A note from me Mum

As you've read in my previous post "mums the word," I really do love my mum. So since she's like Trina and I and can't remember passwords and such anymore (we're each on our third blog because we've forgotten passwords). I thought I should post her response to the Mothers Day Blog. She's so funny

Re: Happy Mothersday‎
From: margie chase
Sent: Mon 5/14/07 11:04 PM
To: seth chase

seth, thanks so much for the nice blogspot you did on mum...i just loved it so much and those flowers were amazing in the photo...i look forward to reading both your blogs and i can't remember what my password was to respond to your blogs under comments ...bummmer..i've tried so many times after writing such goood comments...know how to redo a password on those bloggs? I've been so amazed at what you and trina have been doing there it seems a perfect place for you both with your talent and skills.. we are both so proud of you and the work that you are doing in africa and the people you are connecting with, what an adventure of a lifetime for sure... it probably won't be as much fun returning to the states after living there in that culture, an all the traveling that you've been doing over there. boy that rafting trip was a terror... i don't think i would of been up to doing that at my age....i'm slowing down and like being a grandmum now... it's too bad that trinabelle can only stay a girl in africa....what if you adopted a baby? then can she be a woman and you a man? it's sad to keep the belle a girl don't you think???? she needs tobe a woman....what do the others there think ofthis???? ...luv ya lots,MUM

To answer your question mum. Locals here would be a bit confused if Trina never had any children, but of course it's not problematic, and would never negatively effect relationship or our work/serving here. Educated Burunians are not very concerned with what bazungu do, but certainly people "up country" (a local term that means "the sticks") will always be curious if Trina didn't have children but that's the extent of it... though as all of Africa is becoming more westernized, different ways of doing things are becoming more and more accepted. Here it's a matter of survival, and it's culturaly expected to have large families traditionally, though it works against them as well because often they can't always feed their families, and there's the ever growing problem with overpopulation and rescourses in Burundi, and Rwanda especially (hot topic amongst evangelicals). Rwanda has recently instituted a policy similar to China to limit the number of children families can have. It's likely that similar legislation will be passed here in Burundi in the not too distant future. Time will tell.