Sharing Space

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.

Ron & Sarah will be traveling home next week.  They return to a mountain of possibilities, given the rich talent they possess.  An electrical engineer by education and experience, he could return to this line of work.  But he could easily teach, or take the foreign service test or any other test he put his mind to mastering!  Sarah is a wordsmith, and someone needs to hire her to write for them.  She is passionate, articulate, intelligent and creative.  Oh, and she is a joy to be around with her humor, laughter and smile.  Yes, the future is bright for these friends.

Christy might be the bravest of us all, as she is here for 9 months!  She will be working along with the Batwa students teaching English.  She will also be homeschooling some very special girls... the Burundian daughters of Melli Johnson.  (Mellli runs the Rainbow Center where I connected with Justin and Emma... you see why I have such affection for this family!).  You might have guessed that Christy is a teacher by profession.  But after 10 years in the classroom she longed for a sabbatical - and a change of scenery.  I wonder what Bujumbura has in store for her in the remaining months...

Grace, as mentioned in earlier posts, is already back in Arizona.  In a few days she begins her college career at ASU.  Her future is so bright that the mere glare hurts my eyes!  She is a young woman with depth, character, mirth and wit.  I believe the learning life will suit her well. And whatever is ahead for Grace, one thing is certain... she will be a blessing to many somewhere in the world.

Then there is Claude and I... coming home to Arizona to continue the work of bridging our friends to Africa.  We will be advocating for the Batwa, preparing for our next international gathering in South Africa, attending some domestic gathering and doing some investigation on community development projects in Latin America.  Things never get old around our house...

It has been a special season with these friends... and I look forward to see what God continues to do in each of our stories.  I will miss the proximity... the morning tea together, many meals of rice, beans, pineapple, the collaboration and laughter.  But friendships last - thank God!