Before he even made his way to the top of the mountain he felt the ground shaking and he heard the drumming. When Claude stepped on the Matara road he saw the dancing had already begun, everyone in their best attire and singing with such full-throttled joy. No one was waiting for him, waiting for the certificates to arrive or the teacher. The celebration could not wait, their accomplishment had to be celebrated right now in the morning sun!

It was six months ago that the adults of Matara kissed their children good-bye for a day at school and then stepped into their own classroom. Twenty three men and women were willing to try to do something they’d never done before… learn to read and write. Some had terrible memories of attempts at school before, when they were ridiculed out of the classroom by students and teachers alike. Some recall not being able to go often enough to learn anything due to circumstances at home. Others just never got the chance to ever try. But that morning they met their teacher and decided to try to learn.

Today they were all dancing… even while they were not all graduating. So much happens in the life of a community over six months: homes build, crops planted and harvested, cows and rabbits to tend, pregnancies and little ones to care for and… and.. Not everyone could maintain the study required for this level one literacy training. But today they all gathered to celebrate the 7 who completed the class and who passed the final exam. Everyone knew that this was a huge accomplishment that demanded a communal party!

So here is your graduating class: Jean Bosco, Jean Claude, Nathaniel, Leonie, Didace, Francois and Rita.

All of these friends completed level one literacy training. They can now read, write and do simple math. Practically speaking, they can read the signs! They can do math in the marketplace and basic accounting for their businesses. Imagine what this means for Francois, the community leader, for Nathaniel as he represents all of Matara before the governor of the province, for the men who run their soap enterprise, for the Leonie as she does her pottery business and Rita as she bargains in the marketplace? Imagine what this means for the entire community – they now have members who can read and write! This empowers all of them and is another big blow to the vulnerability they used to embody. Literacy is their new strength!

Here are the proud graduates with their certificates. (We take the space to show all seven as each one is a story of great endurance, hard work and catalytic accomplishment.)

(Learning to read and write and do math is hard work. Imagine doing that with a baby on your hip? Leonie and Rita did just that! Talk about strength… you have to admire these woman!)

So what is next for the literacy arc in Matara? The graduates will progress to level two training. Now all the other friends want to try again, so there will be level one training offered again. And this time… they have invited the neighbors to join them! So once again the blessings that come to Matara grow and include the entire neighborhood. Next term there will be two levels of training, multiple classes and many students working together to become stronger.

But for today – we dance! We celebrate the accomplishment of seven men and women who passed the test and can now read, write and do math. We celebrate a community that is less vulnerable because they can read and do the math. We celebrate the good news that they are blessed and a blessing to the larger neighborhood, turning their village into a learning center for all who would come.

Wherever you are… dance! Join in their celebration!

The Batwa people are known for their pots – it is a skill set and trade unique to their tribe. This was the way Batwa made a small income generations ago, making pots that others used for cooking and carrying. But now the markets are flooded with cheap plastic containers and other varieties of cooking options from China, making the Batwa pots obsolete. Now the pots represent part of the Batwa heritage, a relic of their past.

But the Batwa still make pots, if only to express a tradition that remains deep in their bones. To shape a pot is to shape the on-going story of the Batwa. To fire a pot is to consider the fires they continue to go through. To make a pot is to make their life rich with memory and meaning. But there is not much use for these vessels anymore.

Recently a friend of ours approached Claude and asked if he could help her with a project. Dada is an interior decorator in the city of Bujumbura and is often called upon to oversee the decor for renovated hotels, new restaurants and private homes. She pulls her inspiration from Burundian traditions, preferring to use local materials and items for her designs. So she told Claude she wanted to use Batwa pots – but needed his help to resource them.

Claude immediately thought of our friends in Matara, hands that make pots from memory and for memory-keeping, he thought that there could be a new purpose for their skills. Here was the idea… make the pots but with tiny holes that could let light escape. Dada had a decor item in mind that could create ambience, akin to a candle, yet showcase a Burundian artifact, a Batwa story.

So Claude connected Dada with Leonie (a strong woman who is one of the community leaders). And pot-making began in earnest.
Dada’s first two orders had Leonie making multiple pots a day, a slow and time-consuming process. So Leonie invited her Batwa sisters in Matara to help her fill these orders.

Leonie decided to use a simple nail to create the tiny holes for this custom order of Batwa pottery.

Thus far she and her Matara sisters have made over 80 custom pots. Right now they are working in filling Dada’s most recent request for 60 more – they have 30 done and 30 more to go! It is standard for these large rounded pots to sell for about $3 each – a small price for the labor intensive work. But these custom pots fetch a better price now – $12 per pot! This is Leonie’s first business enterprise ever. She is now in charge of a small cottage industry that is indigenous to her, reviving the tradition of Batwa pottery for a new purpose and a new cliental.

It is lovely to see two Burundian women, Dada and Leonie, working together to create something new. They are partners now with mutual respect for one another. And together they are filling the most beautiful spaces in Bujumbura with Batwa pottery!

It might be hard to see in this photo… the lights shining through the nail-pierced holes. But Claude says it shines and creates a stunning ambience, especially when Dada clusters them together in her own way. Clients love them. So far the Batwa custom pots are in several local establishments – and the demand is just beginning! Claude tells me that there is a certain kind of pride he feels when he enters a room where the repurposed pottery is on display. He knows the hands that shaped, fired and made those pots. He knows the Batwa relics are being given fresh life in their city. He knows that women are making their pots with purpose again, reclaiming a bit of their own story with each hand-shaped vessel.

Yesterday there was a Christmas Party in Matara! All the Community of Faith / Communities of Hope staff traveled to Matara to celebrate together with the families there the good news of Jesus coming and bringing peace.

Fanta was flowing, donuts for children of every age, drumming, dancing, speeches, singing and praying included everyone, guest and Matara residents alike. Our friends were eager to give a tour to COH friends, since it was the first visit for some of the new staff working in the city. When our team gets together, it is always a time filled with fun and rejoicing in how God provides and how He brings true transformation to entire communities.

The families Matara know the Christmas message from the inside out – the advent of Jesus means good news for the poor, a chance to start life anew and hope for a transformed tomorrow. They know that Jesus is a new kind of king who makes a new kind of life, one rooted in love, possible. They have demonstrated that love in Matara and blessed the entire region, making enemies neighbors, making strangers friends and showcasing God’s goodness for all.

Here are a few impromptu snapshots from the party…

So Merry Christmas from Matara… where the good news of Jesus abounds! May you know His peace this Christmas!

The women pushed in close for the picture with their ink-stained fingers, clutching their blue cards. Smiles were hard to contain – and why should they even try? This was a day to celebrate because the tide was beginning to turn for the Batwa of Bubanza. As of today no one could ignore them or deny their existence any longer.

For generations the Batwa survived on the edge of society, consigned to live out of sight on inhospitable land. They did not hold the deed to any land, they did not even hold an identity card in their hand. As far as the world was concerned, they did not exist. With no official record of their existence they could claim no rights, no representation, no residence or real home. For all intents and purposes they were invisible…exiles in their own land living in the shadows of Burundian society.

But that is not how we are created to live. God calls us out…literally. In Isaiah 49 God speaks to his servant, telling him that there is work to do in the margins – where people have been pushed off their land and out of society’s sight. God instructs his servant to begin reestablishing these exiled people in their homeland. But it begins with the call to the people to ‘Come forward! Appear!’ Come forward – you are authorized to leave the bad situation of the past, you are invited to move forward toward the new season about to break open. Appear – it is your time to be seen, to be visible. God desires to see people rooted in their homeland and able to be visible and full participants in community life.

This week we took a big step in the direction God points to through Isaiah… the first batch of identity cards were delivered to Bubanza!

There are over 1000 adults in Bubanza and most do not have identity cards. Getting one is not an easy process – you must offer proof of birth and have local authorities verify your residence. This is hard to do when you live off the grid – who can represent you? Since none of them were born in hospitals (so no birth certificates), there is no proof of birth in the country. This is where we come in and do the necessary work of advocacy. Over the past set of weeks Little Claude made a list of all the adults residing in the community and worked to certify that list through local channels. He and Claude escorted the government representative to Bubanza, showing him the community and allowing them to verify that these families do, in fact, live on the land in this province. There was more paperwork to complete, pictures to take, fees to pay… but the good news came that the first group of 120 people could get their identity cards!

Our team decided to make the women a priority – so the first group to receive their cards were women. Last week the government official came and set up a tent in Bubanza and issued all the cards. The women came, one at a time, and were finger-printed. Then their identity cards were stamped… and they became official residents of Bubanza, citizens of Burundi!

These little blue cards represent true membership – visibility that cannot be denied. Possession of an identity card means that these women are now full members of their society. They can vote, their children are now eligible for birth certificates, they can go to a hospital, they are protected from unlawful arrest and their local leaders must represent their voice. This card also shows their address, for the first time, they are residents of Bubanza. They have a place. This is a great start to claiming basic human rights and moving toward land rights.

For us, this is a realization of God’s dream! God wants theses families to come forward, to appear – to be visible members of their community with a voice that can be heard. This week the step from the shadows into the light of full visibility is starting… the first 120 have identity cards. (Now we just have about another 900 to go… one week at a time!)

When we came to Bubanza in early October and peeked into the classroom, there were 16 students. In a community with more than a thousand school-age children, there was one classroom, one teacher, 16 students. The structure itself was poor. The room was just that – a room with no desks, scant supplies and a makeshift chalkboard. The children sat on stools or on the floor while Mr.Terence tried his best to fulfill his vocation as a teacher.

The truth that most development professionals know is that sometimes education is not a priority for the poor. Often parents have not gone to school and so they do not fully grasp the importance, in the case of some their attempt at schooling was fraught with ridicule and hardship. There is another truth in operation – there is much work to be done and children must carry their load at an early age. They help fetching the water, a task that takes hours each day. They watch younger siblings while parents try to find work. They serve the local widows who have no support. Given the great need for everyone to share in the work, parents are reluctant to send their children to school if the benefit is in doubt and the immediate result is more chores for the other family members. Education takes a back seat to the more pressing needs of survival.

However, we know that education is the road out of poverty. So our dream for Bubanza includes education… eventually. When the time is right. When the land deed is in place and the water rights are secured and children can then be released from their chores to go to school. You see, development is a long process. But education is part of the dream…

Then one day as Claude is driving to Bubanza something catches his eye on the side of the road – something in a carpenter’s stand. He stops – and discovers a desk! And he learns there are nine more in the back of the shop. Claude could not resist.

Unexpectedly – desks arrive to Bubanza! Mr.Terence was not prepared for the interruption but quickly put down his lessons and grabed a desk. Bystanders joined in the work of unloading the new desks. The kids had never seen real school desks before – the room was electric! (This out of focus picture is the first evidence of their utter joy – as five cram into a desk built to hold two!)

When Claude returned to the classroom less than a week later he noticed there were more students. Mr.Terence reported that enrollment tripled in a matter of days! (Claude ordered ten more desks and they were delivered within the week!)

Claude spoke to Mr.Terence again just yesterday and learned that 96 students are now enrolled in the Bubanza classroom. There are over a thousand on the waiting list! Twenty desks is just not enough – nor is one classroom. So parents have begun building more classrooms – on their own initiative – because they want their children to sit in real desks with real teachers and learn. They are not waiting for the dream, they are building it with their own hands now!

This was not part of the long-range plan, to bring desks in at week one. But something else was at work – and desks arrived. The parents of Bubanza, once uninterested in education, had a change of heart. Because sometimes parents see a delivery of desks as a sign of hope. They see friends and trees and desks and begin to believe that something is changing and that they can dare to hope. Sending a child to school is brave. Sending a child to school says you believe in that child’s future. Sending a child to school says things are getting better at home. Sending a child to school – or thousands – says a community’s sails are filled with hope!

Something is at work in Bubanza – nothing short of the Spirit of God blowing through a run-down school room, through a once-forgotten community, through a wilderness. The Spirit is stirring something in the hearts (and minds!) of the families in Bubanza. Beyond all development philosophy, He is delivering hope ahead of schedule! And we say AMEN!!!

So yes, we are now collaborating with the families. We are thinking of classrooms and desks and… all manner of goodness for these students! We hope to see those on the waiting list in classrooms (and desks) sometime soon. The Spirit is at work – we are just trying to keep up with His movements.

The trees arrived to Bubanza! The saplings were all unloaded… looking like a verdant swath of green on the parched landscape. Some friends were on-hand and ready to help plant the trees. But it was the children who swarmed in with great interest and energy. They took trees and paraded through the village, young children carrying young saplings. They looked like tender green flags fluttering in the air!

Claude and Little Claude began the work of planting, giving special care to teach the children. Claude told the children, “These are your trees.” And as they planted them he taught them about how important trees are to the land, to the air, to them. He shared how the trees will grow food, provide medicine and offer shade for them. “These are your trees, and they will grow with you.” The objective for the day was planting trees. The result was so much richer – teaching children to participate in their future, to understand the importance of trees and to plant hope.

This is a special tree that is taking root in Bubanza. Across East Africa it is called ‘Mother’s best friend’ because virtually every part of the tree can be used. The tree offers food – pods, leaves and roots all chock full of vitamins and amino acids to promote potent nutrition. The oil extracted from the tree has medicinal properties, used both to prevent and treat many local maladies. The tree is known to support sustainable land care, enriching the soil and even purifying local water. It is known as a miracle tree, celebrated by many as a top resource in combating malnutrition, especially among the young and nursing mothers. These little saplings really pack a punch – nutritionally, medically and economically (agriculturally speaking)!

We planted 700 trees so far. There was much spontaneous celebration as the work day came to a close.

Planting trees is prime agricultural work. It is serious business for land rescue, rehabilitation and restoration. I can imagine the disciples turning away the excited children, pushing them back away from the precious resource and shewing them away from this serious task. (They will only get under foot.) But instead, Claude and Little Claude embraced them as Jesus did, ushering them right into the center of the action. Let the children come, let them carry the trees like flags of hope, let them dig holes and drop saplings in, let them feel the leaves and ask their questions. Let them learn why trees matter. Let them be part of the transformation of Bubanza… because the Kingdom is made of ones like these!

Hope has been planted in Bubanza… in the soil and in the hearts of the children.

The students at the Batwa Education Project have a new address! They returned from summer break and moved into their new home just in time to prepare for the beginning of another school year. This home is in a neighborhood close to their schools and while a bit smaller, fits the students nicely.

It is a two-story home with all the amenities the students needs for another successful year of school. There is room to host friends (and study groups!)…

There is a place for shared meals…

And space for sleeping and studying…

And there is even room for the house parents (pictured here with our son, Justin)…

The students have begun their year with a readiness to work hard and knowledge that they have a new place to call home that will give them the infrastructure they need to succeed. There will be beds, mosquito nets, electricity and clean water, food and a safe place to study, pray and rest. There will be people there to care for them, encourage them and cheer them on in their studies.

We wish them a true house-warming… a home filled with warmth, love and family!

This week life for this little girl is going to start changing. It might be slow and almost invisible at first. But starting this week, friends have come to stand with her, her family and her community. These friends, Burundians and Texans alike, will become familiar faces to her over the years to come. When she reflects on her childhood, she will look back and realize that these were the friends that worked side by side with her parents and neighbors to change life in Bubanza. She may not know it yet – but one day she will.

Here stands an average family in Bubanza – at the start of a new season in our friendship with this family. We have visited Bubanza faithfully since 2008, each year walking the ground and shaking the dust with our shared dancing with the Batwa here. We came as guests, we brought gifts of grain and beans, we left with unexpected gifts. We prayed with them and we prayed for them – as we left.

But Bubanza is big and the terrain is tough. Hundreds of families, poor land, no water and no hope. Some have tried to help over the years – helping with some houses, but not enough. Offering occasional food, but only for a few days. No one stayed long. So the situation on the ground in Bubanza really did not change. Hardship was the steady diet of these friends.

But the people of Bubanza are our friends. And over the years we have learned some things, our skill set has expanded. We have witnessed God’s lavish goodness and our own faith has grown from a mustard seed into a bush that can give some shade. We are ready to take the next step with these friends and begin a partnership that will be hard, long and deeply good. This week we begin!

We will start by advocating for human rights – identity cards, birth certificates and marriage licenses for hundreds of families. We will pray and push and promote their cause to the local officials, seeking a deed for their land so that they can have ownership and the security that comes with it. Once there is a deed, an anchor to this place, then the real transformation can begin because they will know they can invest with confidence that this is their future.

By Christmas we will together plant one thousand trees in Bubanza. These trees will start to rehabilitate the composition of the soil, delivering nutrients and life. The trees will allow the soil to stay on the ground, not be blown away by the winds. The trees will provide some shade, some relief for the soil from the sun. This will be the beginning of transforming the very landscape of this community.

Trees will also help protect the fragile houses from the winds. The trees will improve the climate. The trees will be the first visible thing the families see – like symbols of the life and change to come.

Right now there is a dilapidated school – one single room – in Bubanza. In that room there are less than 20 students, in a community with thousands of children. We want to see that change over time. There are many things that keep kids out of school in Bubanza – they are recruited to walk for hours each day to get water, they watch siblings, they assist the widows who have no husband to help them. But we want to see a school that is full with students – bright eyes and bright futures ignited!

This week life for this little boy is starting to change. He is going to see trees soon, he is going to have a birth certificate and have access to health care, he is going to see soil that can grow food, he is going to someday go to school! The trajectory of his life is starting to change this week – though it might be slow and almost invisible at first. His life is getting better because his friends are coming to partner with his family.

Those friends come with hope, a willingness to work hard and fueled by prayers. This is how God begins to transform landscapes and lives. We are part of that transformation in Bubanza – beginning this week!

This dry land is going to be transformed… God does that kind of thing in Burundi!

Smiles from the children of Matara to brighten your day!

His smile is contagious – I just can’t help but smile right back!

Another sweet smile… with Iribuka peeking out with those big eyes!

Hope the smiles from Matara have brightened your day. Remember that God’s goodness is present with our Batwa families as it is with us.

Miguel traveled from Costa Rica to Burundi to meet up with Claude and see first-hand the communities in Burundi. Claude also invited him to come and share his expertise in appropriate technologies, to see if there are things that he has learned over the years in Mexico that can have some traction in an African context. It was our hope that this would be a rich time of fellowship and well as sharing of knowledge and mutual encouragement.

Miguel visited Matara first. Then he got to see Bubanza, the project that is set to launch this week! He spent some time with our agricultural engineer / project manager, Little Claude, and was able to share some ideas and even co-host some trainings on methods for livestock management and care.

But then Claude thought it would be really fun to expand his African experience a bit and take him to Uganda! There we have so many great friends, some that are also COF friends. Miguel visited Cherish, a village for orphaned children, and helped them dream about sustainability in their community. He also worshipped with Moses at Worship Harvest church and shared meals together, learning about more of the work happening in Kampala.

Then Claude took him to spend time with another dear friend, Caleb. In the past year Caleb has built a water well with cistern on his property. But he always has the community in mind, and allows 100+ neighbors to access the water for free, as a gift and expression of true neighborliness. But the women spend hours purifying the water – gathering firewood and then boiling pots of water for use in cooking and drinking. This takes time but also depletes the local environment with the cutting down of all these lush, green, productive trees.

Enter Miguel… he came with water filters and McGyver-style know how to bring a great improvement to the water system! He spent the day with Caleb and taught him how to make a filter system, how to install and maintain it. This will allow the community to enjoy clean filtered water for about three years… cutting down fewer trees, overseeing fewer fires and enjoying cleaner water. What a great gift to Caleb and his community!

Our Ugandan friends seemed both excited and a bit skeptical… will this water really be clean? Experience tells us it takes about a month for the mothers to learn they can trust the new filtration system and give up all the hours of boiling water!

It was so wonderful having Miguel in Burundi and Uganda – for the friendship and filters! We love seeing our COF family grow – allowing communities in Mexico, Costa Rica and Africa to cross-pollinate their experience, knowledge and dreaming. Imagine the reunion in Cypress for Serve the World Weekend… when all the COF International staff come together on Texan soil to celebrate God’s goodness. It is so amazing to be part of the COF family and really work together for God’s purposes in the world. We are blessed…

Quick update:

Our Batwa families are still working on the permanent houses. They had hoped to finish them all by the end of this month, but were set back due to some illnesses within the community. Everyone seems to be on the mend now, and building is underway once again. So give them a couple more months, and the homes will all be completed!