Searching For The Heart Of God In Africa

Kids running when I tried to take a picture

         We went to a GIA staff get together a couple of weeks ago at one of our local teacher’s houses; he lives in a suburb of Gitega. The area where he lives is across a valley and is an area where white people do not go. As we started up the mountain, there was the usual “muzungu” yelled from the kids on the sides of the road. Most of these kids are young, dressed in dirty and ripped clothes, and are unsupervised.  As we headed up the mountain to where we were headed, the concentration on the “muzungu” intensified. We had kids chasing our van as they yelled “muzungu, muzungu” over and over.  At one point, we had to stop to find out directions and people began to just stand outside our van, watching and waiting to see what we would do. 

Brave kids that entered our compound

Micah playing soccer with the kids

        We found the house that we were headed to and when we exited the van, we instantly had an entourage of kids around us. Even when we headed in to the compound, the kids found a way to be able to watch us overtop the fence! As time went on, the kids got braver and braver and eventually started poking their heads into our compound…..just to watch the “muzungus”, and if they were lucky, they would even be able to touch our white skin.  Time continued on, the kids got braver and started coming in, just inside the gate, and just to watch us. We started playing soccer with a ball made out of plastic bags. As soon as a couple of kids started coming in, more and more kids joined the group. These kids were eager to see the white skins, and no matter their fears, they took the risk. When I pulled my camera out to take pictures, they all ran away! As well, Burundian kids are told that “the white skins will eat you”, so many are curious but scared of us.

            As these kids pursued us eagerly, I got to thinking about Christianity and our faith. We are instructed in the Bible to actively search for God. We are instructed to seek God, but do we? Do we read our Bibles, do we listen to what God is saying to us when we pray, do we take time for Him?

 “O God, Thou are my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, To see Thy power and Thy glory. Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise Thee”. Psalm 63:1-3 (NASB)  

   Just as the village kids pursued us, the muzungus, and even though they were afraid, they eagerly watched everything we did. As we get caught up in life, do we continue to seek after God’s own heart? It does not matter how we look, how we are dressed, or the language we speak, we all are to seek after God and to know Him. Deuteronomy 4:29 states “You will seek the Lord your God from there, and you will find him^[a] if you seek him with all your heart and with all your being.” (Common English Bible). It is my challenge to you to actively seek who God is. Even if life is difficult for you, come before God, the living Prince of Peace and He will give you rest.

        I wanted to share one of my challenges and frustrating situations I had this week here in Burundi. My school phoned me early in the morning and asked me to meet them at a local clinic as there was one students who was very sick. I met them at the clinic to find one of our girls in full body muscle contractions....very similar to grand mal seizures but she was completely coherent! She even translated for me. We asked for electrolytes to be checked only to be told to "wait". After a day or so, their answer to what was happening was "it is psychological....because when she is awake the movements are bigger but when she sleeps (with phenobarbital on board) the muscle contractions get much less. It must be that when she is awake that she is thinking of school, tests, problems, etc". I was so angry because this girl is one of the top girls in the school! I asked again about having Lytes checked only to be told they don't have the equipment to check electrolytes. Meanwhile, the girl has been in full body muscle contractions for over 48 hours! After this, she complained that her abdominal muscles were hurting....so they wanted to do an ultrasound of her abd to see if that was the problem. In the end, I spoke to the parents to tell them this issue is not "psychological" so they ended up taking her out of this clinic and went to the capital city, Bujumbura.....which is 2 hours away. Buja is the only place in the whole country where there is capability of having your electrolytes checked! We are in Gitega which is the second largest city in the country....about 50,000 people.....but it has very limited capabilities healthwise. 

     I have also since learned that doctors here do not even know how to interpret electrolyte results. They only do tests here that are definitive....malaria, typhoid, amoebas, etc. Anything else is pretty much ignored. It is a real eye opener to see how privileged we are in Canada. I pray here almost every day for God to keep us safe from sickness or injury because I do not trust any of the local clinics to be able to treat appropriately.

Continue to pray for us…..for safety, for wisdom in dealing with situations that arise with the GIA kids, and that we would grow closer together as a family and to God.

God Bless,

     Darla Balenga

If you would like to donate to our mission, you can donate through the Youth for Christ Edmonton website or Bridges of Hope website earmarked "burundi mission".

 

http://www.yfced.com/index.php/donate/how-to-donate
http://www.thebridgesofhope.com/index.php?p=Donate

Twisted Ironies of Life in Africa

Kids playing in the gutter

            As we drive to GIA, I study the communities, the homes and the families that we pass by. It is easy to get fixed in my thoughts and not even notice what is right before me. Many families live in partially built brick or mud houses. Many of the children play in the streets and in the gutters when they are not helping bring water for the household or working in the fields. I have seen kids that look like they are 3-4 years old carrying water on their heads and following closely behind their mother or older siblings. When one looks at the torn, and ripped brown and dirty clothes of these kids…not even a pair of flip flops on their feet! I have to admit, it is embarrassing that my kids have at least 2 kinds of flip flops each PLUS one or two pairs of running shoes.

kids with mother working the fields

Man repairing shoes

In Burundi, many people make a living from repairing shoes! On many street corners there is a little tent with sticks set up and a man sitting under it surrounded by shoes. He works many hours just to repair the worn footwear. Even at GIA, for the rich kids of Burundian society, a man is brought in once a week to repair shoes! There is a balance to find between being too “frugal” or being too “wasteful”. God encourages us to be wise with our money and to give to Him what is His first.

Savana

Micah

 

Elijah teaching Joshua

             It is good that my kids are taken care of, but how often do we as Canadians over do what our kids truly need. I know I have bought shoes for my kids before just because they wanted them….did they need the new shoes? NO. But I wanted them to feel loved. How ironic….have we as a society build our relationships on “things”? If I buy my kids such and such they will know that I love them….if I do this, then I can get “x, y, and z” accomplished. I have to admit, it is difficult to change some of this internal thinking. I have gotten so used to being “busy” that I have lost the ability to just relax and play with my kids. A reminder for me: "Let your character be free from the LOVE of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,"  (Hebrews 13:5)

Eric, our gatekeeper, with the kids

            A little closer to home….Eric, our guard and gatekeeper. He plays with our kids almost every day at our house. Eric goes home to visit his family once a month now for about three days. Here is a man, he has seven children under the age of 13…the youngest being 10 months old. This man knows my children better than his own kids. There is kind of a twisted irony about working away from home in this country. A man has to leave his own family in order to provide for them but in turn, he works for another family and he invests in those kids.  I wonder how do the Burundian children survive with only seeing their father for 3 days every 1-3 months.

Darla's office

            For a more personal note. Life has been busy here in Gitega. GIA is in full swing and the year started off with 50+ kids sick with the cold/flu! Gitega has a much cooler climate than Bujumbura and area, which is where many of the kids come from. When the students arrive, many get sick due to the climate change. Thankfully I have been able to handle most of the students at GIA and not have to send them to the clinic. Other than that, I have had a few emergencies….a broken wrist, a gash that needed stitches, and a girl that collapsed. It is good to have some of these things happen to keep my nursing skills up a bit.

Charles office

            Charles has been busy with teaching his classes, preparing Sunday chapels and starting preparation work for Love in Action events. We have learned that we need to have permits to be able to do some of the events that we would like to do. Pray for the planning of these events and that the local government will work with us and not use this as a time to get a “Fanta” (aka bribe).

 The kids seem to be getting settled into school but they are really starting to miss Canada. School here goes from 7:30am-1:00pm with one 15 min break. They return (Tues/Thurs) to school from 3-5pm. On Mon/Wed/Fri the 3 older kids go to a homework club from 3-5pm. Savana and Elijah remember the breaks they had in Canada so they are greatly missing those times. Please pray for the kids that they would see this as a short time in their lives to help make a difference and to impact others for Christ. My kids miss snow so much that they found some white rocks and were crushing them to make snow!

            I celebrated my 40^th birthday last week. The kids built me a rock birthday cake at the school and gave me gifts of rocks. I was then “surprised” with having a houseful of people over for supper. It was not too much of a surprise as Charles had bought a live goat the day before and it lived in our backyard for the day….this tipped me off to something happening. Most of the night we had electricity but part way through, our electricity went out so we spent the time by candlelight and flashlights. Overall, it was a great evening with some great friends.

 

            Prayer items:

1.      Pray for our kids that they can handle being away from Canada for a few more months.

2.      Pray for wisdom for Charles and I to know how to help the kids get settled

3.      Pray for Charles to be able to effectively teach his classes and build relationships with students

4.      Pray for GIA as there have been some significant changes in the leadership and some positions still need to be filled

5.      Pray for the houseparents that work with all the GIA students….for wisdom to know how to set boundaries and wisdom to give out punishments that are appropriate.


Thank you to all who are walking this journey with our family! May God bless you all....especially since the snow is coming :) You can also follow us on facebook at "Balenga  Mission to Burundi".....I post more frequent updates on that page.

                 Charles & Darla, 
                          Savana, Elijah, Micah, Joshua

If you would like to donate to our mission, you can donate through the Youth for Christ Edmonton website or Bridges of Hope website earmarked "burundi mission".

 

http://www.yfced.com/index.php/donate/how-to-donate
http://www.thebridgesofhope.com/index.php?p=Donate

PS
   Avocado anyone?

 

A New Time, A New Season in Burundi

            Well, we arrived safely in Gitega, Burundi last Saturday morning. This trip was a bit more challenging as we had an extra flight with extra layovers, and the kids seemed to have a lot more energy! Adjusting to the 8 hour time change has also taken a bit longer this time. The kids are still waking up at 3:00am ready for the day. I am looking forward to a time when we can all sleep normally again J Please pray for all of us to adjust to life in Burundi. It is now the rainy season so most of our days are filled with rain. It actually gets very cold....I could see my breath in the air the other day!

            Sunday was the opening day for Gitega International Academy (GIA). This year there are 237 students registered and they all arrived yesterday. The village people seemed to just line the streets to watch the entourage of cars headed in and out of GIA throughout the day. There have been many changes at the school….staff changes, building changes, and protocol changes. Charles has his own office space for meeting with students, and I have my own Nurses office where I can talk with students more privately! It is nice to have my own space where I can keep my record books and medications.

            Monday morning I was kind of dreading as it was the first day of school….Kids were awake at 1:30am but the day went very well. Even Joshua went to school and not a tear shed. I told him, “Mommy is proud of you.” and he responded, “I like when people tell me that, can I get a candy?” Oh such sweet innocence and manipulation! This year has started out better than when we arrived in January. Savana is starting grade 3, which she loves but oh the difficulty to get her to try to do her homework. The other day she woke up at 3am and sat in our hallway doing her homework by headlamp because she failed to do it the night before. Elijah and Micah are starting grade 1. It was nice to see Micah walk into his class without a big temper tantrum. It helps that his best friend from last term is in his class. Elijah is so proud because he is one of the fastest writers in his class…that is a big deal here. Joshua is starting prematernelle 1….a room of thirty-two  2 1/2 – 3 yr olds for one teacher with 1 helper….a big challenge.

            We are just finishing our first week at GIA and things are underway intensely. Charles has started teaching his two classes and starting the process of getting some “love in action” events planned. His leadership group from last year all came to him and said how much they appreciated his work last year! A good way to start the year off. We had the first chapel service today! Wow, so many kids this year....many faces are familiar but there are lots of new students.

           I am starting work on the kitchen and the hygiene policies that will be incorporated there. Some of my health and hygiene suggestions were incorporated for this term, hopefully we will see a sharp decrease in malaria, typhoid and amoebas! I am currently doing lots of work researching requirements of handling food, etc. in a large kitchen.  Not everything applies as when one does not have a fridge, one cannot keep things at a cool temperature…..this is not even mentioning what should be frozen!

            I will end here for now. Thank you for everyone who opened their homes and hearts to our family this summer. Our time went by very quickly….too quickly! We made many new friends and we are looking forward to keeping contact with you all. 

  Darla Balenga

If you would like to donate to our mission, you can donate through the Youth for Christ Edmonton website or Bridges of Hope website earmarked "burundi mission".

http://www.yfced.com/index.php/donate/how-to-donate
http://www.thebridgesofhope.com/index.php?p=Donate