We shared our summer, our space and our stories together. We all traveled from Arizona to Bujumbura, Burundi... to see what God had in store for each of us. These are brave and beautiful souls, and I adore each one.
Women preparing the fire for the pots.
A finished pot is proudly carried...
Welcome to the home of our relatives in Mwaro! This is the other reason Mwaro is a special place for Claude - it is where he was born, where he grew up till he was 8 and where many of his relatives still reside today. We (and whoever we bring with us) are always greeted with such enthusiastic and genuine hospitality when we walk through the threshold of their rural compound. They love to see Andre and Rose's son return home, and I think they are a bit fascinated by his white wife! 
One of their gestures of welcome is the sharing of food. But first comes the traditional beer. This is made by Claude's family, and when the bowl comes to the table it is still active with bubbling and foaming... still fermenting. It is a very thick drink, my friend reported. The long straws are offered to all, and it is a communal drink, as you can see Claude and his cousin wasting no time in enjoying this homemade beverage. This was the first offering, but there was more to come. My relatives brought out a lighter beverage, which I did try, called banana beer.
These are some of our relatives. We are family, and when we embrace you can feel the affection that surpasses words. These women are so kind, so welcoming, so generous with what they have. We laughed a lot together. They let us hold their smallest baby, just 5 months old and gorgeous. She is too young to have a name yet, so they call her bebe, rather straight forward. 
This is my uncle (???) who welcomed us in his home. He asked me to take a photo of him with his cattle, it meant something to him that I remember this about him. He is a man who owns 4 (maybe more) cows and that is a sign of prosperity. He was so generous to welcome us, along with our friends. He was so kind to us. I love that Claude brings me here each year. We come from vastly different worlds, but we are family. The connection here is strong and good. 
Today Claude invited our friends to join us on a day trip to Mwaro, a province close to his heart. We (since we are together in this, right) own some land in Mwaro. And every visit we make time to journey to this lush green countryside to marvel at the quiet, simple beauty. The drive from Bujumbura is about 2 hours - taking winding roads through the hills and then driving more slowly over the red dirt road punctuated with crevasses and small ravines. It is a very scenic drive, but one that takes patience and a well-padded seat! But you move from the city to the country, from the shore of Lake Tanganyika to the remote interior of Burundi.
I first came to Mwaro in 2001. This is when Claude proposed to me... every night for 5 weeks. When he brought me to Mwaro, this home was still under construction. The building stood, but doors and windows were on order and yet to be installed. Claude took me from room to room (there are just two) to show me the home he designed and built for us. Yes, he wanted me to live here with him. The home has a huge fireplace in the common room, a simple kitchen with a view of the valley below, and a porch. But I could not then (or now) imagine taking up such a remote residence... though the view is stunning.
This is the view from our Little House on the (Burundian) Prairie. The valley is green with tea bushes. Mwaro is where 99% of Burundi's tea is grown... and the fields pepper the landscape with such a striking and verdant shade of green. It is my favorite view in all of Burundi - looking out over the fertile valley. You can see, in the distance, people harvesting the tea. You can see goats and cows meandering the roads and fields. The air is cool and clean, and you can hear your heart beat and the birds sing overhead. Mwaro is, to me, the essence of Burundian living. This is how Burundians have lived for generations - off the goodness of the land and uncomplicated by modern progress (and troubles). It is good to note that this is the one region where Hutu, Tutsi and Batwa have always lived together in peace. That is part of the deep goodness of Mwaro. I do see what draws Claude here, time and time again.
Just about 1/2 mile down the road is the office of the governor. This year there is a new governor to meet, and I was delighted to see that it was (for the first time) a woman. She welcomed us into her office and to her province. She shared her warm smile and stories of the challenges and accomplishments of Mwaro in the past season. Claude was eager to know how our land could be put to use to benefit the wider community (since we won't be living there any time soon...). I love how Claude always considers how we can bless others, not only ourselves. To this day, it still makes my heart jump when I see how wide his heart is, how generous he wants to be with all we have, how he naturally considers the needs of others. I could not help but smile when he inquired about how we could help Mwaro.
A single wedding is a significant occasion in the life of a couple, but the wedding of 153 couples at once is nothing short of a societal shift! On Saturday I witnessed such an occasion as our Batwa friends took a step toward reclaiming their tradition and stabilizing their community life.
You might notice that the brides are in bright clothes - gifts from our friends in Texas! Each bride received a fabric for the ceremony, but she will use this as a skirt for years to come. 
The reality is that as the Batwa people were forced from their land, many of their traditions eroded under the harsh conditions of poverty and discrimination. Marriage was one. So coupes would marry at night, in the dark, avoiding any community accountability. This left women extremely vulnerable. They would often be thrown out with no recourse, no proof of their union and now way to be protected. Some men would take multiple wives, neglecting previous wives. Often families would have open animosity toward one another due to the way their daughters or sisters were treated by other men. This began to ripe the fabric of the community. There was no family stability, no communal accountability, no provision for women if they were turned out. That is why this massive marriage ceremony was so important in the life of this community. This is a way to mend the fabric of this community, to bring some healing to families and some protection for women. Making it official before the local Governor and even the President (who sent his representatives) gives them standing in the community. But this ceremony before God and their community was even more important for a shift in this Batwa society.
This signals a shift in how they see family, how they want to treat one another, how they will relate with one another. I hope that the children present will begin to reclaim their marriage tradition, and that they will begin to see family life in a new way. I pray that these women will be well treated by their husbands, and now protected if the worst happens. I hope the Batwa community is being mended in ways that matter, ways that will make them stronger.
Note: Here is Claude surrounded by the Batwa couples. He offered a wonderful encouragement to the couples about love that is faithful, kind and sacrifices for the other. 
Marius, South African, who began the conversation and offered instruction on the nature of thought and how we approach learning and self-understanding.
Rob, South African, taught on theology, how we approach and understand the Story of God and what that means for us as followers in the South African context. He was very generous, sharing what he understood of the Gospel but also allowing ample time for others in insert questions and offer commentary.
Rob and Rene, sharing some humor amid the instruction session. 
Sam, a Kenyan, taught on context and focused on the issue of poverty in South Africa. He had everyone working on case studies and sharing their own thoughts on the apt response to poverty in their neighborhood. His area of expertise is community development and poverty, so we were quite blessed to have him leading our conversation.
Rene, a South African, (pictured to the right) led the group through some exercises that would move us toward thoughtful praxis. She has an intuitive sense of the room, knowing how to move us from one place to the next in terms of learning. She did a wonderful job bringing closure to our learning time together.
I have handled a lot of various currency this summer; the Ugandan schilling, Rwandan francs, some South African Rand, Burundian francs and, awhile ago, the US dollar. The exchange rate fluctuates with each day, each country, the movement of each market. Some days our own currency is strong where we are, and we seem to get more than we invest. Other days we know that we are getting the weaker end of the exchange, losing with the current climate of the markets. But we must engage in the exchange if we intend to stay somewhere for very long, to have the ability to get what we need (or want) while visiting this new place. So we exchange our currency when we arrive to a new country and hope for the best.
This is me in South Africa. Yes, those are PENGUINS behind me. Did you know there are African penguins? It was one of many delightful surprises in my week long visit.
Cape Point... the southern most tip of the African continent. It is too vast and majestic to capture in a photo, but this is my best attempt. It was absolutely stunning...
Robben Island, and Nelson Mandela's home for 20+ years. This is the limestone quarry where he worked. The monument of stones commemorates those who served here, serving time but investing in the future of their country. One Mandela's 5th anniversary of freedom he hosted a reunion at this very place, and each former prisoner contributed a stone to mark the occasion. 
Stellenbosch is the wine country of South Africa. This was also the home of our friends, Tielman and Elma, who hosted us in their guest house. This is the view from our doorstep.
On the streets of Cape Town, you can find color everywhere. Since I could not pack all the fabrics, jewelry, drums and such I wanted.... photos became a way to capture the color and creative I witnessed around almost every corner. This is just a sample.
