Thursday – “Hugs, Humility and Hippos”

“I had no hope.”

“I could not smile.”

“I was alone – no one cared.”

“I was helpless with nowhere to go.”

After we drove into the Homecare Center this morning to the sound of joyous singing and being greeting with huge smiles of those throwing flower petals at our feet, these were the beginnings of some of the testimonies shared by the women in the Homecare training/discipleship program.  One by one they stood, each so eager to testify to the power of God in their lives.  The stories followed a similar theme; “I was like this when I came here……”  All conveyed a sense of despair, hopelessness, thinking they were of no value and for whom no one cared.  Until………and that’s where the “but God” stories began.  Again, the testimonies declared a similar refrain of instantly feeling the love of God in this place, experiencing true acceptance, finding “parents”, family, a loving community.  Home!  The smiles testify to the truth of their stories; once they were lost, now they are found.  One of the things they are most thankful for and proud of is being given their own Bible.  They clutched it to their chests as the treasure that God’s Word surely is, yet something we can easily forget.  One of the girls opened hers and began to read from Psalm 25:  “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God.  Do not let me be put to shame, do not let my enemies triumph over me.  No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame…..”  Eloquent, especially read by one who could not read or write prior to entering the program ten months ago in their literacy program.  The women all appear healthy due greatly to the nutritious meal they have every day, along with extra food to take home on weekends provided by Homecare.  For most it is their only meal of the day, and for too many, the first time in their lives they have had any sort of regular daily meal.  Hope!  Each one spoke of the hope they have, His hope and promise that gives them life.  Yes, they are grateful to Homecare and their staff who minister to them daily, and to the ministry partners who provide for this ministry, but most of all they are thankful to God Who is THE giver of all good gifts, the ultimate provider.

And thus our time in Burundi begins.  The few testimonies today are just the beginning…..these will continue every day as we continue to sing, dance, embrace each other as Mary and friends use the sewing table as a drum, beating out songs of praise.  We may not understand the words until Peace, the ministry leader, interprets for us, but we instantly understand the spirit – God be praised!

Pictures for today:

 https://app.box.com/s/oz4kbhz4xnorig4bn91g

The women are so very proud of what they have learned and are eager to show us what they have made:  quilts, bags, wallets, wall hangings, stuffed giraffes for children, and begin taking measurements for custom made garments for the team members.  Then it’s a flurry of beautiful African designed fabric on display……describe what you’d like and they’ll make it.  It gives them such joy that others appreciate their work enough to want to have some for their own.  It validates them for the truly amazing women they are.

https://app.box.com/s/k97mcs9d2ut6p0q1hmlr

After a wonderful day at the center, we travel to an outdoor restaurant by Lake Tanyanika, one of the largest lakes in the world noted for hippo sightings.  The first few years we were here we never spotted one; we began to believe it was an urban legend until we saw some.  To our delight, thanks to the eagle eyes of Mandy, the wonderful counselor who works with the women and sweet friend, we feel the car slow down……..some other cars are stopped and have their headlights shining toward something just on the other side of a fence.  Mandy says, “There they are!”  She does a quick U turn; we hop out and there, just beyond the fence where we stood was a large hippopotamus grazing in the grass……..then just a little bit further down, a whole entourage of hippos, including a few little ones, were meandering by the shore, several slipping back into the waters.  But some of the large ones remained on shore, as if to give us onlookers the privilege of watching them for a while.  It was dark, so our cameras couldn’t capture them as clearly as we could like, but here we are…..in Burundi, with new friends (who as someone said feels like we have been here for a while and know one another )……looking at magnificent hippos, eating pizza (Burundi style…good!) and amazed that we are in the Heart of Africa together.

We are excited to be able to share glimpses of our experiences with you and hope that you will pray with and for us and those here.  God is here; He is at work.  Lives are being changed, and surely ours is among them.

Tomorrow…..more sharing, praying, praising…….and worship tomorrow night at Life Center Church.  Rob, the young man on our team, will be helping to lead worship.  Tim, mission pastor from Louisiana who is with us, will share.  We can’t wait!

Thank you to all who prayed for our flights here; the schedule went without a hitch!  (other than the Louisiana team having near misses with the flights after missing their first one to Houston…….BUT they made it in time to connect with us and continue on.)Our team is doing great; all are well, excited, soaking everything in.  What a glorious first day in Burundi!!   And as only Peace can say it, Hallelujah!