4.27.10

It took no time or effort to have 2 examples of people here in Burundi who display this kind of servitude and humility come to my mind. First is Karita, one of the house moms here at Gitega orphanage (by the way, from now forward to be called Homes of Hope!). I read the Philippians passage, and thought immediately that this kind of humility, this – this is Karita. Even at the time I had the thought, Karita was sitting in the back of the church with all of the children while Kiki, Steve, Abi and I had prime seats toward the front of the church. Though there is much we cannot communicate for language differences, there is still much that absolutely can be communicated. There is a warmth and genuineness that radiates from Karita that I can’t help but notice. I understand from the way she is with the kids, with the other moms and helpers, us that she is so much a gracious servant. She has unclogged our showers and mopped our floors, not to mention cooked many a meal for us too. Foster says that in the realm of the spirit, “real issues are found in the tiny insignificant corners of life,” rather than the ‘big deal’ things. Yes, Karita’s service is found in these small acts of everyday life. Do I find the same joy in small acts of service for the people I am here to serve? Or, is the excuse of lack of time or my disregarding of the importance of some 5 minutes to complete a chore for someone too often what I am guilty of?

Did God really have to take me all the way to Burundi to teach me about the humility and servitude of Christ? Yes, very likely so. Maybe it really is part of why I am here. Many of the people I am working with, Karita included and many of the children too, are some of the most service-oriented people I’ve ever met. I think this servitude thing really is sort of built in to the culture in some ways also. The moms here literally spend their days cooking (over hot coals, entirely from fresh foods bought that day from the market), doing laundry for themselves and 10 kids (no machines - entirely by hand), cleaning (no vacuums, no swiffer, etc – broom & homemade mop only), and caring for the children! They truly amaze and challenge me.

Prayers…

& praise for the new name for Gitega and upcoming Cibitoke orphanages: “Homes of Hope!”

4.25.10

lovely Sunday in Gitega yesterday. it seems the rainy season is coming to a close early here – we have had beautiful warm, sunny, and dry days this past week – quite a change from when i first arrived here and had so much rain!

abi, steve (friend from UK), and I joined Kiki, kids, and house mom Karita to the Eglise Vivant (Living Church) for services. first, I am so not used to the duration of African churches – 9 to 1, and they weren’t actually quite finished when we left at 1! second, not understanding the majority of what is spoken in Kirundi (minus the few words I’ve picked up) for those hours poses for a great challenge to my patience that I am discovering here in Burundi is not so plentiful or unconditional as I’d before imagined. found myself with a question, “Lord what are you trying to have me hear today though I cannot understand the language of the songs or prayers?”

It seems that God likes to answer these kinds of questions. worship time was long, joyful and energetic. not the quiet stillness of sometimes worship at home. I couldn’t help but to feel so moved by that time, surrounded by Burundians worshipping God in their own tongue. I don’t know exactly what we were singing, but I know the thought overwhelmed me throughout the time: Jesus. Jesus died for me on the cross. For me?!? Yes, for me. And for you. Nothing matters more than to know him.

I didn’t know what the sermon was on, but did catch that one of our readings was from Philippians 2. I opened my Bible: “Imitating Christ’s Humility.”

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition, or vain conceit, but in humility consider

others better than yourselves.”

The passage goes on to a call for us to live with attitudes like that of Jesus Christ – God, who made himself nothing and taking on the very nature of a servant, became obedient to death and died on the cross for us. Wow. As the sermon goes on, I remember that I also have a borrowed copy of Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, and so I open it to the page someone else has marked to have a look, maybe read a little. The chapter that is marked is, Discipline of Service. Oh boy. I know for sure that God has something to tell me now, on this subject of humility and servitude.

To be continued…

prayers…

for the arrival of the container from Canada with medical supplies that are needed for the opening of the medical clinic in Gitega. it was supposed to arrive last week, but is not here yet.

for the upcoming opening of 2^nd YFC orphanage in Cibitoke in just days time!

for God to change my own heart.

only in Burundi…

do grown men hold hands in the street, and it’s a totally normal way of expressing friendship. however, to see a man and woman who are not engaged or married holding in the streets – this is scandalous!

4.11.10

It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon, sitting in Aroma in downtown Buj with friends Abi & Shegz. We came for lunch (cheeseburger and fries!) & chill time on computers, reading, writing, and people watching. Great treat for the afternoon!

We said good-bye today to a group from the UK who have been here working with GLO. For their last night yesterday, the YFC drummers performed live for us and other guests, including others from the missionary community here in Buj. It was my first time seeing the drummers perform live here – and let me tell you, they are absolutely incredible! For any of you who come to Burundi one day, make sure you have the opportunity to see these talented men perform in person. The drumming is complex and energetic, demonstrating such athleticism and skill in these men – drumming on drums that they balance on their heads, even sometimes kicking the drums with their feet! A very Burundian tradition. Pretty cool that YFC has its own team of performers to be stewards of Christ through this tradition as they perform throughout the country. Check out the video for a taste!

Since the kids at Future Hope School are on break at this time, my fellow English teacher Abi & I spent the past week involved in some other projects of YFC. We went with the team to Ngozi (north of Bujumbura) to be a part of the work that is going on there with the Batwa tribe. The Batwa are the third tribe, the most forgotten of all the people in Burundi. Our group was there to assist in an distributing clothes, food (rice & beans – the Batwa rarely have these), and to work on one of the houses under construction. And ‘help’ we did, carrying huge red mud bricks on our heads like the locals showed us how –one brick at a time only! They are incredibly heavy. These bricks are made out of mud, left to sit in the sun and dry, and then transported to the site of the house, often by children of the community who are up to my waist in height, and have only a meal (of limited variety) to eat a day. I was absolutely exhausted from a morning spent doing this work… for the Batwa, this is daily life and work. No school. No education. Houses made of sticks and grass (houses of bricks, as I’ve mentioned, are in progress). Extreme poverty like I have never before seen in such close proximity.

To be honest with you, the whole experience being there felt extremely overwhelming… emotionally draining. It’s much easier to choose to believe that this kind of thing does not exist in the world. I think that God has used this world of the Batwa to majorly challenge me in my faith… “Okay, heather, you want to see need like you’ve never seen before? Here it is. Now what will you do about it?” I wanted to run; God said no, no running. “These people are my children too. Many have forgotten and ignore them, but not I. Now you see them too, and you have the power to do something to do things in their lives that no one has.” Christians of Burundi, will we answer the call?

many thanks to Olivia for helping me to see this too…

Only in Burundi…

One of my American bills was denied exchange into Burundian francs because of a minute tear in the bill.. I’m talking, 1/8 of an inch here. Turns out, any flaw in foreign money can potentially deem it “invaluable” as far as exchanging money to local currency goes!

Prayers…

*so important for the present and future of the country of Burundi!!! upcoming elections – including presidential. pray for strong Christian leaders for the country, for peace throughout the process.

the Batwa people.

for my own humility in the work that I do here.

4.5.10

Only a few minutes for a quick update – it is 6am Monday morning, and we are off in the next half-hour to set out on a journey to Ngazi – north of Bujumbura – to do some work building housing (not sure what all this will involve yet…) for the Batwa tribe.

Easter weekend has been lovely. We journeyed back to Buj on Saturday – Freddy, Simon, Canadian friends in one car, Abi & I in other with new friends, brothers from the UK. They were in town as part of their work filming music for a movie project to feature East Africa and the World Cup (coming this summer – woo hoo!). They even had the kids at the orphanage sing some songs and record – will be awesome to find out later if their voices make it to the sounds for the movie! They said that many countries have bought the movie so far, including UK. They say that US is usually last to buy, so may be a while before we know if I’ll be watching Africa United in theaters at home… Keep your ears open for it!

Easter Sunday was exactly as it should be – spent with much friends and fellowship. Went with the UK group to hear Simon speak at a local church – Bar Berger. Again, experienced being seated on the front row because we are muzungu. Amazingly, Simon speaks fluently in several other languages – so preached in French and Kirundi. Though I don’t catch everything, found that generally knew what was going on picking up on mostly French, some Kirundi. Lunch with a big crowd at Olivia’s – 6 countries represented in one room! Burundi, Canada, UK, Kenya, Ethiopia – and moi, the lone representation of the US! That doesn’t happen to me often, but I am rather okay with it!

Off on our journey now – thanks for checking in on me, love ya’ll!

4.3.10

Hello again, and happy Easter weekend to you all wherever you are!

This weekend is an exciting one here. I am here in Gitega still, but with new visitors who came in yesterday – Simon with GLO (Great Lakes Outreach, offices in UK & Charleston, SC – God willing, he will be in Charleston on a religious visa soon); Bill with YFC in Alberta, Canada; Andy and his son Vance, also from Canada. Was a wonderful day with the group yesterday, enjoying lots of play time with the children – especially since our Canadian friends brought Easter gifts and candy for the kids! It was such a sweet afternoon, adults and kids alike playing and laughing together in this beautiful setting – jump ropes, bouncy balls, nerf footballs, baby dolls, all a big hit for the kids. It is especially sweet to me to see these boys here have more male grown-ups to love on them while they are here.

Amazing afternoon with the group also, going to the land that is the site for the future YFC secondary school. In the words of Simon, land here in Burundi is “like gold-dust,” sparse as it is for a growing population. For sure, this blessing of land for YFC to build and be influential in the community of Gitega is extremely special. There is also the possibility of purchasing adjacent land to this new site, if negotiations can be agreed upon and the finances come. Truly an incredible privilege, though, to be on the land today while there is nothing – and to pray for its future use and impact on people’s lives through the work of YFC. Pictures of the land soon…

I have one child in particular on my mind this morning – Theogene, actually the first child of the orphanage when it began. He was so malnourished as a baby that once in YFC’s care, he spent time in the hospital for 2 months to recover. He is doing so well now, healthy and active here in the only home he’s ever known. He is one of the kids, though, who is slow to approach and difficult to catch him smiling for a picture. He’s often off doing his own thing much of the time – but, then out of nowhere he appears and spends a few precious moments in my lap, or in my arms, just to be held… these are the moments that both make my heart ache and sing for him, all at the same time. Praise God for his hand in this little boy’s life.

And then in a flash, Theo is up and running off again… until next time.

Prayers …

that God provides for the land in Gitega.

for the visitors and friends of YFC from Canada.

for little Theo.