Dry season is here, and there's nothing you can do about it. A constant haze has settled all around the city hugely limmiting visibility. Also, vegitation is drying up, so it's just not looking near as lush anymore. Forget about seeing Congo, it's simply not possible through the thick haze. It's also more windy, which is good and bad. Bad for filming, but good for feeling a little bit cooler. I'd have to say, I definately prefere rainy season... and, if you're thinking of visiting Africa, I recommend rainy season, if you want to see the beautiful lushness.
Summer teams are in full swing, and there is lots happening. We did our last food distribution, and that is a bit sad... but we are moving on some HIV aids projects, and Church Mobilization (mobilizing local churches to better serve the community and the communities needs)will be taking off in the not too distant future. Also, a Mars Hill team is here, and they are actively pursuing building capacity for Microfinance, and HIV Aids programs, and training pastors for effective counseling of people who have suffered great trauma and are suffering with aids. This is in addition to already building conflict resolution training into the Microfinance programs. In addition to this, our largest goat distribution happened a month ago, and we should be seeing some results by now. Dolla is also building more houses for returning refugees and IDP's (internally displaced people). I will be putting films together in the future to communicate in greater detail everything I'm ranting about.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
On this rock I will build Burundi
"When I am in church, I pray and devote myself exclusively to God. And when I am in politics, I do the opposite"Pierre Nkurunziza
President: Pierre Nkurunziza
Pierre Nkurunziza, a Hutu former rebel leader, became the first president to be chosen in democratic elections since the start of Burundi's civil war. His father was Catholic, as well as an elected member of the National Assembly in 1965 while his mother was an Anglican nurse. When Pierre was 7 years old when his father was assassinated in the 1972 ethnic massacre.
After he finished primary school in 1979, he joined Gitega Secondary School where he left in 1987 to enter the University of Burundi. He had applied to enter the Faculty of Economic Sciences or the High Military Institute but, instead, he was admitted to the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports. Students were at the time admitted to different faculties depending on their ethnic and regional origins. Some faculties were more highly prized than others. Hutus were not admitted into the military institute.
Four years later, Nkurunziza left the university holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education and sports. He started his sports teaching career at the Vugizo and Muramvya secondary schools before returning to the University of Burundi as an assistant lecturer. At the same time, he lectured at the military institute and coached a football team. Before joining the rebels, he was a teacher, not known for his political activities.
"I was pushed into rebellion by the inter-ethnic massacres that were taking place at the university in 1995." At that time, ethnic clashes at the university targeted Hutu students, prompting him to flee the country. Nkurunziza remembers that he escaped assassination by his own students. "It was no longer possible to live in Bujumbura," he said. He joined the Hutu rebellion in 1995 and rose through the ranks to become head of the FDD in 2001. He sustained a serious mortar injury during the conflict.
After he finished primary school in 1979, he joined Gitega Secondary School where he left in 1987 to enter the University of Burundi. He had applied to enter the Faculty of Economic Sciences or the High Military Institute but, instead, he was admitted to the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports. Students were at the time admitted to different faculties depending on their ethnic and regional origins. Some faculties were more highly prized than others. Hutus were not admitted into the military institute.
Four years later, Nkurunziza left the university holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education and sports. He started his sports teaching career at the Vugizo and Muramvya secondary schools before returning to the University of Burundi as an assistant lecturer. At the same time, he lectured at the military institute and coached a football team. Before joining the rebels, he was a teacher, not known for his political activities.
"I was pushed into rebellion by the inter-ethnic massacres that were taking place at the university in 1995." At that time, ethnic clashes at the university targeted Hutu students, prompting him to flee the country. Nkurunziza remembers that he escaped assassination by his own students. "It was no longer possible to live in Bujumbura," he said. He joined the Hutu rebellion in 1995 and rose through the ranks to become head of the FDD in 2001. He sustained a serious mortar injury during the conflict.
'Pre-destined'
He narrowly escaped death in combat in 2001 in the central province of Gitega. Injured in battle and with the army in hot pursuit, he says he saw those who had gone to kill him were eaten by crocodiles near the Maragarazi river, in central Burundi. He says the experience is proof that he was pre-destined to lead the FDD.
Now a born-again Protestant, he is described by those close to him as "religious, cool and a gentleman devoid of religious fundamentalism". He says he is against tribalism and fought for peace, justice and security for all. "When I am in church, I pray and devote myself exclusively to God. And when I am in politics, I do the opposite while at the same time acknowledging that God is everywhere," he once said.
Although Mr. Nkurunziza preaches peace and unity, his rebel group staged several ambushes along major roads killing many travelers, mostly Tutsis. In 1998, he was sentenced to death by a Burundian court but he received an amnesty under the peace accords.
The FDD now boasts many Tutsi officials, which some say is proof of Mr. Nkurunziza's national outlook. However, others point out that under the new constitution, parties were obliged to have members from both major communities. The constitution also shares out government posts on an ethnic basis. Thus, the pro-Hutu FDD was obliged to seek Tutsi members who in turn could fill the posts reserved for them under the peace deal.
Family tragedy
Mr Nkurunziza is married with two sons, aged nine and 11. He had a sister and six brothers, two of whom died during the 1993 killings which followed President Ndadaye's killing. Three others died in the bush. Now only he and his sister remain. He was reunited with his family in December 2003 after the signing of the peace agreement with the government.
After 10 years of war, Burundians hope they can now rebuild their lives
Mr. Nkurunziza relinquished the FDD leadership post after being chosen as a presidential candidate for the forthcoming elections. His government will also face the hard task of engaging the only active rebel group, the National Liberation Forces, in talks and then reaching a peace agreement.
After so many years of conflict, he will also have to reassure the minority Tutsis, through actions as well as words, that their future is secure in a democratic government led by the majority Hutus.
He was the sole candidate in the August 2005 vote in the National Assembly and the Senate after his Force for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) won parliamentary elections in June. The FDD was until recently the largest rebel group fighting the Burundi government.
After 10 years of conflict between ethnic Hutu rebels and the Tutsi-dominated army, the FDD joined the peace process in November 2003 paving the way for its entry into government. The vote was one of the final steps in a peace process intended to end years of fighting between Hutu rebels and the Tutsi-controlled army.
Mr. Nkurunziza, 41, arrived in Bujumbura in November 2004, to take up his post of minister for good governance. He belongs to the younger generation of Hutu leaders, whose political and military careers started after the killing of Hutu President Melchior Ndadaye by disgruntled soldiers in 1993.
Mr. Nkurunziza, who pledged to strive for unity, faces the pressing challenges of reassuring the Tutsi minority and of reviving the economy. At the end of 2005 he unveiled a $2billion rejuvenation plan, most of it to be funded by foreign donors, targeted at the agricultural sector.
As the nation's leader, he faces the challenges of elevating the standard of living of millions of Burundians, which have plummeted during the 12 years of civil war, compounded by endemic official corruption.
Monday, June 18, 2007
A brief history of Burundi
The earliest inhabitants of the area were the pygmoid Twa. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes during Bantu migrations.
Burundi existed as an independent kingdom from the sixteenth century. In 1903, it became a German colony and passed to Belgium in World War I. It was part of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi in 1923, later a United Nations Trust Territory under Belgian administrative authority following World War II. The origins of Burundi monarchy are veiled in myth. According to some legends, Ntare Rushatsi, founder of the original dynasty, came to Burundi from Rwanda in seventeenth century; other, more reliable sources, suggest that Ntare came from Buha, in the south-east, and laid the foundation for his kingdom in the Nkoma region.
Until the downfall of the monarchy in 1966, kingship remained one of last links that bound Burundi with its past.
From independence in 1962, until the elections of 1993, Burundi was controlled by a series of military dictators, all from the Tutsi minority. These years saw extensive ethnic violence including major incidents in 1964 and the late 1980s, and the Burundian genocide in 1972. In 1993 (I was a sophmore in highschool), Burundi held its first democratic elections, which were won by the Hutu-dominated Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU). FRODEBU leader Melchior Ndadaye became Burundi's first Hutu President, but a few months later he was assassinated by a group of Tutsi army officers. The killing plunged Burundi into a vicious civil war.
In retaliation for Ndadaye's killing, Hutu extremists massacred thousands of Tutsi civilians. The Tutsi-dominated army responded by massacring similar amounts of Hutus. Years of instability followed until 1996, when former president Pierre Buyoya took power in a coup. In August 2000 (I was graduating college), a peace-deal agreed by all but two of Burundi's political groups laid out a timetable for the restoration of democracy. After several more years of violence, a cease-fire was signed in 2003 (I began grad school) between Buyoya's government and the largest Hutu rebel group, CNDD-FDD. Later that year, FRODEBU leader Domitien Ndayizeye replaced Buyoya as President. Yet the most extreme Hutu group, Palipehutu-FNL (commonly known as "FNL"), continued to refuse negotiations. In August 2004 (I was celebrating my first anniversary with Trina), the group massacred 152 Congolese Tutsi refugees at the Gatumba refugee camp in western Burundi. In response to the attack, the Burundian government issued arrest warrants for the FNL leaders Agathon Rwasa and Pasteur Habimana, and declared the group a terrorist organisation.
In May 2005 (I was planning my first visit to Burundi), a cease-fire was finally agreed between the FNL and the Burundian government, but fighting continued. Renewed negotiations are now under way, amid fears that the FNL will demand a blanket amnesty in exchange for laying down their arms. A series of elections, held in mid-2005 were won by the former Hutu rebel National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD). On September 7, 2006 (I was prepping to live in Burundi), a second ceasefire agreement was signed.
Currently, The president, Pierre Nkurunziza met in Tanzania for peace talks (yesterday) with the last faction of the FNL. Their moving forward, and releasing some FNL political prisoners. The president plays rugby outside our headquarters in town, just across the street. Three weeks ago, Trina was driving to french class, and didn't pull over when Pierre drove by with is motorcade... and we got reprimanded by a moto cop... and I'm shooting a documentary about a boy who was a child soldier, and is now a pastor, who is building a house on the lake. We'll see what happens. It's been a week of challenging shooting, but today, the police didn't pull me over! I was so happy. This place is wild. There's too much to say.
Burundi existed as an independent kingdom from the sixteenth century. In 1903, it became a German colony and passed to Belgium in World War I. It was part of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi in 1923, later a United Nations Trust Territory under Belgian administrative authority following World War II. The origins of Burundi monarchy are veiled in myth. According to some legends, Ntare Rushatsi, founder of the original dynasty, came to Burundi from Rwanda in seventeenth century; other, more reliable sources, suggest that Ntare came from Buha, in the south-east, and laid the foundation for his kingdom in the Nkoma region.
Until the downfall of the monarchy in 1966, kingship remained one of last links that bound Burundi with its past.
From independence in 1962, until the elections of 1993, Burundi was controlled by a series of military dictators, all from the Tutsi minority. These years saw extensive ethnic violence including major incidents in 1964 and the late 1980s, and the Burundian genocide in 1972. In 1993 (I was a sophmore in highschool), Burundi held its first democratic elections, which were won by the Hutu-dominated Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU). FRODEBU leader Melchior Ndadaye became Burundi's first Hutu President, but a few months later he was assassinated by a group of Tutsi army officers. The killing plunged Burundi into a vicious civil war.
In retaliation for Ndadaye's killing, Hutu extremists massacred thousands of Tutsi civilians. The Tutsi-dominated army responded by massacring similar amounts of Hutus. Years of instability followed until 1996, when former president Pierre Buyoya took power in a coup. In August 2000 (I was graduating college), a peace-deal agreed by all but two of Burundi's political groups laid out a timetable for the restoration of democracy. After several more years of violence, a cease-fire was signed in 2003 (I began grad school) between Buyoya's government and the largest Hutu rebel group, CNDD-FDD. Later that year, FRODEBU leader Domitien Ndayizeye replaced Buyoya as President. Yet the most extreme Hutu group, Palipehutu-FNL (commonly known as "FNL"), continued to refuse negotiations. In August 2004 (I was celebrating my first anniversary with Trina), the group massacred 152 Congolese Tutsi refugees at the Gatumba refugee camp in western Burundi. In response to the attack, the Burundian government issued arrest warrants for the FNL leaders Agathon Rwasa and Pasteur Habimana, and declared the group a terrorist organisation.
In May 2005 (I was planning my first visit to Burundi), a cease-fire was finally agreed between the FNL and the Burundian government, but fighting continued. Renewed negotiations are now under way, amid fears that the FNL will demand a blanket amnesty in exchange for laying down their arms. A series of elections, held in mid-2005 were won by the former Hutu rebel National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD). On September 7, 2006 (I was prepping to live in Burundi), a second ceasefire agreement was signed.
Currently, The president, Pierre Nkurunziza met in Tanzania for peace talks (yesterday) with the last faction of the FNL. Their moving forward, and releasing some FNL political prisoners. The president plays rugby outside our headquarters in town, just across the street. Three weeks ago, Trina was driving to french class, and didn't pull over when Pierre drove by with is motorcade... and we got reprimanded by a moto cop... and I'm shooting a documentary about a boy who was a child soldier, and is now a pastor, who is building a house on the lake. We'll see what happens. It's been a week of challenging shooting, but today, the police didn't pull me over! I was so happy. This place is wild. There's too much to say.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Do you have friends?
Some of you know that I'm writing "a fools proverbs" which is a compilation of proverbs written by yours truly about things I've observed, and experienced in life (here's an excerpt from page two: "it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into Heaven. But it's even harder for a rich camel to enter into Heaven).
I've been known to say: "friends are my currency." Not only is this from page three of "a fools proverbs," it's also true to me in a way that the camel proverb will never be... well the second part of the camel proverb anyway, I'm actually afraid of the first part which can be found in Matt 19. The fact is: friends are more valuable to me than money. Some people rely on money to get by in life. I rely on friends, and I in turn am a friend that can be relied on. When a good friend and mentor "Dave the translator" was conversing with me in french, we got to talking about the fact that I didn't have much money. He asked me "Avez-vous des amis?" to which I responded: "Oui, j'ai beaucoup d'amis" (except I forgot to use a the proper definite article proceeding the noun at the time). He then switched to English and said: "then you are truly rich." We were on the same page, I already agreed with his statement years ago. Sometimes, I must admit. I want more money. I want more financial freedom. But deep down I know: friends are my currency, and I am truly rich.
About four years ago, much to the disgust of my non-christian currency (and some of my christian money), I went on a short term mission trip to Greece. I really had a great experience, and I learned a lot. We went to Greece to serve refugees, and one of these refugees became a currency, he was from Tehran, the capital of Iran. His name was Amyr ("prince" in Arabic). We spent lots of time together, he was a refugee and we talked a lot about freedom, and what freedom is, and the pros and cons of freedom. We talked about Christianity and Islam, and we played the guitar, and we played basketball, and then we talked about Iran and America. We didn't have enough time to talk about the weather. I took him to "Hard Rock Cafe" and "starbucks" (sort of an American tour) and he took me to a beach, and it was good. I promised to keep in touch with Amyr, and I did. In less than 6 months after I flew back to the states he made it to England. I promised him that I would visit him in England before I left, so I did. I booked tickets out and introduced him to Trina. Trina liked Amyr and his family as much as I did. Amyr got married a year later, and I flew out to his wedding because I said I would. It was a beautiful wedding.
Amyr works about 60-80 hours a week, he's still a refugee, and he's not treated well. Amyr goes to school in addition to work, and he also pays for his wife, Sogol to go to school. Before I came to Africa, I visited Amyr. He rented a car for Trina and I when we arrived in England, and he wouldn't let us pay for a thing. I was barely able to cover a few things and it was a fight with Amyr every time to pull out my credit card before him, but after all, our friendship isn't about the money, our friendship is more than money. Amyr and Sogol we're the last of our friends that we saw before we arrived in Afrique. The friend that I met 4 years ago in Athens, little did I know, would be the same friend that saw me off to my new adventure in Africa. Just a few weeks ago Amyr emailed me I'll put my email to Amyr first, then his response:
seth chase wrote:
ExternalClass
P{padding:0px;}
amyr,
I'm getting old... 30, I never thought about being this old. I'll have to come visit you again before I die of old age. I hope your "new years" was great. Send my love to sogol, we miss you both. love, seth
From: amýr salehi rad Sent: Thu 5/31/07 6:03 AM
To: seth chase
hey there,
long time since your last mail, i hope everything is going well 4 u both and you are working hard as always towards ur bright future, keep us updated about everything, by the way me and sogol have some money that we've left aside for charity and we were wondered if there is anything there that money can buy for kids, althogh it's not a big lump , but still we thought that this way at least it reach their hands directly! let me know what you think about that!
our love and prayers my old man,
amir & sogol
I've been known to say: "friends are my currency." Not only is this from page three of "a fools proverbs," it's also true to me in a way that the camel proverb will never be... well the second part of the camel proverb anyway, I'm actually afraid of the first part which can be found in Matt 19. The fact is: friends are more valuable to me than money. Some people rely on money to get by in life. I rely on friends, and I in turn am a friend that can be relied on. When a good friend and mentor "Dave the translator" was conversing with me in french, we got to talking about the fact that I didn't have much money. He asked me "Avez-vous des amis?" to which I responded: "Oui, j'ai beaucoup d'amis" (except I forgot to use a the proper definite article proceeding the noun at the time). He then switched to English and said: "then you are truly rich." We were on the same page, I already agreed with his statement years ago. Sometimes, I must admit. I want more money. I want more financial freedom. But deep down I know: friends are my currency, and I am truly rich.
About four years ago, much to the disgust of my non-christian currency (and some of my christian money), I went on a short term mission trip to Greece. I really had a great experience, and I learned a lot. We went to Greece to serve refugees, and one of these refugees became a currency, he was from Tehran, the capital of Iran. His name was Amyr ("prince" in Arabic). We spent lots of time together, he was a refugee and we talked a lot about freedom, and what freedom is, and the pros and cons of freedom. We talked about Christianity and Islam, and we played the guitar, and we played basketball, and then we talked about Iran and America. We didn't have enough time to talk about the weather. I took him to "Hard Rock Cafe" and "starbucks" (sort of an American tour) and he took me to a beach, and it was good. I promised to keep in touch with Amyr, and I did. In less than 6 months after I flew back to the states he made it to England. I promised him that I would visit him in England before I left, so I did. I booked tickets out and introduced him to Trina. Trina liked Amyr and his family as much as I did. Amyr got married a year later, and I flew out to his wedding because I said I would. It was a beautiful wedding.
Amyr works about 60-80 hours a week, he's still a refugee, and he's not treated well. Amyr goes to school in addition to work, and he also pays for his wife, Sogol to go to school. Before I came to Africa, I visited Amyr. He rented a car for Trina and I when we arrived in England, and he wouldn't let us pay for a thing. I was barely able to cover a few things and it was a fight with Amyr every time to pull out my credit card before him, but after all, our friendship isn't about the money, our friendship is more than money. Amyr and Sogol we're the last of our friends that we saw before we arrived in Afrique. The friend that I met 4 years ago in Athens, little did I know, would be the same friend that saw me off to my new adventure in Africa. Just a few weeks ago Amyr emailed me I'll put my email to Amyr first, then his response:
seth chase wrote:
ExternalClass
P{padding:0px;}
amyr,
I'm getting old... 30, I never thought about being this old. I'll have to come visit you again before I die of old age. I hope your "new years" was great. Send my love to sogol, we miss you both. love, seth
From: amýr salehi rad Sent: Thu 5/31/07 6:03 AM
To: seth chase
hey there,
long time since your last mail, i hope everything is going well 4 u both and you are working hard as always towards ur bright future, keep us updated about everything, by the way me and sogol have some money that we've left aside for charity and we were wondered if there is anything there that money can buy for kids, althogh it's not a big lump , but still we thought that this way at least it reach their hands directly! let me know what you think about that!
our love and prayers my old man,
amir & sogol
It's crazy, money... friends... grace. I could never pay Amyr back for all that he has been to me. Even if I could put a price on it, he wouldn't accept it. I will always be indebted to Amyr, though he would never see it that way. It's so Mark12:41-44, that it's almost too much for me at times.
Her
e's to friends and money! 
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Sex crime levels in Congo and Burundi are appalling
This is a tough article, but it is informative. Sex in the church is quite a problem in every culture, but in this culture it's rooted pretty broad and deep; though this article doesn't address "sex in the church" it does provide a framework or culture that the church is in the middle of, and as we all know, culture is a huge part of church. So, don't read this if you feel it's too much:
United Nations - The level of gender-based sexual violence has reached appalling levels in eastern Congo and Burundi and stronger efforts are needed to ostracise perpetrators of such crimes, the UN human rights chief said on Thursday.
Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said corrupt justice systems and national governments that take part in the corruption are to blame for the high number of sexual violence crimes in the region.
Many women who have been victims of sexual violence told Arbour that they go back to their communities and they are teased, often by the very people who harmed them and who continue to live in the community untroubled, she said.
"I think it's important to understand that gender-based violence in that context is not just an affront to dignity or a kind of form of indecency, it is a form of torture and absolute brutal physical and mental assault on the victims," she told a UN press briefing following her two-week trip to the Congo, Burundi and Sudan's conflict-wracked Darfur region.
These sex crimes and the injuries they inflict are often extreme, Arbour told reporters after a closed briefing to the UN Security Council on her trip.
A common one is fistula, a hole in the birth canal "caused by brutal forms of rape, gang rape, insertion of objects" and also when poor women have no assistance at childbirth," she said.
Chronic medical problems
Women with fistula experience chronic incontinence and often give birth to a stillborn baby. Untreated, fistula can also lead to chronic medical problems, including ulcerations, kidney disease, and nerve damage in the legs.
Arbour said she met many women who have lived with this condition untreated for more than 40 years.
"Doctors are looking at very complicated fistula surgery to repair rips between bladder systems, intestinal systems and reproductive organs," Arbour said.
She also saw pregnant 12-year-olds who had been raped and had to get Caesarean sections.
In Kisangani, a town Arbour visited deep in Congo's interior, 60% of the sexual violence victims brought to the hospitals were between the ages of 11 and 17, she said.
The exact number of rapes in Congo is not known. Hospital officials report treating huge numbers of women who have been victims of sex crimes, particularly in eastern Congo where militia fighters and Congolese soldiers target civilians.
"The level of sexual violence and its intensity is surprising and appalling," Arbour said about the places she visited in eastern Congo and Burundi.
United Nations - The level of gender-based sexual violence has reached appalling levels in eastern Congo and Burundi and stronger efforts are needed to ostracise perpetrators of such crimes, the UN human rights chief said on Thursday.
Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said corrupt justice systems and national governments that take part in the corruption are to blame for the high number of sexual violence crimes in the region.
Many women who have been victims of sexual violence told Arbour that they go back to their communities and they are teased, often by the very people who harmed them and who continue to live in the community untroubled, she said.
"I think it's important to understand that gender-based violence in that context is not just an affront to dignity or a kind of form of indecency, it is a form of torture and absolute brutal physical and mental assault on the victims," she told a UN press briefing following her two-week trip to the Congo, Burundi and Sudan's conflict-wracked Darfur region.
These sex crimes and the injuries they inflict are often extreme, Arbour told reporters after a closed briefing to the UN Security Council on her trip.
A common one is fistula, a hole in the birth canal "caused by brutal forms of rape, gang rape, insertion of objects" and also when poor women have no assistance at childbirth," she said.
Chronic medical problems
Women with fistula experience chronic incontinence and often give birth to a stillborn baby. Untreated, fistula can also lead to chronic medical problems, including ulcerations, kidney disease, and nerve damage in the legs.
Arbour said she met many women who have lived with this condition untreated for more than 40 years.
"Doctors are looking at very complicated fistula surgery to repair rips between bladder systems, intestinal systems and reproductive organs," Arbour said.
She also saw pregnant 12-year-olds who had been raped and had to get Caesarean sections.
In Kisangani, a town Arbour visited deep in Congo's interior, 60% of the sexual violence victims brought to the hospitals were between the ages of 11 and 17, she said.
The exact number of rapes in Congo is not known. Hospital officials report treating huge numbers of women who have been victims of sex crimes, particularly in eastern Congo where militia fighters and Congolese soldiers target civilians.
"The level of sexual violence and its intensity is surprising and appalling," Arbour said about the places she visited in eastern Congo and Burundi.
A better storyteller
Donald Miller is far more popular than I realized. I've been a fan of Donald Miller's writing for a while. I like his biblical worldview, and I like his preaching, and I like his style. It caught me off guard that he wrote Blue Like Jazz into a screenplay, and I don't know when the movie will be out, but I'm curious to see what happens when it debuts. I was even more suprised to realize he's writing/creating a TV show that takes place in Powells book store. I think it could be quite interesting. So this is a little ditty about Don Miller, another author I admire, at least as much as Jack Handy. If your are highschool age to post college, you gotta get your hands on some Don Miller, thank me later... and start with Blue Like Jazz. If you are a parent of teen/college age kids, get those kids some Don Miller... without further ado:
Donald Miller is in a room of 500 or 600 people, all waiting for him to speak. But as he steps behind the podium and begins, his voice seems more suited to a small group of five or six.
"Okay," he starts, "what are some of your favorite movies?"
A murmur of response—"Come on!" Miller encourages—and then people start shouting out titles. The Matrix! A Beautiful Mind! The Straight Story! Finding Nemo! The audience oohs and aahs at each other's choices. Little Women! Napoleon Dynamite! It's a Wonderful Life! The shouting goes on for a while; they forget this is a workshop.
"Okay, great," Miller says, bringing attention front and center. "Now, call out your favorite parts of the Nicene Creed."
Awkward giggles throughout the room—they know they've been had. Then one man pipes up: "It's a wonderful life!"
Miller laughs along with, maybe louder than, everyone in the room. He's enjoying that his point was made for him: We know our movies better than we know our creeds. And now self-help banalities—Your life can be wonderful—compete for our attention with the classic truths of the Christian story.
In the next half hour, Miller delivers a variation on a theme ascendant in evangelical Christianity: Truth is rooted in story, not in rational systems. The Christian mission is not well served when we speak in terms of spiritual laws or rational formulas. Propositional truths, when extracted from a narrative context, lack meaning. "The chief role of a Christian," he says, "is to tell a better story."
In keeping with the movie theme, Miller quotes at length from Robert McKee, the Hollywood screenwriting guru whose book Story (1997) is at once a detailed guide to the principles of narrative and a primer on the principles of meaning. Miller says that the criteria McKee instructs writers to use in editing their stories—Is there conflict here? Does my protagonist have a purpose?—are the same criteria we can use to edit our understanding of our lives and the Christian faith.
The Donald Miller speaking at this conference workshop—casual, yes, but also focused, deliberate—is perhaps not the Donald Miller people expected to see. Best known for Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality, a youthful, angsty collection of personal essays that has sold more than 800,000 copies since its publication in 2003, Miller has refined his craft and his range of interests. At 35, he is a maturing youth—freshly shaven with short hair, plain blue jeans, and a beige sweater over a white button-down shirt. He has no pretense of hipster chic, or much pretense of any kind. When bumping into old conference circuit acquaintances or making new ones, he likes to talk of music and film but also college basketball and Hey, how is your wife feeling these days?
Miller, often described as "irreverent" or "bohemian," is a frequent speaker at mainstream evangelical events just like this one: a mid-winter conference at the Hines Convention Center in Boston's Back Bay, a gathering of evangelical church and parachurch workers in New England, with the usual buzz of platform speakers and ministry workshops. Miller is comfortable here, which, apart from his book sales within the Christian industry, doesn't seem quite right, given his countercultural evangelical image. Other recent gigs for Miller include the Women of Faith national conference and a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) convention. He is likely the only speaker at such events who has launched an online literary journal, the Burnside Writers Collective, and whose book site includes links to politically liberal organizations such as MoveOn.org and Greenpeace.
But he manages to fit in just fine. He is not an evangelical interloper. He is an evangelical insider. "They love him," explains Jim Chaffee, Miller's booking agent. "He's progressive but not pissed."
He is also neither irreverent nor bohemian—at least, not much. But for mainstream evangelicals today, Miller is a bridge to an irreverent, bohemian world. His work is framed with bohemia—a road trip, a pint of beer, an occasional curse word—but filled with explicit longing for Jesus. He never takes on basic Christian tenets or evangelical priorities such as biblical authority and spreading the gospel, but he asks just enough questions, with just enough gravity, to attract readers who have similar reservations about their faith culture. He's a sotto voce critic of evangelicalism, telling anxious audiences that it's okay to question the faith, yet keep it.
At the conference in Boston, attendees hear from a lineup of evangelical celebrity teachers: George Barna, Henry Cloud, Bill Hybels, Jack Hayford, Joni Eareckson Tada, Sheila Walsh, and more. Topics range from "Your Role in Jesus' 'Dream Church'" to "How to Lead a Person to Christ: The Simple Basics."
Miller's talks—a morning keynote address to about 4,000 people, plus the afternoon workshop—are short on how-to's and long on critique. During the keynote session, he takes the crowd through a history of paradigms for church ministry. He objects to overconfidence among evangelicals. "If your mind is not constantly being changed," he says, "you're not following Christ." Miller believes sharing the gospel should be like setting someone up on a blind date, not like explaining propositions. He takes aim at the corporatization of evangelicalism, detectable through such evangelicalisms as, "Be profitable for the kingdom of God." He lampoons teaching series with titles like "Three Keys to a Biblical Marriage."
"It seems to me there are a million keys to marriage," Miller teases, "and they change depending on what kind of mood she's in." The joke kills. All his jokes kill. Miller is embraced every bit as enthusiastically as his celebrity speaker elders. Or more so. "Yours is the only talk so far where people stood around and talked afterward," one woman tells him. "So refreshing. So real."
At the book-signing table after his keynote address, Miller is handed copy after copy of each of his four titles: Blue Like Jazz, Searching for God Knows What (2004), Through Painted Deserts (2005; a reissue of his first book, Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance), and To Own a Dragon (2006). But mostly, he is handed copy after copy of Blue Like Jazz and offered testimonials about the book's effect:
"I've been a Christian for over 20 years, and I've never been so excited about a book."
"Your book was the only thing that got my daughter through college."
"I love Blue Like Jazz because it's, like, a Christian book, but it doesn't make you feel bad about yourself."
A 40-something woman approaches Miller with two plastic grocery bags filled with copies of his books. "I've already bought Blue Like Jazz 13 times," she gushes. "But I gotta have all these to give to people. I'm a Jesus girl, but I also like to go out and do tequila shots with my friends. This is a book I can give to those friends."
At the end of the day, Miller and I walk through the February chill to a pub and grill in Boston's South End. He tells me that comments like the ones at the signing table are par for the course when he speaks at events like these. He feels he must be meeting some great need that exists for evangelicals today. "You feel confident because you know that this is actually a refreshing message for people," he says. "They don't feel accused. They don't feel hurt or offended by what you're saying. There's a sense of, 'Hey, we have lost meaning, haven't we?' "
He compares his experience to Paul speaking to the Athenians on Mars Hill. Paul understood Greek culture, he was winsome, and he could make an appeal for truth in a way that Greeks would receive. I point out that in that scenario, Don Miller is Paul, and evangelicals are the Greeks.
Miller nods. "I actually believe that I'm setting people free from something that is frustrating them."
Donald Miller is in a room of 500 or 600 people, all waiting for him to speak. But as he steps behind the podium and begins, his voice seems more suited to a small group of five or six.
"Okay," he starts, "what are some of your favorite movies?"
A murmur of response—"Come on!" Miller encourages—and then people start shouting out titles. The Matrix! A Beautiful Mind! The Straight Story! Finding Nemo! The audience oohs and aahs at each other's choices. Little Women! Napoleon Dynamite! It's a Wonderful Life! The shouting goes on for a while; they forget this is a workshop.
"Okay, great," Miller says, bringing attention front and center. "Now, call out your favorite parts of the Nicene Creed."
Awkward giggles throughout the room—they know they've been had. Then one man pipes up: "It's a wonderful life!"
Miller laughs along with, maybe louder than, everyone in the room. He's enjoying that his point was made for him: We know our movies better than we know our creeds. And now self-help banalities—Your life can be wonderful—compete for our attention with the classic truths of the Christian story.
In the next half hour, Miller delivers a variation on a theme ascendant in evangelical Christianity: Truth is rooted in story, not in rational systems. The Christian mission is not well served when we speak in terms of spiritual laws or rational formulas. Propositional truths, when extracted from a narrative context, lack meaning. "The chief role of a Christian," he says, "is to tell a better story."
In keeping with the movie theme, Miller quotes at length from Robert McKee, the Hollywood screenwriting guru whose book Story (1997) is at once a detailed guide to the principles of narrative and a primer on the principles of meaning. Miller says that the criteria McKee instructs writers to use in editing their stories—Is there conflict here? Does my protagonist have a purpose?—are the same criteria we can use to edit our understanding of our lives and the Christian faith.
The Donald Miller speaking at this conference workshop—casual, yes, but also focused, deliberate—is perhaps not the Donald Miller people expected to see. Best known for Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality, a youthful, angsty collection of personal essays that has sold more than 800,000 copies since its publication in 2003, Miller has refined his craft and his range of interests. At 35, he is a maturing youth—freshly shaven with short hair, plain blue jeans, and a beige sweater over a white button-down shirt. He has no pretense of hipster chic, or much pretense of any kind. When bumping into old conference circuit acquaintances or making new ones, he likes to talk of music and film but also college basketball and Hey, how is your wife feeling these days?
Miller, often described as "irreverent" or "bohemian," is a frequent speaker at mainstream evangelical events just like this one: a mid-winter conference at the Hines Convention Center in Boston's Back Bay, a gathering of evangelical church and parachurch workers in New England, with the usual buzz of platform speakers and ministry workshops. Miller is comfortable here, which, apart from his book sales within the Christian industry, doesn't seem quite right, given his countercultural evangelical image. Other recent gigs for Miller include the Women of Faith national conference and a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) convention. He is likely the only speaker at such events who has launched an online literary journal, the Burnside Writers Collective, and whose book site includes links to politically liberal organizations such as MoveOn.org and Greenpeace.
But he manages to fit in just fine. He is not an evangelical interloper. He is an evangelical insider. "They love him," explains Jim Chaffee, Miller's booking agent. "He's progressive but not pissed."
He is also neither irreverent nor bohemian—at least, not much. But for mainstream evangelicals today, Miller is a bridge to an irreverent, bohemian world. His work is framed with bohemia—a road trip, a pint of beer, an occasional curse word—but filled with explicit longing for Jesus. He never takes on basic Christian tenets or evangelical priorities such as biblical authority and spreading the gospel, but he asks just enough questions, with just enough gravity, to attract readers who have similar reservations about their faith culture. He's a sotto voce critic of evangelicalism, telling anxious audiences that it's okay to question the faith, yet keep it.
At the conference in Boston, attendees hear from a lineup of evangelical celebrity teachers: George Barna, Henry Cloud, Bill Hybels, Jack Hayford, Joni Eareckson Tada, Sheila Walsh, and more. Topics range from "Your Role in Jesus' 'Dream Church'" to "How to Lead a Person to Christ: The Simple Basics."
Miller's talks—a morning keynote address to about 4,000 people, plus the afternoon workshop—are short on how-to's and long on critique. During the keynote session, he takes the crowd through a history of paradigms for church ministry. He objects to overconfidence among evangelicals. "If your mind is not constantly being changed," he says, "you're not following Christ." Miller believes sharing the gospel should be like setting someone up on a blind date, not like explaining propositions. He takes aim at the corporatization of evangelicalism, detectable through such evangelicalisms as, "Be profitable for the kingdom of God." He lampoons teaching series with titles like "Three Keys to a Biblical Marriage."
"It seems to me there are a million keys to marriage," Miller teases, "and they change depending on what kind of mood she's in." The joke kills. All his jokes kill. Miller is embraced every bit as enthusiastically as his celebrity speaker elders. Or more so. "Yours is the only talk so far where people stood around and talked afterward," one woman tells him. "So refreshing. So real."
At the book-signing table after his keynote address, Miller is handed copy after copy of each of his four titles: Blue Like Jazz, Searching for God Knows What (2004), Through Painted Deserts (2005; a reissue of his first book, Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance), and To Own a Dragon (2006). But mostly, he is handed copy after copy of Blue Like Jazz and offered testimonials about the book's effect:
"I've been a Christian for over 20 years, and I've never been so excited about a book."
"Your book was the only thing that got my daughter through college."
"I love Blue Like Jazz because it's, like, a Christian book, but it doesn't make you feel bad about yourself."
A 40-something woman approaches Miller with two plastic grocery bags filled with copies of his books. "I've already bought Blue Like Jazz 13 times," she gushes. "But I gotta have all these to give to people. I'm a Jesus girl, but I also like to go out and do tequila shots with my friends. This is a book I can give to those friends."
At the end of the day, Miller and I walk through the February chill to a pub and grill in Boston's South End. He tells me that comments like the ones at the signing table are par for the course when he speaks at events like these. He feels he must be meeting some great need that exists for evangelicals today. "You feel confident because you know that this is actually a refreshing message for people," he says. "They don't feel accused. They don't feel hurt or offended by what you're saying. There's a sense of, 'Hey, we have lost meaning, haven't we?' "
He compares his experience to Paul speaking to the Athenians on Mars Hill. Paul understood Greek culture, he was winsome, and he could make an appeal for truth in a way that Greeks would receive. I point out that in that scenario, Don Miller is Paul, and evangelicals are the Greeks.
Miller nods. "I actually believe that I'm setting people free from something that is frustrating them."
Thursday, May 31, 2007
A look into the life of an IDP
BURUNDI: Moise Barekezabe, “Home is home, despite the hardships”
Moise Barekezabe at Rukaramu Commune, Bujumbura Rural Province, Burundi
Moise Barekezabe at Rukaramu Commune, Bujumbura Rural Province, Burundi
RUKARAMU, 30 May 2007 (IRIN) - Moise Barekezabe, 40, one of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Burundi, is happy to be back in the country despite living in camps, without a job or income, since his return in 2002.
Barekezabe left with his parents in 1972 when he was only four, fleeing the civil war. Together with Burundian refugees who had lived for years in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Barekezabe returned home due to civil war in the DRC.
"When my parents left the country, we moved through Tanzania and Rwanda before finally living as refugees in the DRC. My parents died there.
"We decided to come back in 2002 because of the war in the DRC. Initially we returned to Gatumba [a commune near the Burundi-DRC border] but after the killings of Congolese refugees there in 2004, we were moved here to Rukaramu [a commune in Bujumbura Rural, the province around the capital, Bujumbura].
"I could not return to the land my parents owned because it was occupied a long time ago; besides I would not even know where it is: all I know is it was in Gitega Province. But all the land has been taken. So we are here in this camp, I have a sister who also lives here. I could not locate any other relatives upon my return.
"Although we live in very poor conditions here, we thank God because we have these houses [built with contributions from UN agencies on land provided by the government]. However, we have no land to till; we survive by begging or working for the neighbouring communities.
"When I compare life in the DRC with this here at the camp, I can say it is somehow different; this is home. Home is home despite all the suffering and hardship. At least I can say I am in my house.
"I have a wife and five children, some of whom are in the school [nearby] put up with the help of the UNHCR [UN High Commissioner for Refugees]. My wife is jobless, I am jobless. Whenever we get work in neighbouring farms, we are only paid in food or part of the harvest, we don’t get money.
"It is good that the government has made healthcare free for children and expectant mothers but what about us who do not have money? Initially we had documents showing that we had just returned to the country so we got treatment free of charge but these documents have expired and we have no way of renewing them. We are now at the mercy of diseases such as malaria and worms.
"Looking ahead, I don’t see any hope. We had hoped the government would help us with land to cultivate but it says it is still investigating to see where to settle us; it has been four years, we are still waiting.
"The biggest challenge for me is: how can I help my family? If only I got a job or some money to put my affairs in order. We are near the capital; I think I could help my family if I got a job or some money.
"In the meantime, malaria and worms are killing us; the mosquito nets we have are tattered, so they no longer protect against the mosquitoes and as you can see, we are next to a rice-growing project and there is stagnant water all over. We do not have safe drinking water, and our children are at great risk of catching waterborne diseases and this worries me very much.”
Barekezabe left with his parents in 1972 when he was only four, fleeing the civil war. Together with Burundian refugees who had lived for years in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Barekezabe returned home due to civil war in the DRC.
"When my parents left the country, we moved through Tanzania and Rwanda before finally living as refugees in the DRC. My parents died there.
"We decided to come back in 2002 because of the war in the DRC. Initially we returned to Gatumba [a commune near the Burundi-DRC border] but after the killings of Congolese refugees there in 2004, we were moved here to Rukaramu [a commune in Bujumbura Rural, the province around the capital, Bujumbura].
"I could not return to the land my parents owned because it was occupied a long time ago; besides I would not even know where it is: all I know is it was in Gitega Province. But all the land has been taken. So we are here in this camp, I have a sister who also lives here. I could not locate any other relatives upon my return.
"Although we live in very poor conditions here, we thank God because we have these houses [built with contributions from UN agencies on land provided by the government]. However, we have no land to till; we survive by begging or working for the neighbouring communities.
"When I compare life in the DRC with this here at the camp, I can say it is somehow different; this is home. Home is home despite all the suffering and hardship. At least I can say I am in my house.
"I have a wife and five children, some of whom are in the school [nearby] put up with the help of the UNHCR [UN High Commissioner for Refugees]. My wife is jobless, I am jobless. Whenever we get work in neighbouring farms, we are only paid in food or part of the harvest, we don’t get money.
"It is good that the government has made healthcare free for children and expectant mothers but what about us who do not have money? Initially we had documents showing that we had just returned to the country so we got treatment free of charge but these documents have expired and we have no way of renewing them. We are now at the mercy of diseases such as malaria and worms.
"Looking ahead, I don’t see any hope. We had hoped the government would help us with land to cultivate but it says it is still investigating to see where to settle us; it has been four years, we are still waiting.
"The biggest challenge for me is: how can I help my family? If only I got a job or some money to put my affairs in order. We are near the capital; I think I could help my family if I got a job or some money.
"In the meantime, malaria and worms are killing us; the mosquito nets we have are tattered, so they no longer protect against the mosquitoes and as you can see, we are next to a rice-growing project and there is stagnant water all over. We do not have safe drinking water, and our children are at great risk of catching waterborne diseases and this worries me very much.”
Monday, May 28, 2007
Mans Wisdom
I promised myself that if I started blogging, I wouldn't journal... my journal is separate, and stored in my "concept81" folder on my desktop... but I am thinking about posting one of my journal entries in the future, just to see what kind of reviews it would receive, I like journaling because it tracks my headspace at a point in time. So this is a warning, I may post one of my journal entries in the future... not now though... originally I meant for my blog to be a medium for satire, since one of my greater loves is satire. Unfortunately I've drifted away from comedy since I left the States. But I had a discussion with myself, and resolved my blog issues by deciding: I will blog about what's going on where I am, what I'm doing, and what's happening around me... A climate as it were, of what's happening where I am. To season this, I decided to throw in intermittent artists that I'm a fan of. Today, I show case the art of Jack Handy. Earlier I posted some of my "deep thoughts" which were a shadow of one of my heroes of satire. It was during my early high school years, watching SNL when I discovered the literary works of Jack Handy, and my idea of comedy would forever be changed, without further ado:
Deep Thoughts
Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then, on the way out, slam the door.
I hope some animal never bores a hole in my head and lays its eggs in my brain, because later you might think you're having a good idea but it's just eggs hatching.
If I could be any bird, I would be a penguin. Because then I could walk around on my own two feet with a bunch of other guys who looked just like me.
I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.
If I ever do a book on the Congo, I hope I am able to bring a certain lightheartedness to the subject, in a way that tells the reader “we are going to have fun with this thing.”
To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kinda scary. I've wondered where this started, and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus and a clown killed my dad.
To us, it might look like just a rag. But to the brave, embattled men of the fort, it was more than that. It was a flag of surrender. And after that, it was torn up and used for shoe-shine rags, so the men would look nice for the surrender.
If you were a gladiator in olden days, I bet the inefficiency of how the gladiator fights were organized and scheduled, would just drive you up a wall.
We like to praise birds for flying. But how much of it is actually flying, and how much of it is just sort of coasting from the previous flap?
I guess the hard thing for a lot of people to accept is why God would allow me to go running through their yards, yelling and spinning around.
Perhaps, if I am very lucky, the feeble efforts of my lifetime will someday be noticed, and maybe, in some small way, they will be acknowledged as the greatest works of genius ever created by Man.
People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.
If you go parachuting, and your parachute doesn't open, and you friends are all watching you fall, I think a funny gag would be to pretend you were swimming.
I'm not afraid of insects taking over the world, and you know why? It would take about a billion ants just to aim a gun at me, let alone fire it. And you know what I'm doing while they're aiming it at me? I just sort of slip off to the side, and then suddenly run up and kick the gun out of their hands.
I bet the main reason the police keep people away from a plane crash is they don't want anybody walking in and lying down in the crash stuff, then, when somebody comes up, act like they just woke up and go, 'What was THAT?!'
I can't stand cheap people. It makes me real mad when someone says something like, 'Hey, when are you going to pay me that $100 you owe me?' or 'Do you have that $50 you borrowed?' Man, quit being so cheap!
I wish I could shrink down to the size of an ant. And maybe there would be thousands of other people shrunken down to ant-size, and we would get together and dig tunnels down into the ground, and live there. But don't ever call us 'ants,' because we hate that.
When the age of the Vikings came to a close, they must have sensed it. Probably, they gathered together one evening, slapped each other on the back and said, 'Hey, good job.'
If you ever go temporarily insane, don't shoot somebody, like a lot of people do. Instead, try to get some weeding done, because you'd really be surprised.
You know one thing that will really make a woman mad? Just run up and kick her in the butt. (P.S. This also works with men.)
Sometimes I think the world has gone completely mad. And then I think, 'Aw, who cares?' And then I think, 'Hey, what's for supper?'
If they ever come up with a swashbuckling School, I think one of the courses should be Laughing, Then Jumping Off Something.
Deep Thoughts
Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then, on the way out, slam the door.
I hope some animal never bores a hole in my head and lays its eggs in my brain, because later you might think you're having a good idea but it's just eggs hatching.
If I could be any bird, I would be a penguin. Because then I could walk around on my own two feet with a bunch of other guys who looked just like me.
I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.
If I ever do a book on the Congo, I hope I am able to bring a certain lightheartedness to the subject, in a way that tells the reader “we are going to have fun with this thing.”
To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kinda scary. I've wondered where this started, and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus and a clown killed my dad.
To us, it might look like just a rag. But to the brave, embattled men of the fort, it was more than that. It was a flag of surrender. And after that, it was torn up and used for shoe-shine rags, so the men would look nice for the surrender.
If you were a gladiator in olden days, I bet the inefficiency of how the gladiator fights were organized and scheduled, would just drive you up a wall.
We like to praise birds for flying. But how much of it is actually flying, and how much of it is just sort of coasting from the previous flap?
I guess the hard thing for a lot of people to accept is why God would allow me to go running through their yards, yelling and spinning around.
Perhaps, if I am very lucky, the feeble efforts of my lifetime will someday be noticed, and maybe, in some small way, they will be acknowledged as the greatest works of genius ever created by Man.
People think it would be fun to be a bird because you could fly. But they forget the negative side, which is the preening.
If you go parachuting, and your parachute doesn't open, and you friends are all watching you fall, I think a funny gag would be to pretend you were swimming.
I'm not afraid of insects taking over the world, and you know why? It would take about a billion ants just to aim a gun at me, let alone fire it. And you know what I'm doing while they're aiming it at me? I just sort of slip off to the side, and then suddenly run up and kick the gun out of their hands.
I bet the main reason the police keep people away from a plane crash is they don't want anybody walking in and lying down in the crash stuff, then, when somebody comes up, act like they just woke up and go, 'What was THAT?!'
I can't stand cheap people. It makes me real mad when someone says something like, 'Hey, when are you going to pay me that $100 you owe me?' or 'Do you have that $50 you borrowed?' Man, quit being so cheap!
I wish I could shrink down to the size of an ant. And maybe there would be thousands of other people shrunken down to ant-size, and we would get together and dig tunnels down into the ground, and live there. But don't ever call us 'ants,' because we hate that.
When the age of the Vikings came to a close, they must have sensed it. Probably, they gathered together one evening, slapped each other on the back and said, 'Hey, good job.'
If you ever go temporarily insane, don't shoot somebody, like a lot of people do. Instead, try to get some weeding done, because you'd really be surprised.
You know one thing that will really make a woman mad? Just run up and kick her in the butt. (P.S. This also works with men.)
Sometimes I think the world has gone completely mad. And then I think, 'Aw, who cares?' And then I think, 'Hey, what's for supper?'
If they ever come up with a swashbuckling School, I think one of the courses should be Laughing, Then Jumping Off Something.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Coffee and Violence?
It's undeniable that coffee affects things, especially when you drink coffee, after all, it's one of our favorite drugs. Before I left the States, one pastor speculated: "what would happen if we took three things out of our diet: caffeine, sugar, and nicotine?" He went on to say we'd be a bunch of angry zombies walking around in a tired angry stupor killing each other. I found I agreed with the guy, after all I was sitting in my chair angry and tired because I didn't have my coffee. A recent study was done in here in Burundi on coffee season, and what goes on socially during coffee season. The results were a bit of a bummer.
Study Says Coffee Harvest Linked to Increase in Gender-Based Violence in Burundi.
The April-July coffee harvest period in Burundi has been linked to increases in gender-based violence and the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
It is not uncommon for women and children to be on the receiving end of both physical and emotional abuse during this period, CARE International, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) operating in the country, said in a new report.
"Men were described as becoming more violent during this period as a strategy to scare women away from raising any issues related to money," the NGO said.
The coffee harvesting season is a period when men have extra cash in their pockets derived from the proceeds of sales to coffee associations, though it is usually women that do most of the coffee-picking.
CARE International in Burundi carried out research to assess the impact of the coffee harvest on families and women in particular. CARE said it would share the results of the study with development actors in the country in a bid to create awareness of the negative impacts of the coffee harvest on women.
Increased alcohol consumption
It said other negative impacts of the coffee harvest include: an increase in alcohol consumption; the interruption of school attendance; an increase in the workload of women and men, with little or not benefit to women; an increase in adulterous behaviour among both men and women.
The results of the study, CARE hoped, would help identify possible activities to mitigate these negative impacts on women, and also identify possible activities or approaches for preventing and reducing household conflicts.
The study - carried out in March in the provinces of Gitega, Ngozi and Kayanza - involved discussion with groups of women and men as well as individual interviews. Coffee is an important cash crop for many families in these provinces.
Ideas for improving situation
CARE said that through its in-depth discussions with women and men covered by the study, a number of ideas and opportunities had emerged with the potential to improve the situation of women, particularly in relation to coffee production.
These, CARE said, include partnering with local coffee associations - which are mainly made up of men - to offer training and support in gender sensitive approaches such as conflict resolution.
"Offering training and support in financial management and investment strategies would address the knowledge gap in these areas (something men pointed out during discussions)," CARE reported.
It said it would scale up peace and conflict activities such as supporting training in conflict resolution as well as supporting community level monitoring of conflict.
Study Says Coffee Harvest Linked to Increase in Gender-Based Violence in Burundi.
The April-July coffee harvest period in Burundi has been linked to increases in gender-based violence and the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
It is not uncommon for women and children to be on the receiving end of both physical and emotional abuse during this period, CARE International, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) operating in the country, said in a new report.
"Men were described as becoming more violent during this period as a strategy to scare women away from raising any issues related to money," the NGO said.
The coffee harvesting season is a period when men have extra cash in their pockets derived from the proceeds of sales to coffee associations, though it is usually women that do most of the coffee-picking.
CARE International in Burundi carried out research to assess the impact of the coffee harvest on families and women in particular. CARE said it would share the results of the study with development actors in the country in a bid to create awareness of the negative impacts of the coffee harvest on women.
Increased alcohol consumption
It said other negative impacts of the coffee harvest include: an increase in alcohol consumption; the interruption of school attendance; an increase in the workload of women and men, with little or not benefit to women; an increase in adulterous behaviour among both men and women.
The results of the study, CARE hoped, would help identify possible activities to mitigate these negative impacts on women, and also identify possible activities or approaches for preventing and reducing household conflicts.
The study - carried out in March in the provinces of Gitega, Ngozi and Kayanza - involved discussion with groups of women and men as well as individual interviews. Coffee is an important cash crop for many families in these provinces.
Ideas for improving situation
CARE said that through its in-depth discussions with women and men covered by the study, a number of ideas and opportunities had emerged with the potential to improve the situation of women, particularly in relation to coffee production.
These, CARE said, include partnering with local coffee associations - which are mainly made up of men - to offer training and support in gender sensitive approaches such as conflict resolution.
"Offering training and support in financial management and investment strategies would address the knowledge gap in these areas (something men pointed out during discussions)," CARE reported.
It said it would scale up peace and conflict activities such as supporting training in conflict resolution as well as supporting community level monitoring of conflict.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Luther declared outlaw on this day in history
If you're going to be a reformer, or a prophet in your day. I suggest you prepare yourself to be an outlaw. Especially if you are going to be a reformer of the church in any of it's current forms. Luther was one of the more fortunate reformers. I feel certain that in his day he didn't know how influencial he would be throughout history. Because of his life, I had to read many books in seminary, and I had to take many tests.The Diet of Worms was a general assembly (a Diet) of the estates of the Holy Roman Empire that took place in Worms, a small town on the Rhine river located in what is now Germany. It was conducted from January 28 to May 25, 1521, with Emperor Charles V presiding. Although other issues were dealt with at the Diet of Worms, it is most memorable for addressing Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation.
The previous year, Pope Leo X had issued the Papal bull Exsurge Domine, demanding that Luther retract forty-one of his 95 theses criticising the Church. Luther was summoned by the Emperor to appear before the Imperial Diet. Prince Frederick III, Elector of Saxony obtained an agreement that if Luther appeared he would be promised safe passage to and from the meeting. Such a guarantee was essential after the treatment of Jan Hus, who was tried and executed at the Council of Constance in 1415, despite a safe conduct pass. Luther's DefenseEmperor Charles V opened the imperial Diet of Worms on January 22, 1521. Luther was summoned to renounce or reaffirm his views. When he appeared before the assembly on April 16, Johann Eck, an assistant of Archbishop of Trier (Richard Greiffenklau zu Vollraths at that time), acted as spokesman for the Emperor. He presented Luther with a table filled with copies of his writings. Eck asked Luther if the books were his and if he still believed what these works taught. Luther requested time to consider his answer. It was granted.
Luther prayed, consulted with friends and mediators and presented himself before the Diet the next day. When the counselor put the same questions to Luther, he said: "They are all mine, but as for the second question, they are not all of one sort." Luther went on to categorize the writings into three categories:
The first category was of works which were well received by even his enemies. These he would not reject.
The second category of his books attacked the abuses, lies and desolation of the Christian world. These, Luther believed, could not safely be rejected without encouraging abuses to continue.
The third and final group contained attacks on individuals. He apologized for the harsh tone of these writings, but did not reject the substance of what he taught in them. If he could be shown from the Scriptures that he was in error, Luther continued, he would reject them.
Counsellor Eck, after countering that Luther had no right to teach contrary to the Church through the ages, asked Luther to plainly answer the question: "Would Luther reject his books and the errors they contain?"
Luther replied: "Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe."
According to tradition, Luther is then said to have spoken these words: "Hier stehe ich. Ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir. Amen." ("Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.") Some scholars now question whether these famous words were actually spoken, however, since only the last four appear in contemporary accounts.
Private conferences were held to determine Luther's fate. Before a decision was reached, Luther left Worms on the 25th or 26th of April with a twenty-day safe-conduct. Edict of WormsAfter the safe-conduct had elapsed, Charles issued the Edict of Worms on May 25, 1521 (antedated as of May 8, 1521), declaring Martin Luther an outlaw, banning his writings, and requiring his arrest: "We want him to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic".[1]
The Papal nuncio at the Diet, Girolamo Aleandro, had drawn up and proposed the fierce denunciations of Luther embodied in the edict, which permitted anyone to kill Luther without legal consequence. The edict was seen as a divisive move that distressed more moderate men, in particular Desiderius Erasmus. AftermathDespite the agreement that he could return home safely, it was privately understood that Luther would soon be arrested and punished. To protect him from this fate, Prince Frederick seized him on his way home and hid him in Wartburg Castle. It was during his time in Wartburg that Luther began his German translation of the Bible. The edict was temporarily suspended at the Diet of Speyer in 1526 but then reinstated in 1529.
When Luther eventually came out of hiding, the emperor was preoccupied with military concerns, and because of rising public support for Luther among the German people, the Edict of Worms was never enforced. Luther continued to call for reform until his death in 1546.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Are all Countries birthed by battle?
Many locals are relieved that former chairman Radjabu is in jail. Radjabu is a devout muslim who helped get the current president, Pierre Nkurunziza into power before being ousted by Pierre Nkurunziza and his party. Many people I've talked with here (except muslims) suggest that Radjabu has been responsible for many people "disapearing" or being imprisoned. I've heard it said that Radjabu "inspired" various people in leadership positions that do not promote Radjabu's agenda to leave their posts. Heavily funded by Islamic nations, Radjabu was not short of resources. Since being ousted, rumor had it that he was planning a coup d' etat. But then all the sudden on my birthday (April 27th) he was arrested. I remember driving home to lunch with Sara and Trina as Police directed us away from our usual route home, at the time I didn't realize we drive right passed Radjabu's house on our way home. Later that day we discovered that Radjabu was arrested at his home. Then a few weeks later Trina and I were walking to French class, when we saw a bunch of police in riot gear, and large crowds of people. As we walked around the police and crowds we said to each other things like: "I wonder what's going on here" and "when our French improves we'll be able to ask some of these people." Later that evening we heard that Muslims were rallying for Radjabu to be released outside the high court, and riot police were put on damage control. Apparently two people were injured. I guess I feel very humbled and privileged to see with my own eyes the building of a country. Almost as if I were visiting America in the first hundred years of it's development granted this is on a much smaller scale. But I feel like I get to see first hand the people that will be written about in Burundi history books. I see the people who come out on top, the people who get thrown in jail, the people that flee the country, the people who suffer great trajedy, the people who are beginning to thrive, etc. Anyway, here's a recent article on Radjabu:
Burundi's High Court has ruled that a former ruling party chairperson will stay in jail for a month before the start of his trial, his lawyer said.Hussein Radjabu was arrested on April 27 on accusations of trying to destabilise the tiny central African country of Burundi. He denies the accusations, saying they were fabricated by government's intelligence services. Prosper Niyoyankana, Radjabu's lawyer, said he was disappointed by the court's decision, made late on Monday, and would appeal for a provisional release of his client.Radjabu was ousted as boss of the ruling CNDD-FDD party in February, and several of his allies have also since been sacked from the government. Early this month police dispersed about 200 protesters who were demonstrating in support of Radjabu outside a court.CNDD-FDD came under scrutiny after it said last year it had foiled a plan to overthrow President Pierre Nkurunziza. The party denies allegations it invented the plot to quash dissent.Emerging from more than a decade of ethnic civil war that killed about 300 000 people, Burundi was seen as an African success story. But claims of corruption and rights abuses have clouded that.
Burundi's High Court has ruled that a former ruling party chairperson will stay in jail for a month before the start of his trial, his lawyer said.Hussein Radjabu was arrested on April 27 on accusations of trying to destabilise the tiny central African country of Burundi. He denies the accusations, saying they were fabricated by government's intelligence services. Prosper Niyoyankana, Radjabu's lawyer, said he was disappointed by the court's decision, made late on Monday, and would appeal for a provisional release of his client.Radjabu was ousted as boss of the ruling CNDD-FDD party in February, and several of his allies have also since been sacked from the government. Early this month police dispersed about 200 protesters who were demonstrating in support of Radjabu outside a court.CNDD-FDD came under scrutiny after it said last year it had foiled a plan to overthrow President Pierre Nkurunziza. The party denies allegations it invented the plot to quash dissent.Emerging from more than a decade of ethnic civil war that killed about 300 000 people, Burundi was seen as an African success story. But claims of corruption and rights abuses have clouded that.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Burundi is coming to you!
Some 8,500 Burundian refugees who fled their country in 1972 are to be resettled in the United States this year and the first batch of 88 flew from Kibondo Camp in western Tanzania this morning to the Kenyan capital Nairobi en route to their new US homes. Some 3,000 of the "1972 Burundian refugees" - about 35 percent of the number accepted for resettlement - are expected to leave Kibondo for Nairobi and then travel on to various US cities, such as Atlanta and Phoenix, over the next 15 weeks. The whole process is expected to be completed by the end of this year. refugees will undergo an orientation workshop organized by IOM. This will help prepare them for a new life in the US and ease their integration. The "1972 Burundians" represent one of the world's most protracted refugee situations and resettlement is the only viable durable solution for most of them. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians fled to neighbouring countries that year to escape ethnic violence which killed an estimated 200,000 people. Children of these refugees born in exile were also being considered for resettlement in the US. Some of the refugees have been displaced several times in the Great Lakes region. In 1972, thousands of the Burundians fled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. But they had to move to Tanzania when conflict erupted in these countries in the 1990s. At the same time, some Burundians returned home after several years of exile but had to seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries once more when a new wave of violence swept their country. While repatriation of Burundian refugees remains a priority, we believe that successful repatriation and reintegration of this particular group is not possible. After nearly 35 years in exile, they would face complex and unresolved land issues. Moreover, some refugees believe they are viewed as outsiders and would never be able to fully integrate in Burundi. Those born in exile identify closely with their host country, Tanzania, but it cannot offer them local integration. Tanzania still hosts some 276,000 refugees, mainly from Burundi and the DRC.
Relevant LinksCentral Africa East Africa Tanzania Refugees and Displacement Burundi
Relevant LinksCentral Africa East Africa Tanzania Refugees and Displacement Burundi
Sunday, May 20, 2007
out sell
Arguably America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Arguably Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world. An interesting dance happens when an American (myself) goes to the market (anywhere outside my house) and buys an item from a local merchant. You immediately have one of the richest people in the world bartering for an item from one of the poorest people in the world. Some people call this a moral dilemma. I'm not one of them. Although I do feel really bad when I get a good deal. Where as in America, I feel really good when I get a good deal. But those are emotive responses, and i don't know how much they have to do with conscience. Sometimes I get bad deals, and I don't worry about it because I think to myself: "these people are really poor, good for them, they ripped me off this time, I hope they spend the money wisely (who really spends money wisely?)." Sometimes I get a bad deal and I think: "Lame! I shouldn't get ripped off just because I'm of the richest people in the world! Plus, I'm among the middle/low class of the richest people in the world! And I'm always livin' paycheck to paycheck, with meager savings at best!" Then I breathe heavily for a bit, and kick a rock, and think... "I'll show them next time" (as if they need more problems to deal with). I think my average right now is 50/50 but I have no way of confirming this. I'm pretty sure, I'll end up getting more and more good deals. Often times, I'm not even looking to buy something: usually Burundians will see a white person and immediately ask for money or try and sell something. On this particular sunny Saturday, I was heading to the "bucherie" to get some chicken with the belle and friends, and the vendors had already surrounded the car before I even turned it off. We looked out our windows only to see vegetables, wine, door beads, cell phones, cameras, flowers, clothes, shoes, fruit, etc... ad infinitum. The items were plastered against the window amidst smiling faces of Burundians shouting out prices. The price war had begun whether we were interested or not. The girls peeled out and headed into le burcherie. I decided to stand amidst the vendors and practice my french. After a few seconds it was clear my french was horrid and so was theirs, and I was having a blast! I only had about 6000 BF's in my pocket ($6.50) and nobody was trying to steal it. I didn't want to buy anything, but this one guy was getting visibly upset that I wasn't buying his wine. He started at $28 US. Oyah! I said, $2.00! The crowd erupted in a thunder of laughter. The time passed, many items shoved in my face, constantly I felt my pocket to see if my money was still there. I shouted numbers to the wine vendor, he shouted numbers back. A cheese vendor shoved 3 big blocks of cheese in my face... I checked my pocket. I pushed the cheese aside. I was up to $5.00's for the wine. He came down to $18.00. A small boy grabs my shorts and shouts "give me money." I look down at him: "why should I give you money, what will you buy!" He gets scared and steps back... more english than he could handle. He was immediately replaced buy a bag of pink toilet paper with a small man shouting behind it: dix nuit mil franc! The wine guy shouted at me again, he was down to $12. I was now stickin' firm at $5.oo and wondering about the repercussions of pink toilet paper. I stumbled into a deep pot hole as people pressed items against me for me to grab. As I stumbled back and the crowd stumbled in perfect sync with me. I was loving every second. Pocket check... cash still there. Smells were becoming more potent... possibly the wind blew some sewage smell in the direction of our bartering. The BO was mixing with the sewage smell producing an aroma that would never be bottled. The shouting all blended into one tuneless melody, an aggressive sountrack to all the food and materials shoved in my face. If only I could film these interactions I thought. I knew from previous experience, people get really ticked off when you bust out a camera. The venders were crowding in more loudly, for me it was linguistic cultural fun... for them: life and death... at least it was their livelihood. The girls came back and got in the car I told my friend: "The wine vender is down to 9,000 BFU. " "I'll buy it if you get him to $5.oo" she said (we were making chicken tikimasala, and wine makes the spicy sauce irresistible). We were on the same page, plus we didn't even know if wine was really in the bottle. The vender shoved the bottle into my stomach: "6,000BFU! Tis a good price!" He shouted. My friend agreed. We paid the vendor and left the scene. We did the dance, we fought the price war: did we both loose? Did somebody win? Cultural entertainment or survival? A bit of both to be sure.Fruits and veggie venders up country
You wouldn't know it by this pick but Trina loves banannas
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Peace talks
Here is a local news update concerning the present peace talks. Interestingly, on our hike up country a few months back we encountered a faction of the FNL group that recently decided to support the current Government. Consequently, I had a very positive experience with the FNL, this is mainly because Dan has "incredible native skills" to quote Aaron Brose, Dan's son. Dan talked with, offered food, and mainly just got to know the soldiers. I found the commanding officer to be paticularly nice. We conversed in my limmited french, and used some english. Though at the end of the day. He didn't want any pictures with me (understandably). Here's the article
CENTRAL REGION NEWS
South African to broker Burundi peace talks again
BUJUMBURA, May 14 -- A senior South African government official is scheduled to travel to Dar es Salaam this week to talk with leaders of Burundi's rebel group Forces for National Liberation (FNL) about the stalled peace process in the country.
South African Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula, who was in Bujumbura over the weekend, is to meet NFL leaders in the Tanzanian city.
The FNL quit a joint ceasefire monitoring team last month, complaining that the government troops had not withdrawn from areas under the group's control. The withdrawal was one of the terms of the truce signed in September last year in Dar es Salaam.
Though the rebel group and the Burundian government have both said they were ready for discussions, they have not yet agreed on when and where to discuss the problem.
The South African minister said that he had planned to travel to Dar es Salaam while FNL leaders said that they feared for their safety in Bujumbura, capital of Burundi.
CENTRAL REGION NEWS
South African to broker Burundi peace talks again
BUJUMBURA, May 14 -- A senior South African government official is scheduled to travel to Dar es Salaam this week to talk with leaders of Burundi's rebel group Forces for National Liberation (FNL) about the stalled peace process in the country.
South African Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula, who was in Bujumbura over the weekend, is to meet NFL leaders in the Tanzanian city.
The FNL quit a joint ceasefire monitoring team last month, complaining that the government troops had not withdrawn from areas under the group's control. The withdrawal was one of the terms of the truce signed in September last year in Dar es Salaam.
Though the rebel group and the Burundian government have both said they were ready for discussions, they have not yet agreed on when and where to discuss the problem.
The South African minister said that he had planned to travel to Dar es Salaam while FNL leaders said that they feared for their safety in Bujumbura, capital of Burundi.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Cornerstone offering well received!
In response to the famine in Burundi, Cornerstone church took an offering just a few weeks ago to feed some of the starving people in the Kayanza province. I have begun to edit a video I am putting together for their church so they can "taste and see" those people who recieved grace from Christ and the church of Cornerstone. Here are the facts:
Cornerstone raised over 30k to give away to the people of Burundi.
This provided 23kilos of beans per family, and over two thousand families trecked to the food distribution point... which tends to be as far as the big dump truck can make it into the country. This time it happened to be a school a few miles south of the city of Kayanza.
One of the ways World Relief works is from Church to church (this time from Cornerstone to eleven local churches in Kayanza), so we networked with the 11 local church pastors in Kayanza to determine who gets the beans. We also feed one "commune" or group of hills at a time in order to bring the communities up together so that there is little-to-no jealousy or inequity as to who recieves food and who doesn't (much different for sponser a child/individual model). It is one of our goals to feed as many of these faminished people as possible and we continue to distribute food as money is committed (Mars Hill and a few other churches will also provide for future distributions). This particular "commune" consisted of 11 hills which are home to these two thousand families... so the 11 pastors who made the lists of who recieves beans, tend to list responsible people who are generous, mature, people, who will plant and work hard. That way, the whole commune will hopefully support each other as they endure the hardship together. Food distributions can get ugly, riots, starving people, opinions flying about whose not being treated fairly, poisonings etc... but this distribution had no violence. I did see one lady get hit with a stick by a soldier while she picked up beans that fell to the ground... this was because she was in the path of men carrying 220lbs bags of beans to put in a pile, and she could have tripped them up and people would get hurt, and if people get hurt... there are no decent doctors in the country of Burundi, so suffering ensues, and more violence may result. All this to say that the cornerstone food distribution went extremely well. No riots, no injuries, and the people were very grateful. It was very humbling, and you never get over this sort of experience, and when you're at one of these events, what you see most glaring is your own materialist wealth. We are incredibly blessed, we just are. I met the governor of the region as well as the administrator, and I gave a short little schpeel to the governor and administrator and all the people (this is a must, you have to give a word if you are white...plus they assumed I was from cornerstone). So I pretended I was Dave Degraaf (without the french skills), and I told them of Cornerstone church in Oregon, the people and Pastor Barry, and fortunately I researched cornerstones website so I was very familiar with all the goings on as well as the philosophy (they love hearing about the churches in America who help them). So thank you Cornerstone, your gift was very well recieved. Below are some pics of the food distribution that you provided for. (click on the pictures to enlarge, and a video will be available soon)
Below is a pile of beans that will get distributed to the families that reside on one of the hills
Pastor Pierre hands out gospel tracks and bible info in Kirundi
A few of the people who trecked to the distribution (some walked for several days)
Cornerstone raised over 30k to give away to the people of Burundi.
This provided 23kilos of beans per family, and over two thousand families trecked to the food distribution point... which tends to be as far as the big dump truck can make it into the country. This time it happened to be a school a few miles south of the city of Kayanza.
One of the ways World Relief works is from Church to church (this time from Cornerstone to eleven local churches in Kayanza), so we networked with the 11 local church pastors in Kayanza to determine who gets the beans. We also feed one "commune" or group of hills at a time in order to bring the communities up together so that there is little-to-no jealousy or inequity as to who recieves food and who doesn't (much different for sponser a child/individual model). It is one of our goals to feed as many of these faminished people as possible and we continue to distribute food as money is committed (Mars Hill and a few other churches will also provide for future distributions). This particular "commune" consisted of 11 hills which are home to these two thousand families... so the 11 pastors who made the lists of who recieves beans, tend to list responsible people who are generous, mature, people, who will plant and work hard. That way, the whole commune will hopefully support each other as they endure the hardship together. Food distributions can get ugly, riots, starving people, opinions flying about whose not being treated fairly, poisonings etc... but this distribution had no violence. I did see one lady get hit with a stick by a soldier while she picked up beans that fell to the ground... this was because she was in the path of men carrying 220lbs bags of beans to put in a pile, and she could have tripped them up and people would get hurt, and if people get hurt... there are no decent doctors in the country of Burundi, so suffering ensues, and more violence may result. All this to say that the cornerstone food distribution went extremely well. No riots, no injuries, and the people were very grateful. It was very humbling, and you never get over this sort of experience, and when you're at one of these events, what you see most glaring is your own materialist wealth. We are incredibly blessed, we just are. I met the governor of the region as well as the administrator, and I gave a short little schpeel to the governor and administrator and all the people (this is a must, you have to give a word if you are white...plus they assumed I was from cornerstone). So I pretended I was Dave Degraaf (without the french skills), and I told them of Cornerstone church in Oregon, the people and Pastor Barry, and fortunately I researched cornerstones website so I was very familiar with all the goings on as well as the philosophy (they love hearing about the churches in America who help them). So thank you Cornerstone, your gift was very well recieved. Below are some pics of the food distribution that you provided for. (click on the pictures to enlarge, and a video will be available soon)
Below is a pile of beans that will get distributed to the families that reside on one of the hills
Pastor Pierre hands out gospel tracks and bible info in Kirundi
A few of the people who trecked to the distribution (some walked for several days)
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
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.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Mums the word
Where would we be without moms said the pastor? "Unborn" I thought to myself as I stared at a line of ants crawling uniformly on the concrete flooring (our church is an outdoor church with no walls, I love it... especially when it rains violently with thunder and lighting). I love "mums" as the Britts say. I love me mum. Me mum spoiled me growing up. Me mum helped put me through college, and me mum helped me start our little video adventure that resulted in me being in the heart of Afrique. These are the flowers I would give you if I could mum. Trina did some negociating and got them for a little less the $3.00 U.S. We did have the pleasure of giving these flowers to our African American mum here in Burundi whom we love dearly, the amazing Mrs. Tambry Brose. I've never met her like. God has truely blessed us to put us in the hands of such a fabulous woman. I hope you can meet her someday mum. I know you'd love her. In Burundi, you are a girl until you have a child. Then at the moment you have the child, you are a woman... a woman and a mom at the same time. Also, moms in Burundi are named after their first born son. So for example, Tambry Brose, would be called: Momma Andrew. If and when you comes to Burundi, you will be called: Momma Jesse. Moms in Burundi enjoy a higher status, than girl. If a woman never marries and she's 55years old, or she married and never had a baby she would still be called a girl by everybody in her tribe/hill. If you are male, and you are not married you are a boy. The moment you marry, you are a man. But that's a post for another time. So, as far as Seth and Trina are viewed by the locals concerning our status in Burundi: Seth is a man, and Trina is a girl (I'm robbin' the cradle mum). Most likely Trina will not enjoy woman status in Burundi. I love you mum. Cheers
Friday, May 11, 2007
So good
These are not the Congo Mtns
The Congo mountains command my eye, more out of grace than pride. The handiwork of a master creator. The sun beats down unrepentant, perspiration is predestined. I walk to french class excited. A four mile commute with Burundi foot traffic. Why drive? Bikes, cars, trucks, and mottos fight for pavement, but the pot-holes always win. Walking is a lost art. We exchange looks, bazungu and murundi. I have yet to win a local starring competition. Dust in all and through all, more than enough to go around. Should I describe the smells? Nah, won't even try. A local murundi says hi in Italian. A student to talk to. He speaks Kirundi, and french and english besides . What's that? Your brother is in Sweden? You only need 3000 US dollars and all is well? Not this time. Where do you work? Sounds good to me. See you around. What a town. What a culture. What a place. The people, the Country. So beautiful. So tragic. I love this place. Life is good.
So good.
Love the yard monkey
Sara, Tambry, and Trina walk with the locals
The Congo mountains command my eye, more out of grace than pride. The handiwork of a master creator. The sun beats down unrepentant, perspiration is predestined. I walk to french class excited. A four mile commute with Burundi foot traffic. Why drive? Bikes, cars, trucks, and mottos fight for pavement, but the pot-holes always win. Walking is a lost art. We exchange looks, bazungu and murundi. I have yet to win a local starring competition. Dust in all and through all, more than enough to go around. Should I describe the smells? Nah, won't even try. A local murundi says hi in Italian. A student to talk to. He speaks Kirundi, and french and english besides . What's that? Your brother is in Sweden? You only need 3000 US dollars and all is well? Not this time. Where do you work? Sounds good to me. See you around. What a town. What a culture. What a place. The people, the Country. So beautiful. So tragic. I love this place. Life is good.
So good.
Love the yard monkey
Sara, Tambry, and Trina walk with the locals
Perspectives on the short term mission movement
Dan Brose writes: "In a recent article in Christianity Today, Pastor Oscar Muriu from Nairobi Chapel gives a very interesting interview that contrasts, compares, and advises northern and southern churches. The following excerpt is worth discussing as our partner churches prepare for trips to the AGL region this summer to learn, engage, build relationships, and minister."
Now, if you're an American and you read this try not to take offence, after all, self criticism is of much value. It is important to see how we are viewed by those outside America in order to get a reference point for how we should start relating in cultures outside the states. If you are intensly pro-short term mission feel free to send me a thesis on why you are, and I'll be happy to post it, I have been on a couple of short term teams myself. Here's the Interview with Pastor Muriu, and his opinion is shared by many Africans in all 52 nations.
"Your church has a huge vision. How can churches in the West help? We're used to sending short-term mission teams over to paint walls …
Yes, and after you leave, we repaint many of the walls that you painted! (Laughter.)
Okay, seriously, do short-term mission trips help?
They work for the West; they don't work for us very well. We don't call them "short-term missions" any more. We call them "short-term learning opportunities." The problem with calling it a mission is that it implies an agenda. There's something I need to come and do for you, or to you, to better your life. In reality that doesn't happen in two weeks. Life is far too complex for that.
The greatest benefit is that you come and you learn. Unfortunately, not enough short-termers are listening to the two-thirds world, who receive them.
Americans tend to be very poorly informed about the world. America generates enough news on its own that its news organizations don't have space for international news. Yet America exports so many movies and so much news that everybody around the world knows about America, whereas American knows about nobody.
So what happens when there is an interchange?
As a Kenyan I was quite familiar with American long before the first time I came here. The culture shock for me is minimal. But Americans know almost nothing about Kenya. And so the culture shock when they come is very deep. Some of them see destitute poverty for the first time ever.
When you see poverty in America, on your television, it is sanitized. But the first marker of poverty is that it smells. That's how you know real poverty: the smell. I have watched short-term missioners come in, and I've realized, Oh boy, we need to go and debrief quickly. Because they're weeping, they're broken, they have an immense sense of guilt. This is more about them than it is about what they came to do.
Are such "learning experiences" the best use of our resources?
The problem for Americans is that if a church isn't doing these things, it isn't cool, and the youth program isn't cool. So there's a lot of pressure for all youth programs to do this. Short-term experiences have their place, but they need to be more carefully constructed. All too often a church says, "We'd like to come for a short-term experience."
Then they say, in so many words, "We're going to do A, B, C, D, and we're in charge."
We want to say, "Guys, you're coming as our guests."
Do you know that when the President of the United States travels, his people take over all the security of the nations he travels to? When he came to East Africa, the airports were completely taken over by Marines. The local policemen were moved out. The attitude was We don't trust you. Your people could be terrorists. We'll do things our way.
Short-term missions tend to be like that: they come and completely take over the agenda, the programs, the life of the church. But that's not the way you visit a friend.
Besides bringing an agenda, what tends to distinguish the American personality?
Americans have two great things going for them culturally. One is that Americans are problem-solvers. Every time I come to the U.S., I like to spend a couple hours in a Wal-Mart. I find solutions to problems that I never thought of!
The rest of the world, even Europe, isn't so intent on solving inconveniences. We tend to live with our problems. In America you almost never go into a house where the sinks have two taps, a cold water tap and a hot water tap, because that means you have to mix the water in the sink to get it to the right temperature. You have these single faucets that mix the water before it comes out. It makes perfect sense. But that's a problem the rest of the world wouldn't even think to solve.
Americans don't easily live with a problem—they want to solve the problem and move on. The rest of the world is more willing to live with the problems.
The second great thing for Americans is that your educational system teaches people to think and to express themselves. So a child who talks and asserts himself in conversation is actually awarded higher marks than the one who sits quietly.
How are these traits seen, say, in Africa?
Those two things that are such great gifts in the home context become a curse when you go into missions. Americans come to Africa, and they want to solve Africa. But you can't solve Africa. It's much too complex for that. And that really frustrates Americans.
And the assertiveness you are taught in school becomes a curse on the field. I often say to American missionaries, "When the American speaks, the conversation is over." The American is usually the most powerful voice at the table. And when the most powerful voice gives its opinion, the conversation is over.
So what should talkative, problem-solving Americans do?
I tell Americans: "We're going into this meeting. Don't say anything! Sit there and hold your tongue." When you sit around a table, the people speaking always glance at the person they believe is the most powerful figure at the table. They will do that with you when you're the only American. And at some point, they will ask you: "What do you think?"
Don't say anything. If you say anything, reflect back with something like "I have heard such wisdom at this table. I am very impressed." And leave it at that. Affirm them for the contribution they have made. Don't give your own opinion.
Americans find that almost impossible. They do not know how to hold their tongue. They sit there squirming, because they're conditioned to express their opinions. It's a strength at home, but it becomes a curse on the field.
In a sense western missions has been marked by that. But isn't it strange that Jesus not only entered society incarnate at the weakest point, as a defenseless child who needed the care of his host community, but he also told his disciples: "Do not go with money; do not go with a second pair of shoes; go in a stance of vulnerability; be dependent on the communities you visit"? Isn't it interesting that for 30 years he doesn't speak out; doesn't reveal himself; he remains quiet, and only after 30 years of listening and learning the culture does he begin to speak.
So how can Americans communicate well with Africans?
When we communicate in Africa, we are very guarded in what we say. We don't want to offend. Westerners say that Africans never tell you what they really think. They tell you what you want to hear. And yes, that's true! Because from our perspective, every engagement between two people always has the potential of leading to a lifelong relationship, or preventing a lifelong friendship.
Africa is a very relational continent. It's the relationships that make society work.
In the U.S. things work irrespective of relationships; in fact, if you have a relationship, it can sometimes work against you. In Africa it's the opposite. So we are always guarded and gracious in our communication. We want to guard the relationship. When the Bible says, "Speak the truth in love," we err on the side of love. The possibility of a relationship means I cannot tell you the total truth until I am secure in this relationship with you, until I know that the truth will not hurt this relationship.
You do it differently. Speaking the truth has a higher premium in your context, so you are unguarded. You speak the truth, call a spade a spade, at whatever cost. And if the relationship suffers, well, that's too bad, the important thing is that the truth was spoken.
We never do that. I've had to learn to be more assertive in my dealings with Americans just so they would hear me! I have had to learn to speak truth more directly. Americans have to learn to listen to the relational side of things."
Now, if you're an American and you read this try not to take offence, after all, self criticism is of much value. It is important to see how we are viewed by those outside America in order to get a reference point for how we should start relating in cultures outside the states. If you are intensly pro-short term mission feel free to send me a thesis on why you are, and I'll be happy to post it, I have been on a couple of short term teams myself. Here's the Interview with Pastor Muriu, and his opinion is shared by many Africans in all 52 nations.
"Your church has a huge vision. How can churches in the West help? We're used to sending short-term mission teams over to paint walls …
Yes, and after you leave, we repaint many of the walls that you painted! (Laughter.)
Okay, seriously, do short-term mission trips help?
They work for the West; they don't work for us very well. We don't call them "short-term missions" any more. We call them "short-term learning opportunities." The problem with calling it a mission is that it implies an agenda. There's something I need to come and do for you, or to you, to better your life. In reality that doesn't happen in two weeks. Life is far too complex for that.
The greatest benefit is that you come and you learn. Unfortunately, not enough short-termers are listening to the two-thirds world, who receive them.
Americans tend to be very poorly informed about the world. America generates enough news on its own that its news organizations don't have space for international news. Yet America exports so many movies and so much news that everybody around the world knows about America, whereas American knows about nobody.
So what happens when there is an interchange?
As a Kenyan I was quite familiar with American long before the first time I came here. The culture shock for me is minimal. But Americans know almost nothing about Kenya. And so the culture shock when they come is very deep. Some of them see destitute poverty for the first time ever.
When you see poverty in America, on your television, it is sanitized. But the first marker of poverty is that it smells. That's how you know real poverty: the smell. I have watched short-term missioners come in, and I've realized, Oh boy, we need to go and debrief quickly. Because they're weeping, they're broken, they have an immense sense of guilt. This is more about them than it is about what they came to do.
Are such "learning experiences" the best use of our resources?
The problem for Americans is that if a church isn't doing these things, it isn't cool, and the youth program isn't cool. So there's a lot of pressure for all youth programs to do this. Short-term experiences have their place, but they need to be more carefully constructed. All too often a church says, "We'd like to come for a short-term experience."
Then they say, in so many words, "We're going to do A, B, C, D, and we're in charge."
We want to say, "Guys, you're coming as our guests."
Do you know that when the President of the United States travels, his people take over all the security of the nations he travels to? When he came to East Africa, the airports were completely taken over by Marines. The local policemen were moved out. The attitude was We don't trust you. Your people could be terrorists. We'll do things our way.
Short-term missions tend to be like that: they come and completely take over the agenda, the programs, the life of the church. But that's not the way you visit a friend.
Besides bringing an agenda, what tends to distinguish the American personality?
Americans have two great things going for them culturally. One is that Americans are problem-solvers. Every time I come to the U.S., I like to spend a couple hours in a Wal-Mart. I find solutions to problems that I never thought of!
The rest of the world, even Europe, isn't so intent on solving inconveniences. We tend to live with our problems. In America you almost never go into a house where the sinks have two taps, a cold water tap and a hot water tap, because that means you have to mix the water in the sink to get it to the right temperature. You have these single faucets that mix the water before it comes out. It makes perfect sense. But that's a problem the rest of the world wouldn't even think to solve.
Americans don't easily live with a problem—they want to solve the problem and move on. The rest of the world is more willing to live with the problems.
The second great thing for Americans is that your educational system teaches people to think and to express themselves. So a child who talks and asserts himself in conversation is actually awarded higher marks than the one who sits quietly.
How are these traits seen, say, in Africa?
Those two things that are such great gifts in the home context become a curse when you go into missions. Americans come to Africa, and they want to solve Africa. But you can't solve Africa. It's much too complex for that. And that really frustrates Americans.
And the assertiveness you are taught in school becomes a curse on the field. I often say to American missionaries, "When the American speaks, the conversation is over." The American is usually the most powerful voice at the table. And when the most powerful voice gives its opinion, the conversation is over.
So what should talkative, problem-solving Americans do?
I tell Americans: "We're going into this meeting. Don't say anything! Sit there and hold your tongue." When you sit around a table, the people speaking always glance at the person they believe is the most powerful figure at the table. They will do that with you when you're the only American. And at some point, they will ask you: "What do you think?"
Don't say anything. If you say anything, reflect back with something like "I have heard such wisdom at this table. I am very impressed." And leave it at that. Affirm them for the contribution they have made. Don't give your own opinion.
Americans find that almost impossible. They do not know how to hold their tongue. They sit there squirming, because they're conditioned to express their opinions. It's a strength at home, but it becomes a curse on the field.
In a sense western missions has been marked by that. But isn't it strange that Jesus not only entered society incarnate at the weakest point, as a defenseless child who needed the care of his host community, but he also told his disciples: "Do not go with money; do not go with a second pair of shoes; go in a stance of vulnerability; be dependent on the communities you visit"? Isn't it interesting that for 30 years he doesn't speak out; doesn't reveal himself; he remains quiet, and only after 30 years of listening and learning the culture does he begin to speak.
So how can Americans communicate well with Africans?
When we communicate in Africa, we are very guarded in what we say. We don't want to offend. Westerners say that Africans never tell you what they really think. They tell you what you want to hear. And yes, that's true! Because from our perspective, every engagement between two people always has the potential of leading to a lifelong relationship, or preventing a lifelong friendship.
Africa is a very relational continent. It's the relationships that make society work.
In the U.S. things work irrespective of relationships; in fact, if you have a relationship, it can sometimes work against you. In Africa it's the opposite. So we are always guarded and gracious in our communication. We want to guard the relationship. When the Bible says, "Speak the truth in love," we err on the side of love. The possibility of a relationship means I cannot tell you the total truth until I am secure in this relationship with you, until I know that the truth will not hurt this relationship.
You do it differently. Speaking the truth has a higher premium in your context, so you are unguarded. You speak the truth, call a spade a spade, at whatever cost. And if the relationship suffers, well, that's too bad, the important thing is that the truth was spoken.
We never do that. I've had to learn to be more assertive in my dealings with Americans just so they would hear me! I have had to learn to speak truth more directly. Americans have to learn to listen to the relational side of things."
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
hey Chase Fam
So this is a little flick mainly geared for my family. The humor is geared toward them, and so is the content. Once again, this trip was a 30th birthday celebration, it was funded by Trina and myself, and it's just a little fluff piece of our road trip from Bujumbura to Uganda to raft the nile. We had to do some work in Kigali, so the Nile is just an 8 hour drive north from kigali... it was meant to be. It also was celebrating the last big brose family adventure before they return to the states, so their kids are in the video and their great friends the Vintons from Congo, who are new Congo friends of ours now. I'm sure Trina and I will be spending more time with them in the future. If you are not my family, you may still watch the video, but the video doesn't deal with any of the work we are doing here, which is why it's not on Trina's blog. Also, the names of some of the rapids on the nile, may be a little out of the ordinary for those not in the Chase family, but as far as names of rapids go, they are pretty middle of the road. I would also like to publicly let my fam know how excited I am about the newest member to the Chase family "baby Jane" and when she get's old enough she can watch this video and learn of her quirky uncle seth. Love you Baby Jane.
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