Livin' the Dream

I am sitting in my room right now, listening to John play the piano downstairs, three kids laughing and rub-a-dub-dubbing in a tub across the hall, and watching an African sunset go down outside my wIndow. I am soaking in how blessed am I that God has taken me to this place and to this season. I am no longer in a drought. The rain has come.

Dreams have been a recurrent thought in my mind this week. Big dreams, dreams unaccomplished, dreams unavailable....I have seen all three in the time that I have been here. For example, the director of the school and the wonderful lady I live with, Jan, has amazing dreams that inspire--already, a school for the deaf has been built on our compound. It is the only school for the deaf in the entire country. Jan and John help facilitate having teachers for the school. They have made that dream come true and are changing so many lives. Another dream Jan has is to train a Burundian in speech therapy. For that, she would need someone willing to come for about a year and pass on the knowledge to a local Burundian so that that Burundian can be self-sufficient once the trainer leaves. In a country where needs as obvious as starvation and AIDS exist, Jan desires to meet the needs of people who can not speak, and give them the gift of a voice. It hasn't happened yet. But I'm so inspired by her faith that it will...She loves the big and the small. She does it hard and well. It challenges me to contemplate how well I spend my days here on this earth loving God's people that He created. . . .

There are also dreams that may never come true due to the preexisting conditions of the country and circumstances beyond one's control. For example, I had a dear friend share with me his desire to go to a university in Canada and study political studies and sociology. He wants to learn about these subjects, as well as improve his English, and make a difference not only in Burundi but in the East African Community. The desire of his heart is good and desperately needed, but the means to get there seemingly impossible. It would cost him $8,000 a semester at the university, not to mention a plane ticket and housing costs. This is a dream that may or may not come true, but the odds aren't stacked pretty.

How I am in this place, I can only thank God. For me, it is a dream come true. It did not come easy, and many sacrifices were made, but I am here, living out the story that I believe God has written for me. My favorite response from my past entries said the following:

"You are definitely living a life that reflects the fact that you believe in the story of Christ. You're an example to follow. I know that I probably won't end up in Burundi as a 2nd grade teacher as I try to follow God's story for me, but being a part of your life as you are doing this does motivate/encourage me to pursue His story for me. Try not to let all that go to your head."

I am realizing more each day, that I have the power to make people's dreams come true here.

It.

is.

absolutely.

cool.

I'm inspired, anxious, challenged, and excited all at the same

time. I know the pages God has written for me will reveal themselves in time. My story is about to get interesting.

Picture on top: Well, a pretty sweet Burundian sunset.

Picture on bottom: Some teachers at the school learning new strategies.

Not So Humble Beginnings

So here I am, in Burundi...never knowing what to expect. Will we have hot water? Sometimes. Will we have water? Sometimes. What about electricity? If the government feels like turning it on. Those are all typical situations in Burundi that I've dealt with before. What I've really been itching to know is what my school is like where I'm teaching. The only schools I've seen here in the past have had dirt floors, no windows (i.e. the holes are there, the glass is not), desks, chairs, and a giant chalkboard.

I'm lucky that the school I work at is right on my compound where I live. Just an overall safer feeling than walking in the streets of the city. Most everyone knows the family I'm staying with here because they have lived here for so long and built most of the buildings on the mission (aka the compound). I live with the director of the school, Jan*, her husband, John, and their three kiddos--Zeke (6), Mike (3), and Elijah (11 months). It's nice living with them because I get the inside scoop on most things that I wouldn't get otherwise (especially since John grew up here.) They started the school about six years ago. When it was first built, enrollment was 80 students. Now, they've added grades all the way up to Maternelle (Preschool) through Second, the grade I'll be teaching, and enrollment is at 500! It's one of the better schools in the country and probably the cheapest private school parents can send their children to. (Other schools

can be about $120/month while this school is only about $20/month). The school also gives job opportunity to grow and salaries to many Burundians who would otherwise maybe not have one (Burundi has an 80% unemployment rate). I like that it builds into the future, allowing these students to have real jobs one day, (i.e. a banker as opposed to standing in a field all day watching goats) and that these jobs that will build back into the country's economy and in turn impact the country as a whole. I really like the role Jan has given me because well, in her words, "it will have exponential impact." (YES.)

Here's a more specific jist of what I'm doing: I'll be teaching the languages arts in English for grade P3 (second grade) and tag teaming science/math with another teacher on my team. Whoa...and I'm the only teacher in school to get an assistant! (Thank God...I'll have 41 kids!...but mostly not all at one time.) The reason I get an assistant is because I will be training that person...so they come, observe, partake, and implement the strategies and techniques of an American teacher into their classrooms. I will get a new assistant every couple of weeks so that each teacher has a chance to learn some strategies to make his/her classroom better. We're not trying to Americanize the school, but simply take what's good from America, and combine it with what's good from Burundi. So some of the main strategies I'll be teaching is classroom management (It exists in a whipping stick here..or they'll tell the child they are going to be eaten by a wild animal if they don't behave), implementing things like read-alouds, more hands on activities, a word wall for vocabulary...things we simply take for granted in the US. Most schools in Burundi are simply lecture and notes, even in first grade. (I never would have made it as a Burundian child...I simply wrote way too slow and got distracted way too easily.) It is really exciting to me that even when I leave, these teachers that stay will have tremendously improved as professionals that will keep impacting class after class! Whoohoo!!

Teacher training starts next week, which I will help direct with Jan. In the meantime, I've just been setting up my classroom--making nametags for desks (Jan says they have probably never had those before), a reading corner, etc.

So a bit o' humor to close...I got my student roster yesterday with all my lovely children's names on it. A little background to know is that Burundians like to name their children a bit like Native Americans once did...except instead of naming them Walking Cloud or Warrior Lion, they name them things that have to do with God's love. Let me just fill you in on this cultural difference..some of my favorites (i.e. funniest) were "Queen G. Love," G standing for God, "J.M. Laurette," J and M standing for Jesus Mary...yes,her full name is "Jesus Mary Laurette," "Saint Augustin," (What if he's not a saint? Do I still have to refer to him as Saint Augustin or just Augustin?), and the grandest name of all "Mac Alysie Dan du Ciel" which literally translates as "Grand Alysie In Of the Sky." (Hmm, maybe her parents didn't know French as well as

they thought they did.) All these, contrasted with the most ordinary of names, Billy Bob. I think his parents and I will get along just fine....

Some prayer requests:

• continued health (allergies seem to love it here)
• safety on the roads
• the start of the school year, that teachers and students would take to this foreigner lady well, and that we would learn well from each other

*All names have been changed in case you're my stalker.

Pictures:

Far left: A sign for my school

Middle: My classroom is the one in the middle. It's not your typical building because these were bought for a cheaper price from the UN instead of building one.

Bottom: my room; note mosquito net tucked in :o)

Back to Big B

I leave in 6 days. Freaking out? Well, a little. But not really. Going to Burundi long-term is something I've wanted for quite a few years now. Yeah, so in case you don't have the whole picture yet, this blog is about living as a teacher/missionary in Burundi, Africa. Most people haven't heard of Burundi, so here's a bit o' history. Many people have heard of Rwanda from the movie Hotel Rwanda...Burundi is right below it and has a similar history. The two countries used to be one country,but Burundi gained its independence in the 60s, so a baby country it is. Since that time, here's been incredible strife between two of the tribes, leading to a massive genocide in 1993 and a civil war that lasted from 1993 to 2005. The war killed about 300,000 people--not a small number for a country the size of Maryland. Left over is the obvious--agony, distrust, an overall tension amongst people groups, and LOADS of children without parents. My friend Simon who has lived in Burundi the past ten years sums up Burundi better than I can with the first video on this website: greatlakesoutreach.org.

So children...that's where I come in. I've been a school teacher for the past three years. God has given me a heart that ticks to educate. I like the way Nelson Mandela nails it: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." That's the goal folks, one child at a time. To be brief about my last year in public schools, I knew after that year, that I would be good for no one to continue in that role. I started praying: "God, give me something where I'm still stewarding my talents and helping people, but please don't keep me here. P.S. If it could be in Burundi, Africa, that would be brillant." I've spent my last two summers in Burundi--teaching English, helping with kids' camps, orphanages, visiting and sharing with rural churches, various activities of the sort--but I was hoping for something longer term, something where I could really make an impact. I must say the people of Burundi have made more of an impact on me than I have on them by far. I'm ready to give back. Wait, pray, wait, pray, wait, pray, BAM! A western trained teacher is needed at a school in the capital, Bujumbura, to coach Burundian teachers, teach subjects in French and English (both of which I speak) to kindergartners, first graders, and second graders. Look no further, I'm pretty sure that job is called Melissa! So that's it! That's the next season, calling, adventure, etc! Not to mention I get to relieve two lovely directors from their six years of investing in Burundi to take their family on a much needed sabbatical. All the details are to be worked out, but I have a place to stay and I have a role to fill. Done. Signed, sealed, delivered.

What a THING God is doing! I call it a thing because as much as is obvious to the eye that can see, I believe there is so much going on that is unseen. A new chapter has begun! Florence declares "The Dog Days Are Over!" I personally dub it a giant felix culpa...this chapter, this life, the things comprehended and the things we'll never know. Felix is basically Latin for good. Culpa, Latin for bad. This jist is that good is coming out of the bad and that God is bringing that. Sempre is a Latin term meaning consistently forward. Laymen's terms: A consistent ongoing of the good arising from the bad. That's my life now. That's Burundi now. Had my last year of teaching not have been dire staights, perhaps I would have stayed in it and not have had the courage to seek another path. Burundi...well, you read the history. It's not exactly a bedtime story. But peace is springing up all over the peace. People are TIRED of war, of chaos, of unrest. They're ready for new lives. They demonstrated that sentiment last summer as Burundi held their first ever peaceful election (i.e. no war). So here we are. Sempre Felix Culpa.

We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him.

Romans 8:28a