Back in Baltimore and a Tribute to Yolanda

Yolanda and fellow SALTers arriving for the first time in Burundi in August 2009.

I find that I have a considerable expanse of time to write today, that is as long as the computer battery lasts.  I am currently on an Ethiopian Airlines 777 beginning to cross the Atlantic Ocean.  We came overnight from Addis Ababa to Rome, refueled, then continued and will follow the morning for the next 9 and a half hours to Dulles airport. 

Yolanda looking out the window
 of the first place she lived in Gitega.
  She made the bottle top design
on the front of it.

While I would enjoy passing the time watching movies on the personal entertainment center provided at my seat, I find that mine has a problem with the sound software which makes it pretty unusable.  So blogging seems like a great way to pass at least some of the time.

This trip ends our 12 days of exile from our children who we had sent on ahead of us with Rebecca’s brother’s family after our Kenya vacation.

I would say by way of synopsis that without the children we have had one of the most productive weeks of our lives.  Having entire days to work without interruption has allowed us to complete all of the things we wanted to do before leaving and even organize the house (without having it disorganized faster than we can organize.)  BUT, I have to honestly say that I have never felt our work to be less meaningful and interesting as I have in this time when we have not had children to distract us.  Nonetheless, I am happy that we are going to join them feeling like we have left our program in good condition to be left for a month.

first apartment with stove

Felix our program assistant, is staying although he will be on his honeymoon for at least a week of the time we are gone.  Jennifer remains in Bujumbura, Melody is in Gitega, and Matt Gates is in Kigali.  Those are the only team members remaining in the region this month.

We did have some time of closure as part of this week at our house.  Over the weekend Matt came down from Kigali and Melody and Yolanda were in from Gitega.  We had picked up Teri-Lynn last week from upcountry as well and Janelle is staying in Bujumbura with Jennifer.

We had a very full house at our house as our housesitters have also moved in in anticipation of our departure.  We would have had to double up on rooms except for the fact that the kids were gone and their room was available. 

Yolanda with GF coordinator on
a field visit to a women's group in
Bukira Sazi.

Saturday was Felix’s wedding which I wrote about last week, but Sunday was a day of saying good bye.  We went to church in the morning then had a team gathering midday.  It would be the last time for the team to say good bye to our one year SALTers—Teri-Lynn and Janelle who were leaving Wednesday.

It was also the last opportunity for us as a group to say goodbye to Yolanda who will be finishing her term this Sunday.  For those of you who read regularly, you may know that Yolanda joined us 4 years ago as a SALTer and has been with us ever since.  She is our longest term service worker and her work with our local partner UCPD has been stellar.

Yolanda participating at GLI
conference, Kampala.

She has lived the last three years in Gitega, the second largest city (about the size of a small town) in Burundi.  She has become conversationally fluent in Kirundi, and has lived the last two years in an apartment block with other Burundian families.

She has truly modeled what MCC tries to be in its ideal—an NGO that works in the local context, immersed in the language and culture of the host country, sharing the lives, language, and values of those we serve.  I will say that at our best, MCC does stand out in this regard.  Yolanda has been a true ambassador of us at our best. 

Yolanda with fellow service workers
in our kitchen.

In our gathering Sunday we all took an opportunity to affirm the three who are leaving.  All have made great contributions to our work here.  Janelle, despite having to leave Rwanda, finished well in Burundi by helping out at the Discovery School run by Joy Johnson, one of missionary friends who serves a local church with a French/English/Kirundi primary school.

Teri-Lynn, despite a huge language barrier, committed to live a full year in a very remote rural setting without another mzungu within 100 kilometers, serving a school for the very marginalized Batwa (pygmy people).  She taught English to every level from preK to 7^th grade and left behind a complete English curriculum to be used for future years.  It was an incredibly difficult assignment for her and her willingness to stay with it is a tribute to her faith and tenacity.

In the apartment she shared with
Melody Musser

While she will not be with us another year, she is going to teach next year in a remote part of Northern Ontario on an Indian reservation, accessible only by air in the winter. I think her year in Burundi will prepare her for that.

Yolanda… she has been like a deputy country rep. to us at times.  She has gone far beyond the call of duty in serving her partner, a peace and community development groups that works in a very underserved commune in central Burundi.  She has also been a leader on the team in planning retreats, organizing activities, and especially orienting new service workers in Burundi and Rwanda.  Her knowledge of local language and culture had made her invaluable in that regard.  Her departure will definitely leave a hole in our program that we hope will someday be filled by those who have come in the past year (Matt, and Melody.) 

A relaxing moment at a team
gathering.

Personally Rebecca and I will miss Yolanda as a colleague and friend.  She has frequented our non-work gatherings over the years---church, yoga, square dances, and many team retreats. 

I am including several pictures of her dispersed through this blog as a tribute to her time her, from the first I took of her upon arrival to the last one at Felix’s wedding this week.

Matt, Yolanda and Melody all headed out on Sunday afternoon and we were left with just Teri-Lynn at our house until Wednesday when she and Janelle got on a plane back to re-orientation in the US.  We took Teri-Lynn out of for a last pizza at Ubuntu that evening.

With Jennifer and
Rebecca at
Felix's wedding.

Monday, Rebecca and I worked all day to finish financial reports and End of Term reports for our three departees.  We did have dinner in the evening with Tim and Janette Van Aarde, our South African friends, and their daughter Isabel.  It was nice to have a meal with a family with whom our children have friends.  It did remind us of how much we were missing our kids and I admit that beginning Monday I was really beginning to get antsy to get on the plane back to the US.

Tuesday was similar in terms of work although we did not have any special dinner plans.  Wednesday was a bigger day because it was the day the SALTers left.  We took them to the airport in the early evening to board the Brussels Air flight back to the US. (They are Canadian but have a reorientation with SALTers from the rest of the world who all departed at the same time last year to different asssignments.)

Teri-Lynn and Janelle
at the airport

The good-bye was very teary.  I think that this is often the case for an experience which passes the ‘fun’ threshold by its sheer intensity and power.  I don’t think either would characterize the experience as a ‘good time’.  But it was a once in a lifetime experience that changes a person by having done it.  It was sad to see them go.  It is hard to believe that in a month a new group of 3 will arrive to begin another year of such an experience.  I will say this, no two years have been the same thus far.

I should mention that we had a small celebration of Rebecca’s Birthday on Wednesday prior to the SALTers departure with Jennifer bringing a sampling of awesome pastries from the Belgian patisserie Café Gourmand.  It is really hard to believe how amazing it is to have this store in Bujumbura.  It was fairly anticlimactic compared to the big surprise party last year, but it was not easy to plan much given the circumstances of the week and the absence of the children.

Visiting the Tim, Janette, Isabel

On Wednesday evening, our last evening in Bujumbura , we spent with JJ and Courtney, another couple from our small group.  They have two girls that are somewhat friendly with David and were in my ballet class this past year.  He is now directing World Relief here as Thomas Spanner, our Danish friend has left with his family this year. 

JJ and Courtney have moved into Thomas and Naja’s house, which is actually a very good thing because Rebecca and I have always enjoyed visiting that house.  It has a beautiful porch and view of the lake and mountains.

Rebecca's Birthday pastries.

We had a very nice evening with them and are glad they are one of the families that will be staying here next year.

Thursday morning we got up and like the two days prior, had our morning swim at the pool before starting work.  Rather than go to the office, we packed and cleaned the house until the moment we left for the airport about 1:30 pm.  

Felix took us to the airport with Alice, his new wife.  We felt we were leaving the house in good hands with our housesitters and felt like we had accomplished all the tasks on our list for the last week and a half, even managing to get Bella our Golden Retriever her rabies booster.  We know everything is in good hands with our housesitters, staff, and remaining team, so we left in peace. 

The flight is long as we have an extra leg to Addis Ababa before heading back West to the US. 

Kids at VBS Music camp rehearsal.

ARRIVAL IN BALTIMORE;

I am finishing this update in Baltimore on Saturday morning.  We arrived at Dulles yesterday midmorning.  Rebecca's mom picked us up and took us back to Baltimore where we found the kids around noon at a VBS music camp getting ready for their show.  We watched surreptitiously from the balcony of the church  so as not to be seen.  We were eventually spotted but they finished the rehearsal like pros before a very happy reunion.  

Yolanda will leave Burundi this Sunday.  She will be pursuing a graduate degree in Geography in Canada.  Someday we hope to see her return to MCC again.  Until then Yolanda  "Imana Iguhezagire!"