Love Isn't Efficient

Africa is a place where even the smallest things can remind the average Westerner how blessed they are.

Here are a few examples…

1)      It is wild to think that before I came here, my “low paying job” allowed me to earn more money in 2 weeks than the average person in Burundi makes in a year.

2)      Sometimes I am tempted to complain just because the power cuts off. We are currently in the dry season, and since most of the electricity is hydroelectrically generated, the entire country is having power cuts for about 8 hours a day. Not having access to power for just 8 hours a day is frustrating for me, but I am convicted by the fact that 98% of the population of this country doesn’t ever have access to running water and electricity.

3)      I wrote a couple weeks ago about a few “small” gifts I received for my birthday. But I heard a story yesterday that made me so much more appreciative that I have people in my life who are willing and able to give me even simple gifts. My lady, Sarah, currently lives at a University in Botswana, and so she has made tons of friends. A few weeks ago she found out that one of her friends, David, was about to have a birthday. Sarah somehow learned that David liked cinnamon cake, so yesterday on his birthday she gave him a card and a cinnamon apple raisin cake. David was overwhelmed with joy and said that it was the first birthday gift he has ever received. Wow! I can’t imagine the moment of seeing a university student accept his first ever birthday gift.

Where Sarah lives

Us

 This story so badly makes me want to learn how to be more grateful, and it also makes me want to take more time to show love to people in simple ways.

A few days ago I was chatting my friend Barton about frustrations that we have both had regarding a lack of efficiency in Africa. Barton improved my outlook by saying that a lack of efficiency is certainly a struggle while working in Africa, but she said that we Westerners can learn a lot from Africans about being “less efficient” in relationships. She said we can learn a lot from Africans about solidarity, and taking the time to slow down and engage in meaningful conversation. She then said something that I hope will mold my ministry in Burundi. It was simple, but profound. She said, “Love isn’t efficient.”

Wow. This is so true. It takes sacrifice, and sometimes the uncomfortable measure of taking a step back from our fast paced, results driven, Western way of life, to show love well. My wonderful girlfriend helped me learn this a bit better yesterday, and all she did was bake a cake…for someone else ;)

Genocide and Gazelles

While cycling through Austin, Texas on the Bike for Burundi tour, I met a Burundian named Gilbert who came to the USA as a political refugee. I learned that he was an accomplished runner who had survived a terrible attack during the genocide in Burundi in 1993. He now heads up a running club called "Gilbert's Gazelles" (www.GilbertsGazelles.com), and a non profit which raises money for wells in Burundi, called "The Gazelle Foundation" (www.Gazellefoundation.com). Some people involved with the Gazelle Foundation actually made a trip out here to Burundi last month.

This past weekend I read Gilbert's incredibly emotional memoir called This Voice in My Heart: A Runner's Memoir of Genocide, Faith, and Forgiveness. The story is absolutely amazing, and it shares not only his experience with genocide, but it also tells about his entire life and the culture of Burundi.

The back of the book says "This Voice in My Heart is the searing story of Gilbert Tuhabonye, a survivor of one of the most devastating genocides in recent memory. Though now a track star and motivationnal speaker, Gilbert once lay buried under a pile of burning bodies after the centuries-old battle between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes came to his school. Fueled by hatred, the Hutus forced more than a hundred Tutsi children and teachers into a small room and used machetes to slash most of them to death. The ones who survived the attack were doused with gasoline and set on fire. After hiding under burning bodies for more than eight hours, Gilbert heard a voice inside saying, "You will be all right; you will survive." He knew it was God speaking to him. Gilbert was the only survivor at his school. This riveting story will touch you from its first page and offer inspiration for years to come."

I highly recommend the read.

Also, here is a video of Gilbert presenting at TED Austin.

ps- Burundi is not anymore dangerous like it was during the war. People from the USA are still afraid to come here because of US State Department warnings. My opinion is that if the State Department thinks it's necessary to tell US citizens to not travel to Burundi, they should also put out warnings against Americans traveling to places like Washington, DC, Baltimore, and even "quaint" little Annapolis. For instance, my car, which is currently in "peaceful" Annapolis, had it's side window smashed by a thief a few nights ago. Luckily, I have no valuables so nothing was stolen.

So feel free to come visit Burundi! It's pretty great.

Birthday in Burundi

I just turned 24...mid twenties. Sarah's brother turned 24 while working as a missionary in Brazil, and she said that if a guy there isn't married by 24, they think he's not into women. Good thing that in Burundi guys don't get married until 28-35 ;)

I received a few nice gifts for my birthday. Sarah made me a great crafty collage to hang on my wall. Here is an example of one of the 9 panels. 

Good ole Pooh



My roommate JD got me a cool knife from his trip to Rwanda.

The Burundi YFC office staff baked a delicious banana cake.

The orphans at Homes of Hope gave me a fancy new drum set.

Just Kidding, they didn't give me this. But I wish...so much character!

Eric, the guy who runs the shop out in front of my house, gave me 3 Pepsi's.

3 Pepsi's doesn't seem like a good birthday gift, does it? Well, to put it in perspective...this guy and I are just acquaintances. He earns the equivalent of about $80 US per month. These canned Pepsi's are much more expensive than a bottled Coke or Fanta (which cost about 35 cents). Each of these Pepsi's costs $1 US. That means that this $3 present, which was given to me by a guy who isn't a super close friend to me, represents a sacrifice on his end of over 1 day's full wages. His generosity is huge, and I'm completely humbled. I'm grateful for this gift and I pray that I will be able to give as freely and willingly as he does.

To celebrate my birthday, we went out to a hole in the wall joint to enjoy a classic American meal of a burger, fries, and a coke. So good!

   

After dinner we found a nice friend outside of our house :)

In other news, we're still working hard to get the Gitega International Academy up and running. Classes start on September 24, so it's crunch time. Work in Africa moves more slowly than I'm used to, but we believe that everything will come together by the time the school starts next month. Check out this video that I made, which shows the building process at the academy.

In my free time, I still enjoy teaching kids at the beach how to play lacrosse. They have some serious natural skills!

I Chop My Money!

This is a song that you hear a lot on the radio in Burundi. It's called "Chop My Money." In the USA, rappers brag about having millions of dollars. But in this song, the guy brags about having "$50 in money." This is sad,  but when most people here live on less than a couple of dollars a day, $50 is a really big deal.

But this song is absolutely ridiculous. I haven't watched the video, because the internet bandwidth is too low to load videos, so forgive me if it's lewd and crude. Anyway, enjoy...