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.