Man in Motion

Claude has been a man in motion since we landed in Rwanda, and again in Burundi.  (Here he is pictured walking the countryside of Burundi with friends, talking about the current situation in the country, especially as it relates to the Batwa people.)  First his movement surrounded Amahoro Africa’s 2^nd annual Gathering in Kigali.  I spotted Claude here and there, conferring with the hotel manager about accommodations or responding to progam inquiries from Amahoro colleagues.  Sometimes he was dashing to town to change money (or get a shave) or else he was hosting an impromptu meeting with friends on the veranda or in a guest suite.  There were a lot of those meetings – times of dreaming together about ways to creatively partner with innovative leaders to bring tangible change for the poor, the marginalized or those otherwise disadvantaged by the harsh and varied realties of Africa.  

The second wave of motion came as we landed in Burundi this week, since he is the local who can set up the household!  So he has been on the phone incessantly - with the nanny, with the new domestic manager, with friends who can assist us with a whole host of necessities.  He has been summoning people and then sending them out to fetch mosquito nets, hangers, baskets and salt!  He has been having drivers take us to places with internet access, and he has taken us to get passport photos for the kids, he has taken us to the airport to collect more friends who will be with us for the summer.  See - perpetual motion, this man!   

This morning we traveled to the outskirts of town with our friend and architect, Simon, to see a rural orphanage he is constructing.  You see, he is dreaming of helping the Batwa people improve their life.  He is investigating how we can construct housing for 70 families, how we can bring the hope of Jesus to these friends who live in extreme poverty.  

He is in motion, with his mind fully engaged and his heart laden with compassion.  His movement is not in vain, he moves to bring goodness, freedom and hope to others.  God recommends that we never tire of doing good, and I see how Claude exemplifies that admonition.  So he moves to serve a multi-national gathering of friends, to set up a household for westerners and to bring hope to the marginalized of Burundi.  Do you see why I love him?  Do you see why God's favor rests on him?