RockTheDesert

Living In A Houseful of Boys

Our youngest son, Steven, left on Monday for Marine Corps boot camp. His recruiter picked him up at 3am and then proceeded to pick up all the other guys before heading to Los Angeles for “processing.” My parents, my sister, Sandi, and Steven’s girlfriend, Kelsey, all were present for the swearing in and to say a final goodbye to him. I wish more than anything that I could have been there. however, my sister took some photos for me.

Am I a crying mess? Well, I think I would be if I was not in Africa. However, if there’s one thing i’ve learned living in a house full of boys, it’s that they are uncomfortable with tears. So, I do my best to contain them til I have a private moment. Even then, I find myself analyzing my tears, trying to make sure that they are not selfish tears but truly tears of sadness or grief or a valid emotion that doesn’t include even a tiny bit of self-pity. So far my tears have been proud tears as I believe Steven has an uncommon valor in making this choice in these uncertain days of war and rumors of war. My tears have been tears of love & affection as I reminisce about the past 19 years of steven’s life and the time that God allowed us to raise him, nurture him, watch him mature and become a man after God’s own heart, a leader, a compassionate, kind-hearted, driven, lovable, verbally gifted, masterful communicator who can make me laugh just about any time he tries to! My tears have been sad tears as I recognize that Steven will most likely not ever live in our home again except as a guest. I will miss him a lot. My tears have been mostly unshed because, truly, they would accomplish no good and, well, tears in Burundi are extra-salty when mixed with the gallons of sweat pouring off your face, stinging your eyes!

Am I surprised that he has joined the Marines? Well, somewhat. However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned living in a house full of boys, it’s that they love to play tough. They are competitive. They all jockey for alpha male. They are competitive. They fight and wrestle and have wars of words and they punch each other and she-doink each other and pester each other to death. So, I shouldn’t be surprised that Steven would be attracted to an all-male, boisterous, goal-focused, leadership-oriented environment. I guess I am surprised that it happened so quickly after he moved to California. I’m surprised that he began boot camp in May while we are in Africa. I am surprised at the depth of emotion that his decision has evoked not only from me but from family and friends.

Am I just counting the days 'til his 6 yr commitment is up? Well, I'm tempted to. However, there’s one thing I’ve learned living in a house of boys, it’s that they need their mom around but they don’t want to be hovered over, babied, controlled, pitied, patronized, held too close or kissed after I’ve just put on lipstick or told to be sure and wear sunblock at boot camp (“uh, yeah mom, I’m sure that request will go over really big with the boot camp instructors”). I am counting the days 'til I can see him again after boot camp. Then I will count the days 'til I see him again after weapons training. Then I will count the days 'til I see him after his job-training. By then it will be Christmas and hopefully we will all be together to celebrate and to cherish the time we have together. Six years is way off in the distance. So much will happen between now and then. We've got a lot of living to cram in to the next 6 years. It is always best to live in the present, trust in God’s sovereignty and goodness for the future, and press on with faith and hope, courage and anticipation, love and peace for the days ahead. 

Abundant Goodness

We were invited to work in Bubanza last week. Dan and I were assigned to work with Rocher Church. What a great pastor! He had 7 other members from his church ready to work with us every day! He and his team led us up and down many hills -- it seemed that our steep ascents far outnumbered our minor descents!

                                          For some reason, this goat perched in a tree caught my eye!

One of the days, we were in the bus waiting for some pastors to join us for the ride home. Of course, we attracted a crowd of kids who snuck around to my side of the bus so they could touch my arm which was hanging out the window. One of the boys had a "guitar" with him that he had made out of an empty water bottle, some wood scraps and some kind of string. Love his creativity!

We worked with 6 different churches to plant 5 new churches and strengthen 1 existing church. We had a team of nearly 40 Burundi nationals join us for 3 days of evangelism. Some were nervous about sharing the Gospel. Only a few had used an Evangecube to share the Gospel. But, by the end of the week, they were so excited about what God did in expanding his kingdom that they can't wait to go out and share Jesus boldly and actively.

Each church was given a Proclaimer (audio Bible) in Kirundi (primary language in Burundi). Dan held training in how to use the Proclaimer for Bible study and discipleship. By the end of 3 days, we shared the Gospel with 0ver 1,000 people. 511 people made a new profession of faith in Christ. Over 200 of these new believers attended at least 1 discipleship meeting. I shared the Gospel with individuals, families, students, skeptics, men who were sawing trees into 2x4 boards, even at the home of a muslim --  there were many amazing moments where I saw the grace and kindness of God poured out into the lives of people who, just moments before, had been going about their daily lives!

Psalm 145:1-7 I will extol you, my God and King and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

Women of Worth in Burundi

I had a wonderful meeting on Saturday with the Pastor’s Wives from New Vision Church. These delightful ladies were so sweet and somewhat shy at first. They brought me a huge basket filled with delicious gifts: 6 huge avocados; 2 bottles of yummy passion fruit juice concentrate; several pounds of fresh beans ready to be boiled; and a bag of 10 eggs! We spent over an hour chatting, drinking juice and water, nibbling on gallettes that I picked up at Le Café Gourmand in Bujumbura. We talked about jobs, families, ministry, life in Burundi. I asked them if they were part of the women’s ministry at New Vision. Moment of awkward silence. Turns out there is not a women’s ministry at New Vision. However, they have been getting ready to start women’s ministry. They just lacked the knowledge of how to begin. I've been invited me to help them organize and launch the women’s ministry. I am excited about this opportunity. The launch event will be on Sunday afternoon, May 26. It will include a time of worship, time of teaching, perhaps some light snacks, maybe some “table time” discussion. All in all, if you look closely and of course look past the language difference, it will look a lot like our first “Midnight Madness” event at Harvest Bible Chapel only contextualized for Burundi and reproducible so that they can be equipped to hold regular events for women.

Proverbs 31:10 An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels! (NASB)

Back in Bubanza

This week we held the first of our 2-day LDC’s (Leadership Development Conference). These always precede our church-planting expeditions. 2 of our expeditions will be Burundi-national-led. The final expedition will be led by our North American team. We drove to Bubanza Province which is a about a 40-minute, white-knuckle drive away from Bujumbura. We last worked in Bubanza in August, 2008. Seems like a million years ago. So much has changed in Burundi since then. In 2008, Burundi was just barely in the process of ending the civil war that destroyed so many lives and much of the country. Bubanza was the province most impacted by the war. They were literally cut-off from Bujumbura and the rest of the country from 1993 until 2005. In 2008, so much of the military camps still lined the road to Bubanza.  Lots of vacant land lined the road since 1000’s of coffee trees were cut down in an effort to eliminate places where the rebels could hide. Many people were driven from their homes by the military, by the rebels, by the conditions of the war. Bubanza is a beautiful place and it is slowly being re-built with help from many organizations, among them the Chinese government. When we last visited there, we met with Governor, a devout Catholic man who welcomed us to evangelize the area. He said that his people were suffering much from the war. They needed so much help. NGO’s were not allowed to enter the area until the war had been officially ended for 6 months. Meanwhile, people were starving, in need of medical assistance, desperate for help, while NGO’s were just waiting for the all-clear so they could proceed with relief efforts. Though the people are still desperately poor, thankfully, it appears that there has been much progress.

The pastors we met with were passionate about preaching the Gospel and excited about planting churches where there are none.  Five local denominations were represented: New Vision; New Life; Cepebu, Vivante, and Rocher. After 2 days of teaching, fellowship and training on sharing the Gospel using the Evangecube, these leaders are more than ready to answer the great commission to “Go!” We will begin a national-led, church planting expedition next week. It takes a lot of faith and perseverance to plant a church in Burundi. Every obstacle you can think of is usually right in front of them, beginning with zero funding available. But God’s plan is perfect. His ways are perfect. We have seen His faithfulness over and over again as He provides generously and in unexpected ways. May there be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Bubanza. May the fiery arrows of the devil be extinguished before they are even thrown. May the power of the darkness tremble at the overwhelming, unstoppable force that is the Church, united to “Go” all for the Glory of God!

 

 

Be Ready To Preach

This is our friend/translator. His name is Philemon (say it with a french accent -- Phil-eh-mohn). On our last trip here he told us that his church forbids young people from serving or leading in the church or in ministry without permission of the leadership. They must just be attendees. Evidently when his pastor found out that he would be joining us for evangelism and church-planting last July, the pastor called him and told him he was not allowed to do that. Philemon told him "but Pastor, I must share the Gospel, it is building up inside of me, it will explode out of me because there are so many people that must hear the Gospel and God is calling me and giving me the opportunity to do it." The Pastor did not relent. Philemon joined us anyway. He is just one of many young, Christian men & women that we have met who are passionate about reaching Burundi with the message of the Gospel at any cost! We can feel an undercurrent of hope just bubbling under the surface, fueling the desire and passion of this generation that was born into and grew up in the turmoil, insecurity, and despair of civil war and its ravaging effects on a country. Now that they are free to move about the country, they are realizing the impact that God can have if the Gospel is preached boldly in every corner of this tiny nation. Each one that we meet has asked, almost begged us for equipping and training and teaching on the basics of the Bible, Christian living, really anything Biblical that they can teach others. They are ravenously hungry for it. On Monday evening, we were invited by Philemon to teach at a youth meeting at a home in Kanyosha. I prepared to speak to a group gathered in a living room or perhaps around a table. I geared my talk toward discussion and interaction. When we arrived at the house, we were introduced to Kevin, the leader of TMM (Transformed Missions Ministry). Kevin is 23 years old. He began this ministry 2 years ago with the vision of reaching out to his immediate neighborhood. It meets in the very house that he grew up in. We saw a few students enter the house and head out to the back yard. Then we were ushered into the backyard. We were surprised to see that the entire backyard was set up as a meeting place with iron sheets for a roof and cloth-covered walls. 

Dan counted 96 people sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on low wooden benches. First, there was an exuberant time of worship. Then I stood up to teach. You better believe that during the worship time I was praying desperately for some inspiration and help on how to re-work my message for this large group. Thankfully, God gave me exactly the words and message that needed to be taught. I was so grateful for the opportunity to teach Biblical truths. I was even more grateful for those who have spent themselves pouring Biblical truth into my life!

2 Timothy 4:2-4 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 

Making The Best Use of The Time

                   L-R: Dan, Pastor Auvit, Pastor Philippe, Dieudonne, Pastor Domitien

There is a lot of waiting to do in Burundi. You wait for the water to turn on. You wait 'til you get to a hotel or cafe to use WIFI. You wait for a taxi. You wait for the bus. You wait for a menu. You wait FOREVER for them to bring what you've ordered. You wait FOREVER AND THEN SOME for them to bring your check. You wait for the rain to stop so that your backpack full of electronics won't get soaked. You wait for phone calls, emails, texts, meetings. Impatience lurks. Frustration threatens. Then you realize...life has a gentler pace here in Burundi. A pace that can't be measured by Western standards. So, you memorize scripture while waiting. You have more time to pray for the person you are waiting for. You actually sit down and relax for a minute. You begin a conversation with the people you are with. You offer more water or juice. You share a handful of almonds or pecans. You show photos of your family. Stress becomes gratitude. Waiting can be good for the soul. Yes, the days are evil. Yes wasting time is bad. BUT, making the best use of the time looks and feels different here. That rushing, stressed out, jam-packed calendar way of life isn't always an accurate indicator of making the best use of the time. At least not here in Burundi! So...yesterday...I was getting a little frustrated with waiting. I really wanted to walk to King's Conference Center to use the WIFI. I wanted to send out our updated May calendar. I wanted to see the sweet face of my grandson, David Francis. All day I waited. And waited. I honestly did not want to trust God's sovereignty over my internet usage. And then I surrendered to God's timing and to the rhythm of life in this crazy place we are calling home for 3 months. Then people started showing up at our home. A translator named Dieudonne whom we haven't seen in 3 years. Pastor Domitien. A couple in ministry we have been trying to get in contact with for a long time.  Pastor Auvit who brought a pastor from Congo with him whom we haven't seen in 2 years.  The waiting resulted in great blessing. Among many other things, we are now making plans to begin doing e3 church-planting expeditions in Bukavu, Congo. Pastor Philippe and the pastors in the coaltion that he leads are impatiently WAITING for us to begin equipping God's people to evangelize Bukavu and establish His church!! 

Ephesians 5:15-16 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Stewards of Grace

Traveling to Burundi is quite a task. Phoenix to Dulles. Dulles to Brussels. Brussels to Bujumbura. That's a lot of "time travel" too. We are wiped out when we arrive. Thankfully, we are always greeted by smiling, hospitable, grateful pastors and translators. This time, we were met at the gate by Pastor Domitien and Philemon, one of our long-time translators. They carried all 5 of our 50-lb duffel bags, 2 carry-ons and 2 backpacks up to our 2nd floor room at King's Conference Center. All the while, they were so helpful, not complaining at all, practically tripping over each other in an effort to help us get settled. They have been gracious hosts for the past week, always available by phone, calling taxis for us, dropping by the house to make sure we have what we need. Their hospitality has helped make our transition to city life in Bujumbura much easier. Life in Burundi can be hard. Water shortages. Power outages. Language challenges. But life in Burundi can also be beautiful when you have friends who surround you with love & grace!

1 Peter 4:8-10 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace