Hello friends and family!
I apologize for being a wimpy blogger/updater. Thanks to those of you with whom I’ve been able to debrief and share in person! Here's a picture post on the last month I spent in Burundi, with reflections to come in a later post.
The last month of my time at Kibuye was spent wrapping things up as well as seeing some exciting new happenings at Kibuye.
The new school house for Kibuye Hope Academy (KHA) was finished just in time for the last few days of school! It has two main classrooms, a large gathering space with a reading loft and a huge bookshelf, a storage room that doubles as a secure area, and a bathroom. So beautiful!
The reading loft!! A dream come true for so many!
So many books!!! Many of these came on the most recent 40 ft. container, which arrived in late April! The container arrived packed with an abundance of books and school supplies, both for KHA and for the local school, as well as hospital supplies, power tools, clothes, toys, furniture, marshmallows, cereal, candy, and even Trader Joe's specialties!! Thanks to those who sent stuff along to make a full blown missionary Christmas in April :)
Anna and Matea on duty at the school house on the day of the container's arrival
Building 19, the newest hospital building. It will be a 2 story patient ward and is going up super fast! In the meantime, though, another makeshift ward was built with just mud and bricks. Though "temporary," it may be there for a while.
Another new adventure was waking up at 4:30am and hiking to see the sunrise! It was definitely worth it.
Afterwards, Anna and I made a wildflower collection. Dry season was just starting, but Kibuye's flora and fauna were still in full-blown luscious beauty!
This picture is from Easter Sunday. In the previous post, I mentioned joining the medical students on an outreach event for the patients. They shared about God's offer of love and salvation, prayed with the patients, and then gave out fanta (sodas) and mandazi (fried bread) and sang some lively songs.
Note the med students' Easter garb mixed and matched with scrubs and white coats. Kind of my life as well.
On my very last day at Kibuye, I got to hike up to what we refer to as the "far Kibuye rocks." Just around 1/2 hr hike from our houses, this rock offers a 360 view of the area (see below, PC Nicole). Almost tooooo beautiful to behold!!!!!!!
The hike resulted in this rather funny picture. I planned to visit the hospital later to say goodbye to some people, so I wore my all-purpose scrubs. However, Nicole didn't deem them picture-worthy, and lent me her skirt for the picture, since she was wearing it over pants. The result is this: ultimate comfort!
Wrapping some things up:
The local school held a goodbye party for my roommate, who taught English there. This video is of the drumming team, which is composed of 6th graders. A few days later, the drumming team came down the hill to our compound to give a drumming lesson to the missionary kids. It was super fun to be able to enter into Burundian culture in this way, and it was a very lively and healthy interaction between the missionary kids and the Burundian kids, which was amazing because those kinds of interactions often seem rare. The kids enjoyed it so much that the drummers planned to give lessons regularly! Read about the lesson HERE!
A ballet and piano recital! I am grateful for a gracious and fun group of families who let me learn how to teach on their kids! One special aspect was being able to choreograph a dance to a piece called Awakened, which was composed by Michelle Wendler, a member of the team and an amazing pianist, composer, and teacher! When she and her husband Carlan arrive in the next year or two, she will teach piano to the kids.
Last days of preschool. I'm so proud of these kids for how they've grown: in communication, in learning, in flexibility, and in trying new things.
Future Ophthalmologist!
Ben shakes hands with Jolison, the medical director's son.
I loved spending time with the McLaughlin children on the days when Eric and Rachel both worked.
The last two weeks of my trip I spent in Spain for an organization-wide conference! This picture includes most of the existing team. The Banks and Baskins, who will be joining the team this fall, were able to join us, which was so fun! 9 new kids to get to know! You can watch the video about our team that was shown at the conference HERE.
I'm super thankful for the opportunity to be part of the Kibuye team for a short while. Thank you for Here are some ways that you can be praying for the team as it grows:
1. For good transitions as team members leave, that saying seemingly constant hellos and goodbyes won't keep the kids from forming relationships
2. For good transitions as team members join: for uneventful travel, that new team members would find their place on the team, that their kids would make fast friends.
3. For strength, perseverance, rest, and sustenance for the doctors, and really for the whole team. In particular, for another surgeon this fall!!
4. For wisdom in collaborating with Burundian partners--at Kibuye Hope Hospital, with Hope Africa University, and at the local school, Ecole Fondamentale Kibuye
4. For continued opportunities for the missionary kids to interact and make friends with the Burundian kids around them
