A Party for Our African Friends (2-24-14)

A Party for Our African Friends (2-24-14)

Yesterday (Sunday) we hosted a small party in our apartment for some African friends who have become especially important to us.  Our relationship with the two young men extends across the seven years we have been coming to Hope Africa University.  Both were Darlene’s students in Nursing, having completed their undergraduate baccalaureate degree and then their master’s degree under her tutelage.  I also served as faculty for them in several courses and helped advise them on their master’s theses.

 

Eric is now head (chef) of the Nursing program at HAU, and Denis head (chef) of Nursing at HAU’s Van Norman Clinic (a hospital across the street from the main campus).  These are very important positions.  Both are exceptionally fine Christian men, bright and hard-working.  Eric, though still young, is a gifted administrator.

Denis is married: he brought his wife Jeanette and their 13-month old daughter Charity to our party.  Charity was a delight!  Last week, we all shared lunch in Denis and Jeanette’s home.  At that time, Charity was quite frightened by us: it was her first time to see white people.  Today, she was totally comfortable around us. 

We included in our party today Eric’s younger brother (age 19), for whom he serves as guardian.  During the civil strife in the 90’s, their mother, father, and a younger sister were killed.  Eric was ca. 14 and his brother ca. 5 at that time.  The two boys escaped death by hiding in the woods.  After some months, they were taken in by two differing families.  Eric was able to resume his schooling, and because of his diligence, discipline, work ethic, intelligence—and by God’s grace—now holds a master’s degree.  His younger brother, however, has struggled through school, and at age 19, is only in his first (of three years) of high school. 

For the party, Darlene had fixed a number of small treats.  I had prepared a photo slideshow of our family and home in the US.  (As we concluded our lunch together in Denis’ home, he said, “We have showed you our family and home.  We would like to know about your family and home.”)  We usually do not talk about or show photos of our home and cottage in New York…because they are so grand compared to their humble dwellings here.  But we made an exception in this case….

I entitled our slideshow, “Our Home and Family in America…prepared for Our Friends in Africa.”  At the end, I showed two photos of Eric and Denis with their classmates in the master’s program.  I labeled the first (which included Denis): “Some of Our Extended Family in Africa” and the second (which included Eric): “Three More Wise Men in Our African Family.”  Our guests were thrilled to be included in “our family.”

The final photo, taken from the balcony of our apartment here, was labeled “A Beautiful Sunset on Lake Tanganika.”  Earlier in the slideshow, I had included a photo of “A Beautiful Sunset on Lake Ontario” taken from our cottage at Lighthouse Christian Camp.  These two photos—and the slideshow in general—reflected these two parts of our lives, in America and Africa.  While very different in many respects, they also mirror one another in important ways.