We Now Have Internet Access! (12-31-12)

We traveled to Kibuye for Christmas with our friends Randy and Alice Matthewson, who in their retirement serve as volunteer missionaries to the Congo for six or more months per year. (Randy is an engineer, and oversees a lot of construction projects.) Alice had recently purchased a modem for internet access, which she reported worked well on the HAU campus, and surprisingly, also at Kibuye in Burundi and Nundu in the Congo (both located in remote areas).

On our return to Bujumbura after Christmas, we stopped en route back to campus and I purchased two modems from LEO, the major internet provider here, for our own use and for other visiting faculty.

I paid $30 for each modem which, on a holiday promotion, also includes 7 days of unlimited internet access. Thereafter, one adds time/units using the same scratch cards used by all LEO cell phones here. These are (comparatively) very low cost: I do not expect to use more than $10 worth over the next three weeks.

We have used such modems previously, before HAU acquired internet access (which, as reported in an earlier blog, is no longer functional). Around here, they are lovingly referred to by the ex-pats as “gizmos.” The current one is made in China: it is very simple to install, and works VERY well.

My plan is for these two modems to be passed along to other visiting faculty. Five visitors are arriving this week, to teach in the January interterm; others will follow in February and March, etc.

The modem (“gizmo”) is an excellent solution to the problem of internet access because it allows for access from anywhere on campus 24/7. I am very pleased with this solution!

It’s Been Cooler Lately (12-31-12)

We have been enjoying cooler weather of late. No snow, mind you! But the daytime temperatures have been in the low (rather than high) 80s, and in the mid to high 70s at night. Comparatively pleasant!
We are grateful for this cooler weather.

Climbing Jacob’s Ladder (12-31-12)

I am recovering very well from my hip replacement surgery on October 11. At that time, my surgeon told me I would need “two months” for the short-term recovery. So (exercising some degree of faith) we scheduled our departure for Hope Africa University December 11 (exactly two months later!).

I did bring my cane and used it en route traveling through the airports. But I have not used it at all since we arrived in Burundi.

There are many stairs to climb here (and no elevators!). We live in a third-floor guest apartment. (Note: in French, it is called the “second floor,” that is, the second floor above the “ground floor.”) To reach our apartment requires climbing 40 steps (and 40 more to get back to ground level!).

And there are many more stairs to climb here! Darlene is teaching in lab and lecture rooms located on the third floor of the main classroom building. That is a climb of 56 stairs up, and for the descent 56 down.

On Friday, counting the steps both up and down, I did 800+ stairs…in style, “foot over foot”…and suffered no ill effects. So I am very pleased with my progress. I expect, per the usual schedule for recovery, that by the time we return home January 17, I should be fairly “back to normal.”

Then, my next challenge—for the spring months, is to rebuild the muscle in my left leg. Presently, my left thigh is 2+ inches smaller in circumference than my right thigh! The calf is also smaller. I think the atrophy took place over time, as I “gimped and limped” around for a couple of years prior to surgery. My goal now is to recover the strength I lost in my left leg during that time and be back to “fully normal” by the end of May. (Some of my closet friends question “normal” as a realistic goal for me!)

Darlene Hard at Work! (12-31-12)

Following Christmas, Darlene began teaching one section of her course on December 27. (During the holidays, it is currently the only one in session at the University.) She has a total of 140 undergraduate Nursing students enrolled in her course on Physical Assessment and Diagnosis.

To manage this number of students, Darlene has divided the course into three sections (or “groups,” as they are called here) of 40-50 students each. Following the daily lectures, each group is then divided into two lab sessions. So Darlene is in class, 8:30 am – 4 pm daily, including Saturdays.

Presently, with the first group, Darlene has one assistant instructor, one of her (former) students who just completed his masters’ degree in the Nursing. Eric is an exceptional young man, a hard worker, fluent in French as well as English. So he is a BIG help. I am also serving as an assistant, managing the course Grade Sheet, etc.

Darlene’s plan was to begin the first group early and get in two weeks of classes before the beginning of the regular January interterm on January 7. On that date, she will launch the second and third groups. She will have additional assistance for these two groups. A Nurse Practitioner friend, Carol Vitolins, is arriving January 3, and another of Darlene’s former students will be returning after the holidays. Violette is an exceptional young lady, well connected on campus (which is important here), and a hard worker; she will be particularly helpful in the lab sessions.

I am doing everything I can to off-load Darlene, caring for the household duties, meal preparation, etc. But I do ask your prayers for her: she is caring a very heavy load.

Christmas in Burundi (12-25-12)

We shared a Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve with four other couples from the US (“ex-pats,” we are called here) and four children ages 5-13. Three of the eight adults present were medical doctors and three of them (including Darlene) were nurses. The dinner was hosted by Dr. Frank and Carol Ogden on the campus of Hope Hospital of Kibuye, the “up-country” hospital of Hope Africa University (HAU).

Today, on Christmas Day, Darlene and I accompanied Frank and Carol Ogden to a country church, where Carol (an ordained minister in the Free Methodist Church) was preaching at a special Christmas service. The service lasted 3.5 hours (it included eight choirs!), followed by a meal prepared especially for us visitors. Mid-way through the service, a torrential rainstorm broke out. The pounding on the tin roof almost drowned out the service for 30 or more minutes. It then subsided for the sermon itself.

We had come in to this church off the paved road from Kibuye on a dirt track which wound into the mountains ca. .25 miles. We knew, because of the heavy rainfall, that we might not make it out. The road was very bad. When we got stuck in the mud, ca. 12 children and three men helped pull us out. I was riding upfront, and helped Dr. Frank negotiate a pathway through the mud and holes and up the steep hillsides. When we reached the paved road, we all gave praise to God.

Back at Kibuye, the ex-pats (including Darlene and I) shared gifts. They all were very simple, but people were thrilled with the smallest gifts. In the evening, we joined with the medical students on site and went caroling through the hospital wards.

So this has been a distinctive Christmas for us. Not only because it is sunny and warm rather than cold and white, but also because we have observed absolutely no signs of commercialism. We have not seen a single Christmas light or decoration, or any extraordinary expenditure on the part of anyone. In that respect, it seems like any other day…except for the focus on worship, in celebration of Jesus’ birth. Isn’t that what Christmas is/should be all about?

What a Special Graduation! (12-23-12)

On Saturday December 21, we participated in the Commencement ceremonies marking the end of the 2012 academic year at Hope Africa University.

It was a special day both for us and the University.

At this Commencement, Hope Africa University graduated a total of 489 students including its first graduate degrees to 23 masters and 15 doctoral students!

• M.A. in Theology: 9 students

• M.S. in Nursing: 7 students

• M.Ed. (Education): 7 students

• M.D. (Medicine): 15 students

Darlene was the primary faculty behind all seven graduate degrees in Nursing, having served as the thesis advisor and first reader on all seven theses. I had advised all of the graduate Theological students on their theses, and served as first reader and jurist for three of them. We are very proud of “our” students!

Wayne was privileged to serve as the Commencement speaker. His address was titled, “Where is the Hope?” Hope has been the topic of considerable research in the past 15 years. Wayne summarized the results of this research and integrated it with a biblical theology of hope, applying both to the realities of this present world. As graduates of Hope Africa University, he challenged the students to serve as “agents of hope” to the hopeless in central Africa.

Not only are we proud of our students (undergraduate as well as graduate!), we are pleased to be part of the continuing development of Hope Africa University.

An Internet Connection Would Be Nice! (12/19/12)

We have been here one week. I have only been able to secure an internet connection twice. The first time, the electric power went off, shutting down the entire computer network, after one hour of access. On the second occasion, the wi-fi was painfully slow. It took ca. 3 minutes to call up and send a one-line email Reply!

Presently, I am sitting next to the IT staff responsible for the internet connection. He graciously gave me one of the two cable connections he has on his desk. After I got to my email and sent one Reply, the internet connection went down; the connection now reads Local Only. So I am biding my time, composing emails and this blog off-line, to paste into email once (if) I get internet access again this afternoon.

I see my IT seatmate working to restore the internet connection! In the past 30 minutes, several other persons have come in trying to help. I pray for them.

PS: After an hour waiting for the internet connection to be restored, I give up! I’ll try again another day.

It Feels Cold Here! (12/17/12)

Friday, December 14, was an unusually hot day.

Typically, daytime temps here run in the 80s (low to high 80s). On Friday, it was in the 90s; I am not sure how high the temp went, but it probably was in the high 90s. Even the Burundians considered it “hot”! The humidity was equally high, which led to a torrential and lengthy rain storm in the late afternoon.

On Saturday morning, it felt comparatively cool.

Darlene put on a sweater, and insisted I close the door and windows. She was still “cold.” I protested that it was not as hot as the day prior, but still quite warm. To support my claim, I checked the thermometer we have hanging in the hallway of our apartment: It read 76 degrees! Darlene responded: “It still feels cold to me!”

Waking Up in Burundi! (12-14-12)

Traveling to Hope Africa University we experience a six hour time difference, which “flips” half the day and half the night.

And so it was that at the end of our first day in Burundi this year, we found ourselves nodding off into deep sleep about 7 pm. After fighting off sleep for an hour, we finally gave in and went to bed. Both of us slept very soundly, for what we thought was a long time.

When we finally awakened, I checked my Smartphone for the time. It read 5:30. Since it starts getting light here at 6 a.m., we decided to get up and get an early start on the new day. Darlene took a shower, and we both got fully dressed. I opened the curtains to let in the morning light. For breakfast, we had bread and peanut butter sandwiches (sounds more like lunch, but that’s all we had at hand, not yet having been to the grocery store!). And Darlene made each of us a large mug of strong Burundi coffee.

Grateful for a good night’s sleep, we resumed our work of reading masters’ theses as we downed our sandwiches and sipped at the hot coffee. About 45 minutes later, I realized that it was still dark and there was not yet any birdsong. I looked at my wristwatch. It appeared to have stopped. So I asked Darlene to look at her watch. Both read 1:15 a.m.!

We decided not to drink the remainder of our coffee, but to continue working for a few hours. At 3:30 a.m. we went through our nighttime routine once again and returned to bed. Once settled in, we both had a hearty laugh at ourselves. Then we fell asleep again. We slept (not so deeply as before our mid-night break) until 6:30 a.m.… arising once again, this time to sunrise and birdsong.

En Route Back to Africa (December 12, 2012)

We are experienced travelers! This is the sixth consecutive year Darlene and I (Wayne) have traveled to Burundi in central Africa. Before arriving at our Rochester, NY airport on December 11, 2012 we had everything well-planned. We had even gone out to the airport a month earlier, to make special arrangements for my travel. (I had a hip replacement on October 11, 2012 and--although having been cleared for travel--was subject to certain restrictions and limitations.)

We checked in early, and went to our gate. Before long, it was announced that our United flight to Washington, D.C. was delayed by almost two hours (within 30 minutes, it was cancelled altogether). That meant we would miss our overnight connecting flight to Brussels, where we were scheduled the next morning for our day-long flight into Bujumbura, Burundi. (This flight is available only twice per week, on Wednesday and Sunday.)

We had to wait about 30 minutes for United to make rearrangements. We were transferred to Delta for an overnight flight to Brussels via JFK airport in NY. However, we faced two new challenges: (1) all of the special arrangements for my travel—aisle seating, and wheelchair assistance in the big airports—were void; (2) our inbound flight to Brussels was scheduled to arrive at 9:30 a.m. and our outbound flight at 10:30 a.m.

Darlene was worried sick that “we would not make it.” I tried to comfort her, by reminding (myself, as much as) her, “Dear, we have many people praying for us.” She responded, “I know. But where is God when we really need him?”

As it turned out, God was with us. Our flight into Brussels arrived 45 minutes early! We had plenty of time for the long walk—and I had no difficulty—through the airport to our next gate. So “we would make it,” but what about our luggage? That problem was solved when our outbound flight, from Brussels to Bujumbura, was delayed for 45 minutes! (It was announced that this delay was required “to load the last remaining luggage”—probably ours!)

All is well that ends well. God is good…all the time!

Boy, the Food Tastes Good!

This past week, one evening, we had Spam for dinner. Oh my, did it taste good…as good as we remember filet mignon tasting!! This week, Darlene made up some Jello she had brought: oh my, what a treat, even plain without any whipped cream or fruit!

Mind you, the food here is good: we are not complaining. But it is simple: the main entrée is usually beans, sometimes rice; at other times, we mix rice and beans! But we also have a constant supply of good fruits and vegetables: bananas, mangos; green beans, and even spinach.

Twice, we have made up our own “French fries” (called frites here), in light oil. Oh my, oh my: we thought they were the best we had ever eaten! But then, again, it seems our taste buds are changing! How about some Spam with frites, s’il vous plait. Now that would be heavenly!

Safari to Rwanda

This past weekend, our friends, Randy and Alice Matthewson (VISA missionaries to the Congo), escorted us on a safari to Rwanda. It was a wonderful trip and experience, and constituted a needed break from our work at Hope Africa University. Our destination was the Free Methodist mission in Kibagora, which we had not previously visited.

Kibagora has a well-developed hospital and medical center, a sizeable FM church, and this fall (2012), they plan to launch a Christian liberal university (like Hope Africa University). It is beautifully situated high above Lake Kivu. The views from our guest housing were spectacular.

On Saturday morning, we were given a full tour of the hospital and medical facilities. In the afternoon, we did a long hike (ca. 5 miles) to a local market and back, downhill one way and uphill the other…some of it very steep.

The drive north on Friday took ca. 5 hours; similarly, the return south on Sunday. The 2-hour drive north of Bujumbura, in Burundi is flat and the road is paved: half of it was in good condition; half of it was not. Crossing the border was a breeze: no visa is required by Rwanda for US citizens. North of the border, in Rwanda, the road climbs steeply and then down again: the landscape is quite mountainous and beautiful; the valleys are planted in huge tea plantations. Much of this roadway was unpaved and under construction: it was smooth enough, but we got COVERED in dust.

We have now visited all three of our Free Methodist missions and hospital centers in central Africa: Kibuye, in Burundi; Nundu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Kibagora, in Rwanda. Each has a good history of evangelism and social service. But all three are in need of continuing support, especially Nundu and Kibagora.

The Clinic is Nearing Completion

Three years in the making and hours of labor havare resulting in a clinic/hospital for Hope Africa University.  Located across the street from the main campus, the facility will serve as a training site for nursing and medical students studying at the University. We look forward to participating in the formal dedication of this new clinic/hospital on place February 27, 2012.

The project began as a one story maternal-pediatric clinic but has been transformed into a two building, two story, grand facility. The buildings have attractive brown brick exterior with metal rust colored roofs. One building is nearly completed. It includes a delivery suite and an operating theater, pharmacy, clinical laboratory, x-ray suite, conference room, examination rooms, and two or three patient wards.

At this time, the interior of one building is painted, has electricity, and tiled floors throughout. Most of the doors and windows are installed. The exact use of the space is still to be decided. How and when those decisions are made remains a mystery to us.

The medical equipment that arrived in February 2011 has been stored on campus for the past year. This week we got into the rooms unlocked and checked the contents. There was thick dust and sand everywhere, but all the equipment seemed to be intact. The logistics of transferring this sensitive, large and heavy medical equipment to the new building present our next challenge. Two capable engineers from the US will be available soon to install the electrical medical equipment during the next several weeks before the dedication event.

The second two story building presently is the focus of much effort toward completion. There are many workers focused on all aspects of construction—plastering, wiring, and constructing a huge stairway/ramp to the upper story. Both buildings are also the focus for plumbing--which is installed after the walls are plastered and painted. They are then cut/routed out to insert the plumbing for sinks and showers and toilets. It is a relief to witness the installation of hand washing facilities for this hospital/clinic.

Already, plans are in place for students to rotate through this facility for their clinical experience. The students in the Masters of Nursing Program are working on planning the Nursing aspects relevant for managing this new facility. We watch the development of this significant undertaking with significant interest.

Dreamin’

Hope keeps dreams alive. In many areas of life here, people’s dreams far exceed daily realities. We are often astounded at the reach of their aspirations. But it is hope that makes daily life bearable, and fills it with meaningfulness and joy.

Singing about Jesus’ second coming is commonplace and frequent. Recently we attended a service in a church “up country,” in which seven choirs performed; half  of the songs centered on this theme.

Accompanying the people’s hopes and dreams is infinite patience (or so it seems to us). While this attribute sometimes “tries our patience” (!), we are learning. I, in particular, have grown immensely in my capacity for patience from our time here in Africa.

Some big dreams are becoming a reality for Hope Africa University. In less than 10 years, the school has grown from about 100 students to more than 5,000! Admittedly, this rapid growth overreaches the available resources in many areas. But we are working hard to help HAU “backfill,” particularly in needed infrastructure. This week I had a meeting on campus computerization, and another on graduate research. Both represent areas where there exists tremendous need for additional development, but both also represent areas of tremendous opportunity for the further development of Hope Africa University.

HAU has come a long ways in less than 10 years! But the administrative leadership is not “resting on its laurels” (i.e., past accomplishments). Already the Rector is dreaming of considerable program expansion, an extension campus, and Ph.D. degrees!

Imbeni! Imbeni!

I have been practicing daily with a choir directed by Dr. Nelson Hill, a visiting professor from Roberts Wesleyan College. Nelson holds a doctorate in Music, and has written a Cantata which we will be performing on Sunday, January 29.

Dr. Hill has arranged numerous musical pieces around the major affirmations of the Apostle’s Creed: (1) I believe in God, the Father, Maker of heaven and earth…; (2) And in His only Son, who was born of the virgin Mary, crucified…on the third day he rose…he will come [again]; (3) I believe in the Holy Spirit….

We are singing songs in multiple languages: Kirundi, Swahili, Zulu, French, English and Latin! The music includes a piece from South Africa and another from Nigeria as well as several from Burundi; a couple of African-American spirituals; hymns familiar to me (but not to the Africans), to be sung in French and English; and Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus.

This, for me, is a wonderful experience. I love music and singing in a choir with other voices, but I have seldom “had time” (taken time?) for all the practices required.

I am enjoying the fellowship with the other singers, most of whom are students at Hope Africa University. Some of them have unbelievably beautiful voices, and most have a very “good ear for music.” But they cannot read music. Dr. Hill is teaching a Music Theory class, in which some of the HAU students are enrolled…so now, for the first time, they are learning to read music!

Imbeni!

Our Weekend “Safari”

We took a “safari” (= journey) to the “up country” this weekend. The main campus of Hope Africa (HAU), where we are living, is located in Bujumbura, the capital city of Burundi. Bujumbura is situated along the northeast shore of Lake Tanganika, at an elevation of about 2500’. Leaving the HAU campus heading east = inland, one immediately begins a steep climb into the mountains. For more than 20 miles, the road zig-zags back and forth, climbing to about 7000’.

Except along the shore of Lake Tanganika, the country of Burundi is almost all mountainous. Between the mountains lie valleys, some of which are very deep. The countryside/landscape is absolutely beautiful. Farms and huts dot the steep hillsides and gardens fill the valleys. Fields of tea, coffee, banana, and/or corn are almost always in view. Eucalpytus trees add a touch of silver to the green farm-like landscape. Some of the mountain views from the road, whether down into the deep valleys or up to the mountain peaks above, are breath-taking. A camera is inadequate to capture the scene; one is better to imprint it in memory.

Eleven of us (in one van) made the trip this weekend, leaving Friday afternoon 3 pm and returning Sunday evening 6:30 pm. We visited three sites of both historical and contemporary importance to the Free Methodist in Burundi: Kibuye, Moiye, and Muyebe.

Kibuye is the site of the University hospital, where the medical and nursing students come for 2-3 months of clinical field experience as part of their education at HAU. Darlene and another nurse practitioner, our friend Carol Vitolins, were sent on up to Kibuye Friday night (I tagged along as Darlene’s spouse and help mate). The three of us stayed both Friday and Saturday nights in the mission house on site with Dr. Frank Ogden and his wife Carol, while the other eight members of our troupe stayed mid-way to Kibuye at a motel in Gitega, the only city “up country.” Darlene and Carol did rounds in the hospital with Dr. Ogden, while I put together a puzzle (the first in a long while!).

On Sunday morning, we all went to church at Moiye. It was a wonderful service. Before Pastor Mark Abbott from our troupe preached, seven choirs presented more than two hours of music and dance, which we thoroughly enjoyed. During a special song of welcome, one choir showered us, handful by handful, with a basket-full of fresh flower petals (my head and white shirt were covered…beautifully). After church, we were served a grand dinner.

To reach Muyebe, we had to drive for an hour on gravel road. The last 4 km (2.5 miles) were VERY rough. Muyebe, which is situated in the mountains, is the site of the first Free Methodist church in Burundi. Its origins date back to 1935. The church itself accommodates more than thousand people, and is filled every Sunday with half again that many! On the grounds of this mission compound is a large elementary school, two high schools (one is residential), and a medical clinic. Our stay here was too brief to see it all. We had to hurry to make it back to the HAU campus before dark. This required another hour of driving on gravel roads, and a total of 2.5 hours which included climbing over a mountain range, and then descending via switchbacks about a mile to Bujumbura. Darlene and I had been on this road before, and I remembered vividly some of the scenes, among the most beautiful I have ever witnessed.

It was a tiring journey, but what a wonderful weekend. It was made all the more meaningful because Wayne and Barb Vibbert, who had lived as missionaries in Burundi many years, served as our tour guides (Wayne also served as driver, a demanding task). We are grateful to them for this experience…and to the LORD.

No Time to Blog

This past week has VERY busy, and VERY challenging…for both of us. (It seems that the first week is always the most challenging.)

As mentioned in the previous blog, over our first weekend here, I had to prepare a new course, other than the one I came prepared to teach. For the first classroom session, only three students showed. They helped me ascertain that the course most needed (that is, by a larger number of students) was Pastoral Theology. So on Monday I wrote a third course syllabus (the second since Friday afternoon). I think you can easily see why I have been VERY busy and VERY challenged.

The challenge on Darlene’s part is that year she has a larger number of students. In the US, the undergraduate course she teaches in Physical Assessment and Diagnosis would be limited to 12-15 students. Here she has had 20, then 35, then 50, and now 70 students. This is VERY challenging. For the lab sections she has to divide the class into three groups, so she is VERY busy all day (from 7:30 am – 5:00 pm!).

So there has been no time to blog!

First Days at HAU 2012

We have very busy the past few days: unpacking and getting set up in our apartment; buying initial groceries; supporting the other visiting faculty (including handing mosquito nets, installing a clothes rod, repairing a refrigerator; more importantly, arranging for an orientation).

I got a surprise at the orientation session. Based on prior email communications, I came prepared to teach New Testament Theology. Now, they have decided that they would rather have me teach Biblical Hermeneutics (the science and art of interpretation). I taught that course here in January 2008, but I brought none of the materials with me and the syllabi I left behind have disappeared! So I am working to “resurrect” the course this weekend.

Darlene is grappling at the moment with the fact that she has 74 students enrolled in her class on Physical Assessment. We just checked out the assigned classroom, and it has only 66 chairs (and room for no more!). She also needs 74 copies of her syllabus materials by 8 am on Monday, and all the offices are closed over the weekend.

We are here with a sizable group of visiting faculty: Mark and Mary Ann Abbot from Seattle; Karen and Nelson Hill as well as Carol Vitolins from Rochester, NY; Wayne and Barbara Vibberts as well as Barbara Rose from Spring Arbor, Michigan. Thank the Lord: everyone arrived safely and well, as did all of our luggage (including the keyboard!).

Per a tradition which has developed here, we “ex-pats” go out for dinner together on Friday evenings. Last night, we did a communal meal of three kinds of salad, four pizzas and various soft drinks. The cost per person, including the tip was 11, 000 Bf (= Burundi francs); at the current exchange rate, that’s $8.09.

The past two nights, we have had torrential rain storms, lasting for hours, along with thunder, lightning and wind. The electrical power has been off about as much as it has been on. The Vibberts and McCowns, who are living in the two guest apartments, have had consistent water. But the other visiting faculty who are living together in a 4-bedroom house on campus have only had water for about 4 hours per day.

As they say here, in French: C’est la vie (= That’s life)!