However, I must start with Iribuka. Iribuka was the first baby born on the Batwa land in Matara last August. Her name means, “God remembers.” This is in stark comparison to two years ago when we learned the tribe leader’s name was, “No Name,” because he was not worthy of a name and he would probably not live very long anyways. Mark Shook told him that God has not forgotten them and neither will he. (Which started our relationship with the Batwa!) They acknowledge that this land is from God and that God has indeed REMEMBERED them! Here she is, 9 months later, Iribuka.

One group helped plant trees in the tree nursery. We planted indigenous trees that would help their topsoil, help not to disturb rain patterns, etc. Our group worked hand-in-hand with the Batwa. “Little Claude,” their agricultural specialist, had a wonderful idea to use banana tree tusks from their own land to use as the bases to plant the trees in. Previously, they have always had to use plastic bags which were not sturdy or good for their land. Talk about resourceful!!

Another group worked with some of the Batwa women learning how to make fireless cookers: insulated baskets that would continue to cook something due to residual heat. Kelley got this idea from a missionary in Kenya who achieved tremendous success. They offer many benefits – such as cutting fire time down from about 4-5 hours to about 30 minutes, providing more time for other work to be accomplished, minimizing the use of firewood and charcoal, and providing more safety for the children (less fire). Our women and the Batwa women learned together how to make the baskets, then the Batwa women will teach the other Batwa women.

When the children came home from school, we played all kinds of games and activities with them. It was amazing to feel the connection with no need for interpreters. We needed no language – just our presence and smiles and love.

Each group member brought a stack of coloring books and a few boxes of crayons. We ripped pages out and distributed crayons. The Batwa had never seen this before. They loved it! Little ones AND big ones! The moms and dads were creating some lovely pieces of art! Not surprising considering that they live in the middle of God’s creation. They truly understand the use of color.

This morning, Kelley led us in a Bible study of Micah 6: “This is what the Lord requires from you: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” We talked about what justice looks like – or should look like – in Houston and in Burundi. Kelley then prayed for God to give us an imagination of justice flowing like a river and pouring like a waterfall – and to be creative with ways BOTH justice and righteousness. Each of these things are definitely being lived out here in Burundi. We still have a long way to go, but each of us have learned so much about God’s calling for us to do justice.

We will miss our Batwa friends when we return home, however, we are so thankful for them and for our time with them. We are bringing back pictures, videos and memories to help us tell their story. After all, IRIBUKA.

Next, Kelley cooked lunch for us and served us at her house. After lunch, we were sitting outside on their porch, and in the distance, we heard drumming. Before we knew it, a group of men came marching (kicking) into our driveway and into the front yard. They gave us two performances of traditional Burundian dancing and drumming! It was breathtaking!

Then, we headed to the beach on Lake Tanganika where our students met us to swim and play volleyball and just bond with each other. For dinner, we all headed back to Star Light and ate pizza and sang and prayed over each other.

As David Shook so eloquently stated, “In Christ, there is no mzungu or mutwa!” (white or black).

We spent the evening at the student house, finished the day off with a little Indian food and are now resting up for a day in Matara tomorrow!

Tomorrow we’ll be having some Kirundi lessons before we head off to Bubanza and the student house. You can check this site for more updates soon!

“I have always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person. The consequence of the single story is this: it robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.”

Chimananda Adichie makes a stunning statement about how we engage with others. Through her own story she encourages us, maybe even exhorts us, to engage with many stories to form a more true picture of a place or a person. When we can hear many stories about a person – he is a farmer, a father, a Batwa man and a person of great joy and humor – we will know him better. When we observe the many stories of a place – Burundi is one of the poorest nations on earth, it has suffered a tragic civil war in the past, it sits on the edge of picturesque Lake Tanganyika and it has some of the best food in the region – we have a more accurate sense of this place that is home to our friends.

Too often we have a very flat understanding – seeing only the poverty of a person or the broken places of a society. Such a stereotype, as Adichie points out, is not only untrue, it is incomplete. You are coming to a place with dimension and people who live in full color! You have the opportunity to see them more fully and embrace the variety of stories that reveal who they are as people and friends. You are coming to Burundi to develop a more complete picture, and as such, a truer one.

You are invited to Burundi to meet our Batwa friends. Part of the invitation is to come and hear the many stories of the Batwa people, to hear the many stories of Burundi today. In doing so, you will restore dignity to the people and place of Burundi. You will have ‘a balance of stories’ that reflect the truth of this land.

Claude and I look forward to sharing time together in the coming days! We are excited to present the many stories of Burundi and its people to you so that you can have the most complete sense of this amazing land!

Claude and I eagerly await your arrival…

This past July 1st, we celebrated the 46th anniversary of our independence from Belgium. We celebrate our Independence Day every year, but not every year has been cause for cheering, parades and national pride.  As a matter of fact, the past 15 years have been painful for Burundians and the holiday seemed to be a reminder of what had gone miserably wrong with our country in the wake of colonialism.  Back in 1992 our government, after much pressure by Western nations to quickly implement democracy, introduced a multi-party political system.  The following year elections were held and the people elected a president.  This was the first time a Hutu would be the President of Burundi, reflecting the majority of the population of the country.  You can imagine the celebration!  However, the joy was short lived.  Four months after taking office, our President was killed in a cout d’etat.  This plunged the country into a bloody civil war that has lasted for 15 years.

During these dark years, we have had more to fear than to celebrate.  No less than five-armed rebel groups were formed.  They roved the country creating havoc for rural residents and city dwellers, alike.  It is estimated that over half a million people were killed in a long series of skirmishes and out right hostilities. Two million more Burundians fled the country altogether, seeking refuge in neighboring countries from the turmoil in their homeland.  But a refugee camp is little solace, it is not home.  You are not really living so much as waiting – waiting for the day you can return to your farm, your community, your family.

So this year when July 1st came, there was actually reason to celebrate.  For the first time we could boast that all the rebel groups have disarmed and integrated into the army, that there will be no fighting on the eve or our Independence Day.
The final group just began their integration process last month, so this is a fragile time as negotiations and political maneuvering continue.  Many of the refugees are returning home to Burundi.  Our second democratically elected president is in office and is still alive!  For the first time in 15 years we have reason to hope… reason to believe that peace is about to break on the shore of our country.  This may just well mark the end of the civil strife that has plagued Burundi for so many years, our season of war might be over at long last.

This season I would like to invite our African and Western friends to reconsider Burundi, to begin to think of my country as a peaceful and beautiful nation on the mend.  We need our friends more than ever, as we still have many challenges ahead of us.  Poverty, disease, delayed economic development, poor infrastructure are all reminders of the past we are emerging from.  We have farms that need to work again, a government that needs to learn to function again, and a crippling national debt that we need to address immediately for the health of our country. Burundi needs friends, investors, advocates around the globe and, most importantly, we need your prayers and presence.

Celebrate with us… a new day is dawning in Burundi!