If I have to turn around during this church service for any reason, you’re busted!

While you were sleeping

Don’t worry mom our doors were locked and windows secure. Unfortunately all it took was a digging tool and patience for the thieves to dig through our mud mortar exterior wall. They came on a night where there was no power in our area. They came for food taking only a 50lb bag of flour (purchased the day before), a crate of glass soda bottles, a loaf of French bread, a small can of half used powdered milk, an electric hot water kettle, a 2 lb bag of raw peanuts and poured about a cup of sugar out of the dish. Fortunately they didn’t take any of our cooking supplies and utensils. Our kitchen and our main house are separated by a wall so we had no idea they were there, and are very safe.

December and January

Dad, Mom, Adam on their way to see my classroom

Welcome Home Mr & Mrs Mubezi (our new home)

My class presenting at the Christmas play rehearsal

Sweeping up coffee beans in village

Quick visit to the Nile River in Uganda

Daddy Daughter Shot

Who gives this woman?

Prayer during the service

Bridal Party

Mom made the wedding cake...good job mom!!!

Open up Sabo

Mr & Mrs Mubezi

On the way to the honeymoon...yes in village :)

American Flag Mini-bus

I saw this nicely decorated minibus a few months ago wishing to take a photo of it. Today was my lucky day...not only did I get to ride in it but I had my camera with me :) I was a happy girl

December First

This December 2012 is a December that will be remembered for many years to come. And it started well. December first was a Saturday which found me getting into the Christmas spirit the best way I know how is such a hot climate…baking with cinnamon. Yes, cinnamon rolls were on the menu for breakfast and Christmas music was in the air.

This is Muhawe Kevin David.

He likes to be called Muhawe. He is a student in my class. He is so polite, caring, and a very good student. When asked, his favorite subject is English. One day I know he will gently lead something wonderful. J This is his “mama” she is a women who works at the New Hope Orphanage here in Burundi as a mother for 6 “children”. The primary school aged children from New Hope started coming to The King’s School this year. I wanted to know about where Muhawe lived and how his “family” worked. So we took a trip. A few Saturdays ago a number of us teachers went to visit. Sitting in the shadow of a mosque being build the orphanage is nothing to write home about. Small apartment style rooms are lined up along each wall leaving a cement slab in the middle to play. On one end is the gate and the other is a wreck room of sorts with cooking facilities around the corner.

We sang, listened to speeches and drank soda and shared cinnamon rolls. It was great to see my students and get a sense of where they are from.

Yellow Rain Hat

Liz and I couldn’t hold it together. Who wears a bright yellow rain hat during the day…this guy. He just seems so out of place amongst all the brown shades.

Thanksgiving

This year I wanted to host thanksgiving at my place. It was great to be able to invite over friends and share in a feast! 

Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, USA, and England were represented at the feast.

Babies, babies, babies!

Coworker Flora and her baby Chris

My week was filled with babies, Thursday went to Burundian baby shower for one of my co-workers at the King's School.
There were 20-25 women there and we literally played Pass the Baby. Around the room Chris went, spending about 2 minutes in each ladies arms. I got an extra minute since I asked for a photo.
  
 

Queen from the New Hope Orphanage

Saturday some of the teachers went to visit our students at one of the orphanages that feeds our school. It was great to see my students in their homes. And to meet their mothers who care for them. What was most interesting was finding out which children are "siblings" to one another. Nature vs Nurture...I think nurture is winning that battle.
This is Queen (on the right) who is in the pre school class. She took the opportunity to snuggle up into my arms for most of the time we were there. On Monday at school she came and gave me a big hug. It's nice to give and receive love.

Sunday I went to a friend's house and got to hold his 3 week old little girl, Sarah. She was so cute. I didn't want to give her away when we left. The father did tease me that I was getting married soon and the Burundian way is to have a baby within the first year of marriage. I just laughed.

Feeling Well

I realized that I haven’t updated you since my illness. Please forgive me. I’m still alive. Slowly moving around and adding activities back to my life, but alive and well. Thank you to all who prayed. Your prayers were answered.

I have what? It feels like death!

Dysentery (formerly known as flux or the bloody flux) is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the feces^[1] with fever, abdominal pain,^[2] and rectal tenesmus (a feeling of incomplete defecation), caused by any kind of infection.
In extreme cases dysentery patients may pass over a litre of fluid an hour. More often, individuals will complain of nausea, abdominal pain, and frequent watery and usually foul-smelling diarrhea accompanied by mucus and blood, rectal pain, and fever.

Thank you Wikipedia for painting my symptoms so clearly. I could be considered a texbook case.

Relaxing in Burundi

After a hard few months we went out on the town. We treated ourselves to watermelon, orange, passion fruit drink at one of Isaac and my favorite restaurants.

The Blue Bench

This is my favorite bench in all of Burundi. I call it the Blue Bench. Back in 2010 I would leave the comfort of my apartment and take a seat on the Blue Bench greeting people as they passed. This bench became the place to make friends. People would just greet me and pass by, others would stop and sit. Many would take the opportunity to practice their English skills. Others would chat about culture. I learned many Kirundi words and culturally appropriate behaviors while sitting on this bench. This was also the bench where I first told him that I loved him. 

Today thought it is the International Bench. 

Sifiso, on the far side, is South African. Frenzdi, sitting in the middle, is from Haiti. It doesn’t matter how far away from the bench I live, it is still my favorite bench in all of Burundi.

Ticket to Ride

It’s almost like we really were back in 1912 taking over Europe…muhaha

Ticket to Ride was a great idea, even with the electricity off.