Sending love from home

Have you been wondering how you can support your missionary who is far, far away? I have news for you, it takes just 20 days and .98 cents to mail a letter to Burundi, Africa. I would really love to hear from you and feel connected to life at home. My address has been posted to my blog, just scroll down. Lots of love from Bujumbura!

Organized Chaos

With a rhythm of organized chaos classes have begun and new students keep coming, I have 55 in my morning class and 36 in my evening class. They both have a different dynamic as there are different ages represented and different personalities, this is good, it will keep me on my toes. We have begun the course with reading comprehension, stories taken right from the Book of John and Acts, how great is it that I am able to use the Bible as text? I am blessed! Despite the large number of students classes seem to be going well, I try to weave group discussion and class 'activities' (really just games) into the day to keep it interesting. The students are already searching for boundaries and concrete rules, little do they know that no matter how long you search there is always an exception within the English Language, rules are only good for so long. Kind of like life here in Africa, I can search and search to find a reason or explanation for things but sometimes it just is a certain way and that's the end of the discussion. I am enjoying teaching them new ideas, learning a new language is tough but they are doing well. We meet two days a week for 2.5 hours. On Monday and Wednesday mornings or Tuesday and Thursday nights, if your up late or rise early you can be praying for our class time :)
I recieved a letter from America today, thank you to the third grade girls at WFMC! One Dollar and twenty days later I felt loved! (the cost and travel time of the letter) Thanks for your support!
I also continued tutoring my new friends from Greece this week, they are not quite as eager to learn as my university students but the one on one time is so valuable, I appreciate their willingness to try.
There will be a dedication for HAU's new medical clinic this week, it is another milestone of progress and represents the importance of this African University facing African problems. The clinic will be a place for student nurses and doctors to practice their skills as well as serve as an outreach to the community, we are excited to be here to see it all take place.
We have surpassed the length of most short term mission trips for American's, I am proud of us and am excited to see what's ahead. When I first arrived Pastor Josh wrote that he hoped I would feel the deep love of Jesus while I was away and I am happy to say that I do, it comes in waves as I'm sitting on the bus or walking downtown or am in the middle of giving a lecture on pronouns, it is there that deep, faithful, fill your soul love that comforts and bring hopes and sustains me for today.
You can continue to pray for creativity as a teacher, how to effectively teach such a large class, for continued health and safety and for divine appointments that we would be meeting the right people at the right time who are ready to hear the good news of Jesus.  

This week in Brief

Today, I started teaching again, it felt so good to be back in the classroom. All 55 of my morning students send their greetings to you. I met new friends from Greece and England. I began my tutoring session with two Greek teenagers. Met a new friend at church who works for the US Embassy and side note also checks on Americans who are blogging about Burundi, yes you guessed it on our first meeting she had already read about us....creepy? I thought so too! Enjoyed a typical Sunday nap. Hooray the container from America arrived with many books and materials and a radio tower for the extension of the HAU radio station-big deal around here! Shopped in town at the market, got to practice my Kirundi. Went to chapel and Sunday service, felt fed and blessed despite the language barrier. Attended two church services cause one just wasn't enough. Looking forward to spending my three week anniversary with Rachel and Javier but still missing YOU.

Bigger View

There are others on my team who are also blogging, now you can follow along and get a bigger picture of our trip.

http://haviermunguia.blogspot.com/

http://rachelinburundi.blogspot.com/

Priceless

Pineapple: $600 Francs

Bar of Soap: $1,400 Francs

Bag of coffee: $5,500 Francs

Riding the Mini-Bus into town: Priceless

 

We did it! After setting out from HAU, we successfully rode the mini bus into town. I know it may sound like a small thing but it was a really big deal for us.  The cost isn't actually free it's about .25 cents but I'm sure we would pay much more; the value is after all priceless. It's an adventure to be sure, taking public transport into town, flagging down a bus as it flies down the road, then sliding into a vinyl seat in between several hot and sticky bodies, not that it really matters 'cause you yourself are dripping with sweat already and if you weren't already no worries you soon will be. A comfortable ride would consist of three or four people to a row but six people later you are ready to go with an armpit in your face and an elbow in your hip you are soon on your way. It is much more relaxing than riding in a car, you can't see the bikes that swerve past or the cars you almost hit, remember there are 40 other hot and sticky bodies blocking your view so you sit and enjoy your priceless ride into town. It is a lot like being 16 again, that rush of adrenaline as you discover a new route to independence and break free, finding a whole new world of possibility; discovery of a whole bag of produce for less than a dollar, a cappuccino and free Wi-Fi, meeting new friends and enjoying your new life in Buja. 

So you know: $1,235 Francs is equal to $1 dollar

I had the greatest time this weekend. I went up country with some friends, it was a welcomed retreat away from the pace of the city. Less people, noise, traffic, heat and commotion. It was a chance to reconnect with each other, to refocus and to reenergize before classes begin this week. It again felt good to be back on familiar ground, we stayed at Kibuye (where I spent most of the month of August).  There is just something different about going upcountry, something so inviting. We had our 'Sunday service' on top of Mt. Hope- where Sister Connection has completed their first building and where HAU is beginning the construction of classrooms. It was perfect, just six of us sat on the mountain overlooking the green hills, so beautiful in the rainy season. We sang, prayed and shared. I was blessed and refreshed by my friends, by the body of Christ and by creation. Pictures couldn't do justice to the many layers of green on the hill, banana trees everywhere with touches of red dirt roads weaving through the hill. I am thankful that the God I serve is the same in Burundi as he is in America, I hope you find refreshment in the Lord this week.

Classes begin today Monday the 15^th, the English Department will be giving placement exams to an estimated 1,800 English students in hopes of finding their correct level.  I have been thinking a lot about my time teaching in Malawi and going over and over the ideas I used in class, other teachers and I have been brainstorming about the great opportunity we have to build a foundation for these students, brainstorming about the best ways to approach this next semester. I am a little nervous about the things to come but mostly there is excitement! I am excited to meet my students, to connect what we are learning with their lives and to help them accomplish this great goal of not only learning the English language but of becoming leaders who will change their world. Pray for us, pray that we would learn from each other, pray for understanding and for confidence both for them to speak and for me to teach.

 

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Familiar

The smells are familiar and somehow comforting, not that body odor is a good scent, it just holds a different meaning now. It represents a time in my life where I am so dependent on God, so far away from home and family that my only option, the best option is to press into Him! And so I press in, anxious for comfort and I receive it, from the people here, from teaching, from worship times and from friends who carry that ever present scent J  Things are going well. We will begin teaching in two weeks time and until then we have just been exploring, figuring out where things are in town etc. As we wait for classes to begin I find myself growing restless, ready for something to start all the while frustrated that I can't just rest and be content in this slower season. It reminds me a lot of my time first starting out in Malawi, I was ready to hit the ground running but sometimes life functions at a slower pace, especially in Africa and so I try to remember to take it all in, to have relationships first and tasks second, to observe and unwind as we gear up for classes to begin. Maybe slowing down isn't all bad after all. I am thankful for the visiting professors and missionaries who have lived many of their years in Burundi and are now passing on their wealth of information to us, so much can be learned from them about culture and tweaking our expectations to meet the needs here in Burundi.  I am thankful for friends both here and there who have been a support in this season of transition.  And I am thankful that even though I have hoped back and forth between continents a few times in the last couple of years that each time I return there is still that same scent that brings comfort; that reminds me of where I am.

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Finally Here

Wanted you to know I was doing well, it has been several days of transition, getting over jetlag and meeting lots of new faces, I am anxious for classes to start, the American in me is anxious for a routine and plan to begin. Today registration for the students begins many will come in from Kenya, Congo and Rwanda. New students have a week of orientation and then classes will begin on the 15th. Slowly, slowly we are learning what we will be up to this next semester. I am in temporary guest housing for the first month and then will move into the visiting professors apartment in March, anxious to be settled and 'nest' but am thankful I have a place to be for the time remaining. The HAU staff have been nothing but welcoming and accommodating. My favorite part of this last week has been reconnecting with friends I have met on previous trips to Burundi. It is so good to have something familiar and know at least someone is happy to see me :) Thank you for continuing to pray for transition, your prayers are felt!

Students are Coming!

Wanted you to know I was doing well, it has been several days of transition, getting over jetlag and meeting lots of new faces, I am anxious for classes to start, the American in me is anxious for a routine and plan to begin. Today registration for the students begins many will come in from Kenya, Congo and Rwanda. New students have a week of orientation and then classes will begin on the 15th. Slowly, slowly we are learning what we will be up to this next semester. I am in temporary guest housing for the first month and then will move into the visiting professors apartment in March, anxious to be settled and ‘nest’ but am thankful I have a place to be for the time remaining. The HAU staff have been nothing but welcoming and accommodating. My favorite part of this last week has been reconnecting with friends I have met on previous trips to Burundi. It is so good to have something familiar and know at least someone is happy to see me :) Thank you for continuing to pray for transition, your prayers are felt!

Mailing Address

Many have been asking where you can send mail, here it is:
Hope Africa University
Attn: Stephanie Harris-visiting Prof.
BP 238
Bujumbura, Burundi
AFRICA