Planting together

Ubuntu is a Xhosa word that represents an African concept – we are persons through other persons. I am who I am because you are who you are, and our interactions contribute (or detract) from the other. My quality of life is enriched when you are healthy, when you are employed and your family is around you. But should you succumb to an illness, or you lose your job or your family is at odds, my life is somehow diminished and less complete. Because we are all connected, what happens to others matters to us in a personal way. This reminds me of Paul’s image in the New Testament about us all being part of Christ’s body, and when one part of the body is broken it affects the entire system. Again, we are connected to others in deep ways that impact us.

I just finished reading Desmond Tutu’s most recent book, Made for Goodness. He speaks of ubuntu, not surprising as an African elder who knows his continent’s wisdom deeply. He says, “One consequence of ubuntu is that we recognize that we all need to live our lives in ways that ensure that others may live well. Our flourishing should enhance the lives of others, not detract from them… God’s invitation to wholeness always includes more than ourselves. God’s invitation to wholeness is ubuntu.” He challenges us to live our lives in ways that ensure the livelihood of others. He cautions us that some of our choices could actually harm others, maybe even our friends.

I was thinking of this statement as I thought of our recent time with our Batwa friends in Matara. We worked together, side by side in the cabbage field. We sat together under the canopy of shade and made containers out of banana leaves for the tree farm. We took cotton, fabric, baskets and some string and sewed fireless cookers together. We were making life better for our Batwa friends as we labored alongside them. We were investing in the health of their land and the health of their families. But did we realize that we were also investing in the health of our own families and our own land? Our lives, Texan and Twa, were improving. This is ubuntu.

It is striking to consider Tutu’s final sentence … his claim that our wholeness depends on the wholeness of others. We cannot be complete on our own, we need to recognize our connection to others and seek their wholeness. Doing this improves their life, but also ensure the health of our own. We are only whole when we are all whole. Interesting thought, isn’t it?

Again, think of our Batwa friends in Matara. As the quality of their community improves, somehow your life is enriched in a tangible way. When the cabbage grows, when the kids are doing well in school (and not experiencing any discrimination), when the Batwa are able to engage in community service with their Hutu and Tutsi neighbors… we are better in America. When the trees are planted, mature and eventually provide shade cover and help preserve the rich soil of Matara… we are better in Texas. When the Batwa families all have identity cards and birth certificates, all are legally married and full members of society… we are better in Cypress. When Iribuka grows up with the proper nutrition and can be found running in the green fields alongside her mama… we are better at Community of Faith. We are more whole when they are more whole.

But take it a step further… and think of things that we can do better in Texas to make things better in Matara. How can ‘our flourishing’, as Tutu says, bring them bounty? Are there ways in which we seek to flourish that might actually due them harm? These are questions worth considering, as we understand that in Christ, we are all members of the same body. And part of the mystery of this body is that what happens in Matara matters to Cypress, and what happens in Texas matters to the Batwa friends in Burundi. It is amazing how Christ has connected us in, as the Africans say, ubuntu. And it should challenge us and the choices we make at home.

I loved hearing Martha share how she plans to buy fewer shoes and save more money to contribute to our friends in Matara. That is a very direct expression of ubuntu. I imagine there are some other ways to think of this, too. Think about how the Batwa friends were refusing to use plastic bags in the tree nursery, opting for banana leaves instead. This was a choice to minimize waste in Matara and avoid plastic bags that are not good for the earth. Maybe we can use reusable bags when we go to the market and try to minimize the plastic bags we consume in Cypress, caring for our locality with the same diligence. Maybe we can commit to using less plastic water bottles – remembering that Joel recycles them into pavers in Congo! What if we planted a few trees this year in solidarity with our Matara community, caring for our land as they care for theirs. Trees are the lungs of the earth… we could strengthen them here and there. What if we considered all the energy we use daily, and how we might lower our usage by using eco-friendly bulbs in our lamps and turning off the lights when we leave a room. That is what the fireless cookers are all about – consuming less energy in the daily task of cooking (here it is coal and firewood we are trying to conserve). These are some ways to think of ubuntu, to consider bettering our lives and their lives, knowing that they are doing the same in Matara today!

Ubuntu is like an embrace, realizing we are connected. Let us not forget to hold each other tight as we work to ensure that our flourishing brings our friends benefit. Let us be creative in expressing our solidarity with the Batwa friends we made in Matara. Your coming was just the beginning, how you live is the daily expression of that friendship you embarked on when you first walked (and danced) in Matara!

Friends embrace...

P.S. The women have their pots with lids and are staring to experiment with the fireless cookers! And the cabbage you helped plant is growing! Goodness continues…

“No one died this year,” is how Francois described the goodness of the first full year in Matara. Every other year, the calendar is marked by deaths. Everyone cannot make the year since food is scarce, water a multi-mile walk away and money hard to make when your village is without resource and far from the crossroads of local commerce. The only uncertainty about death is who will succumb, who will be too weak to pass into the next year of life. So to declare that no one died in Matara last year is to make a revolutionary announcement that things are different here! There was enough (food, water, opportunity) for all of us to make this year. And there were so many births… almost every family celebrated the healthy birth of a child in Matara. Matara is brimming with life, which is good news, indeed.

“We are official now!” was his pronouncement to the friends gathered at the wedding celebration. Over recent generations, the Batwa had fallen out of sight. They were pushed to the margins and so began to relinquish the rights of civil society – like marriage. They stopped getting married, opting for cohabitation without any legal accountability or protection. But last week 10 Batwa couples decided to get married and enter society in the fullest way possible. The governor of the province came to Matara in all his ceremonial garb, and he brought the marriage book and ink pad. One couple at a time, they signed their names in the book, a permanent record of their marriage in this province. They rolled their thumbs in ink and pressed with pride… they are now official! Their names in this book, alongside all the other married couples of the entire region, means that they are now full members of society. They have moved from the shadows and into society with all of us as witnesses. They wanted us to celebrate with them – they have birth certificates for all children under the age of 5, all the adults have identity cards, and now they are all married and in the book. They are official. For our Batwa friends, this is a monumental statement of belonging.

“We will build it together,” the governor said. He was referring to a road that the commune (like a county) had wanted to build for years, but could never get the permissions or have ample manpower to complete. The road would have to run alongside the Matara property line to reach from the highway to the more remote country road deeper in the region. But, he told us, now they can do it because the Batwa families of Matara have agreed to allow the road to run on the edge of their property. And… the Batwa families volunteered to help build it. They volunteered to work alongside Hutu and Tutsi neighbors to build a road that will run alongside their land and create access for others. With this the governor said that ‘we will build it together.’ Stunning! Our Batwa friends are making a better life for themselves, but they are also making a better life for their neighbors. They are contributing to the community at large, because they know they are members of that commune and can now engage as such. For the first time, they will work on a road not as hired help, but as fellow volunteers helping the community. Later the local chief of the zone added that the Batwa families are ’showing us our prejudices.’ Another statement worth reflection, as these families are helping reveal and improve the character of their community.

These are astonishing statements from the Batwa families and their local leaders. Astonishing announcements just one year into this community development project.

What they said is what matters. What we say, less so. We can talk about strategies, intentions, attempts and high hopes. But they speak and witness to a new reality – their hard work bearing fruit, their efforts bringing results, their new life proving to be better than the old one. They say they are healthier this year – all births and no deaths in Matara. They say they are better fed – fresh crops and a variety of vegetation resulting in full pots on the fire at dinner time. They speak with such pride about their accomplishments, what they have achieved on their own land. They offer us words of gratitude for friendship. Their words tell the story we need to hear. Their words say that they are living better in Matara, that they are building something for their children and that they are now integrated into society in ways they never dreamed before. They are, as Francois said, walking tall.

Our words echo theirs… but their words carry the weight and show us what it looks like when hope takes root and transforms a community. Our best word in response: Amen!

Tags: Matara

This morning, we went to Matara one last time for this trip. It was a work day. We spent the morning in 3 teams… planting indigenous trees in their tree nursery, planting cabbage, and making fireless cookers.

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.

This morning, our group split into two groups and went to two different churches here in Bujumbura.

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.

God was smiling today. What a difference today has made in the Batwa tribe for generations to come. How special that the Batwa children witnessed the commitments of their parents. What HOPE for their future – now that “they are written down,” as Franscois – their elected tribe leader – so gracefully expressed to us today. They have legal identity. They were recognized by the governor himself!

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

Today, we visited the village of Matara. It has changed so much since last year! LIFE everywhere you look! In the harvest, in the water, in the faces and eyes of the beautiful Batwa. Ten couples were also preparing for their marriage to take place tomorrow! We will be joining them in their celebration. Until then, here are a few images from the day.

After a brief Kirundi lesson this morning we visited the Batwa at Bubanza. We were greeted with singing and dancing!!

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!

The group from COF made it safe and sound to Burundi and miraculously their luggage did too!!

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…

God created – land, trees, streams and soil. He took great pleasure in the activity of creating and with each new marvel; He declared it ‘good!’ I think we often forget that God took great pride in His handiwork and, more to the point, He still does!

We read John 3:16, well, really we know it so well that we recite it by heart more than read it. But it is worth reading again. For God so loved the cosmos that He sent His Son – God loved the cosmos, and was compelled to take the bravest step and become flesh and blood to bring salvation to this entire enterprise. John could have written that God so loved the ethnos, the people inhabiting the planet. But no, God loves the cosmos – the world, all that He created. He loves all of it! Everything God created matters to Him and is worth His salvation. What a stunning thought. And this leads me to the next thought – if God so loves the cosmos, do I?

I have spent a lot of time learning to love the people God has placed in my life, in my country and in this world. But recently I feel God is widening the scope and showcasing all of His creation and inviting me to embrace it with the same enthusiasm that He does. This means seeing that the world, and those that are in it, are good and all beloved. It means we need to not only care for one another, but also the environment where God has put us. This is part of loving the cosmos, recognizing that God wants us to be trust-worthy with one another and with all created things.

So I look to the land that God has gifted to the Batwa families in Matara. It is good land with rich, dark soil that produces wonderful vegetation. There are trees covering the mountainside, offering shade and protecting the environment. Not too far from the village there is a fresh water stream with its source right on the land, clean water that is accessible for cooking, cleaning and drinking. You just see creation goodness all around when you walk the ground of Matara. This might as well be the Promised Land!

And so – this is part of the cosmos God created and loves, and this plot of land is what He has given to these 27 Batwa families. We have been entrusted with this land – like Adam and Eve, we are invited to cultivate the land, sustain its goodness and protect it from harm. As we care for the land, it will care for us. As we ensure that the environment remains healthy, then the trees will continue to grow and give shade, the water will remain clean, the soil continue to bear fruit and this will remain a hospitable place for the Batwa families.

So I have been asking myself – how do we care for this land in sustainable ways, so that we can honor God’s good gift and ensure that Matara remains a productive home for the Batwa families? How do we make sure the stream does not fill with silt and the water become too dirty to drink? How do we make sure we are tending the soil in a way that keeps it moist and rich – so it does not dry out and the top soil blown away? How do we ensure that the trees won’t all be chopped for firewood or charcoal production, but instead remain a canopy of shade and protection for the land? These are important questions to be asking as we move forward with the growth of this community. The relationship between the people and the land matters, it did in Genesis and it does in Matara.

These are good questions to be asking. These are good issues to be exploring together. God loves the Batwa families that live in Matara. He also loves the land of Matara. So we need to be thinking about how to care for both.