Patience and Faith

One day on the way to a latrine site, the gentleman with us who was giving us directions said, "Go there, continue..."  We looked and the narrow street was filled with a large blue flat nosed cargo van backing down the street slowly.  We couldn't see any way to get past it. It filled the street and there were random shops on one side and a deep ditch with a steep side on the other.   But our director was filled with faith. "Yes, continue" he said, "You can do it."  We followed and finally the truck backed into a space and we were able to edge around it.  Often the roads look like this, but you just "continue....."  It made me think that life is sometimes that way.  We can see no way to get through the things in our path, and without faith we may stop.  The spirit whispers, "Continue, you can do it."  So we go ahead and then our faith grows when we see that there really is a way - the Lord's way.  

This is not a picture of that day, but it reminds me of it.

Notice there are two women on the back of one bicycle, and one on the other one.

 These women riding side saddle on the back of bicycles take my breath away.  They ride through traffic, weaving in and around pot holes, motorcycles, cars, trucks and other bicycles as if there is no danger.  Some don't even hold on.  With a basket or a goat on her lap and a baby tied to her back, they are as nonchalant as can be.   This is faith!

 Okay we didn't try to go down these streets, They are markets.

 These big horns would scare me, but they drive these cows down one of the main streets, and no one is concerned in the least.  They appear very docile.

 Here's a good one -- continue...........

 This is the padded seat they ride on.  Funny they seem to be mostly red and the ladies always ride facing the left.

In Revelations we read that Patience and Faith and keeping the commandments of God are the tools of victory.  Here's hoping we can learn more of Patience and Faith from these amazing Burundians.

To please the eye and gladden the heart!

I love these hanging vines!

 Take a close look at these thorns! How would you like to hack through the jungle with these  babies!  Wooooo!  So tough!

 Bamboo trees in the park where we walk.

 These Papaya trees are super productive!  And the fruit is YUMMY!

 This deserves another close look. It almost looks fake.

 There are lots of these tall skinny trees everywhere.

The Banyan trees always amaze me. 

S

Fan palms live up to their name.

D.& C. 59:

 17 Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;

 18 Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

 19 Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, tostrengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

 20 And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.

Welcome to our house!

 Makyla asked some very good questions, so I decided I would do a blog on our house here in Bujumbura.  There are many houses like this, cement construction, inside of a big wall with a locked gate. This is our patio.  We eat breakfast here most days.  Dinner not so much as the mosquitos are out then and there are no screens on the patio.

 This is how it looks from the street.  You can only see the upstairs where the  four Elders live.  They are really cute boys who speak French and Swahili.  They are learning English so we practice with them. One night we taught two of them to play Rummikub.

 This is the view from their deck one direction and the other.  Our yard is very nice.  Remy takes care of it.  David planted beans, corn and chard.

 Here is our kitchen.  The cabinets are pretty short, but we don't spend much time here, so it is okay.  This is our cupboard for dishes and our food storage.

 Our refrigerator is like the one in Romania.  See the family pictures on it?

 This is the Burundi Country Welfare Office, our den, We spend lots of time here on the net writing emails and writing up projects on the church program for Humanitarian work.

 When weather doesn't permit us to eat outside, we have this nice little table and chairs inside.

 Making our bed includes, fluffing the pillows, straightening the sheet and tying up the mosquito net.  Our bed is great since we took the extra matress off the guest bed and added it to ours. :)

 Our bathroom has lots of variety in tile. This is our sink and shower.

 There is also a second shower that we never use.  It is lower.  Both bathrooms have one of these.

 One of the two guest bedrooms.  Neither has a matress because we use one of them and the Elders upstairs have one for visiting elders.

 The second bath room which we never use has the same different tiles.

 This is our laundry room.  It opens up the the outside.  What you see is the back yard and the sink and counter where Remy prepares his food.  The dryer is the clothes lines you can't see because they are hanging above in this picture.

This is our living room.  David plays the keyboard here.  He decided to just stand.  It is easier than finding a sit down place to play.  Our "air conditioning" is in the foreground.

That's it!  It is comfy and safe and very open.  The air from outside blows through all of the time.  Last night when it rained, we loved it.   You can hear it and smell it like you were sleeping outside. We enjoy being at home.

Shopping Spree

David wanted to buy a chicken but he thought 50,000 was too much for one.  They were still alive as he carried them down the street, but they were not making a sound.

I loved this beautiful face pressed so close to his mother's back.  These babies seem never to be distressed. 

 We were so excited to find this wonderful shop.  The Library Saint Paul is Bujumbura's answer to Office Max.  They have envelopes, markers,  even card stock!  So Exciting!

 We tried a cultural feast today.  We had Mokeke at the newest hotel in town.  It was delicious.  David tried the eyeball which was not his favorite.

David watched so many people walking with a shovel or a hoe on their head, he wanted to try it. 

This scene at a school was so picturesque.

Burundian Drummers

 Who would think That The U.S. Ambassador would sit next to us, and who would know that's who SHE was?   Dancing last night was a cultural experience.   Lake Tanganyika Hotel / Club was a busy place.   We met an entourage from Russia; a saxophone player, beautiful white girl from Germany who works with a company here to keep the peace; a businessman from France who is a bank consultant and another group from Italy. We also met the singer ,Natacha, the owner's wife.   Who knows how many other countries were represented along with the Burundians and two American Missionaries in a quiet little restaurant where the band played good dance music.  The only reason we knew "Who's Who" was that a member of the Branch Presidency and his fiancé (Amabile & Freida) went with us. He would whisper to David, "That woman is the U.S. ambassador, there is the owner, etc. .."  The only person with enough confidence to talk to every one of them was, you know who, Elder Van.   He had a hay day learning all about these interesting people and the dancing was good too. We got a Samba, Rumba, Swing, and a line dance.

The Burundian drummers, who have put Burundi on the map, were there when we first arrived. We walked over, but it was a private party.   However, Amabile saw someone he knew who invited us in to watch. They were amazing! One of the the dancers was jumping so high.  He could fling his feet over his head and still land on his bare feet on the cement floor.  Google "Burundi Drummers". There are pictures and videos online.