Last week I had the opportunity to read all the Batwa student profiles in one sitting. It was such an illustrative exercise, hearing their collective voice as they journey together during this academic year. Though each student has a unique story, they also have common threads that bind them together.

I felt as if I was listening to a chorus when it came to their thoughts on how to improve their home churches back in the villages. So many of them love singing and desire to see congregational times of corporate worship enhanced with musical instruments. Based on my recollection, nearly half the students envision a future gift to their church of instruments. Many want to purchase chairs and some even dream of building better buildings for their worshipping communities. But on instruments they sing in unison, they know this will bless their friends and families back home.

There was also a unified cadence as the students raved about their current living conditions in the Community For Burundi household. What I sensed as I read each story was the deep gratitude they had for being in a home where they were given the tools to succeed. Many felt that, for the first time, they could concentrate on school work knowing that other domestic matters were taken care of for them. Knowing that there would be three meals a day was a huge blessing and relief to so many. A home with electricity and running water was new and so appreciated by others. More than a few mentioned that simply having a dry place to put their books to protect from that rains was cause to be thankful. Back in their villages they were always preoccupied with the dynamics of provision – how to get food, money and shelter for parents, siblings and themselves. But here they are cared for and able to spend time in studies and even much needed sleep! They are free to be students!

So appreciative are they about this huge home, that most dream of owning one (or two) like it once they have jobs. They are so eager to make a home for their families – not just future spouses and children, but parents and siblings, too. And they want to open their large home to other Batwa students. In short, they want to return the favor. They dream of creating the type of home that Community For Burundi has built… a safe place for Batwa students to live, study and succeed. The students know that they want to offer that opportunity to others someday.

When I dream with them, I see 40 households filled to the brim with students of great intelligence, potential and aspirations. Imagine that… 40 homes for Batwa students to learn and become the catalyst for change in their community and country! It is a worthwhile dream. And I love that our student friends are already beginning to sketch out a future that will be a blessing to other Batwa, and therefore other Burundians.

I get so excited as I imagine the good things fomenting in the household this term as these men and women live together. They are pushing one another forward, helping one another with each study group and tutoring session. Every shared meal is like dipping into a new reality – a reminder that they can really change their world together. They are imagining a new future for themselves, their families, villages and country.

I am quite confident that they will each complete school, given the provision of friends and encouragement from local Batwa leaders. I fully expect that they will make good on their dreams to give instruments, chairs and buildings to their churches. I am sure that many will have large homes, large enough to house future students. But it is the dreams they have yet to dream, the possibilities they have yet to imagine that most captivate me… because those deeper visions will be the ones nurtured in community, fueled by education and springing from a place of confident hope for the future. When they finally utter those visions, as a great symphony, their music will ring of deep restoration for the Batwa of Burundi.