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)!

Making Preparations for Another Year

“Tis the season…to prepare for another visit to Hope Africa University. We are scheduled to leave home January 3. We will be at HAU until February 29. En route home, we plan to spend a week in Brussels.

Since our scheduled time away totals almost 10 weeks, considerable thought must given to pre-planning. We have arranged for a neighbor to pick up our mail, water our indoor plants, and keep an eye on the house. All of our bills have been set up for Auto-pay or pre-paid, except for two tax bills which we hope arrive before we leave. Arrangements have been made to suspend some services, such as trash pickup; our autos have been scheduled to be taken out of service (with reduced insurance coverage) January 3 – March 8 (when we return home). Etc., etc.

Last month, we secured our visas and travel insurance. Earlier this month, I made reservations for our stay in Brussels and secured it with a deposit (in Euros, using Paypal). Both of us have been working on our course preparations and collecting the materials we need, including syllabi and textbooks. This week, Darlene got the cash we need to carry with us. (Credit cards are of no use in Burundi. Only $100 and $50 bills are accepted, and they must be no older than five years and “like new.”) I got set up on Skype, so we have that available as another tool (alongside email) for communication.

We have seen our physicians, and procured our meds (including the malaria prophylactic we use). At the end of next week, we will get our hair cut (real short!).

Darlene has been busy packing: three duffle bags full of medical equipment and supplies are ready to go. This past week, we selected out the clothes each of us will bring, so Darlene could wash, mend and iron them as necessary. I readied the electronics we will take (camera, iPod, Steri-pen, laptop, etc.), charged the batteries, etc. We are “piling” other things we need or want to take, as we think of them. These include: movie DVDs (since we will not have TV); flashlights (since we can count on electricity only ca. 50% of the time); select food stuffs (such as dried meats and peanut butter, since these are hard to come by and very expensive).

As you can see, there are many details involved in preparing for such a trip! And those I have mentioned are only illustrative…!

We do solicit your prayers, first of all, for safe travel. And we pray God’s blessings on you in the New Year!