man currying favor from his patron in hopes of getting something bigger down the line.  In the Bible story, after all, it is the Pharisee that is hosting the event where the woman anoints and wipes Jesus' feet with her hair.  I don't know what he was hoping to get out of the meeting before she showed up and stole the show.  

Anyway, I can over think it. It is a regular part of my life here as it is undoubtedly a part of the experience of many missionaries and others here. I would be interested in hearing comments from others about how they handle it? I do admit that I am not a good example. I am still not 'big' enough, spiritually, to fully enjoy it as an expression of love and hospitality and not feel in anyway manipulated by it. (Although, I do know that the idea of “I do you a favor and you do me one” is NOT seen as manipulation here. It is just the way things are done.)

By the end of an experience like this I do feel exhausted, perhaps a bit invaded. I really want to hide behind my wall for a while. But the Sunday evening small group is always such a joy, a very diverse group, but a place where I do feel I can really be open and accepted. I am grateful that all of the cultural experiences are not so challenging.

Beatrice, Teri-Lynn, and Saffy

The week itself was busier at the beginning then the end. I actually went upcountry to Gitega, then on to Mutaho and the Hope School. I had several reasons for going. First, I was taking Teri-Lynn (SALTer) and Saffy up there. Saffy is going to do some research for the project proposal she will be writing for MCC about the school. For that, we stopped in Gitega, had lunch with Yolanda, and picked up Beatrice, the education director of the school and headed down the 2 hour dirt road to the school.

The second reason for going was to help Beatrice and the principles of the school come up with a schedule of work for Teri-Lynn. School had been in session for two weeks and she still did not know what she would be doing.

Not that this is surprising in a Burundian school. It is very normal to spend the first several weeks of school just getting the teachers and students back and ready for the year. The fact was, very few classes had been taught to that point.

Hope School Kindergarten

When we got to Mutaho, I spent some time in meetings at Teri-Lynn's house with Beatrice about the work of Saffy and Teri-Lynn. We decided it would be good to bring all the teachers together the next morning (Wednesday) before I had to leave to explain to them what the volunteers would be doing and to solicit any ideas the teachers and principles might have with regard to regular duties.

We had a very good meeting about 8:30 am the next morning and there was a promise of a schedule for Teri-Lynn by the end of the week.

After the meeting I did spend a little more time at the school visiting classes with Innocent, Beatrice, Saffy and Teri-Lynn, but left by mid-morning so I would not get home to late in the afternoon. As it turned out, I got home about 1pm. It was good to back with the family again and we had a nice family tea time that evening. It was good to get back into the weekly routine.

Teri-Lynn and Saffy with Innocent, Beatrice and
School Principles.

This coming week is almost identical with me going up to the school again in the early part of the week then having the last half of the week as fairly normal routine.

Rebecca and I are realizing the increased amount of personnel support necessitated by a bigger team. We are very happy to have the group we have now and it has improved the effectiveness of our work here, but all the travel is taking its toll.

Time to bed, I think I might be getting a bit of what David has. Hopefully it will be short lived.

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.