PACKING
Our last few days in Edmonton were very crazy!! It is true, things do come together at the last minute! We had been trying to sell our Dodge Journey the month before but THE DAY before we departed, we had a buyer.
Between completing work, packing for Africa and packing the house, there was
little time for sleep. Through the difficulties of dealing with tiredness and
uncertainties, God showed himself to us in many ways. We had encouragement and
wisdom shared from friends who have walked the path of being missionaries. We
had friends come and offer to help us pack and clean….even on our last night, a
family came over at 10pm and helped us pack and clean until 2am….Jeannette,
Hannah and Yan…we thank you so much. We also thank Deborah and Mark for giving us the opportunity to use their house to stay while we were packing....you are such amazing people! We are also thankful to my sister, Donna, and Ryan for all their help with packing, cleaning and driving us to the airport.
TRAVELING
We made it to the airport at 10am Tuesday where
again, God’s mercies were showered upon us. Our check in went relatively
smoothly, security was uneventful and we got settled in the first of three
planes. We were amazed as to how well all our kids travelled! Elijah really
shone through….he is my quiet one but he sat in his chair, figured out he
seatbelt system, figured out the TV system and then helped out his brothers. It
was good to see him thriving on the plane. Savana was also a big help with
Joshua, which made the travel a bit easier. Lastly, the stewardesses were
amazing and so helpful! They were encouraging, they spent time talking with the
kids in French, they helped us wherever we needed. This was our experience with
all three plane rides. We flew Edmonton to Montreal, then to Brussells, then to
Bujumbura….our destination! We were met at the airport by the YFC team, as well
as some other friends.
We arrived at 9:30pm and the local temperature was
26 degrees C! Many of you are familiar with the African way of doing things at
the airport….thankfully, we had no issues. Usually there are people hanging out
at the luggage pick up area who “help” you and then demand money. Even when Micah
and Elijah were pushing carts with large pieces of luggage, these men seemed to
stay away. Praise the Lord, ALL our 12 pieces of checked luggage made it to
Bujumbura without even as much of a dent; including my guitar. (Before we left,
a good friend, Evelyn, had the fabulous idea to pack diapers around the guitar
for extra padding….helped me get extra diapers on the trip and protected the
guitar as well.)
We made it
through the Bujumbura customs without having any of our luggage checked…this
made for a much quicker process! After our visas were looked at, we were
allowed to go. Prior to our trip, the Burundian Embassy granted us free visas
for 1 month for coming to do volunteer work. Having these visas made our
arrival process much shorter. We were met by the YFC team, as well as some
other friends. We were able to fit all of our luggage into two vehicles and we
were on our way to the YFC guesthouse! On our way to the guesthouse, from the
airport, Savana says to me. “I thought we were coming to help in Africa, we
haven’t helped anyone yet!” I guess she is ready to “get to work”!FIRST NIGHT
Our first night in Africa was a bit interesting. The
kids went to bed at 10:30pm (which is 1:30pm AB time) and at 2:00am a
thunderstorm came and woke all the kids up. Needless to say, we were up the
rest of the night, ate breakfast at 8:00am, and by 9:00am we had the kids lay
down for a sleep. All the kids slept until 2-3pm….hopefully we will have a bit
more “on schedule” night!
We spent the afternoon just hanging out and catching up on more sleep....and exploring the bugs. Thankfully we have not had an over-exposure to bugs as of yet. Other than the routine ants, and the odd fly, we have met "geckos". Luckily the kids have just seen the small ones...hopefully they will get used to them before they see the larger ones! Joshua is the only one that seems to be sensitive to bugs at this time. Please pray he gets used to them quickly.
At one point in the day, Savana, says, "mom, my ears are funny". I asked her what she meant. She replied, "the sound goes in and out, in and out". I replied....that is the sound of peace and quiet my dear....no TV, no radio, no noise except the crickets in the background! As well, Micah asked me "why is there snow in Canada, but so hot here in Africa"......I could only give a brief answer as I had to think about it!
We also have explored new fruits!!! Small, sweet bananas are a huge hit, as well as fresh pineapple. Where we are staying right now, we have an avocado tree, an orange tree and ?dragonfruit? tree in our front yard! Pretty amazing to be able to pick fruit straight from the tree.
PLAN
We plan to stay in Bujumbura for two more nights and then head to Gitega. Tomorrow we will venture out with the kids and do some exploring....maybe even see some hippos at the river!?! Overall, we are thankful to God for his Blessings, for His direction, and for his provision in this venture for our family. Please continue to pray for us and our needs. We are still raising our needed financial support to be here, if you would like to contribute, you can do so either through Bridges of Hope International, or Youth for Christ Edmonton websites. We are also praying that God will provide a vehicle for us while we are here....we need approx. $7,000.00 for this.
THANK YOU for being a part of this venture with us. We would love to keep in touch so please let us know what is happening at home and in your lives. It is after midnight so I will end with this. God can and will do things immeasurably in your lives, just let go and give Him the opportunity. You never know where you will end up!
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