A Good Day

Thursday was a good day. As Delia put it, things were at work, both temporal and eternal. Thursdays are early days for me and it was a good sign that I only needed to snooze once before getting out of bed and preparing for my day. Joaquin and I got ready for school and read Purpose Driven Life over breakfast. It was fitting that today’s topic dealt with time and how we invest our time in the things that are important to us. After breakfast I had enough time to wash and start the rice for lunch, and Galen and Fidel had already prepared the chicken (or so I thought!) In my mind, lunch was ready! But that’s not why I had a good day… remember temporal and eternal?

Well, I stayed at school a little longer this morning. After working with J during his free period, I had it in mind to stay and check e-mail (I found a free wireless connection), do QT, and read. But wouldn’t you know it, God had other plans. During his class, J walked into the room I was using with his books and papers in hand (none of which were for the class he was supposed to be in) and shared with me that he had already spoken to his teacher and that he was going to use class time to finish his homework for another class so he could be free for the weekend to spend time with God and the family (it’s half-term and I’ve learned that the kids get a few days off).

J’s going through a pretty significant period of growth and transition. He fully wants to serve God and is deeply committed to his family, but he’s also 17. A music-listening, movie-watching 17 year-old. In his mind, it made perfect sense that he would do his school work at school so he could have a completely free long weekend. We had a pretty lengthy discussion about school and the responsibilities of a student, but it wasn’t until we started discussing his future plans and what he feels God’s calling him to do, that things began to register, for the both of us. J feels that he is being called into ministry as a pastor, and a rapper, and has shared on several occasions that there are different schools and programs he wants to attend to receive training. We discussed that as overwhelming and uninteresting as school can seem at times; the benefits are learning how to study and how to use our time wisely for when he ultimately attends the programs he desires. We also framed our discussion around the different men his life that are in ministry now. Did he think they did their homework during class? Did they walk out of class when they felt like it? Or what did he think they did during class? As he began to speak of his mounting school work, J mentioned that he may want to quit school. I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to push or influence him in either way, but to encourage him to seek after what God wants him to be and to do.

After lunch and our afternoon study session, J and I went for a walk. We walked through the Enchanted Garden and talked about his strengths, passions, future plans (both from his perspective and what he feels God is calling him to do), and the courses of action that are needed to reach those future plans. I know that this discussion isn’t over yet, but I think we both came out of Thursday feeling heard, important, and loved. Isn’t that just God?

Not A Matter Of Can, But Do I Want To?

What do you do when "no" isn't an option? Things are getting tough... it's not constant... but it's enough that it's starting to wear on me physically and emotionally. I feel like there's a tremendous amount of responsibility being shifted my way. Galen and Delia returned back from the States yesterday. We've discussed planning/hosting another Bible Study/discussion time during the week, I'm trying to help Joaquin with his Saturday morning Bible Studies (and continuing to help him with school), and I've been asked to continue to manage the house and our house worker. I know I'm not expected to do this all on my own but it's hard when you're used to being independent and when you don't even know what questions to ask.

I know that these are all things that I need to learn if I'm going to be on the mission field longer, but it makes me ask myself, "Do I really want this?" Then I realize it's not about what I want, but about what God is calling me to do. In all honesty, I thought about throwing in the towel today. It wasn't a particularly bad or difficult day, but as I look ahead to what's waiting I wonder, "Am I going to make it?"

I miss you guys at home. Today... right now, in fact, is the one of the first times I'm realizing how much I miss home. I miss my family, I miss my friends, I miss my church, I miss my co-workers, I miss my kids. I miss my mom's cooking, I miss my bed. Don't get me wrong. Things aren't bad here. I can live here. I just don't know if I can be so far away from everyone and everything that I love. I don't know if I'm cut out for ministry.

If you've made it down this far, pray for me... Pray for strength and courage. Pray for humility and obedience. But don't worry... God and I are good...

I'm going to try to be a bit more transparent from now on... bear with me... this is scary territory...

Hungry Hungry Hippo?

Sorry for the delay, folks. It's been a little tough getting back out to the office. I locked someone out of the office last Wednesday and they needed our keys to get back in. It's taken until today to get our set back.

I'm pretty excited to share that I saw my first official hippo at the lake on Saturday. It was huge and so close! The boys were swiming in the lake when I noticed a boat float past them and they started to come out. I looked over to my left and saw a huge hippo come about halfway out of the water! They say that hippos are herbivores... but whatever the case, none of us are going to mess with them. (Sorry there no pics... I forgot to take my camera with me!)

Home Alone 1

Ever see that movie from the 90's with Macauley Culkin? Well, it's back... Burundi style. Galen and Delia left for the States last Friday leaving me, Joaquin, and Fidel behind.

Since they've been gone we've lost water twice (only for about 2 hours at a time) and we've lost electricity 4 times (several times for more than 12 hours at a time... we're going on 19 hours right now). All I can say is thank God I'm living with boys because if they were girls there would be a lot of complaining and whining! That's given us more excuses to go out and eat... we've had Italian, Chinese, pizza twice, and something really good last night (I don't know what kind of cuisine it is). We've burned through all the candles in the house, but at least we have the mini flashlights at night.

J's school was closed on Tuesday, thank you Muslim friends (it was the last day of Ramadan), so we headed off to the beach! It was even nicer during the week than it is on the weekends because there were hardly any people there. We turned up the iPod, swam in the lake, and snacked on yummy samosas!

Exciting tidbit... F is teaching me how to drive stick! Thankfully he's patient! I'm not leaving our neighborhood yet, but I've managed to make it into 2nd gear. I honestly don't know how much driving I'll do anyways... I enjoy walking and it allows more people to get used to the sight of me (and I need to walk off all the avocado I'm eating!).

Stay tuned for more home alone adventures... we still have 2 weeks left!

Teenagers Aren't So Bad

I've been really encouraged by the students at Joaquin's school. I guess my novelty has worn off and I'm not the unapproachable mzungu anymore. Some of the students seem disappointed that I'm not at school with them full time anymore. You see, Joaquin and I decided that I'm probably more use to him during his free periods than I am sitting in the back of the room dozing off.

I thought leaving Cradlerock would mean leaving my community of students and kids behind, but God has a different plan! I've always been hesitant to work with kids who were taller than me... yes, I know that's pretty limiting! But I see now how my work back home with my parents' youth group helped prepare me for my relationships here in Burundi.

I've been especially blessed by one of Joaquin's classmates, Lee. Last week began with glances out of the corner of her eye, which moved on to smiles during class, and has finally changed to hugs and warm conversation. She anticipates when I'm coming and walks me to the gate when I leave. I'm not sure if Lee realizes what she's done for me and my spirit during this short time...

I guess teenagers aren't so bad after all.

The First Week

It's hard to believe that in a few hours it will be official... 1 week; 7 days; however many hours, minutes, and seconds spent here in Burundi.

The first few days were spent physically adjusting to my new surroundings- setting up a brand new mosquito net, unpacking my suitcases, putting away clothes, and trying to figure out where to store all my extra toiletries. Galen and Delia were gracious enough to let me sleep almost half of my first two days away.

Thursday evening Delia and I took an hour walk to our church for Praise Team/Choir practice. It's pretty cool that we're singing both familiar and new praise songs in English, French, and Kirundi. Hopefully I'll improve my French and learn Kirundi quickly!

Friday evening Delia, Fidel, and I walked over to the Rainbow Center, a nearby orphange. I hope that I'll be able to spend a lot of my time there. They have about 5 babies, all under a year and a half who want and need love, attention, and stimulation. Don't get me wrong... the older mamas who work there in the evenings are wonderful... it just looks like those little guys could use some more company.

We were surprised that evening with a dinner guest. Delia and Fidel have befriended an older Russian woman who has been here since before the Russians pulled out of Burundi. She was/is a doctor and lives in the abandoned clinic. She has no running water or electricity in her home, but she has such a calming peace about her. It made me smile that the only way I could communicate with her was through a smattering of French and Russian! I need to freshen up on my Russian, too. Aiyaiyai!

One of my responsibilities here in Burundi is assisting Joaquin in preparing his weekly Bible studies. It's encouraging that between 2-12 classmates come to the house every Saturday morning for Bible study. We're studying the life of Joseph now. A typical study includes Bible reading, questions, and drama. Watch out CAM! After the Bible study, the family took their weekly retreat to Lake Tanganyaka. It's a beautiful beach on the western edge of the country. The sand is white, the water blue, but beware of hippos... I'm not kidding! We didn't see any while we were there, but heard that some were spotted before we arrived.

Sunday was Bridgeway-less but filling nonetheless. I learned that we would be attending two different churches and hosting a Bible study. Unfortunately, Galen and Delia were both sick so Bible study fell into my lap (a few hours before it was to begin!). But God is good and gracious and I had a great time with the guys in the study.

That brings us to this week. I've attended school with Joaquin everyday and will probably do so until the end of the week. Another one of my responsibilities here includes helping/advising Joaquin, his teachers, and his aide.

Sorry about the condensed version of the week but I wanted to let you know what my "typical" day has been like so far.

I'm Back Online...

Greetings everybody! (very African I know...)

It feels good to be back online again. I apologize that I haven't been able to update you more regularly but travelling took a bit more out of me, and my computer, than I thought it would.

For those of you who haven't heard about how my great adventure began, I'm going to paste in an email that my dear friend Amy wrote describing my first 3 hours... My edits and clarifications are mentioned in orange.

The Start of Susie's Great Adventure

A Difficult Goodbye

Tuesday, September 9th: Susie’s family and close friends arrived at the airport between 11am and 12pm to assist Susie with her bags, check her in, pray for her and say our final goodbyes. All went smoothly with check-in. Prayer was powerful. The goodbyes, although difficult and emotional, touched the hearts of each of us. At 1pm, as Susie walked through security without a hitch, we all waved a sad but excited goodbye as Susie disappeared into the terminal.

The Phone Call

Johnette and I were two of the last to leave the airport. She had come with me to the airport and I needed to drop her off at her mom’s office. As we drove down 29, processing the events of the morning, we were about 2 minutes from our exit and my phone rang. I answered the phone to hear an upset Susie announcing that her flight had been cancelled due to the heavy rains in NY (her first lay over). I looked over at Johnette who said she was “in” and we immediately turned the car around to head back to the airport.

In Walks Isaac

In the meantime, a young man scheduled to be on the same flight as Susie, overheard her talking on the phone to her family and friends about the flight being cancelled. He walked over to her and said that he, too, was travelling to Burundi. He introduced himself as Isaac. Isaac is a “missionary kid” who grew up in Africa and has travelled all over the world. He had just graduated from Virginia Tech and was accepted into the World Relief Program in Burundi. He has never been to Burundi and is quite excited about this being his first missionary “job”. His family lives in southern VA, currently, and he had travelled to the Baltimore area to for a briefing at the World Relief headquarters in Baltimore prior to leaving on his 1 year assignment. He doesn’t know anyone in this area and was quite concerned about what he would do if he had to stay in the area for another day or two. He and Susie walked back to the ticketing line together. **Isaac and I actually met in the ticketing line after we had left the gate. I offered him use of my phone to call one of his connections and we got to talking (over, around, and through the man standing between us!).

The Long Wait

Johnette and I arrive at the airport and find Susie and Isaac toward the front of a long line of American Airline customers trying to reschedule flights. The line was moving VERY slowly, giving us time to get to know Isaac and many others in the line, but taking away from the small window of time we had to get them on a flight that would work for them. In the meantime, a peace and strength came over Susie. She was taking it all in stride, smiling and laughing, without even a hint of anxiety in her voice. It was all in God’s hands, and she that was all she cared about.

Turns out there are only 2 flights a week out of Brussels to Burundi and the next flight was not until Friday…. and that flight was full. It was absolutely necessary that we get Susie and Isaac to Brussels TODAY. Isaac, quite seasoned in these types of situations, was in front of Susie in line and we, half jokingly and half seriously, told him we were depending on him to work it all out! He finally got to the counter and after about 15 minutes of discussion with the American Airlines rep, he looked a bit frustrated. The rep told him that since the cancellation was due to weather, she could not book him on any other airlines outside of American. There weren’t any American flights that would get them to Brussels in time. More discussion occurred. Then, with a surprised look on his face, Isaac turned around to us and said, “Can we get to Dulles in time for a 6pm flight?! We are being offered a UNITED flight!” We looked at our watches…. 3pm….need a bigger car….. rush hour traffic…….SURE!!!!!! ** Amy forgot to mention that during the course of Isaac's conversation with the American Airline rep, she snapped at him and at us. She informd us that sh could only work with one passenger at a time and proceeded to hunch down so we couldn't read her lips any longer... aiyaiyai!

The Amazing Race Begins

Susie looks at me and says, “Tim’s car?” Immediately, we are on the phone with Tim, who is at the Bridgeway office. He says he is on his way. As Johnette guards the carry-ons, we run down to the baggage claim to retrieve Susie and Isaac’s suitcases only to return to the ticket counter. Isaac and Susie complete the process at the counter and receive their tickets for their 6pm flight on United. It was never explained why they were offered the United Flight. We didn’t ask, she didn’t tell. J Tim arrives with his car. We pull everything possible out of the car, and load all of the bags in. They just fit. I hand Tim the keys to my car, which is in hourly parking and he, after saying his second goodbyes, walks off through the airport with Matthew’s car seat (which we had to remove from the car to make everything fit) over his shoulder. It is now closing in on 4pm. We stop at the gas station to fill up and get some snacks (we all haven’t eaten since breakfast at this point). 4:10pm, we jump in the car, pray, and head toward 95 South, on our way to Dulles.

God Parts the Highways

It was truly a miracle. We got to Dulles Airport before 5pm. There was NO TRAFFIC the entire way there and I only exceeded the speed limit by minimal amounts. I pulled up to the terminal, and Susie, Isaac, and Johnette jumped out, grabbed the suitcases, and ran to the counter. By the time I parked and made my way in, they were being helped by a United rep named Angela….. or should we say Angel. She was so efficient, calm, and encouraging. She got Susie and Isaac checked in and seated next to each other, fast-tracked their checked luggage straight to security and called down to the gate to let the staff know that they were on their way. We thought we were in the clear.

International Security

Turns out, when you are flying directly out of the country, EVERYTHING needs to be searched. ** Isaac and I aren't exactly sure why we were tagged. It may have been our destination, it may have been the change in flights, it may have been conincidence, but one thing is for sure... I clung on to God like no time before! Isaac and I were patted down and our belongings swabbed! We ran up to the security check in no time only to find out that Susie and Isaac needed to be searched AND all of their carry-ons needed to be searched and swabbed. We said another quick goodbye. Time was ticking….and ticking. At this point, all four of us, Susie and Isaac in the security cell and Johnette and I stretching our necks to see what is going on from the outside, are jumping up and down, looking at our watches and praying. It was 5:40pm when they finally go through…. and they still needed to take the shuttle to the gate. Johnette and I walked to the parking lot, anxiously awaiting a call from Susie telling us that they were on the plane. Almost 6pm and no call. So we sat and prayed. My phone vibrates with a text message. They are on the plane, seated, and there is a 15 minute delay. Only God. I add my own interjection here... Isaac and I barely made it on the plane and by the time we did everyone was seated. It was a miracle (or God) that we had seats next to each other on a packed flight to Brussels. I had to stow my carry-on and anyone who knows me knows I have a tendency to overpack. There were few overhead compartments left and my carry-on was not ging to fit under my chair. I asked the flight attendent to help me put my bag in the overhead and she stated that she couldn't because of her back and that I would have to do it for myself. Well, that would be fine if I wasn't 5'0 tall and my bag didn't weigh close to 40ish pounds. I asked a man sitting under the overhead compartment if he wouldn't mind helping me. I nearly broke down in tears when another woman stopped him and told him that it wasn't his responsibility and that I should do it on my own. Thankfully, another man offered to help me (with my help... my bag was too heavy for him too!).

Brussels

My phone vibrates at 2am this morning. Susie and Isaac made it safely to Brussels, their bags had been checked through Burundi, and they were awaiting to board their flight to Burundi. They should arrive around 2pm today.

God knows just what we need and His plan is perfect. I believe He protected Susie from the hurricane, that He knew Susie and Isaac needed a travelling companion, that He knew a 3 hour lay-over in NY would have been too much for them and that He wanted to remind us all, just one more time, that HE is in control. I love Him so much.

I will let you know when I receive the call that Susie is safely in Burundi

And now friends I am here and I know that I have 5 days to catch you up on, but it's time for me to embark on my first indepdendent adventure of walking home.

Til I blog again...