anchored in burundi

2011 Top Ten Reads

2012-01-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would review my year of reading... a varied list of books ranging from ecology to theology, poetry to prose, discussions about Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Authors were scholars (both Old Testament and New), Western and some African (from South Africa and Kenya), men and women, mothers, journalists, academics, activists and farmers. I covered some great territory.

A quick glance and I could easily point to the top ten that have stayed with me in one way or another:

Speaking Christian by Marcus Borg

Fatal Embrace by Mark Braverman

Testimony to the Otherwise by Walter Brueggemann

Begging to be Black by Anjte Krog

God is not Christian by Desmond Tutu

The Bible Makes Sense by Walter Brueggemann

Getting Involved with God by Ellen Davis

Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof

A Spirituality for the Road by David Bosch

Mark: The Whole Story by Richard Horsely

(three of the top ten are written on South African soil... something about that place and the people shaped by it speaks to me deeply.)

So more for my own record than anything else, there are the 2011 reads that stick.

Joy in the Moment

2011-02-11T18:52:00.000-08:00

Egypt Erupts into Jubilation!

Cairo Celebrates!

Egypt is Free!

These are a small sampling of the headlines tonight, the eve of Egyptian victory against the oppressive rule of Mubarak. Today, all day, we celebrated the crack and crumble of an empire. I watched the celebrations in Cairo and had to catch my breath - it is so deeply compelling to see true joy explode like fireworks.

I sat captivated... because this is what liberation looks like. This is what true jubilee looks like... And what does it feels like? Spontaneous dancing in the streets that days ago were stained with blood and alight with molotov cocktails. Grieving turned into cheering. Flags of freedom waving wildly, like confetti, because joy could not be contained or restrained tonight. When people experience true liberation from the weight of oppression - this is what it looks like. I can feel the vibrations all the way across the sea!

When justice breaks in, when jubilee is made manifest in the face of the empire, there is one response from those freed - exuberant explosions of unfettered joy. It is what I see coming out of Tarir Square in Egypt, and I am mesmerized.

Tonight I turned on the news (again) and had my children sit and watch. I explained, in simple terms, what the celebration was about. "Mama, it looks like a freedom party" my son observed. Indeed, it is a freedom party tonight. And I wanted my children to see what jubilee looks like so that it would whet their appetite and ignite their imaginations for justice and jubilee in the years to come. I wanted them to see that empires do fall, that darkness does collapse and wild goodness does break out and break the hold of tyrants. I wanted them to witness, with their own eyes, that mountains (like Mubarak) can be moved. Jubilee is possible - see!

Some are expressing a good measure of caution about what comes tomorrow. There is fear about who might emerge from the shadows, who will manipulate or exploit the situation, who might hijack democratic longing. There is always fear. But I am choosing to join the celebration tonight, to participate in that freedom party in Cairo from my couch. I am deciding to delve into jubilee - because it does not come around as often as we hunger for it. I want to inhale deeply, to be intoxicated with jubilation...

We often live in the past - grieving what was and curious about what the shattered status quo and shaken stability will mean. We can live in the future, jumping to the worries and legitimate concerns and challenges of tomorrow. But there is something sacred about today, and living in the present moment. There is a call to be attentive to this moment and honor it. I want to experience this jubilation while it is present. That is my choice.

What does the day after jubilee look like? I don't really know. Tomorrow will show me. It will be my opportunity to respond to that moment with discernment. I am not so naive as to think the freedom party gives way to an easy democracy of my liking tomorrow. Deep change is messy, complicated and precarious. Anything can happen in the days ahead. I will be prayerful and hopeful that justice will, in each day or most days, prevail in Egypt.

Tomorrow has enough worries of its own. But for tonight - I choose jubilee.

Year in Review... via Books!

2010-12-13T11:13:00.000-08:00

I have read a good deal this year, though not as aggressively as I did last year, I confess. Being stateside for a spell does that to you... slows your reading as you juggle other domestic demands and such. But I still read well and found exposure to new ideas, words of challenge and deep beauty. I thought I'd share some highlights, if only to allow me to savor them once more before closing the door on 2010!

The Best Read of 2010... The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. This text revolutionized (no, not an overstatement) how I understand Holy Week. I was educated, inspired and provoked as I turned every page. Each chapter takes on a day of Holy Week and brings fresh insight to the story we think we know. I see the passion, the cross and the resurrection with new eyes (and a new heart).

Best book I read again... The Writing Life by Annie Dillard. I am a firm believer in reading books again and again. I want to be washed over again by great words and encounter them afresh with each new year. This year I was regaled with my revisit of The Writing Life as I contemplated the task of preaching. She so wonderfully unpacks her art, sharing what it is to be an experienced writer / art maker. She both describes and demonstrates the best of her craft. Well worth re-reading again...

Best recommendation... Cold Tangerines by Shauna Neiquist. I did not get many book recommendations this year, come to think of it. But one that stands out... this lovely gem recommended by Sarah Gonski. This is a book as fresh as its title... it is colorful, crisp and chock full of grace-filled stories from an everyday life. This read was like a little pick-me-up! (Thanks, Sarah!)

Most Beautiful Read... An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor. Here is the problem, I read this book in 2009. But here is the fact - it is the first book that comes to mind when I think of a beautiful read, and it apparently casts a long shadow! I would say that if pressed for the raving beauty of 2010, it would be Leaving Church (also penned by Barbara Brown Taylor). She is just a lush, lovely, luminous communicator. She honors words, she hones them, she allows them to serve the truth in revealing ways. A master...

Best book on preaching... The Word Militant by Walter Brueggemann. I read a handful of books on preaching this year in preparation for teaching a homiletics class. Let me tell you, it is not easy to find a good book on preaching. The best of the best... The Word Militant, a collection of essays Brueggemann has written over the years on the theology and practice of preaching. This is the book seminaries should assign as required reading to all preaching students! This is the book on the depth and task of preaching that I had been longing for, not just a 'how to' book or a public speaking book baptized with Bible verses, but a book truly about the theology of preaching. It is masterful, as one would expect from such a skilled preacher, scholar and prophet. If you preach... read this!

Best book written by an African author... TIE! Made for Goodness by Desmond Tutu and A Change of Tongue by Antjie Krog. This year the South Africans have taken me by force... the force of their words and ideas! Desmond Tutu has a way of communicating grace with levity, leaving you lighter and richer. He reminds us to begin in Genesis 1 - where we are made for goodness. Let that be the root of our identity... goodness. Antjie Krog is a powerhouse of a poet - she shares stories in such unique (post-modern, some have said) way, and with such intimacy, piercing depth and beauty. She helps us see the utter complexity of post-apartheid South Africa, a place not given to easy answers, quick justice or simple descriptions. The beauty of her words match the beauty of the country...

The book read in one sitting... A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. This is the only book I read all in one sitting, over the collection of dark hours late in the night while laying in my bed in Bujumbura. (Thank God for a Kindle and a book light!) There is something magical about the memory - reading into the night under a mosquito net, feeling the cool breeze coming in off of Lake Tangayika.

Most read author... Walter Brueggemann. None can equal him. He is scholar, poet, prophet and preacher. He is and Old Testament scholar but well versed in the New Testament and how to weave the two together. He is wry, witty and whimsical. Some books are steeped in academic language, others are more accessible and all are written with such precise and stunning language. I appreciate both his theological and rhetorical background - this is why he is such an inspired educator and communicator. Without doubt, I am most influenced by his thinking in recent years. I am a better follower of Jesus for it! I read many of his books (I did last year, and the year before and I already have a few more on my nightstand ready for reading in 2011...). This is not a testament to my reading... but to his writing, he is so dang prolific!

Worst read of 2010... Who Gets to Narrate the World by Robert Webber. It has to be said, every year there is at least one dud. This was my regret... wasting money, time and energy on this book. All I will say is that doing theology from a posture of fear and anger is not helpful. Not helpful at all. This was my only regret this year, as far as books go!

Honorable mentions... The Greatest Prayer by John Dominic Crossan, The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan and Free of Charge by Miroslav Volf. I highly recommend all three!

The List (I know I am missing some, but this is close to complete!)

* indicates a re-read

Telling God's Story, John Wright

Telling the Truth, Fredrich Beuchner*

Leaving Church, Barbara Brown Taylor

Tribes, Seth Godin

The Witness of Preaching, Thomas Long

The Writing Life, Annie Dillard*

A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink

The Last Week, Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan

Then Comes the Poet, Walter Brueggemann

The Word Militant, Walter Brueggemann

Living Reminder, Henri Nouwen*

When God is Silent, Barbara Brown Taylor*

Who Gets to Narrate the World, Robert Webber

Cold Tangerines, Shauna Neiquist

A New Kind of Christianity, Brian McLaren

Divine Presence Amid Violence, Walter Brueggemann

Whose Religion is Christianity, Lamin Sanneh

The Challenge for Africa, Wangari Maathai

An Unsettling God, Walter Brueggemann

Serve God, Save the Planet, J.M. Sleeth

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller

A Change of Tongue, Antjie Krog

The Observation Deck, Naomi Epel

The Lemon Tree, Sandy Tolan

Made for Goodness, Desmond Tutu

Holy Trinity, Perfect Community, Leondardo Boff

Jesus and Non-violence, Walter Wink

Free of Charge, Miroslav Volf

Finding the Way Home, Dennis Maloney

Food Matters, Mark Bittman

Dialogue: The Art of Thinking, William Isaacs

The Art of Biblical Narrative, Robert Alter*

Covenant Economics, R. Horsley

Economy of Grace, Katherine Tanner

The Naked Now, Richard Rohr

The Greatest Prayer, John Domonic Crossan

The First Christmas, Marcus Borg & John Domonic Crossan

Out of Babylon, Walter Brueggemann

Fixated on Fireless Cookers

2010-07-01T01:38:00.001-07:00

I have been fixated on fireless cookers ever since I learned about them from a friend in Mombasa this past May. I spoke about them so much that Claude threatened to start calling me Kelley 'fireless cooker' Johnson! The concept is simple: an insulted basket that allows the residual heat of the cooking vessel to complete the cooking off the fire and in the basket.

1. A woman can cook beans on the open fire for about 45 minutes, then put the pot into a fireless cooker and let it sit, unattended, for another 3 or 4 hours. The heat present in the pot, insulted in the basket, will finish the cooking process. So instead of the women sitting over the pot of beans on the fire for 4 or 5 hours, minding the fire and trying to keep the children out of the flames... she can reduce her active cooking time to 45 minutes and free the other hours for herself. She can use those additional hours to work on other things, to mind the children, or whatever else needs her attention that day. It frees her time.

2. But there is another huge advantage to fireless cookers in a rural setting - it reduces the amount of firewood or charcoal used in daily cooking. This means that women will spend less time foraging for firewood. It means they will cut down fewer trees to make charcoal. They will spend less money on fuel for the fire. It saves household time, money and energy.

3. In addition, the use of a fireless cooker means that people will cut down fewer trees for charcoal production or firewood, thus preserving their natural habitat. The land can stay in tact when fewer trees are used as fuel. So this fireless cooker is also a tool to help steward the environment where the families live. It preserves the land.

So I have been fixated on this idea, and convinced it would help our families in Matara. Claude agreed to let me try some prototypes this summer to see if there would be any traction with the concept here. So when our friends from Texas came to town, it was a perfect opportunity to go to Matara and make our first batch of fireless cookers with inexpensive and locally available materials.

We went with the basics - baskets, fabric, raw cotton, string, heavy needles and the instructions. I confess, I did get colorful fabric. It is the most inexpensive variety of the kind, but I just think that everyone appreciates the simple aesthetics of color and patterns in their kitchen! So the Batwa ladies and our Texas friends sat together and began to construct fireless cookers. They were lovely...

By the time we were nearing the end of the process, a crowd had gathered around us. The other women and all the men from the village wondered what were were making! I explained, with the help of a translator, that these baskets could keep food warm for a very long time off the fire. (I was told you begin here... then progress to the 'cooking with residual heat' in the next phase of instruction.) Right away a man blurted out a question, 'Does this mean the food will be warm when I come in from the field?' Yes! All the men cheered together! Already the idea was exciting to the men who wanted hot food on the table no matter what time they got home. (For the women, this means they can keep dinner warm in the basket, and not have to start yet another fire to reheat the food when he returns...)

But there was a slight problem... we discovered that all their pots were larger than the baskets and none of the pots had lids. So we had to go back to the city, get smaller pots with lids, and get them to Matara soon. Poor Claude got no rest until the pots were delivered to Matara!

Just this week the pots arrived and the women started testing the fireless cookers right away. When Claude was there yesterday one lady showed him her basket - with a pot inside. She cooked sweet potatoes the day before and they were still warm the next afternoon! Even with the cold night air in Matara, the insulated basket kept the sweet potatoes warm! It works!!! As you can imagine, all the women want their own fireless cooker now.

I don't get to do much in Matara, really. Claude overseas the community development work with the families day in and day out with his team (an agricultural engineer, social worker, occasional construction supervisor). I am the story-teller. But this was one idea I was so sure could help the women of Matara, could help the households and preserve the natural resources. So to see it come to life, with the help of my friends, makes me feel like I have contributed something tangible to the well-being of our friends in Matara. It is small, but it makes me smile to think that even I can offer something.

fabric, bags of raw cotton and some scissors to begin...

lining the basket with cotton, tufting it into place...

the first three fireless cookers we made together...

Habits

2010-06-05T06:41:00.000-07:00

Habits are interesting things... we all have them, but not the same ones. I have many a friend who cannot start the day without coffee in hand. I am not sure if it is the mental jolt they get from the routine of making the coffee - the sound of grinding the dark roasted beans, the aroma emerging like a potent perfume and the taste on the tongue - or, if it is the physical properties of coffee that really make it a morning must. But either way, they seem quite wayward and weary without it! Others, fewer to be sure, need a morning run to properly start the day. (I have never been in this habit!) Some people find morning devotions mandatory to set the day off in the right direction. And as long as I have know these friends, their habits remain as fixed as the north star. The day invariable begins with a cup of hot coffee, a brisk run, some quiet time.

My habits have never been as solid. Other than the obvious hygienic habits (who can feel awake until they have brushed their teeth?), I don't have a set series of activities. That is not to say that I don't have routines, I just don't keep the same ones for years on end! What seems to be predictable is that my routines are bound to turn like the seasons.

Right now my morning ritual involves making a cup of rooibos tea. Selecting a certain pen to write in my journal. Looking over to the mountains of Congo... some sort of visual anchor, I imagine. And then I locate myself by reading email that has come during the night, reading recent FB posts from friends, scanning the headlines in the New York Times and CNN. But it was not always so... for a while I had no desire for tea in the morning. For another set of months I could not see the mountains, the haze was so thick. Even time with the journal fell out of fashion for a spell. And I am alright with that.

I have observed over the years that what works best for me are gentle habits that suit the season of life. These habits are open to a nudge in another direction, be it from my internal or external environment. I don't have tyrannical rituals that demand I obey, enslaving me to one and only one way to begin my day. My habits don't bully me each morning, threatening a bruising if I don't play their way. My habits have always been kind, flexible and sensitive to the world in and around me. I appreciate that about my habits. I am glad they are somewhat organic. They lend me ample structure to start any given day, but are responsive to the seasons that come. So I embrace my semi-organic rituals!

What I know is that my morning ritual will be in place... until it needs to give way to something else. And so I can count on habits changing as I, myself, am ever changing - growing, I hope!

Some Space Required

2010-05-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

I have been living in Burundi for a year now. This has become a space for me to try some new things, learn some lessons and even confront some personal unpleasantries, to be candid. As I've shared previously, one thing that has changed rather naturally here is my diet. We began last year with a family routine that included meat on the dinner table about 4 times a week. But then last summer the electricity in the city started to be off more than on, and this presented some challenges for preserving meat and ensuring its freshness. So we ended up eating less meat - none at home and even little elsewhere. We also had a change in house help, and the new person cannot cook tender beef, but he can cook succulent fish. So we began eating fish a few times a week instead. Here we are a year later, and we now are pretty much a meatless household. It just happened in this context, and I am learning that I can eat less meat and still feel healthy and even happy! This space has given me the chance to try something new and learn that it fits me.

I was thinking this week about space, and how you cannot underestimate the unexpected things that can happen when given a bit of undefined space. Last summer we had a couple of friends living with us here in Bujumbura. Here, of all places, they decided to start learning Spanish together. Not Kirundi or French, which are in operation here, but Spanish for their return to Arizona. Every night they would be hold up in their room making flash cards, conjugating verbs and working toward an authentic accent. What happened in that bedroom in Burundi that sparked their interest to learn Spanish with such dedication? I still do not really know. But I can say that they have continued in their linguistic efforts and will be living in Spain this year. Something happened when they had this space to explore something new and try it on. And as a result of taking advantage of that space, they are onto a new adventure!

Another friend came to Burundi and found space to exhale from a toxic relationship, to find space to imagine a life lived differently, to muster enough courage to make a decision and find a bit of healing in the process. We had no expectation for her visit, other to enjoy her presence. But in a place with little expectation there seemed to be an abundance of freedom to explore new possibilities for a new future.

So this has me thinking about space...

I recall, without academic clarity, an image from my seminary days. My Hebrew professor was exegeting an Old Testament text about intercessory prayer. And the concrete image the Hebrew language employed to describe intercessory prayer was one of creating physical space. The picture, she explained, was of a person hemmed in on every side by trouble and hardship, a person with no room to move. The action of intercession, according to the Hebraic language, was making space around the person, pushing back the things that constricted the supplicant, so that there was room to move, to breathe, to exhale. So when we intercede for others, we are asking God to create space around them, to give them space to move free from external pressures. Maybe it is a prayer that allows them just enough space to reach out to God. But while I cannot recall the text or actual word, I have never forgotten that powerful image. When we pray for another, we are making space for them.

And what I am discovering about space is that it is a creative, constructive and cathartic place. Somehow there is space where things within you can unfold. Maybe the space allows new potential to surface, to emerge like green buds sprouting from the dark soil of life. Maybe, as it has been for me, space allows you to try some new habits and see if it fits. There is a non-judgmental place where you can experiment, discover and investigate things you might never try at home. I don't know... I just know that I seem to need lots of space and I definitely benefit from it!

Friends have told Claude and I that we have a way of 'creating space.' We have no idea how we do it, really. We just show up and invite others to do the same. We set a table, put out some food, and are often surprised at what happens when we gather.

So is space a zone we inhabit or a gift we give to others? Is it both? It seems to be hard to define and yet so crucial for those of us longing for transformation. We need space to move, to explore, to try new things and heal from old hurts. Maybe we need to go somewhere for such space, maybe we need to find someone to be that space for us. But I don't think I am the only one who needs space in my life!

Diet & Discipleship

2010-05-24T03:39:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking these days about changing my diet. Not because of weight issues or personal heath issues, though that should also warrant consideration in my process. But I am thinking of altering my diet as a matter of discipleship.

Recently I have been reflecting on creation theology, and how our understanding of creation impacts our view of the natural world as well as the implications of creation care for not only the environment, but the poor. I have come to realize, more than ever, that God still loves the cosmos, the world He created and entrusted to us. I now believe that there is a deep connection between humanity and all of creation, and that together we embrace salvation, restoration and even a shared destiny. (Call me a tree-hugger... I now believe the affection is a biblical mandate!) But maybe the more revelatory aspect of my study of creation, and its connection to humanity, is how it affects the most vulnerable people on the planet - the poor. When the natural world starts showing signs of wear and tear (deforestation, contaminated rivers, polluted air, climate change that alters rain patterns, etc.) - the poorest among us feel it first. These changes on the planet change their daily reality in ways I am only beginning to realize.

And so... as a follower of Jesus, I am thinking about changing the way I eat out of love for the planet and the poor, as God is deeply committed to both.

Why my diet? What about my diet is unloving? How can the food I eat be a matter of spiritual consequence? How can I put diet and discipleship in the same sentence? I am learning that the way I eat affects others in ways I never knew before.

I am a hardcore carnivore, I always have been. I love meat, especially beef and pork. I enjoy marinading a tri tip steak and roasting it to perfection. I massage a spice blend of cardamom and cinnamon on pork chops before grilling them. I make some of the best varieties of meatballs, sometimes flavored with fennel and orange, other times with the more classic thyme, rosemary, parsley and garlic... sometimes even with chipotle and mint! I often glaze a pork tenderloin with balsamic vinegar or a mustard glaze and serve with homemade apple sauce. Such pleasure I derive from preparing and eating meat!

However, I discovered recently that my demand for meat is unhealthy. Maybe not unhealthy for my own body (now they say it is processed meats like bacon that really are the culinary villains), but ill advised for the well being of the planet and the poor. Eating so much meat actually harms the ecosystem and threatens those most dependent on it. It is meat production that requires the use of 30% of the ice-free land in the world - and that meat is feeding the west for the most part. (Though reports show that Indian and China are increasing their consumption as they gain wealth, which will increase demand and threaten more land.) It is meat production that is one of the leading causes of water pollution, generation of greenhouse gases, consumption of mass amounts of energy and deforestation. As a matter of fact, the meat industry produced abut one-fifth of all greenhouse gases world-wide... more than transportation! So here is an industry that I regularly support with my consumption habits, and it is doing harm to the environment on a massive scale. And I can do something about it - I can eat less meat and lower a bit of the demand.

As of 2008, 800 million people suffer from hunger or malnutrition. (It is not far-fetched to imagine that many of them surround me here, on the African continent.) Yet, more soy and corn is grown to feed animals than to feed people. So this meat consumption and production does hurt people, it almost takes the food right out of their mouth. The cost of feed for animals is also on the rise, which means prices for grains for people gets higher, and the poor can afford less and less of what they need in their diet. So now my diet, heavy on savory meats, is a cause of a severe lack in their diets... basic grains for their children.

My diet affects the diets of the poor - those that God loves - now this has become a discipleship issue for me. Now my own diet choices become laden with values. What do I value more - my nightly steak, Sunday pot roast, pork chops and apple sauce? Or those who live off the land and need it to hold together, those who cannot feed their family if food prices increase again, those who will loose access to clean water (and the fish in those waters) if meat production continues to contaminate their water source? Is it right for me to have more than my fair share of the food, the land, the environmental resources? Should I consider consuming less (literally) so that others can have more - so that many can have enough? Does what I eat become a matter of justice, even? I am coming to an answer... yes.

This is not an easy thing for me, as I love meat. But I love Jesus more deeply than my own food preferences. I want to follow Him and submit more and more of my life to Him and the world He so loves. And recently, it means changing my diet to be a better disciple. It means eating in a manner that is seasoned with love for the other over my own gluttony.

You are what you eat... so I want to eat in a way that does not deprive others, deplete the earth or diminish the ecosystem we have been entrusted. This is a huge change for me... but following Jesus demands nothing less than a willingness to repent, to rethink our view and embrace His in every aspect of life. So I will eat much less meat, eat more plants and pray there is enough at the table for all of my brothers and sisters around the world.

Another Spiritual Discipline?

2010-05-18T00:27:00.000-07:00

I have been a terrible blogger lately. Well, I never have seen myself as a blogger. First, I see myself as someone who writes and occasionally posts on a blog or two. Second, to be a blogger would require regularity, treating a blog like a journal or a watch that are part of my daily routine. So, a blogger I am not.

But all this is beside the point. I am a serial journal writer, I have been since college. I have boxes and boxes of journals (uniform composition books, actually) in storage. I always have a journal on my nightstand, it travels with me in my carry-on when I am in transit, it is always with me where ever I go. The routine of writing is soothing, clarifying and, sometimes, enlightening. I have often said that the habit of writing in my journal is, for me, a spiritual discipline. There is a daily routine, safe place to explore internal realities, pray on paper, listen to what comes as the pen spills ink across each page. Of all the disciplines - and I know Richard Foster and Dallas Willard have lists - writing in my journal has been the most enduring for me. The most nourishing. The one I return to, even after a lapse in discipline from season to season.

But maybe blogging is a new spiritual discipline. If so, it is one that thwarts me in different ways. Journaling is about the writing - the words poured onto the page, the pen in hand, motion of creating a personal font as your thoughts materialize in ink. There is a simplicity about it. But I find translating writing to a blog layered with a bit more complexity. Beyond pen and paper... instead of pen and paper... there are websites, blog warehouses like Word Press, Typepade and Blogspot. Other things are necessary like electricity, bandwidth, formating, knowing how to navigate the sites and add media. As formats on various platforms change - you have to keep up and adapt.

So I can write, even habitually. But I get hung up with posting and all the related pitfalls. Once I get a thought out there... that should be it. But posting on a blog from Burundi never seems to be that easy. I trip over changing formats and having to learn them (again). And so my time is tripled because I have to tangle with technicalities, most of which I don't understand. And then there are the contingencies I cannot control - inadequate bandwidth to maneuver the necessary sites or upload posts, or maybe electricity is out altogether and I am shut down. I get easily frustrated by the set backs, the inability to solve technical or formatting problems. I get thrown by bandwidth and electricity... my blogging attempts dashed. So I tend to not post to avoid the irritations, required adjustments and the things I cannot control. Picking up my journal is so much easier... and more private.

But spiritual disciplines are meant to challenge us, to press upon us and produce a person more fully formed, more ready to engage with God in His world. Maybe approaching blogging from Burundi is a way to learn patience, the reality of limits, surrendering to what I don't know, gaining the fortitude to keep trying and learning amid a changing landscape. Maybe instead of avoiding blogs (to avoid frustrations) I should engage the work as a discipline that can teach me something. Maybe this is a new practice that can push me toward fresh personal growth. One thing is certain - blogging from Burundi will be a discipline, something that will require effort and a degree of perseverance.

Dare I try again?

Christmas in Burundi

2009-12-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Burundi is much different than Christmas celebrated in the United States. Trees remain firmly planted in the African soil, not cut and carried into homes to be decorated. Few people are decking the halls here – save a few westerners who brought some strands of colored lights to hang in their window. I have not heard Christmas carols on the radio or blasting from the sound systems of the local market. No one here is complaining about too many gifts to wrap, too many presents to still buy before the 24th or fighting the holiday traffic around the mall. People are planning to gather in homes for meals to celebrate together, and even at this late date people have room in their schedule to accept invitations and volunteer to bring their holiday cheer to the party.

It is odd to not have the tinsel, carols and gilded trees around. How odd, days before Christmas, to not be making a list and checking it twice – the grocery list, that is! Strange to not be planning the holiday feasts and setting aside hours to prepare them in the kitchen. This is just a different context for Christmas for the Nikondeha family this year, and it takes some getting used to.

But there is something about being free from the holiday hassles and expectations, from the myriad of distractions that I have become accustomed to amid this yuletide season. Christmas without the usual trimmings allows me to contemplate the coming of Christ, to consider the magnificence and mystery of Incarnation, God with us.

Then it dawned on me…

Christmas in Burundi is just the same as Christmas celebrated in the United States. We all will stop, for a moment, and remember the star that marked the sky and marked the coming of Good News to our broken world. We will listen to the Christmas Story and ponder, again, if there is room in the inn – room enough for God’s Miraculous Gift in our own stable of a heart. Shepherds watching, angels announcing, wise men seeking and a virgin birthing will all remind us of the amazing arrival of Jesus into the world He once created, entering the cosmos He so loves and coming close to those who bear His very image.

God is with us – all of us. He is with us as we celebrate in Burundi, as you celebrate in the United States, as you celebrate in Cape Town, Nairobi, Kampala, British Columbia, London, Oaxaca or where ever you are on the globe this season. Christ approaches all afresh this Christmas, arriving as a vulnerable baby who, like every baby, alters our world every day thereafter.

We join you, wherever you are, in welcoming the Prince of Peace to this world again. We affirm with you that our world continues to need His Good News, and we will work alongside Him in the days to come to bring restoration to what is broken, hope to barren places and joy to the world He so loves!

Christmas Blessings from the Nikondeha Family,
Claude, Kelley, Emma & Justin

Missing the mountains

2009-09-15T23:17:00.000-07:00

Since June I have not seen the large and looming mountains of Congo that sit on the other side of Lake Tanganyika. They are majestic mountains, lush green and they set an amazing backdrop for the coastline. There are so many mountains clustered together, it looks like layers upon layers of verdant monuments to stability and awe-inspiring beauty. I miss seeing the mountains.

When I arrived in Burundi in early May I was greeted by the mountain-scape. I could enjoy the view from my bedroom window each morning. I love having them so close at hand - as if I can reach out and touch them after a morning stretch. Somehow, seeing them off in the distance was comforting. It was as if, in some mystical way, the mountains became like guardians. But I have not seen the mountains since June, when the weather patterns changed. Haze clouds my view - a combination of dirt and dust, pollution suspended mid-air, and other dynamics that remain a mystery to me. I must say it again, I miss seeing the mountains.

This longing to see the mountains of Congo again has become a metaphor, of sorts. I think of our work with the poor of Burundi, our friends. I have seen, large as any mountain range, the goodness of the work. I have seen with clarity the homes built since June, the land cleared and cultivated - now embracing potato, cabbage and carrot seeds, I have seen children transformed into students in gleaming new uniforms. I have seen evidence that good things are at work - and at close range. But there has been a haze settling in recently. The last few weeks have brought in dust and debris that has obscured my view. It is, I suppose, inevitable. Weather patterns change. External elements shift and I cannot control them, I must wait them out until the rains or winds come. Until then, I have to remember that the mountains are there. Despite what I see (or feel), the goodness is there hidden behind the haze of hurt feelings, distrust and sadness.

I could get to the mountains if I wanted - I could hire a taxi and endure the jostling journey from Bujumbura to the Congolese border. I could drive into the heart of those mountains, because they are there beyond view. The mountains have not moved, they are steady and ever-present. They are not ontologically changed because I cannot see them, they remain. I know this to be true about mountains, about goodness and about God Himself.

Beyond the haze that can cloud our vision, God is present like the mountains of Congo. He is steady, vibrant and with a loving largesse that grounds my world. Haze will come, it is as sure as the shifting weather patterns and turning seasons. But He is present. He is at hand. The clouds do not cause me to doubt Him, only to long to see Him more clearly in the coming days.

I crave the sight of my beloved mountains. I long to see those green guardians again, to stand in awe of their majestic magnitude. I wait for the winds of change (and rains) to come and reveal them once again. I miss seeing the mountains...

"I will look to the mountains..."

Summer Camp!

2009-08-27T04:33:00.000-07:00

We are in the final moments of summer... We have hosted many friends since June. Some from Arizona, California & Texas, others from the Dominican Republic and Canada. It has been a great ride sharing our life with each friend, learning new things together and conspiring some Kingdom goodness along the way. Our summer has been full of blessing!

Our kids enjoyed a traditional summer activity - camp! Justin and Emma piled into the van with their aunties and uncles (and one cousin) and journeyed to Mwaro. This was their first visit up country, their first taste of rural life. This is where Claude and his family grew up, this is where our extended family still resides to this day. So the kids enjoyed a 'rural camp' experience while staying with all there other cousins and family members.

The kids mingled easily with their cousins, and I think their uncle was proud to have them visit. They stayed in a little house with their aunties. Justin was assigned a job... feeding the cows. He took his job very seriously, feeding the cows with diligence and tenderness. He commented that is was dirtier up there, but otherwise he loved the visit and wants to go again! Emma's favorite part was the family wedding... she was mesmerized by the women dancing the traditional dances. She couldn't wait to show me her new dance moves, as she imitated the elegant ladies and their animated movements! The kids loved the family, loved the country and loved their summer adventure!

Now that all the guests have gone and camp is a memory... we are looking toward school and a new season of work. Even in Burundi, the seasons turn!

Rhythms

2009-07-29T00:31:00.000-07:00

professional Burundian drum corps*

We live in a school neighborhood, and so the sounds of children are ever around us. But in the past set of weeks, there is the sound of the drums every morning. The summer session must be when all Burundian boys learn the rhythms of their culture that have vibrated throughout their land for generations.

We drove by the school the other morning, and saw what we'd been hearing so many mornings in a row. There were Burundian drums, each large as an oak wine barrel, in a circle formation. The teacher stood in the middle of the drums demonstrating the traditional rhythms. The boys are positioned, one per drum, around the outside of the circle. With the thick drumsticks in hand, they beat out the rhythms with as much velocity as a 7 or 8 year old can muster! And this goes on for a few hours every school day during the summer.

They are not merely learning an instrument (like I was consigned to learn the recorder in elementary school) or fulfilling a music requirement (like the lackluster music classes I had to endure in grade school), they are learning the heartbeat of their culture. Burundian drum corps are know throughout Africa as being the most accomplished drummers. This is part of their heritage they are ingesting with every beat. It is beautiful to see them delight in their tradition, to learn their rhythms unmediated by western culture or other diluting forces. When they are in the circle of drums, it is Burundian culture they are celebrating. It is wonderful to witness these lessons in motion!

So this morning I am in my home office ready to work, and I am again serenaded by the young drummers. The beat is steady, forceful and unrelenting. There is no break for laughter or horse play, these boys are serious about perfecting their hallmark rhythm. This sets them apart - not as a generic African, but as a masterful and renowned Burundian drummer. And as I listen, I find myself swaying to the unique combination of beats. I can't help it! It is like my heart is learning a new rhythm, day after day, soaking in this primal Burundian sound. The drums bring a smile to my face every day. This is what it is to live in Burundi, to sway to the indigenous sounds and share in this national delight... to celebrate the culture.

When I get frustrated (electricity demand exceeds the grids capacity resulting in regular black outs, water is delivered at odd times of the day, making the idea of a regular shower more a riddle than routine)... the drums revive me. The drums, as meted out with determined focus and athletic energy (and stamina!) of primary school boys, showcases what is good about my life in Bujumbura. Somehow the rhythm of their drums moves me to a better place each morning.

I am a Burundian citizen, though I came to my citizenship later in life. I guess even I need to be schooled in these rhythms, right? I want to carry my passport with pride - and these drums teach me to walk with Burundian rhythms resounding and reverberating throughout my body.

On other days I hear the children, boys and girls, singing in Kirundi with such sweetness that it melts my heart. I enjoy those songs, too. But the drums... they do get to me on a deeper level. I love my summer mornings, complete with the Summer Drumming Sessions.

*photograph by Jaimi Kercher Photography 2009

Unfolding

2009-07-15T04:15:00.001-07:00

Our guests are gone. The house is returning to normal. I am now turning my attention to a new season, one with less action but still active. There will be fewer events, but still a lot happening. It is returning to the routines of life, even when I cannot always discern the regularity, the rhythms and roles that make it routine. Maybe my daily routine is like life on a boat - constantly responding to the incessant movement of the waters, developing 'sea legs' so that I can walk to and fro without being thrown (or getting sick).

A friend gave me a word when I first arrived in Burundi - unfolding. I have held onto the word, letting my imagination play with the image. Receiving this word at the onset of my Burundian chapter was a great gift. The connotations have been perpetually gentle, like water lapping against the side of a boat as it rocks, ever so slightly. I have tried to lean into the word, to fall into it without seizing or fearing.

Unfolding is something that happens slowly, gradually and gently. I think of a crumpled paper... the corners all pressed into the center and turning on themselves. As the paper unfolds, it spreads out - not stretching, just spreading. And the corners come out... out from the compact center, moving toward the periphery, where corners belong. They are not meant to be central or compressed at the core... they are corners meant to be at the boundary. So I am allowing my misplaced corners to find their natural place. And what happens in the process of this unfolding - I begin to see what is really at the center of the paper, what it is that holds the center.

Unfolding also leads me to think of gentleness, effortlessness, an easiness with the process. There is no striving or contending when you unfold. You cannot force or hurry your unfolding. You just submit to it - like a good massage. You are passive, yet present. You are aware but not in control.

Unfolding is like unclenching your fist. Open your hand, relax your fingers, expose your palm. Let the stress or anger go. Allow the hot, knotted emotions to ease and cool. Maybe they will even dissipate as you simple let them go.

But the word that seems constantly coupled with unfolding is gentleness. This is a kind process, an easy place where the yoke is light and easy. Could Jesus' yoke really be this gentle? The Dali Lama also speaks of being gentle to ourselves, extending a kindness and grace to our self as we experience harsh emotions, display bad behavior or struggle. Gentleness as we view ourselves, gentleness as we follow, gentleness as we unfold and discover what God is developing in us.

As I said, this word has been a good housewarming gift. It has allowed me freedom to gently unfold and allow God to reveal His reasons for me to be here at this time and in this place. I think that now as I return to my gently rocking routine, there will be more unfolding and more revealing. I think that next there will be deepening as I learn how to engage in Burundi in ways that are in step with the way of Jesus and for the sake of His world.

So much beautiful

2009-07-03T02:22:00.000-07:00

It has been weeks since I have written anything beyond status updates on Face Book. There has not been time to really reflect and say anything worth reading. There has been so much happening and so little personal bandwidth to be able to communicate it. So silence... and a hope that something will emerge and be blog-worthy. But all writers know that waiting for inspiration is a cop out - you just have to sit down and write. So I am finally doing just that... with no promises about the thoughts to come. Good friends will understand and extend some grace!

The last month was full, brimming over with goodness and friends and divine surprises. I was in South Africa for our annual gathering of friends. Over 200 friends from across southern and eastern Africa, plus some westerners for good measure. It was a reunion that embraced new friends as well as old in an on-going conversation about God's work in African communities.

Conversation was rich, connections were rich, communion & celebration were fitting for us.

Coming together like this never gets old!

Right away we flew from Jo'burg to Bujumbura, 7 friends carrying joy from one gathering into the next. We arrived to Burundi in the dark, early hours of the morning. The city streets were empty and the electricity in the house was off... our friends would have to wait till morning to see where they had arrived. But in the morning light they could see the goodness of Burundi - with sweet sun and light breezes that were so refreshing after the rainy winter days of South Africa. We'd rest by the shore of Lake Tanganyika enjoying pizza, wireless internet access and that glorious view of the lake and the Burundian foothills.

But just a day later we were in high gear as we readied to welcome 30 friends traveling from Texas to meet the Batwa of Burundi. Bringing these two diverse communities together was a year in the making, or planning or praying. God wildly surpassed our best plans, expectations and hopes for this gathering of friends! Connections between these two communities seemed effortless, natural and God-ordained. Greetings were enthusiastic and warm from the first smile, from the initial hand shake. There was music - the sounds of hands clasping together, harmonies of laughter, lyrics being learned in Kirundi and English... new songs of friendship being composed right before our eyes! Then we danced together on the beach - and found one another with joyful abandon. I promise you this is no exaggeration, something happened that first day together. The Spirit drenched us. Maybe it was a taste of Pentecost on the edge of Lake Tanganyika... where language and culture did not hinder our ability to express love and share in joy together. I will never forget that God-drenched day. Ever.

The days that followed kept my eyes moist with tears. The goodness keep unfolding between my American and Batwa friends. Each community was laden with blessings, the friendship was yielding a bounty of blessings that could scarcely be contained. We played volleyball together on the beach and swam in the lake, we worked together clearing fields and weather-proofing homes, we shared meals, sang by the fire, exchanged gifts and blessings and laughter. At one point I wondered, fleetingly, when the bubble would burst. Too much goodness was... too much. At some point something had to give... But God's goodness does not run dry or evaporate like burst bubbles. His goodness grows, expands, deepens... and this was a foretaste of His lavish goodness to all of us. As our friend Tracy sings, 'So much beautiful.' It was just so much beautiful.

I will write more... but this is a start.

Mindfulness

2009-06-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

Mindfulness - I am not talking about minding your P's and Q's. But minding yourself and your world with great care and kindness. It is something I have been considering in the last set of days. In a highly mediated culture it is so easy to not mind things that matter, to have attention diverted by favorite shows, favorite foods or favored vices of almost any sort. But even in Burundi, away from the mediated rush, I find that I can be inattentive to the important things.

As I am observing my pattern of mindfulness, I am learning that I often am more mindful of things that annoy me, people that offend me, inconveniences I must suffer at inopportune times. It is too easy for my mind to feast on these things. But mindfulness is a terrible thing to waste...

I have been reading some eastern thinkers on the practice of mindfulness, intentionally thinking about some things - or not thinking of them at all. And one striking possibility is that we can train our mind to think differently, to be mindful of better things. One recent challenge has been to not think about my frustrations as much as feel them. So when anger ignites - feel the emotion without thinking about it, why I am angry, why I am justified in my anger, why someone else should validate my anger... simply feel it. Hold the fiery sensation for a moment without thinking... and then exhale. Sounded odd to me at first, until I began to practice being mindful about my anger. It is a challenge to mind my emotions, really. And I am learning something about what emotions most readily ignite in me and how I try to justify them. I guess it is an internal mindfulness I am leaning into these days.

There is another related practice that comes from the Dali Lama, via my friend Jennifer. He is talking about how to cope with negativity, and he recommends that when we feel a negative sensation to associate a positive thought (this is a poor paraphrase, I admit). So when I lock my nightstand drawer, then lock my bedroom door, then lock the desk drawer and then the kitchen door before locking the front door of our home... instead of getting exasperated, I can think about locking up resentments power in my life. And when I come home and unlock the front door, the kitchen door, the desk drawer, the bedroom door and then the nightstand drawer I can, each time, think about unlocking God's liberating goodness for the Batwa in Burundi. It is being mindful each time I have a key in hand to lock and unlock certain things, rather than to be half-hazard and feel annoyed. But since I have determined to do this - it is amazing how many times I am all the way through the ritual of locking doors before I am re-minded to lock up resentment! I am learning how often I function on auto-pilot and am not mindful at all. I guess that is why we practice!

Today I was reading a book by Barbara Brown Taylor, and she mentioned mindfulness as well. She frames it as paying attention to the world around us. Listening to the crickets singing wildly in the shadow of the sunset (as I am doing now), watching the red-breasted bird pick at my arugula, inhale the spicy aroma from the neighbors outdoor kitchen and identify the spices as they linger in the air... paying attention to the world around me. She comments on how this opens the door to God interacting with us in new ways, outside the walls of the church building, when we have a posture of attention. This is a way to embrace the world God has made and has set us in. She also connects attention with reverence... one often opens the door to the other. When we pay attention to the world and to people, we are often humbled and moved to reverence for God and His handiwork.

So many of the things I have been reading lately point to mindfulness... training our mind to be more attentive and more reverent. I remember Paul's admonition to the Philippian church to 'set your mind on these things...' to practice thinking of better things, higher things, God-given things. So I am trying to live this out, to practice mindfulness in my life. I am trying to cultivate a holy attentiveness to the world God has set me in this season.

P.S. Tonight Claude and I are flying to Johannesburg for a reunion of friends... the 3rd annual Amahoro Gathering. There is nothing as sweet as the joy of reunion and the opportunity to begin new friendships rooted in Christ and His transforming work across the world. As an introvert entering an extroverted environment, I will aim to be attentive to the joys, the laughter, the beauty in each person God brings into view. And if I don't have any space to myself in the next few days - I don't think I will mind!

Toward Engagement

2009-05-28T03:33:00.001-07:00

Last Friday my brother in law, Augustine, took a step toward engagement. In Burundian culture this is the first in a collection of ceremonies that lead to marriage. This first ceremony is called gusaba irembo and is for close family only. This ceremony is where the families first meet and the man's family asks for the door between the families to be open for connection, conversation and eventually marriage.

The ceremony begins at the door, when the women of the family bring baskets of goods to offer to the woman's mother. In our case, the women with baskets are my sisters-in-law and aunts. (Augustine wanted me to be part of this entourage. While I am honored that he selected me and even believed I could balance a basket on my head... I am glad Claude persuaded him otherwise!) The baskets are filled with bags of rice, beans and bottles of beverages. These gifts to the family indicate that this is a significant visit.

Once the baskets are given, our family is ushered to the front lawn where there are tents set up in anticipation of our arrival. The Nikondeha clan sits together on one side of the tent while Martine's family sits on the other side. We are served drinks and there is hushed conversation and murmured laugher among each family. This goes on for about an hour.

You can see here my Augustine tucked in the corner, sitting quietly, surrounded by his sisters and aunts. The protocol dictates that he not say anything to Martine's family during this ceremony. He does not speak for his hoped-for-bride, this honor is delegated to the elder of the family. If our papa (Andre Nikondeha) was here, the responsibility would be his. But in his stead, stood his brother Aloys. So Uncle Aloys would represent the family, speak for the interests of Augustine and ask for the open door between the families gathered under the tents. But he would not speak until invited to... by Martine's father. And as I said, we sipped fanta for over an hour before that part of the evening was initiated!

But at long last Martine's father, a military man, did engage the family in conversation. And as is the tradition, he began by noting the gifts brought, indicating that this was a special visit. So he asks the nature of our visit tonight. (Keep in mind, we all know why we are gathered here tonight, but for the sake of the ceremony, everyone plays along with the etiquette.) Then Uncle Aloys speaks. His opening remark included the acknowledgement that while it is his tongue speaking, it is the word of Andre Nikondeha being communicated on behalf of Augustine. Then he rehearsed the merits of my brother and how beloved he is by the family seated here. Then he reminds all of how Augustine and Martine first met. And then the question... if the door between the families can be open for conversation. At this point we all clap and everyone takes a sip of soda.

Then Marine's father says 'ego' (yes), we can be in conversation. More clapping and more sipping of soda by all! Then he says that certainly our families can talk together, and that he hopes we will visit he and his wife and friends often. (The joke is not missed... because the ones really wanting to visit one another are Martine and Augustine!) But there is more clapping and drinking. Then it is Uncle Aloys' turn...

This goes on for a while, the back and forth of speeches, clapping and drinking. Part of the conversation included the recital of family history. Uncle Aloys shared that the Nikondeha Family came from a certain province and a certain mountain and is of a certain clan. (I learned, for the first time, that we are from the Sons of Tiger clan. This is a highly esteemed clan in Burundian culture, apparently. I would have learned this had Claude and I had an gusaba irembo of our own - but we modified a few traditions in our union!) Then we learned about Martine's family profile, though with fewer details. But then the two family men spent quite some time debating the clan history and who knew the historical lore better. All the while, the rest of us clapped and drank at regular intervals. (Here is Uncle Aloys, seated in the middle. On either side are Claude's older brothers and their wives.)

We were invited into the house for a lovely meal and then came the after dinner drinks. The military family certainly drank more lavishly than our family of pastors! I think our reserve disappointed them. But this is how it is when different families open the doors to relationship - we learn about what we hold in common and where we differ.

You may wonder why there is no mention of Martine's role in the evening and no photo of the lovely bride-to-be. This, too, is part of the protocol. She is unseen, cloistered in the house for the entire evening. (Augustine told me that he imagined her watching through one of the windows, peeking from behind the lace curtains!) But she is invisible in a ceremony that will begin a shift in her life. This is a reminder of how women are often seen in such cultures and in ages that predate us.

I was told that the next phase of the engagement will be the negotiation of the dowry. Uncle Aloys will come to see Martine's father and have a more private and candid conversation about the financial gift that is part of the tradition. Here is where he will make his case for what he believes his daughter is worth. (This is hard for us to imagine as Westerners, but it is part of the process to this day in Burundi.) Once the price is set, the next step will be the ceremony involving the exchange of the dowry. I am told this includes more family members, more speeches, the presence of both Martine & Augustine and... more clapping and drinking!

But this is the beginning of the engagement. Now the door has been opened between our families.

P.S. As I observe all this, I think Claude got off pretty easy! He did not have to bring baskets of food, negotiate a price, host more ceremonies.... But I think that over time he has certainly paid the price for his bride!

Aerate

2009-05-20T04:46:00.000-07:00

There is something about Burundian residential architecture that has often fascinated me - the open bricks at the roof-line of each room. These bricks appear in a variety of patterns that vary from home to home, and they are all screened to prevent unwanted things from entering the home (like bugs, I imagine). The purpose the open bricks - to aerate the home. These openings in each room keep air moving through the home at all times. Instead of air-conditioning, Burundian homes have air-circulating!

Last Saturday afternoon I noticed the movement of the air as I drifted into a welcomed nap. The air brought in more than just ventilation, it carried an aroma of the food being cooked in the house next door. I could smell the tomato, the spice, the sweet note of the sauce simmering over the charcoals. I could also hear the music playing from a few different homes at once - an African beat, some Fifty Cent and the ubiquitous Celine Dion all at once. It was a cacophony that was circulating around my room and interrupting my attempted afternoon sleep. But these openings are never shut, and so you are ever exposed to the sensation, sounds and smells of the outer world.

These openings are like portals to the neighborhood around me. I hear the favorite music of my neighbors. I know when they are cooking - from both the aroma wafting from their outdoor kitchen and the sound of clanking dishes. I hear, un-muted and un-muffled, the rooster chorus each morning, the workman constructing the wall next door with heavy-handed hammers, the laughter of friends in the cool, darkening evening. These openings keep me connected to my surroundings in a very unmediated way. I feel the very rhythm of my neighborhood, I experience it with my senses.

The structured openness of Burundian homes is something I am coming to enjoy. It is also something I am realizing I need to learn from. I need to have a practiced and perpetual openness to the world around me, to aerate my soul in ways that keep me immediately aware of my surroundings. It is easy to live behind locked windows, shuttered from the things that are around me. I can choose to shut out unwanted influences, or I can just become acclimated to living with the windows shut and not even notice how out of touch I am with my environment. I can miss opportunities or the voices of those in need can be muted, never gaining my attention. But I don't want to live a life that is closed off. I want a ventilated soul - open to the world around me. Now learning how to do this... that is something I will need to explore. But I want to be exposed, to be open, to not miss being where I am.

This Saturday, before the above mentioned nap, the family went to Bora Bora for a pizza lunch. They have a great thin-crusted pizza garnished with fresh basil that I love! But the view... stunning! And the air was certainly circulating, the breeze coming off of Lake Tanganyika. Life is good... so I want to remain open to receive and savor it!

One Week In

2009-05-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

We are one week in to our Burundian season as a family! This is the first photo of the kids back together after 2 months apart. They are adjusting quite nicely! Today we had a relaxed Saturday around the house. Claude and the kids relaxed in the front room together while I read upstairs. Later Claude and I sat on the porch discussing transformation, reformation and redemptive suffering over tea.

Then Aimable and Mutama helped prepare a little plot of dirt for the seeds I brought. Once the dirt was tilled, they decided it was too poor to plant anything. So they walked down the street, to a field where things were growing in abundance, and brought in bags of top soil one by one. The soil now was dark and rich - ready to receive the seeds! So carefully Aimable and Claude dropped the seeds into the ground in long lines. Rosemary, sage, arugula, parsley, basil, thyme and mint all have a place in the garden. Now I look at the square of soil with such glee and hope! Maybe in a few weeks I will begin to see sprouts of green herbage peek through...

Our friend Nicole dropped by to welcome me to town. We shared lunch then moved to the patio for conversation and cool beverages. It was nice to relax together and enjoy an unhurried afternoon of conversation. Claude is hosting another set of friends as we speak - it is now Saturday night, after all!

P.S. It has been raining on and off the past few days. One thing I have been reminded of is that when it rains, we often lose our internet connection. We were without it for the last 24 hours. So friends, if we do not respond to your email promptly - check the weather report, it might just be raining in Bujumbura!

Seeing Orange

2009-05-07T01:11:00.001-07:00

Claude found us a brilliant and vibrant house... it is orange! In Burundi this makes perfect sense and is part of the local aesthetic. I think it is so wonderful... this would never fly in many HOA's in the States, but here it is part of a colorful palette that makes our neighborhood pulse with life. I am posting a photo so you can share in the smile that crosses my face every time I turn the corner and see our home...

We have a patio that is well suited to morning tea, afternoon chats and evenings when you want to find the cool spot to recline. I am thinking this might be a favorite spot of mine...

I have previously mentioned that there some interesting things I was packing for Burundi, among them some decor items. And to honor the local protocol, I brought a picture of our president. Yesterday we had it framed and hung... and so we now have a proper African home! I was told today by a friend that there is already an Obama Shop in downtown Bujumbura - the proprietors changed the name of their store to honor Africa's most recent export! And I have already seen an Obama bus... that was a given, right! (For those who don't share Africa's affection and enthusiasm for the president, kindly refrain from comments on this post. I am sharing part of the story here as I experience it, so no need for debate. Thanks!)

We also are working on a few other rooms... living room and dining room among them. You know how pulling a home together is a work in progress, but we are taking strides.

This morning I enjoyed a few other favorite things I packed for the season in Burundi... I sat in the warming morning and enjoyed some rooibos tea sweetened with sugar in my orange mug. I am pages away from completing The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, a great book on confronting our inner creative battles. Not that I see life in Burundi as a battle (anymore!), but it is good to have some encouragement to not let Resistance keep me from fully engaging in my life, call and blessing here. "When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us... we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete." So I am sitting down to work - waiting for lightning to strike! Well, maybe not something that dramatic - but I am confident that faithful work will yield God-given fruit!

Packing List (a.k.a. All that I can't leave behind)

2009-04-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

This week is all about packing for Burundi. There are plenty of the predictable items - clothing, sundries, Emma's hearing aid supplies, batteries and my laptop. But tucked into my 5 suitcases are some unconventional tokens of home.

The one thing that I had to pack from my kitchen - my pepper mill (and an ample supply of peppercorns). After spending last summer in Bujumbura, I realized that fresh cracked pepper is an important seasoning for me, but not most Burundians. So this time I am coming prepared. And where there is pepper, there is also salt! I am packing four kinds of salt, a well-chosen gift from Heather Sunukjian. I am hoping for a well-seasoned table!

I also decided to take the advice of my friend, Laura Wilson, and pack some seeds to plant in our Burundian garden. I picked the herbs I can't imagine cooking without: basil, rosemary, parsley, thyme, mint, sage and arugula. Even if all the seeds don't yield the herbs, I imagine at least some will! So I am looking forward to learning how to tend a garden and then enjoy basil leaves torn over fresh tomatoes, mint in my cucumber salad, rosemary potatoes... And then there are some spices I am taking - smoked paprika and chili powder. Imagine the possibilities!

Carefully wrapped and tucked away in one suitcase are a few favorite icons. Madeleine L'Engle says that icons are like windows or reminders, and they always have been for me. Peter & Paul Embracing, St.John, John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ will create a small iconostasis somewhere in my Burundian home.

I also have rolled away a picture of President Obama. This is not meant to be a political show of support, but a way to engage Burundian decor protocol. It is customary to have a photo of the current president displayed in your home. The first time I traveled to Bujumbura there was a picture of President Buyoya, more recently the picture of the current President Nkurunziza. So our home will honor the dual citizenship of our family by displaying both the leader of Burundi and the United States.

Packed away amongst my suitcases are also a few things to make the mornings more bright: my Fiestaware sugar & creamer set, vibrant orange mugs, and an array of favorite teas.

The first is from my table in Arizona, a bit of home. The second is a cherished gift from Monique MacDonald that I will enjoy each time I make my morning tea. And then the tea... Moroccan Mint, Boh Golden Tea from Malaysia and Rooibos from South Africa, some favored varieties to enjoy in our new home.

But no packing list (of mine, anyway) would be complete without mention of books chosen for the journey. Last summer I posted the entire list of the 12 books I was taking for a 4 month stay. I will not list the 70+ I am taking for the next set of years... your welcome! But I will highlight a few... because they are part of my favorite things packed!

~ The commentary on Exodus by Umberto Cassuto - his work is like reading poetry as he unravels the truths of the Hebrew text of liberation, deliverance and hope - I cannot wait to read from cover to cover!

~ The Politics of Jesus by Yoder, recommended by Brandon, a friend and fellow expat living in Bujumbura. I am eager to think more deeply about how following Jesus might affect our engagement in public (even political) contexts.

~ Vulnerable Community recommended by Tim. This is addressing how theology needs disability to learn how to be fully human - to embrace vulnerability and engage in true community. I am intrigued...

~ The Wisdom of No Escape by Pema Chodron, recommended by Jen. Pema is a contemplative from the east who has offers vocabulary and insight about the inner journey. The title and strong recommendation tell me this might be timely for me!

~ The War of Art has been hailed a great read by Rob Bell... about the creative spirit, the process and all the resistance involved. Also sounds apropos.

~ Parables as Subversive Speech by Hertzog, recommended by Brian. Sounds like a text that will challenge how we engage the parables by understanding their subversive nature. Brian gave us a sample, and it thoroughly whet my appetite!

There are many other books. Commentaries on Genesis and Isaiah, another book on parables, the authority of the Bible, how to think about mission in the 21st century, collections of sermons from great preachers, on contemplative prayer and works on empire, powers and the Kingdom of God. Authors include N.T. Wright, Brueggemann, McLaren, Caputo, Perriman, Hirsch, Wink, Crossan, Borg, Padilla, Romero, Tutu... I am quite excited to unload them from duffle bags and place on our book shelves!

So that is a list of the things I cannot leave behind. There are flavors, simple comforts, visual pieces and cerebral stimulation - alongside the things we need to function day to day. I find packing to be such an interesting process because it is an exercise in evaluation of what things nourish and engage us, at some level. That I take toothpaste, AAA batteries or gold t-strap sandals is not interesting, but maybe it says something that somewhere tucked in a corner of one of my many suitcases is a packet of mint seeds.

Readiness

2009-04-17T16:39:00.001-07:00

In less than two weeks Emma and I will join Claude and Justin in Burundi. For weeks now, Emma has been waking each morning asking if today was the day we were flying to 'Rundi. Now even I am more and more likely to be found counting the days left on the calendar... eager to segue out of transition into the next season overseas! Readiness is brooding in our little one-room casita!

But it wasn't alway so, as many of my friends know. I was filled with hesitation and resistance about a long-term relocation to Burundi. Even as we made the decision, prepared our things for storage and moved out of our home, I remained far from ready. My head was in agreement that this was a good thing to do, for so many reasons. But my heart remained so attached to things here, and unready to relinquish them, even for the best of reasons.

Then came Lent. Ash Wednesday was a turning point for me. I decided to fast from complaints about Burundi for Lent, realizing how often I complained about things there, dreading the move. I selected this fast from complaint in the hope that God would reshape something in my heart, that maybe if I quieted my own negative opinions that He would have more freedom to renovate my internal environment. So I went to the Catholic cathedral down the street for Ash Wednesday mass. The cathedral is under construction - so the exterior is done and beautiful, and internal walls are painted rich, saturated colors, but the rest is undone. There is no gold-gilded altar, no icons, no grotto crowded with votive candles, the dome has no mosaic yet... in process. And somehow I felt so at home as I walked in and dipped my fingers into the basin of the holy water... because I recognized that I, too, was under construction. From the first psalm we sang to the last prayer we prayed (The Lord's prayer), during the imposition of ashes and slow procession toward the communion table, I wept. Something in me broke, and it was a good, clean break that left me feeling open. I emerged from the service with tear-stained cheeks, and have not complained about Burundi since. I have not even wanted to... it is like the complaints just evaporated amid that service.

So Lent for me, this time, has not been a burden of fasting but a freedom to embrace something new God is doing. I have never had a Lenten season with so much levity! So resistance that once had residence in my heart is gone - I am so ready to travel to Burundi. I am eager to see what is ahead - could be new friends, time for reading and reflection, ways to serve others, ways to love my family deeper... all or none or more than the above. But the good news is that I come ready and without heaviness. I am grateful that for now, I can travel with joy.

Often times we do not have enough resources or personal readiness to follow to the places Jesus invites us to travel. I am learning to admit that truth, and then surrender to the One who has unlimited resources. He is committed to completing the good work He began in me, so in due season He delivers the needed readiness for the road ahead. I can witness to that... He supplies a readiness that frees us to move forward with Him.

Did I mention that we are so very ready to go to Burundi?

Sweet Home, Arizona

2008-09-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

We arrived home last night, and we were welcomed by the characteristic heat of Arizona. We were also greeted by my parents and our dear friend, Bob. We were delighted by their enthusiastic reception... and the kids were over the moon with excitement! Once home, we were treated to even more gracious hospitality as friends (and some family) prepared the house with favorite treats, fresh flowers, sharpened knives (for some chopping fun to be had later...) and a spotless home. What a wonderful homecoming...

We slept well, as you can imagine. We woke happy. We are already looking ahead to some Fall opportunities. We do not have all our luggage (it got lost in transit when we were re-routed in London...) but we have what we most need - a safe arrival home.

Thank you for your friendship along the long summer months. We are eager for Fall - for the new things God is doing in this season. This blog will be on hiatus... until there is more to report or another journey to be ventured.

Amahoro!

In Transit

2008-09-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

As of today, we are officially in transit! We have packed our bags (a few less for the trip home), tucked away a few Burundian treats and readied ourselves for the hours in planes and airports.

Justin and Emma have been ready for days. They are excited to see Grandpa and Grandma, to enjoy a cheeseburger from McDonald's, to have mama's mac n' cheese, and to return to school.

They were excited to come to Africa and now they are excited to come home - how wonderfully resilient they are!

Claude and I are ready to move into the next chapter, the next season of life back in Arizona.

There will be plenty of travel, visits with friends, on-going work with Africa's brightest leaders and more trips to the continent in our future. But for now, we will be glad to return to our home base and reconnect with friends.

Thank you for being such faithful friends to us this summer. We will thank many of you in person sometime soon!

See you soon!

Here comes the sun...

2008-08-25T00:19:00.001-07:00

There is something so satisfying about watching your family have some fun in the sun - on any continent! So once again, we spent a Saturday on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. Claude had the kids stretch out before plunging in the water. Then he cradled each one in his arms and waded in deep for some cool, wet playtime in the water. But after an hour of playing and laughing... they got a bit tired. So they took a rest - on the sand, within the reach of the waves lapping the shoreline. It doesn't get much better than this! Guess what we are doing next Saturday? Right - soaking in the Burundian sun one last time before heading back to Arizona.

Sharing Space

2008-08-22T08:50:00.001-07:00

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!

The Making of...

2008-08-20T06:40:00.001-07:00

Today we filmed a video on building cross-cultural friendships. We began at the edge of Lake Tanganyika, one of our favorite places. In the early morning the beach is still, no wind and no noise... only the gentle lapping of water onto the shore. Perfect conditions for a conversation on friendship! So we, along with our friends Ron & Sarah, began the morning on film. Oh - and a camera man and a sound guy!

But the video contains a story, and telling that story took us back to the Batwa village of Bubanza. Here, we witnessed the making of the signature pots the Batwa are known for country wide. We filmed, we watched, we learned and we were amazed at the skills of the Batwa people. Here is a bit of what we saw today...

Ron & Sarah going over the script while the film guys prepare for the set.

Ron & Claude laugh as they wait to film another shot.

The women at Bubanza making pots together.

Women preparing the fire for the pots.

The pots are buried beneath the fire.

A finished pot is proudly carried...

... to a new friend.

Mwaro, part three

2008-08-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

I did not feel done yet! So here are a few final photos to tell the story of a great day!

Claude and his uncle, reunited again.

Claude says it tastes like potato, but better...

I had to show you bebe-

She is precious, you have to agree!

Good bye, until next year!

Mwaro, part two

2008-08-19T11:44:00.001-07:00

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.

It was very sweet, and one sip was ample to satiate both my curiosity and my obligation to be a gracious guest. Then came potatoes and beans, corn, other local root vegetables that Claude was eager to taste again, like favorite comfort foods from his childhood. There was much laughter and generosity around the table, as about 15+ of us gathered round for the reunion.
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.

One of our uncles (I think, but a relative nonetheless) brought out well-worn photos. We saw Claude at age 12 with his younger brother, we saw our Aunt Leonie when she was younger and sporting a stunning afro, we saw Claude's parents when they were in their 20's... and it felt like any family gathering anywhere! You share pictures, you have a deep laugh, you embarrass the younger ones with the infamous 'naked photos' from their baby years... and have another round of laughter. It was so beautiful being in their company again.
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.

Mwaro, part one

2008-08-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

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 wonderful surprise was that the governor accepted our invitation for lunch! She cleared her calendar and shared an unhurried meal with us at the restaurant down the street. She was so gracious with us. I felt like Mwaro is in good hands with this woman watching over the province, wanting to enrich the lives of her residents. She dreams of a university (next to our land), an internet cafe, a culinary school (seriously), and vocational schools. She celebrated the completion of 3 bridges in the province ( thanks to some additional funding from the US Ambassador). She wants to see progress... and so do we. (to be continued...)

Good Vibrations

2008-08-17T05:47:00.000-07:00

My friends + my kids = a good combination. Yesterday we all piled into the van and drove to Saga Plage, a local beach on Lake Tanganyika. Claude ordered us an amazing shoreside lunch and we enjoyed the cool breeze and stunning view. After lunch, my friends (Christy, Ron and Sarah) took Justin & Emma into the water for some beach fun. (The choppy waters were a good sign - crocodiles usually stay away when the water is choppy.) They were such good sports - taking the kids in the cold water, getting more wet than they planned and laughing the entire time. Christy helped the kids get their feet wet - first cautious steps into the water. Then Ron came and lured them into deeper waters to hit some crashing waves and really experience the waters force. Sarah was not far behind - keeping the kids laughing as she held hands and even swung them over the waves. After nearly an hour of water play - I think everyone was ready for a break!

Then we shared in a moment of Africana... the egg vendors. All around town you see young boys carrying egg crates on their head. It is portable protein, these hard-boiled eggs they pedal. But after playing in the water, Justin had (again) worked up and appetite. He saw a vendor - they are even active on the beach - and was eyeing the eggs. So Claude thought it would be fun to give them this truly African experience. So he whistled for the young boy to come over, selected an egg... and then cracked it on the boys head! Seriously! He laughed, the boy laughed... this is how you are meant to crack the egg. So then they boy pulled out a salt shaker, so once Claude had peeled the egg he could properly season it. This exchange cost us about 20 cents. Justin took one bite of the egg and decided against eating it. But Emma savored her bite, and then enjoyed the entire egg all by herself! So there is a slice of Africana for you!

Christy & Emma

Justin clinging to Ron.

The girls... Sarah, Emma & Christy.

Ron & Sarah swing Justin over the waves.

Justin always has a smile to share...

Olympic Moments

2008-08-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

I am not a sport fan, but I am an avid Olympic fan. Summer games, Winter games - I'm in! And I watch most all of it. So it is very different being in Burundi while the Beijing Games are happening. Now, I will confess, my enthusiasm this time around is muted by the host country. I am not a fan of China as the host for these international games of fair play, for many obvious reasons. Chief among them, I don't believe they are playing fair - did you see their female gymnasts? But I digress...

Watching the games here is different than the US-centered coverage we get back home. Today is a good example of Olympic coverage in Francophone Africa. The US vs. Greece in basketball or France vs. Croatia in handball? How about 10 minutes of basketball and 40+ minutes of handball... that was painful. I would much rather watch our all-stars play an impressive game of basketball. What is handball anyways - soccer with your hands? But we have French coverage, so France playing handball wins the day. (I did not pay attention enough to know if they won the game...)

This is played out again in a sport I care a bit more about - tennis. So there is a match pairing James Blake (US) and Roger Federer. Now I admit Federer has been in a slump in recent competitions. But I was pretty jazzed (yes, that is the right word for my state of mind) to watch him play. He is simply one of the most elegant players on the court, and I was eager to see him win - even over my fellow countryman. (This is the Olympics, I can pull for the international guy, right?) But we got scant coverage - of Roger Federer!!! Why? Because a Frenchman was playing... so instead I watched Gael Monfils and Novak Djokovic with attention, but less affection.

I am so glad to be able to watch the games, in any language, for a few hours a day. It is a luxury I did not expect to have, frankly. So I am glad to watch, to cheer, to celebrate athletic accomplishments in all manner of sports. But you need to know that our coverage back home is skewed to our American audience. It is obvious, but sometimes I think we take it for granted until we are out of our zone and see the games from another vantage point. I still contend that American basketball is more fun than handball, any day. And... I wish I could have seen Federer grace the court. But maybe tomorrow I can watch Michael Phelps claim another gold!

Pivot Point

2008-08-12T02:54:00.000-07:00

This has been a week of shifting, moving from the long months of summer and toward the coming of fall. In our house, things have begun to face homeward. This became most evident as the first to depart from our Burundian homestead prepared for her departure last week.

Grace packed her suitcases and said her good byes, and we shed a few tears as we drove out to the airport last Thursday. But she missed her flight. Let's just say that the third time is a charm, and this morning Grace is flying home to Arizona. She is headed into a new season which will include college life, independent living and fresh eyes to engage her world. I trust she will return with an African glow as she faces her bright future which begins on the ASU campus. But we already miss her!

Now we shift to a new normal, as we are one man down, as it were. Grace's departure signaled what we all knew to be inevitable - that summer would come to an end and we would soon be packing, planning and pressing toward home ourselves. We are merely weeks away from traveling back, 2 weeks for Ron & Sarah and 3 weeks for the Nikondeha clan.

Now we begin to consider home and what (and who!) we are returning to in Arizona. I am beginning to feel ready for the return. A land where road rules matter, where ice cubes are commonplace in your Diet Coke and you can look forward to ice cream at the end of each day (if you so choose, and I often do!). A place where I understand the culture, the language and the clock is an agreed upon standard for determining time. I confess, I am eager to return to the grocery store, my kitchen and reclaim my cutting boards.

I think one of the first things I want to do is pull out my knives and begin to chop - anything. I miss the rhythm of chopping parsley, mincing garlic, snipping chives, plucking basil leaves for a batch of fresh pesto. Deep breath ( I still have 3 weeks to go...). But seriously, can you imagine a summer without a single batch of pesto? And extra virgin olive oil, fresh ground pepper and Maldon sea salt - oh, that flakey goodness! Yes, I am looking forward to my culinary homecoming, to be sure.

Now I have been blessed with friends who have been avid correspondents while I have been abroad in Africa. In one way, they have not allowed me to feel lonely or out of the loop on life back home. What a luxury to have such faithful friends to walk through this season with me, not letting me out of the reach of their love and laughter. Some have even been doing my chores for me - bringing in my mail, depositing checks in the bank, watering my trees and pruning my plants. What a windfall of extraordinary friends... I have been lavished with love and humbled by their myriad of kindness to me here and at home. But I miss being able to hug my friends, to drop by unannounced with a mocha or meet for a quick lunch (or a long one, honestly). So I am eager to return to friends unmediated by technology... so I will be wanting hugs from all of you when I do get stateside!

So I feel like I am at a pivot point - starting to prepare for home. I am not homesick, as life here in Bujumbura is good. But I will be ready to welcome home when Sept comes. I know I will return to a new normal... and get to discover afresh what my life will be like in this new fall season. I am eager to embrace the newness.

P.S. The first item on my home improvement list: Obama sign in the front yard.

Month End

2008-08-06T10:53:00.001-07:00

Another month has come and gone. July was a full month for me, and I tried my best to document the high notes along the way. But this is a summary of July's movements:

I traveled to Uganda for the first Amahoro Institute. There I met up with friends from the States, friends from Kampala and some new friends from Kampala. The time was joyful, spirited, challenging and enriching. One particular good thing for me... english speaking country, no translation necessary!
Once back in Burundi, we hosted the second Amahoro Institute here in Bujumbura. Since it is a French speaking country, Claude took the lead. Another friend from the States traveled to participate in this time of conversation. This friend came bearing gifts, and I am thankful for the reading material to keep me fueled up for the rest of the summer!
Then on the heels of one conversation I sprang into another. I flew to South Africa for the third (and final) Amahoro Institute. This was a bit more of a stretch for me, as my flight path took me through Ethiopia... Yes, and I had to spend the night there alone. I was a bit frayed by the experience, and shed a few tears that first night while in transit, alone in a small guest room in the middle of an unfamiliar city. But, with several delays and such, I did make it to Cape Town after 30+ hours in transit! I was in constant awe of the stunning beauty of Cape Town and Stellenbosch. I was among dear friends from start to finish (including a friend who flew from Geneva to be part of the fun). The conversation was wonderful, with such honesty from the start. And then there was some sight seeing - downtown Cape Town, Robben Island and other aspects of the city. I can say that Cape Town was the most amazing place I have ever been, seriously. I will return again, and encourage you to consider a trip to South Africa!
We continue to work with our Batwa friends. We now have an NGO officially registered in Burundi. It is called Community for Burundi, and is in partnership with our friends in TX. We are still looking for the right land for the community development project. But things with the committee are moving forward as we learn to work together and trust one another's intentions. We are with some amazing leaders who love their people.
We attended a Batwa wedding of 153 couples - which is a huge step for the Batwa in both official recognition and reclaiming the marriage tradition. They were so excited and we were honored to be part of the celebration.
We have a new house mate... Christy Jones joined us earlier in the month and is working on the Batwa project as well as assisting another NGO on the side. She will be in Bujumbura for 9 months... a long haul!
Grace is flying home this week, and we will miss her sweet presence in our home. She is returning to attend ASU. But Africa agrees with her, and I have a feeling she will travel back here in seasons to come. We have a few more days with her... and we plan to savor them!
Justin now tells me he know french very well... because he has been attending a french-speaking school all month. I think he has his papa's linguistic abilities! Emma's hearing aid has not been working consistently, so gaining a new language has not been for her this tie around. But she remains joyful, unflappable and spirited as ever. The kids squeal with delight when they see Uncle Cadeau come in the morning, when they see Senge Leonie come at the end of the day, when Senge Anna greets them after school and when Erique opens the big gate...Claude says this is not typical for Burundian kids! But I love their excitement - their life is full of friends and family who care for them and give them reason to shout with joy!
Claude celebrated another birthday with quite a birthday bash! Joseph cooked the most amazing feast ever. There was music, dancing, laughing and jokes in different languages.

Well, it was a busy month when you put it all together like that! It was full and good and now you know why I want to rest! But since this is our last month here, I don't see rest as a huge family priority!

A Community Wedding

2008-08-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

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.

We arrived, driving under a flowered garland arch, to the square government building. We were greeted by singing and dancing, as if we were the honored guests! But we have grown fond of their joyful hospitality, so we sway with their songs, stomping feet and whistles. But then we want to move into the building and see what is afoot. We enter the large room and find all 153 couples crammed in this room, moving two by two as they processed forward to sign their official marriage documents. After the signing and fingerprinting (part of the Burundian civil process of documentation) comes the picture taking. And so everyone wants to have their picture taken with the President. (President Nkurunziza is framed, set on a chair draped with the Burundian flag, this is the backdrop of choice!)
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.

Another interesting thing to note is that 100 of the couples were already living together, already with children. Some are pregnant, many had their babies strapped to their back! There were even a few grandmothers who were, for the day, blushing brides!
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.

When he pointed me out as his wife, the couples in the back stood up to see me. I guess a muzungu wife is still a novelty! These friends wanted us in their wedding pictures... which made us all laugh. But I guess that is something distinctive, having white guests at your wedding. Glad we could oblige... maybe it was our small way of participating in this amazing day! Congratulations to all the happy couples!

African all the way...

2008-08-03T05:49:00.001-07:00

One of the great joys of the Amahoro Institute in South Africa is that all the teachers were African! It was a great delight to be taught by friends and scholars from the African continent, with no need to bring in outside teaching assistance. So we were really given a teaching experience that mirrored the cultural background of the group gathered - no translation or explanations necessary! Marius Brand coordinated the event from start to finish, and he was the one who recruited the teaching team from this event. Many thanks to Marius for all his hard work in pulling together such a great group of both instructors and participants!

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.

This is one of the highlights from this Institute - one fully operated by our African friends. For Claude and I, this is the ultimate dream for all the Amahoro Institutes in the future, that Africans are the primary instructors and leaders of these learning sessions. We know that there is a depth of knowledge, wisdom and contextual understanding among our African friends that can be a great blessing to their fellow Africans. So we are eager to create space for Africans to teach and learn together, and try our best to not get in the way! We are already gleaning lessons learned from these African instructors (as well as those from Burundi and Uganda) and plan to shape the Amahoro Institute accordingly next season. But I will always remember South African with a particular fondness, as they are the first to have an all African teaching team, demonstrating that they can instruct within their context with great depth, dexterity and wit!

Birthday Bash

2008-08-03T05:25:00.000-07:00

Claude celebrated his birthday on Friday night with a roof-top party! There were 25+ friends (Burundian, American and one Canadian) to share in the festivities. Joseph cooked a Burundian feast, Sarah contributed the hip hop tunes and our friends (especially Ron and Alice) brought some dance flare to the floor! It was a good time to relax, laugh and celebrate a good man! Here are a few snapshots...

Common Currency

2008-07-31T05:11:00.000-07:00

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.

When we gathered together for the South African Institute on the first winter evening, we each came with currency in our pockets. Not rand or dollars, but the currency of our own unique story. We each hold this currency very close to our heart, and we are careful how we exchange it and with whom. Our story, and as a result how we see the world, is of utmost value and something we are not eager to squander. There is a fair bit of discernment that happens internally before we share the most true and treasured parts of our story. No one wants to show their local currency and then get a bad exchange rate, and therefore have their own currency devalued. So when we first arrived to this new place and encountered this new place, we have to determine how to engage in the dance of the exchange rate.

We all were gathered by our mutual friend, Marius Brand. There is some safety in knowing him as a fixed point in our fluctuating market. We also could guess that everyone convened cared about the future of the new South Africa and believed that Jesus has something to say on that type of transformation. But we were an extremely diverse group, as I looked around the circle. English and Afrikaans, Colored, Xhosa, Zulu, Xhoi Xhoi and a couple of Americans.

What are the chances that the exchange rate among us would be good, that there would be ample stability for good interactions? Would some trade high and others walk away with less?

This is the risk of true conversation, when we all have our currency in our pocket and make those decisions about how volatile we perceive the market to be.

So we began... Marius offering a word of welcome and I offering a word of context. Next was a good conversation about... conversation. How do we encounter others, how do we determine who we are with and what we assume about them? What happens within us, each one of us, that allow us to share or withhold, to trust others or remain slightly suspicious. And then he laid down the gantlet, he challenged us each to verbalize our own biases, as we looked around the room. He asked us, in reality, to confess the things that might hinder us in connecting with the others gathered around the circle. You can only imagine the thick silence, as we all held our currency in our hands, buried in our pockets. Will I be brave enough to say what I fear, what I assume about you, what fear that you will assume about me?

An amazing thing happened... one man did. He pulled out the currency in his hand and showed it to us. He told us a deeply true nugget of his story, revealing who he understood himself to be in the South African context. And he shared how hard it would be if we were unable to validate this part of himself. And everyone listened intently. And then another one shared. Then another shared. And then... all 25 of us had shared our biases, our fears, our stories. And we discovered there was this common currency between us, a currency that had shared value where none was diminished. None of us left that room getting the sorry end of the exchange rate, as a matter of fact I think we each traded high. I think when we were each brave enough to share our personal currency, our story, with the others we left with an empty pocket and a full heart.

This first night we arrived with our currency and made the necessary exchange. And we found that with the stellar exchange rate that night, we had more than enough for the conversations to come in the days ahead. We cut through superficiality and went to substance, and that held true for the entire time we shared together. This common currency created a rich environment for us to be our most honest selves with one another. We could be open about where we came from, how we see the world, why we misunderstand each other's world... and find ways to connect with one another based on this common currency. I often marveled a the truth-telling and honesty I witnessed that first night in South Africa. Imagine the friendships that grow from such a night?

Stark Contrast

2008-07-30T00:44:00.000-07:00

The challenge is to try and put my South African impressions into words, because word are like containers that are just too small to capture or reflect the true experience of this massive and majestic place. But some initial words that came to mind were stunning, beautiful, vivid with color, a land of stark contrast, textured culture and a layered history that adds to the utter complexity of South Africa and the road before her and her people.

South Africa is unlike the Africa I know, and by that I mean it does not bear much resemblance to East Africa at all. It is as if a western country grew up on the tip of the African continent. While in Cape Town I often felt like I could easily be in a coastal town in California with all the malls, highways, and all manner of modern conveniences. The city boasts of a rich history with relics from the original Dutch traders who first settled there, the English who later would colonize the land (and her people), even a WW1 memorial can be found in the heart of the city - showing their one-time connection to the Crown. There are grand buildings throughout the city: Their State House (where you've seen Mandela greet many a foreign leader and celebrity, alike), The Parliament Building, The National Art Gallery and old Slave Lodge (now another art gallery). So as I said, I often forgot that I was in Africa. I have yet to see a city in Africa with this level of development, honestly.

But this is not the entire story, of coarse. Because I have yet to share about my travels into and around the townships. This provoked an utterly different emotion, one that can best be described as heart-wrenching. The townships are often just out of sight, easy to miss if your eyes are on the road and do not veer. Many seem to be miles away, conveniently distant from the daily life of the city. This was the doing of Apartheid, keeping the Coloreds and Blacks out of sight. But even today, even in the new South Africa, you can steer clear of the townships and never truly see how your fellow countrymen live. But to see them is to be confronted with a harsh reality - the living conditions of the Blacks have not changed since the dark days of Apartheid. The townships are strings of shacks and shanties, each leaning on another made of corrugated steel remnants or wood or (if you are lucky) some cinderblock. They are small living spaces (though not livable, by humane standards), crowded together, susceptible to flooding and fires. When the winter rains come, it is usual for 30,000 people to be displaced - each rainy season of each year. The security is so bad in the townships that residents padlock themselves in their shacks at night. In all of East Africa I never have seen such depravity.

The end of Apartheid ushered in 'one man, one vote' for the emerging democracy of South Africa. Now Blacks and Coloreds can move about their own country without passbooks or obeying the rigid dictates of curfew every night. So there is greater freedom for all, true. But when you witness the living conditions of the townships you see that little has changed in their day to day life, and that can give rise to great frustration as the injustices of Apartheid continue to plague them. South Africa is not done dealing with the past, not done bringing justice to all those on the edges of society, not done with the hard work of divesting privilege and wealth in order to create a more viable community for all South Africans. This country has had one miracle (as they refer to 1994's violence-free election), but is in need of many more miraculous moments to bring true wholeness to all. But this is work that God cares about - restoration, reconciliation, the building of viable communities for the well-being of all. So we can have hope that God is working on the ground in South Africa. I had the deep honor of meeting many such leaders who are part of that hope-filled work (more on them later!). But we all have reason to continue to pray for the future of those in South Africa.

Stark contrast is the phrase that most describes my impression of South Africa. You have breath-taking beauty and heart-wrenching poverty. You have generations of wealth alongside generations of injustice. There are modern cities a short drive from sub-standard housing areas. I was staying in Stellenbosch, the wine country of South Africa, in a charming guest room of dear friends where I was warm and well-fed. But on the drive to the airport we passed the Cape Flats, where the morning's rain was a harbinger of another displacement to come. I found myself vacillating between awe and angst during my visit, the dissonance of this place hitting me full force and often. This is a lot for a heart to hold, the tensions of this majestic and marred land. But I will return here many more times, as South Africa and my friends here have made an indelible mark on my heart.

Some signs...as promised

2008-07-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

You cannot read this without laughing... it only makes sense in South Africa!

It is a sad commentary that this needs to be said, but in this context I am glad that these coffee shop owners made it clear... xenophobia is not part of the new South Africa.

This seems to be true all over Africa, from Uganda to Rwanda and all the way to South Africa... Obama is taking the continent (at least) by storm! I also noticed Obama shirts, buttons and stickers all over, worn by African and expat alike! There seems to be an excitement growing.

Sights & Signs in South Africa

2008-07-28T09:14:00.001-07:00

I cannot do South Africa justice in a blog post or even a series of posts. The country is just too stunning, to amazing, to rich to reduce to words. But you know I will try to convey some of what I saw, felt and learned while in the New South Africa this past week. A few photos to start... because after 2 full days in transit I really need some sleep!

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.

Friendly Photos

2008-07-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

You might recall that we are not traveling or living alone in Burundi this summer. I want to share just a few snapshots of the friends who are with us for this summer's African Adventure. My time would certainly be less without their humor, intelligence, compassion and over-all good natured approach to everyday life as expats! We are living and learning together - a deep and sweet pleasure, indeed.

By best friend, on any continent and in any season.

Becca (visiting for the week), Grace (here for the summer) & Christy (here for 9 months).

Ron & Sarah - working, laughing and loving their way through their Burundian summer.

Grace and Sarah - don't let the smiles fool you, they are ruthless scrabble competitors!

Ron is sharing with our Batwa friends - in Kirundi!

Claude seems to get a kick out of his accent, I'm guessing!

There is something sweet and formative about taking your friendships on the road. There is no hiding your flaws, your down swings, your utter silliness and odd senses of humor. But then there are all the delightful surprises of life together - helping with projects, offering the right word at the right time, being able to find a listening ear the moment you need one, learning new things together that will change you forever. I believe we are only going deeper together, deeper as friends of one another and deeper in our friendship with Jesus thanks to our shared summer. I am so thankful for these dear friends!

A New Economy

2008-07-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

There is no Biblical scholar who has taught me more, pushed me harder, stretched my imagination further or drove me deeper into Truth than Walter Brueggeman. A student and scholar of the Old Testament, he is relentlessly committed to the truths on display at every turn of the page and at every corner. He does not back down. He is like the prophets he exegetes, in many ways. You may not like the truth, but it will not move to suit you because it is not up for your negotiation. So there are hard, beautiful, awe-inspiring truths to learn, and none better to learn from than him.

Today I downloaded a recent sermon that he preached at Mars Hill Church in Michigan (available on itunes). I was, yet again, taught and pushed and stretched and reduced to tears. Truth tends to provoke tears in me, and so this is no surprise that I would react this way!

Brueggeman spoke of the failed economy and God's vision for a new economy. Was he referring to Fannie May and Freddie Mac or Jerusalem? Yes. He was sharing that these economies are broken and in need of fresh imagination to reshape them. And he recites Isaiah... who seems to think that God cares about economics in the city. Yes, God cares about worship. But do we recall that He also cares about justice in the city, inclusive neighborliness on our streets and generous economics in the urban areas? If we worship a god who does not care about economics - then our god is too small, and we may find he is not the great God of the Bible. As I said, you will be pushed and stretched.

It brings me back to the Batwa. Justice, neighborliness and economics for the Batwa communities of Burundi, this matters to God. Advocating for their education, negotiating better land for their future, creating a space for their voice to be heard by those in power - these are activities that I believe God blesses, endorses and even rejoices over. Learning to be loving neighbors to the Batwa is part of following Jesus in Burundi, at least for me.

All this to say that an Old Testament scholar has deeply encouraged me and wrung more tear out of me, again. Economics matter to the Batwa, to Isaiah and... to God. Therefore, economics matter to me. Once we are stretched in such ways we really cannot go back to our former shape... Sigh.

New place, same hardship

2008-07-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday we ventured to visit our Batwa friends again. They have moved, just a few days ago, to the next pot of land the government has designated for them. This is not a gift, it is temporal.

For a month they have been clearing a land and preparing to build new shelters. They finally made the move. The land is dry. They are far from water, far from the elementary school and far from the road to work. It is quite a miserable situation.
We traveled there with Liberate and Sibitwa. You might recall that Liberate is a minister in the government and Sibitwa is the oldest (therefore the most respected) Twa in Burundi. Both are members of our committee for the community development project. They barely made their way up the hillside before they got the news... The Batwa have already been told to move again. They just are moving in, still building some places to sleep. Yet they have already been told to dismantle their structure and move over the hill, to the backside where others won't be able to see them. There is another poor piece of land for them to clear... and no promise of any longevity. The Batwa have no recourse. They lament. But when we all arrive, they move from the deep sighs of hardship and break into the dance of hospitality. Even amid their pain, they stop to welcome us, to clap, sing, and dance.
Here our friend, Terry, gets close with one of the youngest Twa friends. The mamas seem so tickled by his interest and tenderness. After feeling so much disregard and disrespect by their government and countrymen - this simple kindness must feel revolutionary. Someone came to visit us, to see us... and he sat with us and laughed with our children and connected with us as people, as friends. Sometimes the very simple things restore dignity.

Pray for our Batwa friends as they remain in a very hard place. Pray that soon there will be land, longevity, home. We are working with the committee, with local leadership.... but we will need God's presence with us to see a better future come to these friends.

Soul Food

2008-07-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

Terry arrived yesterday, along with his colleague, Becka, from New Jersey. And along with his Sabbath-presence, he brought me some soul food for my remaining weeks here! I am deeply grateful for the contemplative texts... a much needed corrective for my overly analytical, too-often judgmental and linear thinking. If I am to hold Burundi in my heart, I certainly need to allow God to create a deeper and larger space in me for His work to have ample room. So I have to say a huge THANK YOU to Terry for packing some extra baggage on my account! (As a fellow lover of the Almond M&M's, he really sweetened the deal by bringing a few bags along with the books!)

Blessings abound in Burundi! We begin the second Amahoro Institute here in Bujumbura tomorrow evening. Terry will be one of the instructors for this conversation, and Becka will be filming some stories from Burundi to share back home. As for today... we travel together to Bubanza to visit our Batwa friends. Our entire household will be along for the ride. So more joy as we connect friends with other friends... not a bad way to spend a Sunday!

Oh - and today is Justin & Emma's 3rd Adoption Day!!! It was three years ago today that I landed in Bujumbura and our family was finally together. So we will celebrate God's goodness to us as a family. Adoption is a deep blessing.

Batwa Students, in their own words

2008-07-11T23:51:00.000-07:00

These are the stories of two Batwa secondary students we recently filmed. As you can see, it can take many years for students to matriculate, and so while they look older they really are in high school. We filmed several students, but these two stories captivated me. We take going to school for granted - free education, ample food to sustain us, parents to encourage us. But these students have little of what we would consider basic necessities when they consider school. We are hoping to help 40 secondary students this September... We are trying to assist them in raising funds for school fees, uniforms, books, etc. But we are also hoping to rent some homes where they can live together and have the support of some adults, from one another, as well as access to electricity so they can study and food to fill their stomachs.

So let me introduce Jean Baptiste and Diana. Claude translated their stories for me, and I pass that on to you.

John Baptiste

What is surprising is that the Batwa students are always among the first in school, top of their class. They work hard to overcome their difficulties. So the question is why don't we stay in school? The answer: we come from very poor families. It is hard to get enough money for school fees, books and food. Then you come home after school, there is no food to eat. And even when you get books, keeping them dry becomes a problem in this situation. We grew up seeing our parents make pots and sell them for a living but today you just can't sell pots in a world where China has invaded us with cheap plastic pots. We have no market for our pots and therefore no future for our parents, no future for us.

So the idea of having home for the Batwa students where we could live and be supported is like a dream to me. In September the school year will begin, but we don't see were the school books will come from, or the uniforms to wear to school or the money for the school fees... When I talk with fellow Batwa students, my friends, I hear them say "The way things look at home right now, I don't think I will be in school this coming year."

So my request to you, friends, is that you help us if you can. We need books, school fees, uniforms and, if possible, housing for the students. I really think a home for us would be vital because not only will we be together to support each other but we would have you who love us. We will have food - because it is hard to go to school if you haven't eaten for 3 days.

Diana

What I share is the challenge that Batwa women students face. Because of the extreme poverty, we are pressured to get married and start a family instead of going to school. Going to a husband becomes the solution that our parents have for us as women. So as much as you want to go to school, as much as you realize that education is your way out, the pressure from home and neighbors is so strong that more and more women decide to give up. We try to teach others and encourage them to stay in school but when you hear some of their stories, it is hard to know what else to do. We need your help.

Emma & Justin are checking in...

2008-07-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since you've seen these smiles! But Justin and Emma are well. They are in a new school, now beginning to learn french. They are on their way to becoming multi-lingual like Claude. They are still enjoying having all sorts of friends and family around. Justin is enjoying getting to know his Uncle Cadeau (Claude's youngest brother) and Emma remains loyal to Senge Leonie (Claude's aunt). It is so fun to see them make this family connections. It is equally wonderful to see them steeped in their culture, to begin to take in what it is to be born Burundian. Emma is learning to dance a traditional dance. Justin is working on his kirundi. They are engaging their culture and appear to be savoring every minute! Other than a few scrapes here and there, they have remained completely healthy. As a matter of fact, Justin is actually putting on weight! So Justin and Emma are thriving in Burundi.

Landless

2008-07-10T02:58:00.000-07:00

In America we are familiar, we think, with the plight of the homeless. In Burundi, the most extreme form of dislocation is to be landless. When you are without land you are, by most local estimations, without hope. No land means that there is none in your family that will pass down to you or that you can share in. When you are in this unfortunate disposition, you have no place to build a home, no plot of soil to plant-grow-harvest food, no parcel to designate for a cash crop to support your family, no inheritance for your children. You are at the mercy of society, at the mercy of strangers and at the mercy of the seasons (be it rain, scorching heat, or other natural conditions).

Here, to be landless is to be dispossessed. What future can be imagined apart from land, from a place to be rooted? You take the land you can get your hands on - as a tenant farmer with little reward and not enough food for your family. Or maybe you wander the streets of the city looking for some work, maybe you serve in someone else's home to provide enough money to feed your children. If you are like the Batwa people, maybe the government gives you some sterile piece of land to inhabit - temporarily.

Our Batwa friends in Bubanza live on such a piece of land. It is dry as a bone, far from any water source, hanging on the side of a road. They are but temporary residents here, so all structures are provisional, at best. No infrastructure can be invested in land that is not yours to develop. How can you be settled? How can you plan for a future from this place? (This is a rhetorical question, because to walk this village you know that a future is no where in sight.)

Israel was deeply connected to the land. (If you are in doubt, read Walter Brueggeman's eloquent and insightful book The Land.) They were people connected to a place, it was a definitive feature of their self-understanding. The period of wandering in the desert was an arid season for the Hebrews in large part because they were landless. They were wandering, disconnected, without a place, nomads getting nowhere fast. Their hope was in God's word, His promise of... land. So while they were often disoriented and in despair, they could cling to the hoped-for Promised Land. From the desert there were moments of clarity... vistas that opened their eyes to the land that would be theirs someday. They did have a future, if only they could reach the Promised Land.

As I consider the importance of land to a Burundian, it is so similar to Israel's own need to be grounded, to have a physical place to cultivate a future. Our Batwa friends are disoriented and dislocated right now, a landless people in their own country. They stand to inherit none, they cannot afford to purchase any. And as Burundi's population now is close to 9 million, there is little available land for anyone. So many parcels of land are disputed, several families claiming them and fighting for them. So what hope is there that acreage will be found for the Batwa to settle. Do they have a Promised Land in their future? Can they dream, and hope and cling to a promise as Israel did their 40 years wandering in the desert?

I believe that there is a Promised Land for the Batwa. I believe that God is bringing a blessed land into their possession in the coming season. I believe that the season of dislocation will soon come to an end, and they will inherit land. This will come as a gift from the government, but not without the fervent advocacy of friends and prayers of many. And it won't come without some contending with the powers that be, as no one is eager to give up land for 'the least of these.' But something is coming for the Batwa... and many of you are part of that promised future. We are praying for, believing for, waiting for the Promised Land!

The Content of our Conversation

2008-07-08T03:58:00.000-07:00

The content of our conversation was mainly theological for this first Amahoro Institute. Our friends and instructors broke the Story of God into three chapters for our consideration. These are the basic concepts we explored together...

CREATION

We spent time remembering that our story begins with Creation, with God's good intent for His entire creation, and us a part of it. This means we are all created in the likeness of God, with a spark of His goodness within each of us. So when we think of others, we would do well to remember and recognize the image of God in them. This means we do not talk about us and them - but understand we are all created in God's image and are all in need of His restoration and healing of the cracked places in our life. Understanding creation also means that all the earth matters to God, not merely our souls. So God is deeply invested in the health of the earth, in the way we care for the world and relate to His creation. So how we treat our world, our city, our neighbor all matter in God's economy.

INCARNATION

God reached out to us in a most real, graphic way... He became one of us. Jesus voluntarily gave up His divinity and all that was associated with being God to walk in our neighborhood.

This says something quite stunning about God - about the depth of His love and commitment to us and His willingness to reach out to us. It also says something amazing about the world - that God was willing to live in the very ecosystem He created. He was willing to live life on our terms in a world that He created as good. So every street He walked redeems the streets we walk, every meal He ate with friends redeems our shared meals... and what we feel He also felt during his tenure here on earth. He gets what it is, what it feels like, to be human in this place.

But the Incarnation (when God became human or took on a physical body) is also a model for how we encounter others. We must follow Jesus not only in the direction He is going, but in the manner that He travels. So these are the hallmarks of His incarnational example: presence, proximity, powerlessness and proclamation. Moses made a great observation... if he modeled all these things in his community he would not be successful or effective in any way. Jesus must have had something more... So together we recognized that Jesus also has pneuma, or the Spirit of God, filling Him and leading Him. And, so do we!

RE-CREATION

So God is not eager to abandon His creation - He created it as good and He even came and walked earth Himself. He is invested here! But we can all see that there are many broken people (we among them), broken communities, broken systems and institutions that are in need of repair. There are parts of our ecosystem hemorrhaging and in need of restoration to God's creation goodness. So we are now invited to be part of God's re-creation enterprise here on earth. So this means it is more than souls we care about. It is all of God's creation - people certainly, but also cities and ecosystems and corporate entities. All are in need of restoration to God's original design or re-creation. We are part of this - we help usher in re-creation or new creation with our own lives. We become new creations and we engage in this work of re-creation!

So this was my humble summary of the content for this conversation... but to miss out on the lively exchange among our Ugandan friends is to miss out on the most engaging part! They offered great insight, sharp questions and good challenges to this understanding of God's Story.

Amahoro Institute: Uganda in a few pictures

2008-07-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

A room of 30 Ugandan (and Kenyan) leaders convene together to learn and converse.

Hope is sharing in her small group... a safe place for the more soft-spoken of the group!

Robust discussion, pointed questions, hearty laughter... among good friends.

Stephen and Jerome, great thinkers and willing contributors to every discussion!

Filming in Bubanza

2008-07-07T01:18:00.000-07:00

We spend Sunday filming in Bubanza. We loaded a bus, along with 20 Batwa secondary students, for a 40 minute ride to this Batwa village in Bubanza. The students were so excited, as if going on a field trip. They were singing, giggling and laughing the entire way... so filled with expectation. These students are quite unique, as few Batwa make it to secondary school. I was aware that I was amid an esteemed group, that I was on the bus with these students bursting with potential.

As they sang, I was overcome with emotion and could not hide my tears. I felt like there was this very holy thing happening as we drove together - that we were beginning a journey together that was more than just a Sunday drive. We were beginning a partnership with these friends, saying we wanted to see them succeed, that we were committed to them and their families and their people. Most people do not see a bus full of Batwa and think of potential... but I felt like I was feeling what God was doing in them, what He wants to do in them and through them. In a way, I felt like I was seeing what most miss, I was seeing what is invisible to many outside the bus.

Claude often says, "Something is wanting to happen in Africa." I felt that... something is wanting to happen with the Batwa people, with this one village, with this busload of Batwa students. So I share with my friends and hope that you will hope with me, pray with me, believe with me that God is doing something for the Batwa. Maybe you are even part of it!

We arrived to the village and were met with loud and joyful singing. These friends were so glad to have visitors, as most people forget the Batwa and never come to call. So they danced and sang and welcomed us with such excitement. With us were the 2 Batwa parliament members, and they introduced these students to this very poor village. It was like a Batwa family reunion with all these friends gathered! But the secondary students shared their stories, to encourage the primary students in this poor village. And the government leaders encouraged the parents to help their students to succeed, to see that they can progress to secondary levels, and to show that there are others (us, you) who believe in them and will help them. It was wonderful to see the Batwa community coming together to encourage one another, to be strategic about the need to invest in education for their collective future, and sharing in some good news together.

We filmed parts of this for a video we will be sending to our friends, Community of Faith, in Texas. They share our love for the Batwa and want to share the stories of these amazing students in an effort to raise school fees for them to continue in their studies this September.

We are so blessed to have others who want to encourage the Batwa, to join in this new thing God is doing for them and their children.

Uganda Unscripted

2008-07-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

The first Amahoro Institute took place in Kampala, Uganda this past week. I flew in on Sunday afternoon and was met by Muhindo and Kennedy at the Entebbe Intl Airport. While we drove toward Kampala I could see familiar landscape, architecture, local crafts and service providers. I was still in East Africa. But there was a noticeable difference - most every sign was in English! I was so gad to be able to interact with Ugandan friends and culture in a more direct, unmediated way - no translation needed! For a communicator, this is no small matter. It was pure joy!

We experienced some challenges right from the start, as our team from Arizona had flight delays. Well, not all of them. Scott arrived to Entebbe when I did - but we did not know it! So he waited patiently at the airport (7 hours) till we came looking for him. When we found him he was in good spirits, eager for communication (an extrovert, no doubt!). The other three team members were stuck in transit. So we had to rework the schedule to suit the people who were already present, and work around the delays. But wait - there's more! We then discovered that only two would arrive on Tuesday afternoon, one was still lingering in Brussels yet another night. So late Tuesday evening we got news (via Burundi) that our final friend was about to land in Uganda. So Kennedy rushed through the maze of traffic for a 4th time to get Jimmy!

By now, the first Amahoro Institute had begun. As I mentioned, we reworked the schedule so that Scott, who was with us, would share first. The original plan had Jimmy sharing first and Scott sharing last. Obviously, we began with biblical echoes, the last teaching first!

My initial reaction to such unexpected changes in the schedule is to seize up and react, honestly. I don't like to alter the speaking order, to juggle the parts, to shoot from the hip. But after initial fears about disorganization and up-side down speaking order... I just had to sit back and let it be. Taking the counsel of Richard Rohr, I decided to say yes to what was happening before I rushed to say no... to let the situation presented serve its purpose and learn from it.

So with a different spirit, I took a few deep breaths and tried to see what God was shaping.

None of this came as a surprise to God, of coarse! A great group of 36 Ugandan (and Kenyan) leaders were gathered for four days of conversation and connection. Muhindo worked to secure all logistical details, Kennedy worked to fill the room with the best young leaders in town, Moses came ready to lead worship and Scott was eager to begin the interactive seminar.

And so we began...

While we entered the event with content and a script, I think we all learned to hold such things lightly. We came willing to be flexible, able to discern what God was doing among us and even found boldness that surprised us. Well, I should just speak for myself! I may not have come ready, but I left knowing I was ready to respond to what God was doing once I let go. I think we so often strive for the perfect - but that is not the goal that God sets for us. Our energy is to be in maturing, progressing in faith, excelling in love. These things we did. So while it was not perfect, our time together was exactly what it was meant to be! We enjoyed deep theological reflection, robust relational connections, much singing, dancing, laughing and good food together. The Amahoro family has grown... in many ways!

(I will share more about the content of our conversation soon...)

Love from home

2008-07-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

It was like Christmas in July... a care package from home! Our friends who traveled from Phoenix came bearing gifts from the States. I received necessities and treats alike from Valerie in AZ and Ali in WA, and I felt showered by their love for me. There was a book, and a battery-operated book light, shirts for Justin, more coloring paper for Emma, tea, lotion, scented soaps, oatmeal, sweets and other loving touches. I loved the photo that Ali stashed in the package - to see her and Tilly smiling at me all the way in Africa. I cherish the words of encouragement that Valerie sent - the the inclusion of Claude's favorite candy bars. Thanks for sending your love, it was almost like getting a big hug from you!

Month End

2008-06-28T04:23:00.000-07:00

June is coming to a close, the end of our first month in Burundi. It has been a time to settle in, learn some lessons and begin dreaming new things for the people of Burundi. Here is a list of some of the things that happened:

We received Grace Scale and her mother, Lois, from AZ. Grace is staying with us for the summer to experience life in Africa and help local friends who oversee an orphanage up country. She will soon be starting an English-learning group for some university students, which will allow her to share English but also develop relationship with new friends. Burundi seems to agree with her!
We have been spending time deepening our friendship with the Batwa community in Bujumbura. We have hosted a dinner in our home, visited a village up country, visited the village in Bubanza in need of immediate assistance, gone searching for land for them and meeting together to understand more of their needs and dreams for their tribe. We are listening, learning and loving... what friends do together.
We hosted an Amahoro breakfast recently to gather the local friends who attended the event in Rwanda. It was so encouraging to listen to them share what they brought back from The Gathering. In true African fashion, they are already gettin' busy! Most have already begun to implement new enterprises to live out lessons learned in Rwanda. One is hosting community meetings to discuss, openly, tribal struggles in an effort to move toward pre-emptive reconciliation in his region. Another is intentionally inviting Batwa students into her new school, something that she would not have considered before hearing the Batwa testimony in Rwanda. Others have walked far on the road of forgiveness since we'd been together - one Batwa pastor shared how he was stoned in a previous church because of his tribal identity. So he returned to the church and let them know that he forgave them, and that he was sorry for the anger he harbored in his own heart toward them. And now they share meals together - reunited because of his bold gesture of forgiveness! The westerners present at the breakfast shared how they are still processing (so true!), but as you can see, our African friends are taking action already!
Emma and Justin have discovered new family members: Aunt Leonie, Aunt Anna, Uncle Cadeau... and other friends who are always around to help and play. Emma and Aunt Leonie are cut from the same cloth, and it is a delight to see them play and dance together. Justin loves playing soccer with Eric - he can even initiate a game using kirundi! The kids love it when Uncle Cadeau comes to pick them up for school. They are enjoying their extended family.
Emma and Justin also enjoyed 2 weeks at the Bujumbura International Montessori School. Their teacher said that Justin had twice as many words as the other kids... we are not surprised! Emma seemed to enjoy the animals on campus and the activities - my kinetic learner. Justin loved all the new friends to play with - my extrovert.
We did make it to the Rainbow Center last week for a sweet reunion. The nannies, gate man, mechanic... they were all so excited to see Justin and Emma again! They hollered, laughed and cheered as the kids got out of the van. They could not believe how much they had grown, how Emma could hear now, how Justin spoke English and how beautiful Emma was now... so much joy! I was glad that these dear people could see that their investment in Justin and Emma was part of their health and happiness now. I was glad they could see with their own eyes God's great goodness, and know that they are part of that story. They kept thanking me for coming to see them, for remembering them, for bringing the kids. They were encouraged, and so was I. This is such a special part of Justin and Emma's story... their very own rainbow connection!
Our friends and companions, Ron & Sarah, celebrated their one year anniversary here in Bujumbura! I bet they did not expect to be in Africa when they exchanged vows a year ago in LaJolla, Ca! Ron is a natural expat, quickly picking up kirundi and making friends all over town. He is already known in our neighborhood by his kirundi name, given to him by Claude. He walks the dusty streets chatting with everyone, getting haircuts at the local barber, helping people carry their heavy loads... a true neighbor! Sarah is still finding her kirundi name, but she seems to have found a good pace here. She seems to reflect deeply about what she sees, not satisfied with staying at the surface of things.
Claude traveled to Princeton Seminary to participate in Envision '08. He was able to share his hope for Africa with 600 new friends - wow! He also enjoyed a reunion with friends Brian McLaren and Richard Twiss, as well as meeting new friends and planting seeds for more partnerships. He was delayed in transit... stopping over in Brussels while I awaited his return. But he did make it home - with Almond M&M's from Terry!
Claude returned home with an unexpected gift - Soularize videos from their gathering in The Bahamas. I devoured the sermons by N.T.Wright and Brennan Manning. But I was deeply challenged by the series offered by Richard Rohr, a contemplative and leader of The Center for Action & Contemplation in New Mexico. I needed his words at the very moment they arrived. I know that I need deep spiritual resources to be here, or to be who God desires me to be while here. I believe God brought a ray of hope, a lifeline, right when I was at the end of my own rope (or my own shallow resources). I am excited to go deeper, to be not a mere introvert but a contemplative in the best sense of that word.
I have read 6 of my 12 books... and still have 2 more months to go! Lots of time to read, reflect, journal and correspond here. As I said, this has been a sabbath season in many good ways. I am moving slower, but maybe I am moving better. I am certainly seeing more things in me that need to be addressed, need to be let go, need to be surrendered to God for reformation.

And next month... well, I fly to Uganda tomorrow to launch the first Amahoro Institute on July 1st. Then we have another in Burundi the following week, and then off to South Africa for the 3rd one before the month's end! So this month will be about smaller regional conversations. The kids will begin learning french at a new school - one they will be in for July and August. Claude will be working closely with our Batwa friends to move the project forward. We are all on the move...

Looking for Land...

2008-06-25T02:49:00.000-07:00

We were out on the road again today - looking for land for the Batwa Community. This is not the first parcel we have investigated, and may not be the last, but this is part of the process. This particular plot is already fertile ground for cotton, as you can see. Through the dusty brush and grass you could see these bright white orbs like gems in pronged settings... catching the sun and radiating alabaster beauty. I never knew cotton could be so stunning - before reaching a tailor or fashion house for shaping! But cotton is not the best crop for sustainability, we are thinking rice will better suit the local market, the growing climate and such. Rice demands ample water for frequent irrigation, and that is one downside to this land. Water is nearby, but not close enough to make this land our gem! Well... with the investment of some infrastructure, maybe. But we are not done looking yet for the best place for our Twa friends to relocate, rebuild and renew their lives.

Just 2 kilometers up the road is the Batwa Village that we will be partnering with for this project. The photo above shows just a snapshot of this village, perched on the side of a road. Imagine a home on the shoulder of the main road in your city, imagine your children playing there, you cooking outside with the fumes of exhaust lingering in the air, with no privacy or protection from the elements or passers by. This would not be suitable housing for us, nor is it for our Twa friends. So you can see why it is important to go looking for land - to find a better place for them that will offer good housing, fertile soil for gardens and land that can sustain a new economy.

Visiting the Twa

2008-06-24T00:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend we traveled up country and off road, deep into the countryside to visit a Batwa village in the heart of this lush, green country. Our driver... the Honorable Etienne Ndayishimiye, a member of Parliament and a Twa man, a dear friend (he is pictured here to the right of Claude). He was eager to take us to see more Twa friends, to learn more about how they live and what they need to advance in the coming years. Also along for the journey was Evariste Ndikumana, a university student (one of only two Twa in university in the entire country) and Grace Scale (living abroad with us this summer before she begins university in AZ).

We swerved and swayed, bumped and jostled as we made our way to the village. We stirred up more than dust with our visit... the mzungus caught the attention of everyone we passed. We were to discover that many people who live this deep in the country do not often, if ever, venture to Bujumbura. This means that many have never seen a white-skinned person; maybe they have seen one in a distant car careening by, but not up close! Not one walking with them, worshipping with them and close enough to reach out and touch... Grace and I were novelties, and we had (quite literally, as you can see) a following.

But we know that the true gravitas was with Etienne, as a member of Parliament he will be able to represent them, to effect change for them, to give them great hope by his visit. And Evariste, who asked so many kids about school, shared his own story with them about enduring elementary school, staying in secondary school and now undertaking university. You could see the kids eyes grow with surprise... a Twa in university! He learned that in this local village, only one child was still in secondary school (high school). The Twa are very poor, and can seldom afford school fees. And if they can find money for fees, few can endure the ridicule of other children - Twa are treated with contempt and disgust by most Hutu and Tutsi people. So you can imagine what school must be like - when you are poor, made fun of and no one expects much of you anyways. Not many have the fortitude (or encouragement) to press on, and so across the entire country of Burundi only 400 are in elementary school, fewer in secondary levels and two (2) in university. So Evariste's story can be an encouragement, and Etienne's presence can give them hope. The Twa are blessed with leaders who are paving the way, and making sure that others have access to it for a better future.

We have become part of this... as friends. We can share the story, we can make sure they are seen, we can work to help bring a better future for the Twa.

See the older woman crafting a pot? This is a proud Batwa tradition... pot making. Sadly, there is little market for her pots anymore as the market is now flooded with plastic and metal vessels from overseas. So she works on these beautiful, perfectly symmetrical pots and can expect 0.20 for each. Practically, this is not enough to be considered currency. All she can now do with her pots is trade or barter for food - two large pots and one small one will get her 5 kilos of cassava. Not much money, not much food, not much hope. But see her smile - she is lovely and we need to see her and encourage her.

Please remember our Batwa friends. Remember them in your hearts, your prayers, and your growing understanding of Burundi and those who comprise the population of this land.

Hosting Friends

2008-06-20T02:20:00.001-07:00

Last night we hosted dear friends in our home... 5 friends from the Batwa tribe. Two of our guests are Parliament Ministers, representing the Batwa at the highest level of government. One is the eldest Batwa in Burundi, a man of great honor among his people. Two are university students - rare among the Batwa community. This was an amazing group to host, and we were humbled and delighted by their company. Liberate (seen center in the above photo) was the first Batwa member of Parliament. She shared her story, of ridicule and shame and heart ache growing up Twa. In Burundi, the Twa make up less than 1% of the population. While the Hutu and Tusti have open hostilities toward one another, they share a mutual distain for the Batwa tribe and make their life one filled with ridicule, disadvantage and poverty of the most extreme sort. But God has not forsaken or forgotten the Batwa, and neither have we. As a matter of fact, these are our friends whom we will be working with over the next season to bring about hope to a Batwa community of 70 families. I will share more later... but we were blessed to host our Batwa friends last night. You need to know about them, to pray for them, to celebrate what God is doing for them!

Healthy Smiles

2008-06-16T03:08:00.001-07:00

We are happy and healthy - see! This photo was taken in honor of fathers - mine and theirs! Since mine was in California and theirs was in Brussels on Father's Day, this was our way of sending smiles to our great dads! Now we have another great father in Montreal, too, so we cannot forget to wish him a Happy Father's Day also!

As you can see, Emma and Justin are adapting well to life in Burundi. They seem to enjoy this house filled with friends, family and great helpers. Justin loves Nina, his nanny. He also enjoys playing soccer with Eric and watching him open and shut the big gates. ("Mama, someday I want to open the gates like Eric when I get bigger" he told me!) Emma adores her Aunt Leonie - which is no surprise to me because they have a very similar way about them. Emma's biggest smile came when her Aunt dressed her up in her own African skirt and taught her to dance... she danced with abandon (but no rhythm, sadly)! They are having fun with Aunt Anna, Uncle Cadeau... and then Ron & Sarah and Grace. So many friends around all the time - Justin is loving the relational opportunities! But they are eager to start school - which is coming soon! Justin does miss Miss. Angel and his friends from his school, and Emma has asked when the yellow bus is coming to take her to school... so they are ready to get back into a classroom, back into the mix with new friends... more activity for their curious minds! They do enjoy going with Aunt Leonie to Sunday School every Sunday... they are the only ones in the Sunday routine!

I am well, but waiting for Claude to return. He is stuck in transit... in Brussels right now. But soon he will be back - and my smile will be all the wider!

What I am (not) doing in Burundi

2008-06-12T01:19:00.000-07:00

I am not doing a lot of things in Burundi that were normative for me back in Arizona. Here is a starter list:

I am not doing laundry
I am not cleaning house (or even making my own bed)
I am not going grocery shopping
I am not cooking
I am not driving around town

So this brings another question to the forefront - what am I doing in Burundi these days? Here is another list:

I read (three books so far... I might even run out before the summer is over!)
I write in my journal
I listen to music and podcasts
I correspond (mostly via email)
I spend time in long, unhurried conversation with friends

There is a pace of life here that is unheard of back home - one that is not dominated by the watch or clock, not determined by the long list of tasks that must be accomplished in short order. At home there is time to do, here there is ample time to be. When you have the unhurried opportunity to just be, you gradually become more human, as was intended by our Creator.

I mentioned it before, but the thought returns that Sabbath, with good reason, is a biblical imperative. When we cease from frantic activity, we can begin to untangle some of the knots we've gotten ourselves into over time. We can relax and let those tense places in our psyche unclench and loosen. Gently and without hurry we can begin to pull things out and begin to reflect more deeply on who we are and what drives us. Busyness can drive us - but it does not fulfill us and does not define us in terms of God's intent for us.

So this is my Sabbath season, a time to rest and read and reflect. A time to re-imagine what might be ahead for me and my family. As years of hurry fall off like scales, I can begin to find a deeper peace within my own soul and be in a place where I can imagine new things. Here you don't have to rush to answers, to quickly determine outcomes or react to anything with immediacy. You can let questions linger, you can take time to discern and watch things unfold before making a premature move to solve or correct.

We have been encouraged, since Creation, to follow God's example and rest every week. Every week there is a time to sit back and refrain from the frantic, fast-pace demands of life. Every week we take a day off, a day to declare that we are not our job, we are not defined by our production, our worth is not determined by our paycheck. We take a day to receive holy gifts, as Walter Brueggeman so elegantly says. Sabbath is a time to receive from others - chiefly from God himself (who loves to give good gifts to his children, the Bible says), but also from those around us. We receive, and that reminds us that we do not live on our own merits alone, we live by the grace of God who makes the sun to shine, the skies to rain and the sweet fruit of summer to ripen on the vine. We receive from our family and friends gifts of deep laughter, unhurried conversation, unspoken affection... reminders of our inter dependance - things we can only accept when we take time to be present and undistracted.

When was the last time your Sabbath (maybe Sunday for you) was a day of unhurried receptivity? A day not of rushing to a church service, or doing several loads of laundry or spent in front of the computer on a work project? But a day when you sat back and received all that is good in life, the things you cannot create or work up on your own, but must just accept with open hands from others? I am convinced that we need to receive in order to be fully human, as God intended. We need to stop running - and rest, receive and be restored.

Sabbath is not just for Africa (though it is so abundant here), it is for America and all the world that God created. So I wish you each sabbath - a time to (not) do something, a time to be who you most truly are created to be as you receive from God and others.

Look what I found!

2008-06-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

Here I am, having a (diet) Coke* and a smile!

*Well, Coke Light is what they call it here. And yes, it is an import from the Middle East market. It was the lone silver can in the cold case, and I could not resist. The taste was not the same - but close enough to garner a smile!

Saturday

2008-06-07T04:58:00.000-07:00

Today is our sabbath, our day to play, contemplate and rest in Bujumbura. We are at club du lac, a local resort perched on the edge of Lake Tanganyika. On most Saturdays you can walk past the pools down to the sand and join a game of sand volleyball with the expats - if you are into that sort of thing. If you know me, you know I have to be elsewhere! So while Ron & Sarah and Grace hit the beach, I elect to be cloistered up in the lounge. Here there is a strong breeze blowing across the open room, there is a sweeping view of the lake and waves (yes, lakes this large do have waves) and internet access! So I come here to read and write, to think and be a bit free from domestic distractions.

Right now the kids are taking a nap at home with Nina and their Aunt Leonie present. Joseph and Eric are keeping the home in order. The day is quieter for most everyone. Saturday even begins more slowly, as it is designated as a community works morning. This means that there is to be no traffic on the roads (paved or dirt) before 11am, and people are encouraged to come out and clean the streets, repair roads damaged by heavy use or heavy rains, etc. So there is little movement on the streets till late morning. So Saturday begins slow, and seems to keep that relaxed pace throughout the day.

For all the noise of Africa, there is a stillness and slowness that opens the door to contemplative pursuits. There is time and space for reflection, for reading, for imagining new possibilities. (If you are a writer with a book in you - this is the place to come and let it grow and burst forth!) I have already completed 2 books and am well into my third. So my mind is well nourished. This might be fertile soil for introspection and the birth of new adventures. I hope to make the most of this time, this open space for dreaming and daring to ponder new things!

So goes the Saturday Sabbath on the shore of Lake Tanganyika!

Patient Prisoners

2008-06-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

Key to the work of God's Kingdom is bringing release to the prisoners. Today we witnessed such a work.

It is a sad truth that many who come to the public hospital for medical care end up becoming imprisoned by their caregivers. Once medical needs have been met and a person is ready to be discharged, if they cannot afford to pay their bill they are detained by the hospital. These people are known as patient prisoners. The hospital will keep them in their bed, feeding them enough to keep them alive, but refusing to release them until their bill is paid in full.

For the past week Claude has been visiting the Prince Charles Hospital, one of three local public hospitals in Bujumbura. He has been meeting with the chief social worker to learn about patient prisoners in their facility. What he discovered is that there were 12 men and women currently detained in this hospital, ranging from the age of 17 to 73. Some had come to the hospital in late 2007 to seek medical care, but upon recovery have been kept on-site because they do not have the money to cover their bill. Looking at the release dates reveals that some of these men and women could have returned home 4 or 5 months ago – if they could have only paid their bill. The good news is that today, 12 of them would get to go home due to kindness from someone they never met. We got to be midwives, mere hands and feet, but what a joy to be a part of such a story.

Pictured here is Hakizimana. Tonight, after months of detention for an unpaid bill, she will go home to her 7 year old son. This is good news, indeed.

I will try to share more later, but you can imagine how emotional the day was. By the end we saw 12 people go home because God moved on their behalf through others. Some days God's love is so tangible you cannot fight back tears, and you can only be in awe of such holy moments when prisoners, even patient prisoners, are given their freedom.

The Noise of Africa

2008-06-03T02:18:00.000-07:00

I was on the roof-top this morning... and noticed the noise. Down the street is a local carpenter shop, and the sawing and sanding create a rhythm line for the neighborhood music. There is the rooster(s) next door that are incessantly calling and strutting their voice at all hours of the day. Always there is a child crying from one direction or another (sometimes even my own!). Cars honk randomly throughout the day and night, honking for someone to open the gate so they can drive into their home. On Sunday you can hear a choir singing songs in harmony - so there must be a church nestled somewhere in our vicinity! The noise indicates that Africa is alive - people are working, visiting, worshipping and living. I am so glad we are in this neighborhood, surrounded by life! We could have been in an upper-class place, but it is more quiet there in the hills about the city sounds. Here we are part of the life and the noise. Our contribution is our broken kirundi, heavy with an american accent! The constant clicking on our laptops might be another texture we add to the mix. Here we get to be part of the African song, the neighborhood noise.

From the roof-top we can watch all the other families. They are washing (by-hand) and hanging clothes to dry, they are rocking their babies to sleep, they are cooking over an open fire or sitting together drinking fanta. Sometimes a small child will look up and see us - point and laugh! We just wave and smile. There is also a lot of construction going on in this place - we must be in the Surprise of Bujumbura! The building tactics here are quite different, to say the least. But it is good to see that sign of life and growth, the confidence people have when they are building their future and planning to live here. The structures and colors would surprise you - no HOA or COA here! But this is a place where neighbors do talk to one another, so everyone seems to be in on the local action. I love seeing the community from my roof-top. I am learning as I watch. Now, who is watching me? Would they learn anything of use from me? Hard question... I think I need to stay in a learning posture here!

Family Photo!

2008-06-01T02:53:00.000-07:00

Here is our most recent family photo! This was taken by our friend, J., while all sitting in the Kigali Airport. We were waiting for our Rwanda Air flight to Burundi while the others were awaiting an Ethiopian Airline flight to Dulles in D.C. It was our last time together in Rwanda... Gotta love those smiles from the kids! This is real life.

Man in Motion

2008-05-30T01:15:00.001-07:00

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?

Celebrating in Bujumbura

2008-05-28T05:12:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning in Burundi. After months of wondering, then planning and finally flying... I am in Bujumbura for the summer. How do I know I am waking up in Burundi? The birds sing loudly here, and that is the song you wake up to in the morning. So with the chorus of birds to remind me, I began the day in a new place and a new season.

Just a day prior to our arrival, the final rebel group in Burundi signed a peace agreement with the government. This was good news for Burundi, first and foremost. But we were also glad to come to Burundi to share in their celebration of a new season of peace within their borders. We pray the peace will have traction.

Today we are setting up our new home... and what a home it is! This home has a stunning roof-top patio with a breath-taking view of Lake Tanganika. Across you can see the mountains of Congo, so close you imagine you can reach out and touch them! On the roof you can feel a cool breeze, and I would venture to guess that this will be where so many evenings of conversation, reading and resting will take place. So far, Africa is spoiling us rotten!

The kids met their new nanny this morning. Nina is a Burundian university student on summer holiday. She has some English, but I encouraged her to teach the kids kirundi over the summer. We invited her to teach us, too! Claude's Aunt Leonie arrived this morning to greet us - and we both embraced one another tightly and with tears. She looks well - strong and vibrant in her green traditional dress. She went on some errands for us, getting sundries like mosquito nets, hangers, hampers and even fresh fruit. Such abundance - she brought back armloads of bananas, avocados and pineapple!

Now we are sitting at Botanika enjoying a good meal and the free wifi. All four of us are at a table under a flowered canopy, with our laptops all open and working... connecting with friends back home and abroad! We are all about connection at Amahoro!

So I wanted you to know that we made it here safely and we are well. The photo above is from our first evening in town. Claude took us to a favorite spot - Belvedre - for an amazing welcome dinner. We learned later that we had been treated by our friend, Mark Shook. (Thanks, Mark, we felt welcomed and blessed as we savored the view and the meal together!)

We are here... sigh.

Quick Note for Monday morning...

2008-05-26T01:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we are reunited and it feels so good! (I can hear that song in the background...) Claude and friends made it back safely from Burundi late last night. Everyone was brimming with great stories from their extensive travel throughout the Burundian countryside as well as their visit to the capital city of Bujumbura. God has created some wonderful new friendships and partnerships that will be a blessing for our Burundian brothers and sisters. More about that later... But it is wonderful to have all our western friends back on campus and reconnecting. Now we are each journal writing, allowing for personal reflection, later we will be in small groups to share with one another, and this afternoon the large group will process together. It is good to struggle with our experiences together, to celebrate new friendships and dream with one another about what God can do here in Burundi and Rwanda. How amazing that we get to be a part of His restorative plan for the world!

So we are running a bit today... but I wanted to let you know we are well and we are all together!

Amahoro!

How to process...

2008-05-26T00:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is difficult to process these emotions I have surging in me, as I hear stories from those who have survived the genocide in Rwanda. One element that really provokes a stunning sadness in me is that neighbors killed neighbors, those daily interconnected to each other failed one another during the days of genocide. Here is just a personal attempt...a stream poem:

NEIGHBORS

We were neighbors

Neighbors who shared water

Water that is now filled with bodies

Bodies of other neighbors

Neighbors should share sugar

Sugar, sweetness and stories

Stories now come with salty tears

Tears because we were once neighbors.

Temporarily Apart

2008-05-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

Claude boarded a bus at 6:30am this morning, leading a field trip to Burundi. I have not heard from him since... we are temporarily apart. The kids and I are enjoying a more relaxed day, with no hectic schedule. We did have a heavy-handed down pour this morning, it is the rainy season in Rwanda, afterall. But the day has been pleasant.

I visited with many friends before they left for flights home, like Tekle & Nunu from Ethiopia. I encouraged them to keep the conversation going in their country, to bring more friends to the gathering next year! I finally shared a quiet conversation with Jane Kanange, a woman I have admired from afar. We shared our stories - my adoption of Emma and Justin, her work loving prostitutes and transforming her community. We mused on what it means to care for others, to make space for them to be themselves in our presence, and how we often encounter God there in those moments. I will be with her on Sunday at her church gathering, and I cannot wait to see those she loves and cares for in the red-light district of Kigali. Then there was time sitting and laughing with Richard Twiss, Tim Keel, Beth Mercer, Ruthie, Phil, Ashley, Laura... savoring friendship in this lush landscape without any hurry. What a blessing! The kids and I shared lunch with Ron and Sarah, as we will for many days to come this summer. Then we were off to the city for coffee, shopping and more visits!

Emma took her first photo on a digital camera today - all by herself! She was so proud to aim, focus, click the button and then see the photo. Justin did not want lunch today - another first! He was content with a bottle of water. I think he will be hungry for dinner, however!

So we will have to make due without Claude around here for a few days! Tomorrow the kids and I will spend the entire day with Justine, Bosco and their kids. Finally we can be together in her home! Sunday will be with Jane at her church. Sunday evening Claude returns, as well as friends who visited Burundi and the Rwandan countryside. So pray that God will hold us together until we can actually be together again!

Hope you are all well. I hope you know that you are in my heart, as I am in the heart of Africa!

Where were you?

2008-05-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is hard to download, decompress and disclose all that you have experienced in a span of a few significant days. That is certainly the case for me as I reflect on the past few days of the Amahoro Conversation in Rwanda. We have heard stories from the Hutu, Tutsi and Batwa people who inhabit this region of Africa. We have heard from our South African friends - Afrikaans, English, Colored and Black. And, to the surprise of some, we have also heard from Australians, Latin American friends, a Lakota brother from North America, another of Japanese decent and a few muzungus (white people!). Each contributed something meaningful to our conversation about the complex dynamics of reconciliation in Africa and beyond. Genocide and oppression have happened in Africa, but also in North America, Australia, Latin American countries and more. We have to grapple with this element of human nature - we have all sinned and dehumanized others. We did it, or our ancestors did it, or we are in the midst of letting it happen as we are too apathetic to address the reality. So each culture, each country, each person is in need of reconciling, restoring, forgiving. This is how we reclaim our true humanity and, in a spirit of restitution, offer that back to others. This conversation is for all of us.

One question remains with many of us in the wake of the time in Rwanda: Where were you in 1994? This is when the Rwandese experienced the tragic genocide that robbed them of nearly one million people within one hundred days. Where were you - not a literal location, but where was your attention? Did you know this was happening? Did you care? Did you just turn the channel after learning of yet another blood-letting somewhere in Africa? It is a penetrating question. For myself, I was not aware in the least. It would only be years later, after meeting Claude, that I would learn of the deep loss for the people of Rwanda.

So... Where are you now? As there is genocide afoot in Sudan, xenophobia unfolding in South Africa, deep unrest rumbling in Kenya, even Mexicans being maligned in America. Are you standing with the voiceless? Are you standing for justice with your voice, your vote, your very energy? Are you paying attention to those suffering injustice in the world and aligning yourself with them?

I guess I am soul-searching in Africa.

Forgiveness

2008-05-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

Today we began our sessions in Rwanda, with everyone finally through immigration, checked in the hotel and gathered together. Today we considered, with concrete dimension, what forgiveness looks like in Africa. We heard from Frieda, a young woman who survived the genocide, but lost most of her family in a most gruesome and inhumane series of killings during the 1994 one hundred days of killing. She shared how she suffered, but how she was confronted with the charge to forgive if she ever wanted to embrace life again. It was not easy to forgive, but she found it necessary. And then she found it freeing. Then Maria shared her story. She is a Hutu, she is related to those who killed. She shared the deep angst of watching the genocide, but walking through the city freely because she was Hutu. She shared how many of her family members are in exile or imprisoned for their part in the genocide killings. She feels such guilt for being part of this tribe, so heart broken over family members who became killers, and now she calls fellow Hutu's to repent for their crimes, to confess their complicity and seek forgiveness.

These two stories together, from a survivor and a beneficiary, point out something striking about real life reconciliation in places like Rwanda. Our practice of reconciliation has to be large enough to allow for survivors and victims; perpetrators and beneficiaries. Both shared of deep personal loss, hardship and broken families. It is easy to feel compassion toward the victim. But we must not forget those on the wrong side of justice, for they too need to be reconciled. There must be grace and compassion for all involved if these nations are to be restored. This is a monumental challenge. Reconciliation is not easy, but it is not an option in Africa.

While the contemplation is deep, the connection with friends is rich! There are new friends already found and so many reunions! I am loving the lavish time together under the Rwandan sun.

Blessings to your friends. More later!

WE MADE IT!!!

2008-05-19T06:18:00.000-07:00

Friends! So sorry to make you wait for word - but this is the first time I have sat down since arriving in Rwanda. YES, we arrived! We made it with our children, all our luggage and everything we carried on us. God is good! We were greeted at the Kigali Airport in true African fashion - a delegation of friends waiting to offer words of welcome, warm embraces and help with all our clothes and comforts we brought from home. The hotel is actually 5 minutes away from the airport, so in no time we were able to settle into our room.

The kids traveled so well - no outbursts, no melt-downs, no worries! They slept on the longer flights, they enjoyed the airplane food (go figure!), and they kept count of how many planes it took to get to Africa (four, in case you were wondering!). They did get antsy from time to time. They wanted to know why Africa was not closer, when they would see Ron and Sarah, and if they would have friends in Africa. Emma kept repeating 'I'm ready!" to let s know she was ready to board the plane, ready for the plane to move, ready to eat...just READY for the adventure! I love her enthusiasm! Justin always asked about the next meal or snack - some things are that same even as you are in transit! But on one flight he did comment 'there are a lot of brown people on this plane, mama.' I had to laugh. Then he added, 'you are still white, mama,' Indeed, I am still white! Justin and Emma met their new friend (nanny) last night, and are enjoying their first day with her. Right now they are enjoying their nap. (Oh, they finally saw Ron and Sarah, so they are at peace!)

Claude has been in constant motion since we hit the tarmac in Kigali - no surprise! He has already managed to go out for a fresh shave, get cell phones and buy a soccer ball for the kids! He is surrounded by great friends who are offering great assistance. I cannot imagine how he did this last year without the likes of Moses, Sean, Sarah and others! For those of you who have never witnessed it - there is nothing quite as amazing as Claude in Africa! I am a blessed women, indeed, to be with him.

Today we have been greeting friends all day, as they fly in from the US, Australia, England, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, etc. It has been a deep joy to meet them at the airport, to welcome to La Palisse for the gathering and to see them connect with one another. There is a spirit of sweet reunion as you watch people find each other again, and it is beautiful to be a part of so many encounters! As Kent Hotaling says, it never gets old!

And me? I am tired, but also energized. I am a bit torn between the greeting of old friends, meeting new friends and helping the nanny get acclimated with the kids! I think I've only seen Claude in passing all day - but this is to be expected on day one of our gathering! I am surrounded by amazing friends, how could I not be humbled by their willingness to travel to be with us here? How could I not be brimming with joy when I am in such company? My spirit is soaking in these moments, even as my body is longing for another nap! I have moved from Diet Coke (drinking as much as I could on each flight) to Citron (a lightly carbonated citrus drink), so I am absolutely in Africa now!

Thank you for your prayers and patience. So far it appears God has been answering all your prayers - as we have been blessed with favor at every turn. (Right now there is a gentle breeze blowing across the veranda, as I look out to the green hills of Rwanda.)

Well, I am going to enjoy this quiet time, as friends rest or on tour in Rwanda. For tonight... The Gathering begins!

Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-11T23:27:00.001-07:00

I celebrated a wonderful Mother's Day with my family and our dear friends, Randy & Valerie Jackson. We spoke of mothers (noun) and mothering (verb), our impending trip and Randy's up-coming back surgery. We enjoyed a relaxed evening together, savory steaks and shared time praying for one another. Thanks, friends!

Pre-departure Delights

2008-05-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

One week from today we will check our bags, carry-on our luggage and board our series of flights. We will, at last, be on our way to Africa. This week has been peppered with quick stops and here and there to get almost-forgotten items. There have been new lists complied about securing domestic affairs while we are away. It seems some details do not descend on you till the last minute. Sigh.

This week I have enjoyed meals with friends that I will miss during my months abroad. I sit with them and soak in their smiles, savor the sound of their laughter and take pleasure in sharing a few more stories together. These are pre-departure delights! I will miss your proximity, no doubt. However, I believe that distance does not have to diminish a friendship; it has the potential to highlight new contours and textures. Our friendship will grow richer if we tend it well even as we have miles between us. So please stay in touch, and I commit to do the same. Maybe we will discover new things about each other this summer – things that will make us laugh deeply when we reunite in the fall!

A few of you have refused to say ‘Good Bye.’ Those can be hard words in juxtaposition to the tenderness of friendship. I understand your refusal. And, after all, this is not farewell to our relationship, just recognition that we have a new season upon us. During your triple-digit heat I will be in double-digit humidity… feeling as hot, I assure you! But goodness can be found in our continued connection, regardless of continent and time zone. So to you I simply say: See you soon!

You have given me good gifts to take with me, memories that will sustain me when I feel pangs of homesickness! How I cherish you...

Ten Days

2008-05-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

Ten days till departure, but who is counting? Okay, I confess, I am counting the days! I find myself to ready to zip up the suitcases, which now line our bedroom wall, and get moving. At this point we either have it or we don’t. So let’s get this party started…

Actually, there are still local logistics to tend to before we drive away for the summer. I still have to get keys into the hands of friends who will care for our home and other domestic matters. I have a few more friends to see before I can leave with my heart at peace. Emma still has a few days of school left, and a hair appointment to clean up her dreads for the trip. But Justin, he has his passport and is totally ready to go! Ron and Sarah still need to move in the rest of their belongings and set up their rooms. And Claude, well his focus is firmly forward! He is securing international insurance for the family, our lodging in Burundi, etc. So maybe we all (save Justin) have some more to do before we board our flights!

But my spirit is ready to go. I am eager to embrace this summer of African Days (thanks to Kym for that wonderful image). I know there will be hardships, moments of frustration and pangs of homesickness. But I am also anticipating fresh adventure, deepening relationships and the joy that comes from participating in God’s restoration project in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa!

As I shared with our friends at Fellowship Church yesterday morning, it feels like I am stepping out of the comfort of my boat onto the lake. Anyone familiar with walking on water? Water is a strange surface to walk on, but I am getting my sea-legs and learning to walk in faith, eyes fixed on Jesus.

Ten days and counting!

Books, books, and more books!

2008-05-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

Books nourish me, and so it should come as no surprise that I am packing many to keep my mind active, challenged and flooded with fresh language and images for this summer of African Days. After all the winnowing, this is the final cut (I think).

No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu

God has a Dream by Desmond Tutu

Prayers for a Privileged People by Walter Brueggemann

Mandate to Make a Difference by Walter Brueggemann

The Jesus Way by Eugene Peterson

Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson

The Coming of the Son of Man by Andrew Perriman

Exclusion & Embrace by Miroslav Volf

The Great Transformation by Karen Armstrong

The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch

This was not an easy list to come to, as you can imagine! Some of the other potential titles (Surprise by Hope by N.T.Wright, Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne, The Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog and A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela) I ended up reading in the run-up to our departure. Basically, I just could not wait! You can see my reflection on N.T. Wright's text in a previous post, for those planning to read for yourself be warned - it is a bit of a spoiler!

I did try to shrink this list to bare bones. I even called in a few favors, asking friends to help me choose between one or the other. But even they agreed - take them both! So I am dedicating a good amount of my suitcase space to books for my nightstand in Bujumbura this summer. Ideas are fuel for me, so these are essentials for me. I am grateful to those who offered recommendations (Marius Brand, Tim Keel, Ron Martoia, Brian McLaren) and look forward to seeing the goodness they unearthed in these texts.

You can anticipate occasional Reading Reflections in the months to come as part of my blog. This is my way of processing new ideas and connecting with others who are also exploring similar concepts and experiences.

Body Matters: A Personal Reflection on N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope

2008-05-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Reading Surprise by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church unearthed my latent belief about bodies. I had come to believe that life after death was not about angels, harps and clouds. I had come to believe that the afterlife would be an active enterprise, working on Kingdom oriented projects, that our eternal existence would be about redemptive work in God’s presence and among His true community (now fully visible to us).

My sense about eternal living came from as season of hope rising, as best I can trace it. Influenced by Brian McLaren and Ron Martoia, I began a process of recovering from an abridged soteriology which limited salvific movement to discussions about having a personal relationship with Jesus, going to Heaven after you die and being evacuated from this tragically deteriorating world before its destruction. This truncated view of salvation routinely ignored injustice, like extreme poverty, neglected the care of creation and held little hope for the future beyond the rapture. This understanding offered an anemic view of the afterlife that only involved inactive bliss for eternity. But I have been recovering, as I said, a sense of hope for the true salvation God has in mind for the cosmos (and us in it). I believe that our story begins with creation, which moves toward restoration of all things in Christ. He is not tossing earth into the rubbish bin, as some eschatological schemes describe. I believe that He is restoring creation and inviting us into this enterprise. I sense the lift, the spiral upward!

But reading N.T. Wright challenged me with the fundamentals, basic truths the early Christians believed and built their faith around. Resurrection, okay, I believed it. Bodily ascension, really? While I had doubts about rapture as illustrated by Hal Lindsey and a recent string of apocalyptic novels, I had never seriously thought of the alternative. I had not seriously considered the true consequence of believing the resurrection, ascension and the second coming of Jesus. These bodily actions have solid ramifications.

While I believed in God’s restoration project, I still had hidden in me residue from Western fallacies, that Heaven and the afterlife would be spiritual, a disembodied sort of life. While I rejected the notion of a continued state of uneventful glee forever, opting for active engagement in Kingdom work on the other side of eternity, it never occurred to me that I would, once again, have a body. An actual material body. I had been lulled into believing that bodies were for earth and spirit was suited to the high altitudes of Heaven. I guess I envisioned (in an unconscious way) doing the new works for the new world as a spiritual being. It did not enter my imagination that I’d be engaged in an embodied spiritual life when the New Jerusalem married the New Earth. While I have come to believe that I will be part of God’s resurrection, I had a latent belief that even I would be radically changed. But again, it never occurred to me that a body would be involved!

So why does this matter? What difference does it make if I am embodied in an incorruptible physicality or not? How does this realization alter my self-understanding? So I’ll have a body again – so what?

I don’t quite know why this thought has captivated me. Maybe, in part, I am a bit in shock about how far adrift I’ve been from the bedrock understanding of early believers. They utterly believed in future bodily resurrection after Heaven, once the new creation was at last manifest.

They thought that upon death they would go to Paradise (or call it Heaven, if you wish) to be with Christ in a sort of temporary lodging (the many mansions Jesus spoke of). But they firmly believed when the New Heaven and Earth appeared, they would have new bodies. I was never taught this two-step understanding of the afterlife, yet it is the clear witness of the biblical text and the early church. How is it that I, a life-long Christian and seminary graduate, never really knew this? I don’t know if I ought to be angered, astonished or ashamed. So somehow these thoughts about being embodied again feel new to me.

But I think I am also captivated by the utter completeness of God’s restoration of all creation, down to a person. Down to every person, really! We will be embodied as Jesus is embodied, we will walk in His resurrection footsteps. We will be like Him in ways I’ve not ever imagined. He took on our body in the loving move of Incarnation, but then we are invited to take on His body in the Resurrection. Amazing, indeed. But this also means that restoration will be complete. We will again, as in the Garden, have incorruptible bodies as He originally intended. Incorruptible bodies died in the Eden, but we will finally inhabit the Garden as He designed; and so God’s dream for His world comes true. Nothing will be lost, so comprehensive is His restoration and new creation.

And one day I will be personally, physically and incorruptibly in the presence of Jesus. We will dwell in a new world together. When I meet my Maker, I will actually be able to shake His hand, to embrace Him and say Amahoro!

P.S. I don’t really know why this matters, but I step into the mythos and say that, somehow, it does!