Sharing Bonbons and Initiation of "Love in Action" a Success!

Arriving at Homes of Hope

Savana with Grace (from Uganda) and orphans

Well, we made it to the orphanage (Homes of Hope) last Thursday evening for our official introduction. The director likes to officially introduce people so the kids know who is coming into the facility. We were able to meet all the children at Homes of Hope and share in a special meal with them. After the meal, we had formal introductions of all the new people and we were able to share some of the candy with the kids that we brought over with us. The candy (bonbon in French) was a huge hit…we were even able to share a candy cane with the adults! Thank you to friends and family in Canada who gave us candy to bring and share with our new friends.  The evening went quite fast as Jean Paul was quite efficient at sticking to the program and we don’t stay out much past sundown.

Savana handing out candy

handing out candy

The sun goes down at 6pm and people try not to be out very late without an armed guard. Usually if we have to be driven home after 7:30 or 8:00pm we have an armed guard accompany us…..this has been a new experience for our kids but they don’t seem to be bothered by it. It just means we have to squish an extra person into the vehicle!  It is a good thing we don’t have to worry about carseats anymore!!  A vehicle that is made for 7 people usually carries 10-15.

9B class from GIA

Cleaning Rice

Sorting through Beans

Sorting through beans

Charles has had a vision for the young people of Africa to start investing in their own people. On Saturday, Charles started “Love in Action” with a grade 9 class from GIA (Gitega International Academy).  This is a time when the kids can be involved with giving back to the community through action. We took 23 students, and a house parent to help the house moms at Homes of Hope (the orphanage). Each home has a house mom and 8 children living in it. There was a bag of beans and a bag of rice allotted to each home, which is their main staple of food for the week. There are bad bits of rice/beans and straw that have to be sorted out of the good rice/beans so that means pretty much going through each bag of rice/beans kernel by kernel…..it is a long process but our students from GIA did an amazing job at sorting the rice and beans. It was quite a detailed process…it took 6 people 2 hours to go through the beans and rice for each house. Imagine, being 1 house mother and having to do it all yourself every week! That is a lot of work. The house moms also do all the laundry, cooking and cleaning for each house…these ladies are hard workers.

Sweeping

Washing floors for the first time

After picking out all the bad stuff from the beans and rice, the students had to clean and wash the floors and some outter parts of the house. We were proud of the students for doing a great job and having a positive attitude the whole time. Many of these students have not done work like this before so it was a new experience for them.

Washing the kitchen area

Next Saturday morning, we will take another grade 9 class to work at Homes of Hope and give new students the opportunity to put “Love in Action”. You can pray for these students that God would take a hold of their hearts and give them a vision to impact their country.

Charles has gone to Bujumbura today to pick up our new to us van! It is an older vehicle but seems to be in pretty good condition. We are thankful to God for providing this much needed vehicle for our family. Currently, we have had to rely on Youth for Christ to provide transportation for us to go to GIA or take a taxi to go to the school….it will give us freedom to be able to get to places ourselves.

Please continue to keep our children in your prayers as they continue to adjust to the schools here in Gitega. Elijah, our shy child, is having some difficulty settling in so we are contemplating hiring a teacher to teach him at home. Savana has done amazing at settling in at school and has caught up with her class in most ways. Micah is his usual stubborn self….getting to school is usually a chore but once he is there and in the program, he settles in. He now will repeat the French that he is learning in class. Joshua is doing ok but he does cry when I drop him off and he does not interact much with the others. Darla usually stays with him for part of the morning to help him feel more comfortable. We are contemplating just having him at home at least until next semester. Please pray for wisdom in knowing the best ways to help our children adjust.

Darla has not done much nursing with the school as of yet as she is still helping the kids get settled in school. Whenever she is at GIA, there never seems to be a shortage of medical issues that come her way.  Everything from blocked tear ducts that are infected, to GI issues, to typhoid, to sports injuries, to allergies and the list goes on. Pray for wisdom for her to be able to learn about some of the local illnesses quickly and to know who to send to the hospital and who she can treat at the school.

Please continue to pray for the stability of Burundi....right now, there is political instability but it has not yet transcribed into tribal instability so things remain safe. We are continuing to follow the news as well as keeping contact with YFC leaders on the situation. Pray for continued safety for our family and for wisdom to discern situations.

Continue to pray for our financial needs to be met. We trust God that He will meet our needs as He has shown to us over and over. We still have needs financially...if you feel led to be a part of this journey financially with us, you can donate through the links at the bottom of this blog.

Thank you to everyone who writes us and encourages us through emails and phone calls. It is always good to connect with people back home! We greatly appreciate you and the effort you put into communicating with us. Thank you for those who have kept our family in your prayers. We know that God is answering the requests you bring before Him. We are privileged as a family to be a part of this journey that God has started us on and we look forward to where God will take us.


If you would like to donate towards our mission to help the young men and women of Burundi, you can donate through YFC Edmonton or Bridges of Hope. Please tag the donation as "Burundi Mission". Thank you and God Bless.

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

Muzungu, Muzungu

Today I ventured out to the shops by myself….without my protective husband! It was a bit of  freedom to be able to go to a local shop, where we have made friends with the East Indian owners, and to feel safe the entire time. The one thing that has really struck me over the past 2 weeks is the fascination with white skin….”Muzungu” as we are eloquently called. Any Caucasian person who has travelled to any Swahili African nation will recognize this term. When I am with Charles, yes, I hear Muzungu but mostly from children. Today, it was more the adult males who were calling me. You need to understand….we have gone for walks as a family many times down this same path. These are people who have seen me many times before…why is it they are still so fascinated with me as a Muzungu? People being long distances away, yet yelling "Muzungu".

I understand that with colonialism, there came a hierarchy of skin color and the native Burundians placed white people on a higher level. But generations after colonialism, there is an infinite sadness in me that many
of the native Burundians still do not see that we are the same. I am no different than they.  It burns within me for ALL Nations to recognize we all have the same mandate from God:

     “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”          1 Corinthians 12:13

Whether we are African, Asian, Greek, Philipino, Caucasian or whatever background we are, we are all the same in God’s eyes. So why is it that man has created such a hierarchy of insignificant differences? It is because we have let Satan use it to divide us, to prevent us from uniting together for the good of the cross. I want to challenge all Christians back home to evaluate your heart to see, do we really accept and love everyone, no matter what their background?  For my African friends…as ambassadors of Christ, do you really love those from other tribes and other African countries? How often do you show love and compassion to those outside your tribe? Yes, we may all pray differently, act differently and talk differently but God created it all and it is not for us to decide who is superior or inferior. How many of the African churches have formed together with other nation churches for events, or church services? For my Caucasian friends and family, do you really embrace and love other cultures? When you meet an African newcomer to church, do YOU welcome them and invite them into your home? Or do you direct them to the closest African person you know? My challenge to all is to search the heart of God and go out of your comfort zone to reach out to someone of another culture.

A second part to the Muzungu sega……the children. Everywhere we go, children are calling Muzungu, Muzungu, or they run up to me or the kids, touch our skin, giggle and run away; but where did they learn this from? Children learn from their parents and other adults. We have a responsibility as parents to teach our children and bring them up in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord. Part of this responsibility is to help our children know their value in God and as a person…..to know that they are valuable jewels that cannot be replaced. The pace of life here in Burundi is much slower than in Canada….MUCH slower! It is easier here to have the time to invest into my children…take them for a walk, lay beside them in bed and talk to them. I still have to be intentional about it but the opportunities are there….especially when the power goes out!! Lately, when it rains, we lose our power for a period of time…(thank you to Carol Lessmeister for suggesting we bring headlamps as they have come in very handy and the kids love to use them when there is no power). There is not much else to do but talk and usually, go to bed.

I am also intrigued by the girls at Gitega International Academy …..most of them seem shy. When taking pictures, many turn away from the camera and when they smile, they hide their beautiful smiles with their hand. I am looking forward to getting to know the students more and understanding their knowledge of who they are in Christ. I hope to influence these girls to become confident, ambassadors of Christ who understand their value as a person. To know that their smile is a beautiful thing that does not need to be covered up.

I want to close with thoughts from Psalm 139:13-14

   “For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb.
    I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    Wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well.”


Donations can be made for the "Burundi mission" at

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


   

Canadian Raincoats Not Made for Africa!

A couple of days ago, we had a steady downpour of rain for 12 hours straight! Now, this is not a Canadian downpour....this is an African downpour! Today, our kids went outside in the rain in their "Canadian" rain gear....each and everyone of them became soaking wet after just a few minutes! To make things "sound" worse, the roofs are made with tin so the pounding rain sound is greatly amplified no matter where you are.

One day, after a few hours of rain, the kids were ready to go to school....all dressed up in their raincoats and rubber boots. When we got to school, not one other child had rainboots....only sandals! Even the teachers were asking what the kids were wearing. As if my kids didn't stand out enough already, the seeminly normal rubber boots in Canada, were not a normal thing in Burundi.

First Days as Pastor and Nurse of GIA

Some ways, we are getting settled more and more. The kids are processing things bit by bit although, they don’t seem to notice the beggars that surround us. It is overwhelming at times to see the young girls with babies walking the streets, and the mothers who carry physically disabled babies around. A young mother came up to me and showed me her child who had syndactyly with only 2 fingers per hand.  Thankfully, our kids are interested in playing with any child that they come in contact with.

Micah asked the other day if we could go home to Canada, yes, even with the snow! Even with the odd comment here and there, the kids are settling in at school and to life in Gitega. Joshua was sick with a fever for 2 days, and of course the first thing I thought of  is malaria, but he seems to be more himself now and we have been over 12 hours fever free! When I did more research on malaria, he did not have the chills nor headaches so I was able to eliminate malaria as the source of the fever. Thank you to everyone who prayed for his healing.  He still has a cough but his energy and spunk are back.

Sunday, Charles, started in his role as pastor of Gitega International Academy (GIA)…however, it was also African style! We got ready early in the morning and awaited our transportation to arrive …….and we waited and waited…and waited (hopefully we can buy a vehicle soon so we can be more independent). Communication was amiss and the arranging of transportation was overlooked. We ended up walking up the hill to a main road and hailing a taxi to take us to GIA. It did not take us long to get a taxi as our family is quite a spectacle, or so it seems, anywhere we go. We made it to the school for church and they reserved seats in the front row. For those who have young kids, sitting for a 2 hours church service at the front with 4 young ones is a bit of a challenge. Overall, the kids did great and following the service, Savana was surrounded by the girls of the school and our boys found a willing participant to jump on! Interestingly, there is another boy from Edmonton, Caleb, who arrived recently to work as a missionary with GIA. There is getting to be quite a group of Edmontonians here in Gitega!!

I informally started as the nurse at GIA after church on Sunday. A boy had a caterpillar walk across his fingers and he had quite a reaction to it. His fingers became quite swollen and hives covered his hand. I am attempting to do research on the bugs here and reactions they can cause. I have learned of the ACID BUG….which arrived in 2012 and has remained. It is a black and red ant-like bug that when squashed, it releases an acid. These are things that are good to know around here!! The school only has a small bucket of medications that other missionaries have left behind so there is not a lot of selection to work with.  Tomorrow is a holiday so if all goes well, Thursday morning will be my first official day as GIA’s nurse.

We are continually grateful for you, our friends and family who have chosen to walk this journey with us. Thank you and God bless!

Living in Africa is an Adventure

Sunday we remained in Bujumbura and were blessed by a church plant that has been established there. The church is an inspiration for Africa as there are missionary pastors sent from Nigeria, Kenya and other countries who are fully funded by their sending churches! Africans are challenging each other to mobilize their own people for change and for Christ. The worship was an amazing experience which reminded us that God goes before us AND He is behind us, he is with us every step of the way! This was a much needed reminder for what was ahead of us.

Monday we started our adventure to Gitega, the city where we will be living. Our van started out with us and all of our luggage. Just under half way to Gitega, we had to make an emergency stop as suddenly our van started smoking inside. We all piled out of the van and us “muzungus” became quite an attraction sitting on the side of the road. Quickly, children surrounded us and eagerly watched our every move. The hardest part was keeping the kids safely on the side of the road….which really, there is not much of a side to stick to! Our van’s radiator overheated so it had to get cooled down. Luckily we had 3 boys who could run and get water to drench the radiator to cool it down….smoke was pouring out of the vehicle! After cooling it for ½ hour, we all got in and started on the journey again. I suggested we stop to let the engine cool longer as the road we were travelling was mostly driving up a mountain side, but our driver wanted to keep going. A fIew minutes later, smoke started coming again….so we all piled out and sat on the side of the road. This time, the van was not going anywhere so two taxis were sent to pick us up. After sitting in the sun for 2 hours, the taxis arrived with a good drink for us and we were able to pack all our luggage into both cars!

As we continued on our travels, we had an encounter with the police which prolonged our already tiring trip. Because most of our luggage was in 1 car and we were all in another car, the police tried to say that our cars were not together! Imaging that! Where else would the taxi driver get a car load of luggage from Canada? The police then asked for a bribe….Charles agreed to pay if they gave him a receipt…instead of 5,000f, they said with a receipt it would cost us 50,000f. Charles insisted we needed a receipt. We prayed while our drivers discussed with the police. Awhile later, they came back saying they were letting us go…without paying anything! We continued on our way with the last leg of the trip uneventful. In the end, what should have taken us 2 hours, took us almost 6 hours.

We arrived in the early evening at our house we will be renting. Everything went smoothly for getting settled into the house and we had a great meal waiting for us when we arrived. Tuesday we spent the day getting settled and we were able to unpacked a bit. We also checked out the school for our kids, which is only a 10 minute walk from our house. We were surprised to find out how advanced the kids at the school are. In grade 1, they learn handwriting and they start multiplication / division tables! By grade 2, everything is in the long handwriting and they are doing all their multiplication/division tables by memory. Joshua is also attending school, and he will be having homework sent home! We will have to hire a tutor to help get the kids caught up with the other kids, but with a little work, it is possible.

The first day of school started off an exciting adventure for all the kids. We left home at 7:15 as school starts at 7:30am. As we entered the school area, we were immediately surrounded by a mass of kids who were intriqued by the “muzungus”! It was a bit overwhelming for each of my kids to have their heads and arms touched by a mass of  kids who rarely see white skins.  The teachers do their best to get the kids away but there are so many that when 5-6 leave, they are replaced by more curious eyes and hands. There were no tears the first day, except for mine! It was a challenge to leave all of my kids in the care of someone else. By God’s grace, I made it through the morning. Joshua goes to school 7:30-12:00 and the other kids go 7:30-1:00. We did not send any snack for the kids, which we learned that at this time, we need to send a small snack for our kids and the school is agreeable for us to do so.

The second day of school did not go quite a smooth! Elijah was crying and Joshua would not let me go! We eventually were able to get them settled and according to the teachers, they all did well the rest of the day. On Tuesday and Thursday, Savana and Elijah go back to school for an additional 2 hours. Starting tomorrow, 4-5 days a week we will have a tutor come to help Savana and Elijah get caught up with what they need to in school….this will be an additional 2 hours of schooling each time! Hopefully it won’t take long for them to get caught up.

Another adventure we had to day was looking for a vehicle. We took a few vehicles for a test drive…and yes, I got to drive in Africa! I was so paranoid as there are very few rules here. One driver told us, “this road is one way”. I asked him how would I know that road was just a one way…..his response….”This is AFRICA!” Oye..at least the roads in Gitega aren’t as busy as the ones in Bujumbura so we should be able to get comfortable here before driving in the big city. The process is definitely an African process for buying a vehicle. We stopped by one grocery shop and talked to the lady to see if she knew where we could buy a vehicle. She phoned her husband and in a few minutes, we had guys bringing cars/vans/SUVs right to us! We are still in the process for finding the right vehicle for our family so please pray for us as we work through this process.

Tomorrow we hope to get to GIA to meet staff and students and start to fulfill our roles at the school.

 

God Bless,

       Charles & Darla Balenga

For those who would like to donate towards our mission, you can donate on either YFC Edmonton website or Bridges of Hope website labelled “Burundi Mission” at the following links.

http://www.yfced.com/index.php/donate/how-to-donate

http://www.thebridgesofhope.com/index.php?p=Donate

  
 

Flood

We went to the Youth For Christ office on Friday and had a great time meeting with the staff, Freddy the director and other fellow missionaries, Josh and Nadine.

While we were there, we got a call that we needed to return to the guest house we were staying in. Earlier in the day, we went to have a shower but the water was out. In the process, the shower tap did not get turned off all the way......and we ended up with a flood!!

Water filled the shower area, over ran down through the hallway, ran through the living room area and out the front door....it was when the cooks saw water coming out the front door they knew something was wrong. This was the first time I saw the benefit of having all tiles and cement flooring.

We have to thank God that there was only one of our pieces of luggage that got wet in the process! Things could have been a lot worse. We have to thank God for his protection of our belongings.

Travelling to Africa with 4 Kids is an Adventure

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!