The Close of our Time in Burundi

Today is our last full day in Burundi and it will be spent visiting the market and then preparing for our evening with the Batwa students. Every Friday night they gather for dance after their evening meal, in order to keep their culture alive. They welcomed us with dance last Saturday and after visiting several villages, we now see why dance is so important to them. As Evariste (our host) has explained to us, he dances when he is happy, when he is sad, when he is hungry, when he has had a good meal - all the time he dances. So tonight we are to come back and share in their dancing as well as give them a taste of American culture. Leigh has convinced me to do something with the puppets I brought - but what? I've been pondering that. I decided not to bring my polar bear puppet into the villages because the small children are afraid of him - the students will not be and I do think they'll enjoy him.

Yesterday morning, when we were still upcountry, I got up early and sat on a wall that overlooked the mountains across and the valley below. I was listening to one of the worship songs that Bekah put on the ipod - the words, "everywhere I go, I see You" reverberating in my head. It is true - I see God in the faces, in the joy, in the pain, in the hurt and I know that He has heard the prayers of these poor, marginalized, ostracized people. As I sat on that wall, I noticed a woman down the hillside a ways, peering up at me. I smiled and waved at her and she was shortly joined by another woman, then a child and then another child, all smiling and waving at me. I could only imagine that they were wondering what this crazy woman was doing on the wall and so I gestured to the beauty before me - the texture, hues and sculpture of lush green gardens. It appears that this land can't wait to give back produce when cultivated. I'm realizing that I now care deeply about Africa. God cares deeply about Africa.