Revelation in Rwanda

I went to Rwanda last week and it was glorious. So glorious! It was refreshing and exactly what I needed. The country was so beautiful!

It all started at the airport and what a nice airport it was...

When I got off the plane in Rwanda I went into culture shock. Rwanda is so different than Burundi, so different. I could feel it in the air around me. There was something so lovely-so refreshing. I had noticed that Burundi was different than any of the other countries I have been too in the past, by stepping off of that plane in Rwanda confirmed it. Burundi is extremely poor and it is noticeable. After all Burundi is ranked in the poorest 5 countries in the world.

Rwanda, is known as the land of a thousand hills...it is so true...

How do I begin to describe it, other than it was absolutely amazing, so beautiful. And for me coming from Burundi, where there isnt much western influence, stepping into Rwanda was like stepping into Europe. After Myal picked me up from the airport we went to Bourban, which is really a Western Coffee shop. I must have repeated the entire time how shocked and delighted I was as I sipped my iced mocha that tasted like something from Starbucks. After dinner Myal then took me to Naukomat which is a store that has many western items. I was jealous…jealous of Rwanda, its infrastructure, smooth city roads, organized traffic, stop lights, beauty and iced mochas. I’ll admit, my mind said—why Burundi—at least once--more than once...

It was shocking to me how much expeierncing Rwanda reaffirmed how poor Burundi is,

how difficult Burundi is. There is such a contrast between them. (Although I have been told that the Burundian countryside is even more beautiful than Rwanda's. I hope so.) When I am in Burundi I can only feel the effects of the darkness in this world. The effect of poverty, the effect of corruption... There is so much that Burundi is trying to overcome so fresh out of conflict and civil war.

I can't help but wonder, what part do I have to play in what is happeneing in Burundi. In what God wants to do in Burundi. I know that God brought me to Burundi for a very specific reason and his reason was very intentional. I am curious to see what that is because it hasn’t been easy by far.

Burundi itself and its poverty and its corruption isn’t the hardest thing for me. It’s the people around me, not the Burundians, but the other Westerners. As I have told so many of my friends back home, it has been really hard to make friends and to feel like I belong, especially when people intentionally exclude me from things. Middle School, it reminds me of middle school.

All in all, God knows my needs. It was so wonderful to hang out with the team from MBC. They were great and it was so refreshing to actually have somebody say, "Jillian how are you doing?" It was fun to be with them and very encouraging. The picture below is me after we spent the morning helping to build the foundation of a church with lava rock...

Uma Suma

Uma Suma.

In Kirundi Uma Suma means Thief. I was told by one of the other volunteers at WR to yell Uma Suma if someone bothered me or stole from me or attacked me etc…

Today Isaac and I were walking back from Lunch. I wanted to take Uprona ( A longer route, but a little safer), he wanted to take the short way, which meant past the market. I told him as long as we didn’t go down the street with the gangs on it, alright. Once we walked down a ways he wanted to cut across so we didn’t have to go through the market. We turned, and I said I didn’t think it was a good idea, it was the street with the gangs on it. This was the same street I was grabbed on on day 2. Not to mention, I had my purse on me, and there was money in there for my work Visa.

We were walking along and we noticed that were being followed. Isaac caught it and moved me to the opposite side of him, trying to keep the guys away. Suddenly one of them turned in front of him, bumped into him and picked his wallet. I turned around to find Isaac fighting with the two guys, holding one of them back, grabbing after each other. Isaac was calling out in French and grabbing after the guys. I was so confused when I turned around, seeing Isaac with his arm around those guys yelling.

At first I thought he was trying to break up a fight. Finally I realized he had been robbed. I started yelling “Uma Suma” as I had been told to do. Everyone stopped and just watched as Isaac fought for his money, and I called out Uma Suma, trying to get someone to help. Finally the thief threw Isaac’s wallet down by a car. He grabbed it and we continued on our way. It was surprising really. It all happened so quickly. I am not a fan of that street. Ah Burundi...

Burundi=Desert-Like?

It isn’t unusual to hear random things about security on a daily basis. Whether an assassination plot or a shooting. I was sitting at a dowry for one of my co-workers when I heard about a shooting that had taken place in the city center the day before. Apparently the government has banned all moto taxis this week due to the fact that they are trafficking too many guns into the city that are used in assassinations. This didn’t go over too well with the moto drivers. There was a demonstration downtown where there was a mob rushing down Uprona St. There were some shots fired…who did the shooting? I don’t know, police or moto drivers? I don’t know. Was any one killed? That isn’t certain either. What is certain is that the government banned motos for a week to lessen the guns that were being trafficked for assassinations. Ah Burundi…
Meanwhile I attended my first dowry on Saturday night. A dowry is the event before a wedding where the man has to pay the woman’s father a dowry in order to been given her for marriage. This dowry is being given to compensate the loss of work from the daughter, since the family is losing one worker to another family. This includes a lot of going back in forth and a payment in cows and gifts. It was fun and interesting. Next month the wedding will follow.

I am feeling a little overwhelmed and in wonder of exactly what God has intended for me here. I know without a doubt that God has called me to Burundi. But I can’t help thinking, why has God asked me to leave behind the great ministry and relationships in that ministry to move to Burundi? I was working alongside an amazing Burundian family in DC. I love them so much, we were so close. And here, how will I become close to a family like mine back in DC when there are so many cultural factors at play. Jone and Jackline love me, but in the beginning they didn’t have a choice but to open their home to me, I was helping them adjust. I am nearly brought to tears when I call them every Sunday and the kids get on the phone and say, “Jillian, Jillian? I miss you, ndakakundah, I love you” as they are excited it’s me. This morning was a killer as Ngabire, the 7 yr old girl got on the phone and in clear English said, “Jillian I have picture of you on the wall. You are with babies in Burundi. Who are these babies?” (I had emailed a picture of me with some kids here in Burundi to the Parkers for them to take over to the Busoneras, my Burundian family.) I think she was a little jealous that I was loving on some Burundian kids other than her;) No one could ever replace the Busonera kids in my heart.

This week was a rough. It was a little overwhelming trying to keep my head above water through a ton of people scheduling different meetings for me and rescheduling meetings that didn’t happen. All the while I am trying to grasp my role, understand my quickly approaching responsibilities and all of WR programs, and attempting to understand the culture. Put on a thick layer of “I don’t speak French or Kirundi”, buying a car in Africa, and skype freezing in the first 3 minutes of every phone call and you would be thinking in circles too! Actually it feels like my thoughts are hitting a cement wall... And at the end of the day, who wants to hear about the turmoil-some thoughts swirling in my head when I can't put a sentence together in English much less French. My pen has been burning the pages in my journal.

God knows my needs . Even though I don’t always realize it (or acknowledge it), I know he knows them. During my quiet time today I was really frustrated and trying to write out my thoughts. I asked God to “help me to feel his love.” I didn’t know what that looked like tangibly, but I asked it…and God answered. Tonight I received a call from my good friends in Kenya. We talked for a while, and talked through some of my thoughts. When we got off the phone, I couldn’t help but feel anything but loved. God had answered my prayer to feel his love. And he used the Mendonsa’s to show me that.

Burundi may not be easy…but I know this is where he’s brought me. Bob and Julie brought up a great verse that really made me think. They shared Hosea 2:14 with me. “Therefore I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.” I may not have expected Burundi to be a desert or a place where I would feel so alone with so much happening and going on, but it is. What Bob and Julie said really resonated to me. Even though being in deserts is never fun, if he brought me here, he brought me here for a reason. He is speaking to me, or trying to speak to me. But I need to be so close to him and in the word every day to hear him… I can’t hear him if I’m not listening for his voice. And sometimes he takes us into the desert--or in this case, Bujumbura Burundi, so that he has us all to himself. As of right now, God definitely has my attention!

A weekend in Burundi...

So much has happened just over the weekend.

The scariest…

Friday night I was driving to a steam room with Seth and Myal. I was sitting in the back seat of the car. I wouldn’t exactly say that Bujumbura is the safest place to go at night time. So we were slowing making our way through downtown. We were rounded a corner pretty slowly. Suddenly I heard a loud thud hit the back of the car, my head snapped to the rear. It sounded like a huge rock or a gunshot or something. I made a comment to Seth and barely had I spoken when there was another bang and the rear window shattered. I ducked over in the seat, instinctly; I don’t even know what it was. Seth just sped up. We still don’t know what it was or who did it. I think it was the guys in the cars next to us. I had been watching them and they were eyeing the car. Who knows? But that was my first experience with violence…

Gladly I can say that I haven’t heard any gunshots in the night yet. Seth and Trina say it’s been a couple of weeks since they’ve heard gunfire in the night. It is quite normal to hear gunfire, however I still have yet to experience that.

The strangest and most surprising…

I tried frog legs. Yes, frog legs. I didn’t eat the whole thing, I really just tried a couple of bites of my friend Brandon’s it had been his idea. So I tried it. I have no idea how is it that I could eat Frog legs, yet seafood makes me sick. Maybe its because Frog legs tastes like chicken, and since there’s not much chicken around here…what’s a girl to do?

A pleasant and beautiful surprise…

Lake Tanganyika. It is beautiful. Today I went down to the beach with Brandon to experience my first time swimming in the Lake. There were some waves so there weren’t any Hippos or alligators, (Thank God). It was so much fun just chillin in the water as the waves crashed over, and when we weren’t swimming, you just sit under these, grass/bamboo little pavilion things, laying in the sand, with the lake and the Congo on the other side.

The details…

I drove yesterday. Trina gave me a driving lesson. Driving in Burundi is completely different than the US. It’s like a frightening game of dodge. You’re dodging cars, coming at you in your lane, cars trying to cut you off, Motos all over the street, bicyclers, pedestrians, and huge pot holes, narrow roads and no rules. No rules at all. It’s fend for yourself and hope you don’t hit anything. No street lights, no stop signs really. But I did survive my first drive around; this included a lot of honking, flashing and swerving. And the car was a stick. I think I deserve a metal.

Things I am missing…

My teens, one of them emailed me this week, it made me want to run home to be there for him. My Burundian Refugee family in DC. However I did call them yesterday and talked to them with my couple of words in Kirundi. Iced Mochas. (I hear I can get one in Rwanda;) Only one country away…) Other single people. There are a lot of married missionaries, but not many single people. Diet Coke. Being able to go out and buy a book when I need to read something new. Having someone that understands me and knows me to talk too at the end of the day…

C’est Fini. There will be more amazing things to add soon of happenings of my life in Burundi…

To the village...which one I'm not sure....

So Burundi is a lot more expensive than I thought it would be. It is actually quite expensive here. Shocking really. I also think that its going to take me a lot longer to make friends than usual. Seth and Trina are awesome, but the others I have met are very indifferent and not very talkative with newcomers. I feel that maybe they dont want to meet new people because so many people are coming and going. However, I am here for 2 years. So that is kind of hard.

It is hot, very hot. I think that the dry season is the hottest, its hot and dry, very dusty. The rainy season will begin soon, and then everything from what I understand will be lush and green.

I went to a village on Friday with Seth and hung out with some kids. It was great, Seth showed me around. It was wonderful, just being with the kids, practicing French, Kirundi, and Jilli-anch. (which is my own version of French). It was a great day. I've posted some pictures below.

My First Couple of Days in Burundi!

So much has happened since I last wrote. I spent three weeks at MTI, a training center in Palmer Lake CO. I had a great time and met awesome people that are headed all over the world. I made some wonderful connections with some great people. It was so nice to be with people that understand everything I am going through especially right before I left the country. It was great, there were even some families that are headed to Kenya that I hope to see. Not only that but I feel that I made some deep life-long connections with relationships that were clearly orchestrated by God!

My flight to Burundi was a little long. I was sick most of the way…sick on a plane with a tiny bathroom. Horrible, seriously. Have you ever puked in an airplane bathroom, not much room in there. But I made friends with this awesome young guy from India who totally helped me and even sat with me in the Brussels airport…

And now, I’m in Burundi!

It is my official 4th full day. The first day I spent resting as I was still getting over being sick and jetlagged. And thereafter, slowly getting to know Burundi!

Pleasant surprises:
* Warm showers
* Enoch (Seth and Trina’s cook) makes awesome Banana Bread!
* Brushing my teeth with the tap water (apparently Bujumbura has some of the cleanest water in Africa, you can also drink the water from the tap, who knew?)
* Coke in a glass bottle is just as wonderful on a hot day as I remembered.
* Huge Thunderstorms; Apparently during the rainy season, storms are HUGE. The dry season is about to finish and soon the storms will roll in. We had one Tuesday night. Trina and I sat out on the porch and watched it, it was great! The thunder and wind were so strong it nearly shook the house. I loved it!
* The path down by the lake: Awesome. There is this path down by Lake Tanginyika (I think the second deepest and longest in the world...). There are hippos down there but I didn’t see any--not that day anyway;)
* The Market: Trina and I went to the market and bought some material, we’re going to get some skirts and bags made!

Boos!:
The Street Kids: Yesterday Trina and I were walking down the street with her friend when a street kid grabbed me as he walked by. It was a little ballsy if you ask me… If I hadn’t stood in a stupor I might have slapped him.

But all is good here in Burundi. I am really enjoying my first week here!

C'est Fini!

I have left DC. I cant believe that that door is closed. The past two weeks have been such a whirlwind, I havent even had time to process everything.

2 weeks ago I went to Oshkosh WI, where I grew up. Honestly, going home is always hard, but I have to say--going to Oshkosh was such a blessing! I was so blessed by the people that I grew up with. I felt so loved. Its amazing to me that I can be gone for 2 years (and many more years since high school) and I can return and people still love me as they do. Not only was it a really fulfilling, but I felt that God really blessed my obedience in returning home. I shared what I'll be doing in Burundi at my churches 3 services and also had a sharing night. It was absolutely amazing. So many people were interested in hearing more about Burundi, what God's doing there and what I'll be doing. I was truly encouraged by the response I received from people in Oshkosh. I realized that I am truly blessed and that there are lot of people who are close to my heart that want to walk this path with me to Burundi.

I am amazed by how God provides. It is amazing to me how quickly things can change. Even in the past couple of months my friendships have been changing. Some of my closest friends have left the DC area themselves, or have just pulled away as my transition has begin. It's crazy to think that the people that you thought were going to be there for you weren't, but yet God is in control and he already knew, and he raises up others. I have been truly blessed by my supporters. Their friendships, prayers and simply the sacrifices they have made have been heartwarming. I am thankful for all of the new friendships and people God has brought into my life in the past couple of months, or even brought BACK into my life. I am truly blessed by the friends that are walking through this challenging and exciting time in my life.

I have said goodbye to my Burundian family. I spent 4 hours with them on Sunday (1 hour with them on Saturday, 4 hours with them on Friday...I love them;) ....surprisingly there were no tears. Honestly I thought I would cry, and well....not a tear was shed at all during my last 4 days in DC. I think that there was just too much going on, and I just couldn't process it all. My Burundian family had lunch waiting when I showed up on Sunday and the kids knew it was my last day. The little girl kept on asking me to sit by her. And saying things like, "I miss Jillian, Jillian go Burundi. Jillian no go. Me cry with Jillian." It was heart wrenching! I can only pray that God would create such relationships with others Burundians for me in country.

And now I am in training in Colorado. I head straight from here to Burundi. I think that it was good timing after all for me to head here right before I go overseas. I have been so busy, stressed and overwhelmed with closing up my life in DC, that I havent even a second to process much less feel the emotion of moving. I still havent felt any emotion. I am wondering when it will all hit the fan. However I am still blessed, while there are only 3 single girls at this training and ALL the rest are married couples and families...slightly overwhelming. However, I am enjoying getting to know all of these families that are committing their lives to missions and am encouraged. I think I will make some great friendships here. There are some families that will be serving in Kenya. I hope to sometime have the opportunity to visit them....

Two weeks left here in the mountains of Colorado and then onto Burundi!