Hello everyone;
Urgent!!!!! S.O.S. Prayer needed. As many of you know, my niece Ramona has battled sarcoma cancer for over 3 yrs. She was diagnosed 6 months after her and Earl got married. She’s just finished round 23, yes, 23 of chemo, and things are not looking very good. Please check out their blog site at :
The Life and Times of Earl and Ramona Reimer. We need serious, believing, intercessory prayer.
After the above paragraph I really don’t feel like saying anything else, but I also realize I haven’t written anything in a while.
You may have heard in the news about Air Kenya’s strike; they were demanding 130% increase in wages!!
Pastor Ray had never before heard of a strike in Africa. The strike really affected 2 ladies that were here from B.C., friends of the Bales’.
The first week we were here I was terribly homesick for our house 3 evenings.. I’m kinda embarrassed to say that it was something material and not a person, someone I have a relationship with. However, the contrast between our two homes is great, and thankfully the Lord is helping me a great deal in being more and more content. Speaking of being homesick, the first 3 or 4 days or so I kept looking at vehicles’ license plates, subconscienciously wondering when I’d see a Manitoba plate. Around day 4 my brain kicked in and I realized the almost absolute impossibility of this happening, as the vehicle would have to be transported across the big pond for this to happen. Be nice and say that I can blame this on jet lag.
I previously wrote that we have a passion fruit and 2 mango trees on our yard. I’m sorry to report that is not accurate; our botanically untrained eyes did not recognize the half of it!!! BUT, we DO have: a pineapple tree, 2 orange trees, a papaya tree, 2 mango trees, a lemon tree, an avocado tree, and last but not least, a guava tree. The people in Mexico will remember my fondness for guava. Isn’t the Lord so awesome, blessing us with all this stuff!!?? I must add that the pineapple and orange trees are not yet big enough to bear fruit.
My (Rosel) mom has a serious green thumb, and mom, I think you’d be proud of me the way I’ve been working in our yard together with our guard. There’s a lot of shade in our yard in the afternoon which allows me to do this. I’m really enjoying this a great deal, praying as I work and just claiming our yard and everything in it for Jesus. Juneval, our guard laughs when I let out little yells as yet another gecko has crossed my almost immediate path. There are also big lizards, with bright, sky blue heads that frequent our front and back fence.
Fabiola took me to the market one day last week, and it was something that I wanted Isaac and Colton to experience ASAP, so that Saturday the three of us ventured out into this ….. Um… busy city. The fun begins when you’re trying to tell the taxi driver where you want to go. Not all words have hand motions you know!! The market is something that I could not have imagined; it’s huge, Fabiola said it covers over a city block. It’s open air, with a tin roof covering the whole thing. There’s hundreds and hundreds of tiny kiosks, measuring between 4 and 6 feet squared. Laundry detergent and food items are side by side on a tiny shelf; men are ‘siesta-ing’ on sacks of rice and beans; aisles are 2 feet wide if your lucky, sometimes only wide enough to plant your foot on the floor, mostly crammed with very hot, sticky and not fresh bodies. There’s mothers with their children on their backs, children and crippled (and others) begging, there’s loud shouting, requesting room to pass through from men bearing heavy loads on their backs making their way through the maze; there’s enthusiastic bartering, blaring music, beckoning shopkeepers, hearing “muzungu,muzungu” from every side. There are sights you don’t want to see again, there are mountains of the delicious fruits that make up our daily salad, and at the end, we got to say: “hey look, there’s a muzungu.” It’s really quite fascinating.
There’s a group of 6 people here from the UK doing holiday club, aka VBS., with the CRIB kids. Colton is participating in this and having a good time. They are short-staffed and suffering from stomach bugs, so I’m helping them all week. They are a great bunch, and very organized.
Next week I officially start my job(so why am I so busy now already?). All the teachers/assistants have one week to get everything ready; school starts Sept. 8th. Isaac is still spending most of his time at the Primary School, there’s so much that needs doing.
There’s a young Vancouver university student here for 5 weeks whose family is friends with the Bales’. He’s staying at New Hope orphanage, but during the day has helped Isaac for the last 2-ish weeks. We’ve had the blessing of getting to know him, as he comes for lunch most days. He’s a great guy who really loves the Lord. If the Holy Spirit puts Thomas on your mind, pray for him. God’s invested a lot into this guy, and Thomas’s desire is to serve the Lord where ever He leads.
Time to quit. Rosel
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Getting more and more "Burundianized"
Amahoro!! Peace!! Aug. 18 /09
This is day 5 or 6 without being able to access the internet; others we’ve spoken with aren’t able to get on either.
Isaac, Colton and I were going for a walk when we witnessed a vehicle/bicycle hit and run about 30 feet in front of us. (Bicycle taxis are very, very common; they have a make shift “seat” - re-bar wire welded onto the back.) There was a teenaged girl on the back of a bike taxi that was approaching an intersection. This vehicle started backing up, and I don’t know if the driver of the bike didn’t see this, or if he figured the vehicle would stop before it hit the bike. Well it hit them, backed them down really hard and immediately the vehicle sped away. Praise the Lord, neither driver nor passenger of the bike were very hurt. We felt at such a loss that we couldn’t speak the language; all I could do to comfort the girl was rub her back.
Everiste told us that bicycle/pedestrian accidents happen every day. This isn’t surprising, seeing that vehicles share the road with 100’s of bikes and pedestrians on very narrow, one way that frequently turn into 3 lane roads.
I’ve been informed that I will be assisting in year 2 and year 6. The year 2 teacher, Irene, is from Kenya; she’s taught at The King’s School for 7 years. She came over last week, and already I really like her . I think we’ll be a good team. She gave me a whole bunch of prep. work to do at home in the next few weeks.
Isaac is working at the schools, getting the buildings ready for school. As I mentioned earlier, the crate with the tools in it doesn’t arrive till the 29th, so his work is still limited as far as what he can do; however, he’s able to improvise to a degree.
There are many businesses that employ someone that speaks at least a little bit of English. We’ve heard many times: “We are obliged to learn English because it is starting to replace French.” In fact, there are countries that have completely taken French out of the class room and replaced it with English. Burundi’s public schools are taught in French, though you would be hard pressed to find some one that doesn’t speak at least 2, and usually 3 or 4 languages.
I know I said it in the previous blog, but we really like it here; we are becoming more and more “Burundianized.” Colton is so in his element; you should see how he’s already mastered playing soccer wearing nothing on his feet but……flip-flops!! Forget the cleats, soccer socks and shin pads that he’s used to wearing for years. Have flip-flops, will play.
You should see this child’s feet by the end of the day; this red/brown dirt transforms them into something akin to the CRIB kids’ skin color!
Remember 1 Co 4:20: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” Ask the Father for that power to be increased in your life. He will not disappoint you.
Cyber hugs, Rosel
This is day 5 or 6 without being able to access the internet; others we’ve spoken with aren’t able to get on either.
Isaac, Colton and I were going for a walk when we witnessed a vehicle/bicycle hit and run about 30 feet in front of us. (Bicycle taxis are very, very common; they have a make shift “seat” - re-bar wire welded onto the back.) There was a teenaged girl on the back of a bike taxi that was approaching an intersection. This vehicle started backing up, and I don’t know if the driver of the bike didn’t see this, or if he figured the vehicle would stop before it hit the bike. Well it hit them, backed them down really hard and immediately the vehicle sped away. Praise the Lord, neither driver nor passenger of the bike were very hurt. We felt at such a loss that we couldn’t speak the language; all I could do to comfort the girl was rub her back.
Everiste told us that bicycle/pedestrian accidents happen every day. This isn’t surprising, seeing that vehicles share the road with 100’s of bikes and pedestrians on very narrow, one way that frequently turn into 3 lane roads.
I’ve been informed that I will be assisting in year 2 and year 6. The year 2 teacher, Irene, is from Kenya; she’s taught at The King’s School for 7 years. She came over last week, and already I really like her . I think we’ll be a good team. She gave me a whole bunch of prep. work to do at home in the next few weeks.
Isaac is working at the schools, getting the buildings ready for school. As I mentioned earlier, the crate with the tools in it doesn’t arrive till the 29th, so his work is still limited as far as what he can do; however, he’s able to improvise to a degree.
There are many businesses that employ someone that speaks at least a little bit of English. We’ve heard many times: “We are obliged to learn English because it is starting to replace French.” In fact, there are countries that have completely taken French out of the class room and replaced it with English. Burundi’s public schools are taught in French, though you would be hard pressed to find some one that doesn’t speak at least 2, and usually 3 or 4 languages.
I know I said it in the previous blog, but we really like it here; we are becoming more and more “Burundianized.” Colton is so in his element; you should see how he’s already mastered playing soccer wearing nothing on his feet but……flip-flops!! Forget the cleats, soccer socks and shin pads that he’s used to wearing for years. Have flip-flops, will play.
You should see this child’s feet by the end of the day; this red/brown dirt transforms them into something akin to the CRIB kids’ skin color!
Remember 1 Co 4:20: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” Ask the Father for that power to be increased in your life. He will not disappoint you.
Cyber hugs, Rosel
Introductions
Hello again. Aug.13 /09
Introduction’s that I should have done the first day:
Pastor Ray and Maryanne Bale - A wonderful couple from Vernon, B.C. Initially they came here for 3 months; that was 7 yrs. ago!! Pastor Ray is very involved in The King’s School, the CRIB home, at the Nyakabaga orphanage, in the Congo orphanage together with Pastor Rueben, and he preaches at Jabe church about once a month. Pastor Ray and Maryanne have two married daughters in Canada, and 12 grandchildren. They adopted Boss David when he was just 4 months old; he’s a very intelligent and inquisitive 5 yr. old now.
Everiste and Anick - A beautiful Burundian couple we are blessed to have in our lives. Everiste has been a huge help in getting us settled in. Everiste studied High German so that he could go to Germany to get his degree in agriculture. It’s pretty cool to be able to speak High German to him. He has an agricultural project up country, and he’s getting more involved in shipping “good” cows in from Tanzania that actually produce milk, versus what he calls “useless” cows that just cost money but don’t produce milk.
Just like Pastor Ray, Everiste wears many hats; he’s also Chrissie Chapman’s administrator. They have 4 kid’s. Next week we are helping them move into a house that is much closer to us than where they currently live. We’re looking forward to having them closer.
Deo and Rosa - Another lovely Burundian couple. Rosa is due with baby # 4 in a few weeks. Can’t wait!!
Honda and Libby - They are currently in England, as that is Libby’s home country.
Dave and Debbie - also currently in Debbie’s native (England?)
Chrissie Chapman - Chrissie’s been here for 20 yrs. She’s also from England. She started CRIB - Children Rescued in Burundi, during the genocide 10 yrs. ago. She’s the head of The King’s School here. Currently she is in Manitoba, getting one of her kids settled in at The King’s School in Wpg. Someone offered to pay the way for her daughter so that she could experience life out there.
Aime and Kristelle - Aime is an administrator. His dad was the ambassador to the States for years, so Aime lived in the US for some yrs.
We have the honor and privilege to work with all these very gifted and wonderful people serving under ARM.
Last week Friday Maryanne took us to Club du lac, which is a beautiful resort on the beach. It seems very out of place in this poor country. In the afternoon we all went to Nyakabaga orphanage. There was a Samaritan’s Purse team from Ireland , so Colton had the privilage of partaking in some of their activities, while Isaac and I got acquainted with some of the mama’s and aunties. A “mama” is a woman that was married; an “auntie”has never been married. These are the caretakers of the kids. Everyone in Nyakabaga, also called New Hope,is Congolese, from a village about 15 miles from the Burundi border. Four yrs. ago there was a massacre in this village and 266 people got killed. The survivors make up New Hope. We already love this place. These kids have so very little materialistically speaking, but they are very passionate about Jesus Christ - so poor yet so rich!!
When it was time to leave, one of the mama’s said Colton couldn’t leave. We assured them that we would come back often.
When we got home, Isaac was going to fold some of the laundry that we had previously rushed out to get off the line and spread out on our living room furniture to dry so that the smoke from Renevah’s cooking wouldn’t “smoke” it. Isaac was commenting on how interesting it was to dry underwear on our coffee table; this was almost immediately followed by a shocked: “Ugh, there’s ants in my pants.”. It truly is an adventure living here.
On Sunday we went to Jabe church. WOW!! WOW!! WOW!! Need I say more? 7,000 people worshiping the Lord - African’s at that!! The lead pastor, Pastor Edmond, had the first message, followed by a guest pastor from Rwanda. It was powerful. It was on giving people “Jesus injections”, not just a little of Jesus on the surface, but injecting, pouring Jesus into people and being vessels that He can use. I love that!! We also spent time repenting for the atrocities of the genocide. Vivante Jabe is under ARM, one of 120 ARM churches in Burundi, with hundreds in other parts of Africa.
We went to Pastor Ray and Marryanne’s for lunch and the afternoon. At 5:00 we headed to Nyakabaga again. They have a service there every Sunday evening. They were already worshiping when we got there; what a beautiful sight, these people that had everything snatched from them by evil, now praising their Protector and Provider, their Joy and their Strength. Two of the teens had a very passionate message, followed by a word from the visitors - Isaac and myself. We had previously been informed that this is expected from visitors. This was followed with more worship, getting more and more joyful with each song. Space is tight under the canopy where we were, but the rows we started with soon dissolved as we danced for Jesus. One mama came over to me and motioned for me to dance with her. I had to be careful that I wouldn’t trip over these two pieces of bent re-bar sticking out of a concrete slab. At one point it struck me that I was dancing for Jesus with an African lady on top of a sewer cover. What joy!!!
After the service, 17 of us piled into an old, “hippie” Volkswagon “bus”. We were dropped off at our gate to be met by our ever smiling and friendly guard, Junavard. He wrapped his skinny arm around Colton again as he walked us up our short drive way. Inside there was a real treat awaiting us; there on the table was a cake!! You see, Burundian’s don’t do dessert, so we had pretty much laid even visions of sweets to rest.
But we are blessed to have Renevah as our cook, (temporarily)who has much experience cooking for “muzungus”, white people - and knows about their sweet tooth. However, there are very, very limited ingredients available, and anything beyond a basic, unfrosted, occasional cake will remain a delicious memory for the most part. Having said that though, there is another orphanage right next to The King’s School that sells pretty good cinnamon buns. So that’s a real treat.
Anyways, we had a good first Sunday in Burundi. The One who called us here is taking very good care of us. Not surprising at all.
I keep asking Colton how he’s doing, if he’s adjusting well, what’s going through his mind. After a few days of this he said: “ Mom, I don’t need to adjust. This is exactly how I like life. It’s just like in Mexico.” But let me add, Mexico times 10 or 15!! For those of you who don’t know, we’ve spent a fair amount of time in the “real” Mexico - not resorts. You see poverty there as well, but nothing like here. But anyways, now you know that Colton’s in his God created forte.
We really like this place. It’s feeling more and more like home. The people are generally very friendly. God has richly blessed us with friends already, Jabe church is a Spirit-filled, Christ-centered place where we can go to be fed, we have a good home and a beautiful yard, and so much more. The Lord is providing
We are spending a fair amount of time at CRIB. The crate that contains Isaac’s work tools doesn’t arrive till the 29th, and I don’t start at school till Sept. 1st, so we have the time to do this. Yesterday I spent hours doing girls’ nails. I did them really fancy with different designs. Isaac answers countless questions pertaining to life in Canada from the older boys, and Colton plays hours of soccer, goes to Chrissie’s pool or the beach with the kids., draws, or just hangs out with them.
The kids at CRIB are all Burundians that were rescued during the genocide 10 yrs. ago. It’s so much fun to see them come running up to you when you walk into the gate and they wrap their arms around you. It reminds me of crumbs and ants, but not in a bad way. If there is a crumb on the counter, it is completely beset with ants. These are great kids; they all attend The Kings School, except for those that have already finished year 11 - secondary only goes to year 11. ( I’m getting used to saying year instead of grade.)
I wonder when I’ll be able to post this blog, as we haven’t been able to get online for a couple of days.
I love this: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” 1 Co 5:20
So often we as Christians just do lip service about the power of God, never mind God Himself. Or we may believe that he is all powerful, but not in our situation. That’s like saying our situation has God stumped, that He needs a plan B. Let me gently remind you, God’s plan A - Jesus Christ, is ALL sufficient.
Love, love, love, Rosel…. For Isaac and Colton too
Introduction’s that I should have done the first day:
Pastor Ray and Maryanne Bale - A wonderful couple from Vernon, B.C. Initially they came here for 3 months; that was 7 yrs. ago!! Pastor Ray is very involved in The King’s School, the CRIB home, at the Nyakabaga orphanage, in the Congo orphanage together with Pastor Rueben, and he preaches at Jabe church about once a month. Pastor Ray and Maryanne have two married daughters in Canada, and 12 grandchildren. They adopted Boss David when he was just 4 months old; he’s a very intelligent and inquisitive 5 yr. old now.
Everiste and Anick - A beautiful Burundian couple we are blessed to have in our lives. Everiste has been a huge help in getting us settled in. Everiste studied High German so that he could go to Germany to get his degree in agriculture. It’s pretty cool to be able to speak High German to him. He has an agricultural project up country, and he’s getting more involved in shipping “good” cows in from Tanzania that actually produce milk, versus what he calls “useless” cows that just cost money but don’t produce milk.
Just like Pastor Ray, Everiste wears many hats; he’s also Chrissie Chapman’s administrator. They have 4 kid’s. Next week we are helping them move into a house that is much closer to us than where they currently live. We’re looking forward to having them closer.
Deo and Rosa - Another lovely Burundian couple. Rosa is due with baby # 4 in a few weeks. Can’t wait!!
Honda and Libby - They are currently in England, as that is Libby’s home country.
Dave and Debbie - also currently in Debbie’s native (England?)
Chrissie Chapman - Chrissie’s been here for 20 yrs. She’s also from England. She started CRIB - Children Rescued in Burundi, during the genocide 10 yrs. ago. She’s the head of The King’s School here. Currently she is in Manitoba, getting one of her kids settled in at The King’s School in Wpg. Someone offered to pay the way for her daughter so that she could experience life out there.
Aime and Kristelle - Aime is an administrator. His dad was the ambassador to the States for years, so Aime lived in the US for some yrs.
We have the honor and privilege to work with all these very gifted and wonderful people serving under ARM.
Last week Friday Maryanne took us to Club du lac, which is a beautiful resort on the beach. It seems very out of place in this poor country. In the afternoon we all went to Nyakabaga orphanage. There was a Samaritan’s Purse team from Ireland , so Colton had the privilage of partaking in some of their activities, while Isaac and I got acquainted with some of the mama’s and aunties. A “mama” is a woman that was married; an “auntie”has never been married. These are the caretakers of the kids. Everyone in Nyakabaga, also called New Hope,is Congolese, from a village about 15 miles from the Burundi border. Four yrs. ago there was a massacre in this village and 266 people got killed. The survivors make up New Hope. We already love this place. These kids have so very little materialistically speaking, but they are very passionate about Jesus Christ - so poor yet so rich!!
When it was time to leave, one of the mama’s said Colton couldn’t leave. We assured them that we would come back often.
When we got home, Isaac was going to fold some of the laundry that we had previously rushed out to get off the line and spread out on our living room furniture to dry so that the smoke from Renevah’s cooking wouldn’t “smoke” it. Isaac was commenting on how interesting it was to dry underwear on our coffee table; this was almost immediately followed by a shocked: “Ugh, there’s ants in my pants.”. It truly is an adventure living here.
On Sunday we went to Jabe church. WOW!! WOW!! WOW!! Need I say more? 7,000 people worshiping the Lord - African’s at that!! The lead pastor, Pastor Edmond, had the first message, followed by a guest pastor from Rwanda. It was powerful. It was on giving people “Jesus injections”, not just a little of Jesus on the surface, but injecting, pouring Jesus into people and being vessels that He can use. I love that!! We also spent time repenting for the atrocities of the genocide. Vivante Jabe is under ARM, one of 120 ARM churches in Burundi, with hundreds in other parts of Africa.
We went to Pastor Ray and Marryanne’s for lunch and the afternoon. At 5:00 we headed to Nyakabaga again. They have a service there every Sunday evening. They were already worshiping when we got there; what a beautiful sight, these people that had everything snatched from them by evil, now praising their Protector and Provider, their Joy and their Strength. Two of the teens had a very passionate message, followed by a word from the visitors - Isaac and myself. We had previously been informed that this is expected from visitors. This was followed with more worship, getting more and more joyful with each song. Space is tight under the canopy where we were, but the rows we started with soon dissolved as we danced for Jesus. One mama came over to me and motioned for me to dance with her. I had to be careful that I wouldn’t trip over these two pieces of bent re-bar sticking out of a concrete slab. At one point it struck me that I was dancing for Jesus with an African lady on top of a sewer cover. What joy!!!
After the service, 17 of us piled into an old, “hippie” Volkswagon “bus”. We were dropped off at our gate to be met by our ever smiling and friendly guard, Junavard. He wrapped his skinny arm around Colton again as he walked us up our short drive way. Inside there was a real treat awaiting us; there on the table was a cake!! You see, Burundian’s don’t do dessert, so we had pretty much laid even visions of sweets to rest.
But we are blessed to have Renevah as our cook, (temporarily)who has much experience cooking for “muzungus”, white people - and knows about their sweet tooth. However, there are very, very limited ingredients available, and anything beyond a basic, unfrosted, occasional cake will remain a delicious memory for the most part. Having said that though, there is another orphanage right next to The King’s School that sells pretty good cinnamon buns. So that’s a real treat.
Anyways, we had a good first Sunday in Burundi. The One who called us here is taking very good care of us. Not surprising at all.
I keep asking Colton how he’s doing, if he’s adjusting well, what’s going through his mind. After a few days of this he said: “ Mom, I don’t need to adjust. This is exactly how I like life. It’s just like in Mexico.” But let me add, Mexico times 10 or 15!! For those of you who don’t know, we’ve spent a fair amount of time in the “real” Mexico - not resorts. You see poverty there as well, but nothing like here. But anyways, now you know that Colton’s in his God created forte.
We really like this place. It’s feeling more and more like home. The people are generally very friendly. God has richly blessed us with friends already, Jabe church is a Spirit-filled, Christ-centered place where we can go to be fed, we have a good home and a beautiful yard, and so much more. The Lord is providing
We are spending a fair amount of time at CRIB. The crate that contains Isaac’s work tools doesn’t arrive till the 29th, and I don’t start at school till Sept. 1st, so we have the time to do this. Yesterday I spent hours doing girls’ nails. I did them really fancy with different designs. Isaac answers countless questions pertaining to life in Canada from the older boys, and Colton plays hours of soccer, goes to Chrissie’s pool or the beach with the kids., draws, or just hangs out with them.
The kids at CRIB are all Burundians that were rescued during the genocide 10 yrs. ago. It’s so much fun to see them come running up to you when you walk into the gate and they wrap their arms around you. It reminds me of crumbs and ants, but not in a bad way. If there is a crumb on the counter, it is completely beset with ants. These are great kids; they all attend The Kings School, except for those that have already finished year 11 - secondary only goes to year 11. ( I’m getting used to saying year instead of grade.)
I wonder when I’ll be able to post this blog, as we haven’t been able to get online for a couple of days.
I love this: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” 1 Co 5:20
So often we as Christians just do lip service about the power of God, never mind God Himself. Or we may believe that he is all powerful, but not in our situation. That’s like saying our situation has God stumped, that He needs a plan B. Let me gently remind you, God’s plan A - Jesus Christ, is ALL sufficient.
Love, love, love, Rosel…. For Isaac and Colton too
Still alive and kicking.
You thought we had fallen off the side of the world, didn't you?? Well, here we are again. I'll post writings from the last week that we couldn't get on line.
P.S. Seriously, be thankful for your country with all it's smooth running infrastructure.
Beware, they are long posts.
Rosel
P.S. Seriously, be thankful for your country with all it's smooth running infrastructure.
Beware, they are long posts.
Rosel
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Pictures of our home
This is our cook/houseboy, Renavah. He speaks a tiny bit of English. We don't store anything in our kitchen, due to the fact that any food/crumbs left on the counter for about 2 minutes, literally, is crawling with ants. He deep fried bananas for us today. They were pretty awful, not because Renavah isn't a good cook, in fact he trains other cooks, and when our "team members" learn that he's our cook, they all say how good he is. You see the 2 charcoal pots he cooks on. The charcoal is a type of wood that's been slowly burnt/charred over a long period of time.
This is our main living area. It was furnished when we moved in. Here's a little carport beside our house. A vehicle would make our time so much more useful. Notice the high fence all around. In the front it's about 8 feet high, in the back 10 feet; it's made of cement/brick. Beside the side walk that runs right around the house is a ditch that runs out into the street ditch. Every street has a fully paved ditch on both sides, ranging in depth from about one and a half feet to about 4 feet deep. This is not a sewer ditch, but water used to wash the outside cooking utensils, laundry water, etc. is disposed of via this ditch.
Isaac and Colton vegging on our front porch. Today when we came home, Renavah was ironing on the porch; jeans, underwear , tea towels, pretty much if it's been washed, it gets ironed. Notice the lack of grass; it's the dry season right now, and the house was vacant for a time before we moved in, so without adequate water it dies till the rainy season. Our back yard has grass all over.
Front yard and the cook and guard's living quarters.
Front yard. My boys under the passion fruit tree.
Colton climbing one of the palm trees with "scivvies" and things drying in the background. The mango tree is behind the palm tree.
This is our yard entrance. Junavard is our guard/gardener. He's a delight to have around; he's got a smile spanning from side to side that he flashes when ever we see him. He absolutely loves Colton, and when ever we come back home after being gone, he wraps his arm over Colton's shoulder as they walk up the drive way. They play soccer together, or just sit and "communicate" using their hands and actions, or Colton seranades them on his guitar. In the other, more close up picture like this, Junavard was holding Colton's hand, which is very common here. The gate has the small door that is open in the picture just for walking through, and the whole thing is opened for vehicles. We live on the corner of 2 streets as you can see, with the sign in front of the fence. The problem with the sign is that whatever was ever written on it has long been bleached by the sun. I've seen I believe one street sign so far that was legible. This makes it much more difficult to navigate your way around, as you rely on land marks only.
Our home has 4 bedrooms, and 2 washrooms, so to have visitors is very "do-able."
You know how the Word says, "let everything that has breath praise the Lord"? Well, let me tell you, the birds are very, very obedient at 5:30 in the morning. You could probably set your clock to it. It truly is beautiful hearing all these new bird songs, I'd just prefer to hear them later in the day. After they've sang for about an hour, they quit.
I finally saw a dog today for the first time, but I was acutely aware of their existence. Every night it sounds like there's a pack vying to out do each other in barking volume.
I'm seriously not complaining, I'm just informing you of some "Burundi Happenings".
We haven't had hot water for over a week. Isaac's done what he can, but without so much as a screwdriver or hammer, there's nothing he can do till the landlord comes. Showers take on a whole new cooling experience!!!!
Speaking of the heat, God is so faithful!! We've been praying for months that especially I, (Rosel) would feel the heat to a much lesser degree than what the actual temperature is. Most people that know me well, know that I have what my Dr. calls a near allergy to the sun. So when the Lord called us here, just a short jump from the equator, this was a huge prayer item!! Friends, we serve such an awesome God!! When He calls, He equips. Yes it's hot, but I don't find it as hot as I did often in Manitoba in the summer time. During the night it's usually 26-28 degrees,and we can't use the fans due to no power, and it seriously is not bad.
It's almost 10:00 P.M. and we still have electricity!! That's fantastic!! It's been shut off before eight in the past, so I'm running on bonus time. Generally it comes back on again between 6 and 9 A.M.
Let me tell you about the driving. It's chaos to the max. There are no traffic lights in a city of approx. 700,000 people. There are some stop signs that are completely disregarded. It seems people have both hands on the steering wheel for two reasons; one, to steer obviously, and two, to honk. Taxis and motor bike taxis make up a very large portion of the traffic. The motor bikes wind their way through what is supposed to be narrow two way traffic that probably more times than not is 3 lanes, at break neck speed. Bicyclists with passengers or massive loads of Fanta or sacks of charcoal share a very narrow lane with vehicles. We saw one pedestrian accident the second day, and where told by Everiste that that is a daily occurrence. Imagine all the families that lose loved ones so tragically. Pedestrians are everywhere. It truly is not boring going up town. Neither Isaac nor I have driven so far. Pastor Ray, Maryanne or Everiste have very graciously relieved us of that so far, taking us where ever we've gone.
We met a couple at the CRIB home today from........... Winnipeg of all places. Sheila, you may know Kyle (don't know the last name), he taught in Secondary two years ago. They came for holidays.
It's late by Burundian standards, so I'll quit for today; but I still want to give you a run down of days 3 -6, as I want to introduce you to some very key people/places we'll be working with that we met during days 3 - 6. Till then, please keep on praying for us; we would not be doing as well as we are without your prayers carrying us. Believe me!! We love you; The Froese's
Our home has 4 bedrooms, and 2 washrooms, so to have visitors is very "do-able."
You know how the Word says, "let everything that has breath praise the Lord"? Well, let me tell you, the birds are very, very obedient at 5:30 in the morning. You could probably set your clock to it. It truly is beautiful hearing all these new bird songs, I'd just prefer to hear them later in the day. After they've sang for about an hour, they quit.
I finally saw a dog today for the first time, but I was acutely aware of their existence. Every night it sounds like there's a pack vying to out do each other in barking volume.
I'm seriously not complaining, I'm just informing you of some "Burundi Happenings".
We haven't had hot water for over a week. Isaac's done what he can, but without so much as a screwdriver or hammer, there's nothing he can do till the landlord comes. Showers take on a whole new cooling experience!!!!
Speaking of the heat, God is so faithful!! We've been praying for months that especially I, (Rosel) would feel the heat to a much lesser degree than what the actual temperature is. Most people that know me well, know that I have what my Dr. calls a near allergy to the sun. So when the Lord called us here, just a short jump from the equator, this was a huge prayer item!! Friends, we serve such an awesome God!! When He calls, He equips. Yes it's hot, but I don't find it as hot as I did often in Manitoba in the summer time. During the night it's usually 26-28 degrees,and we can't use the fans due to no power, and it seriously is not bad.
It's almost 10:00 P.M. and we still have electricity!! That's fantastic!! It's been shut off before eight in the past, so I'm running on bonus time. Generally it comes back on again between 6 and 9 A.M.
Let me tell you about the driving. It's chaos to the max. There are no traffic lights in a city of approx. 700,000 people. There are some stop signs that are completely disregarded. It seems people have both hands on the steering wheel for two reasons; one, to steer obviously, and two, to honk. Taxis and motor bike taxis make up a very large portion of the traffic. The motor bikes wind their way through what is supposed to be narrow two way traffic that probably more times than not is 3 lanes, at break neck speed. Bicyclists with passengers or massive loads of Fanta or sacks of charcoal share a very narrow lane with vehicles. We saw one pedestrian accident the second day, and where told by Everiste that that is a daily occurrence. Imagine all the families that lose loved ones so tragically. Pedestrians are everywhere. It truly is not boring going up town. Neither Isaac nor I have driven so far. Pastor Ray, Maryanne or Everiste have very graciously relieved us of that so far, taking us where ever we've gone.
We met a couple at the CRIB home today from........... Winnipeg of all places. Sheila, you may know Kyle (don't know the last name), he taught in Secondary two years ago. They came for holidays.
It's late by Burundian standards, so I'll quit for today; but I still want to give you a run down of days 3 -6, as I want to introduce you to some very key people/places we'll be working with that we met during days 3 - 6. Till then, please keep on praying for us; we would not be doing as well as we are without your prayers carrying us. Believe me!! We love you; The Froese's
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Back in business!!
Hey, hey, dear and patient family and friends;
God is good!!We safely arrived in Burundi last week Tuesday at 1:30 P.M. It was a very long and tiring trip, but also enjoyable. Pastor Ray and Aime picked us up at the airport. We went straight to Pastor Ray and Maryanne's house for a delicious lunch. After this they took us to our house. There was a frenzy of activity, with 4 or 5 people cleaning. When I went to the washroom, I had my first close encounter with a gecko. There in the corner by the tub he sat! My hair at the back of my neck was standing up as I scurried out. Minutes later Colton, quite excited, announced that he, too, had made acquaintance with the creature, only more intimately. He had tried touching it, and immediately it shed it's tail, so when Colton came to get me, the gecko was in the tub, about 6 inches away from it's still moving tail.
Everiste came over to meet us; his wife Anick, who works for the government, was in South Africa on business.
The house is better than we had envisioned, thank you Jesus!! Our yard is beautiful; get this, we have our very own mango and passionfruit trees!! How sweet is that?! There are palm trees, lemongrass, aloe vera, a large variety of shrubs and flowering plants. Mom, you would love our yard; I think of you when I walk around and admire the beauty. I will email pictures soon; believe it or not, I haven't taken one single picture yet since we left home.
The following morning, Everiste picked us up to go and meet with Drs. Euloge and Aline, a husband and wife team. We went to the African Revival Ministries headqaurters for Burundi, as Dr. Aline is the director of this organization for Burundi. We then headed off to different stores, buying the bare necessities for the house - on the top of the list were 2 fans!!
We than went to meet Everiste's children, Mama Rosa and her children, and the CRIB kids. After visiting for some time, we needed to do some more errands, and Colton stayed at the CRIB house. They had informed us that bugali was on the menu. When we retrieved Colton later, with many of the kids surrounding us, I asked how it had been. The kids laughed as they explained that Colton had gagged, but not only that, he had also eaten it with a spoon instead of with his fingers. We could hardly leave because they all wanted our attention.
Well, that's a rundown of our first two days here. I'll continue hopefully tomorrow, as I've been sitting here in the dark for about the last hour. The electricity goes off every evening, and doesn't come back on till sometime in the morning. Sorry for not writing sooner, but as some of you know, things just take much longer here, and we just got hooked up with our internet late this afternoon. We have marvelled at how the Lord has carried us thus far. Please continue to lift us up in prayer as we adjust to life here. love, love,love, Isaac, Rosel and Colton
God is good!!We safely arrived in Burundi last week Tuesday at 1:30 P.M. It was a very long and tiring trip, but also enjoyable. Pastor Ray and Aime picked us up at the airport. We went straight to Pastor Ray and Maryanne's house for a delicious lunch. After this they took us to our house. There was a frenzy of activity, with 4 or 5 people cleaning. When I went to the washroom, I had my first close encounter with a gecko. There in the corner by the tub he sat! My hair at the back of my neck was standing up as I scurried out. Minutes later Colton, quite excited, announced that he, too, had made acquaintance with the creature, only more intimately. He had tried touching it, and immediately it shed it's tail, so when Colton came to get me, the gecko was in the tub, about 6 inches away from it's still moving tail.
Everiste came over to meet us; his wife Anick, who works for the government, was in South Africa on business.
The house is better than we had envisioned, thank you Jesus!! Our yard is beautiful; get this, we have our very own mango and passionfruit trees!! How sweet is that?! There are palm trees, lemongrass, aloe vera, a large variety of shrubs and flowering plants. Mom, you would love our yard; I think of you when I walk around and admire the beauty. I will email pictures soon; believe it or not, I haven't taken one single picture yet since we left home.
The following morning, Everiste picked us up to go and meet with Drs. Euloge and Aline, a husband and wife team. We went to the African Revival Ministries headqaurters for Burundi, as Dr. Aline is the director of this organization for Burundi. We then headed off to different stores, buying the bare necessities for the house - on the top of the list were 2 fans!!
We than went to meet Everiste's children, Mama Rosa and her children, and the CRIB kids. After visiting for some time, we needed to do some more errands, and Colton stayed at the CRIB house. They had informed us that bugali was on the menu. When we retrieved Colton later, with many of the kids surrounding us, I asked how it had been. The kids laughed as they explained that Colton had gagged, but not only that, he had also eaten it with a spoon instead of with his fingers. We could hardly leave because they all wanted our attention.
Well, that's a rundown of our first two days here. I'll continue hopefully tomorrow, as I've been sitting here in the dark for about the last hour. The electricity goes off every evening, and doesn't come back on till sometime in the morning. Sorry for not writing sooner, but as some of you know, things just take much longer here, and we just got hooked up with our internet late this afternoon. We have marvelled at how the Lord has carried us thus far. Please continue to lift us up in prayer as we adjust to life here. love, love,love, Isaac, Rosel and Colton
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