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At Kayanza 

Letter No. 2,                                                                                                         February 11th 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

Many thanks to all those who have sent emails 

Pat writes:

I face my Exodus class at Buye Bible College. There are 13 students. All are married. 7 are in Year 3 to be ordained in the summer. 6 are new arrivals in Year 1. There is no Year 2!

I see five familiar faces from last year. one  in his late forties, seasoned, tough and taciturn; another, late thirties, with personal charisma and a ready smile; a third, about thirty, hesitant in taking a lead but able; a fourth, mid twenties, sporty and outgoing, quick off the mark and keen to impress; the fifth, pent up and smouldering. I can see that smoke becoming holy smoke in the Lord's service.

The others come into focus. One of the newcomers has difficulty in reading, another has a strong local accent! But already there is comradeship and purpose developing. This could become a powerful gospel team in the diocese. They have differing abilities - but all love to sing! "Lord, be with us on our journey through Exodus. Take us to your mountain of promise and hope."

Pam has been following the water trail! One day my companions showed me the various springs around Buye hill. We climbed down a steep hillside and found a spring well protected with cement. Ladies were collecting water in jerry cans and some were washing their clothes and drying them on the grass or on low bushes. A man and other ladies were washing lower down in the river. It took us 17 minutes to climb up to the road - and we weren't carrying anything. How long would it take a lady who is pregnant, has a baby on her back, a toddler by her side, a hoe over her shoulder and a jerry can on her head? And she needs at least 4 jerry cans of water each day!

We saw a water pumping shed where the water is pumped along the valley to various taps. Women collect from the valley and the taps, but in the dry season, very often, the tap runs dry. Those on Buye hill have to collect from the valley in the Dry Season. One companion tells me that she needs 6 jerry cans each day and 10 on wash day.

Burundi is a land of mountains, hills and valleys. The roads sometimes cross the valleys but very often they will follow the ridges and curve around the valleys. Houses are built on the ridges and the sides of the mountains, so that for the women it is always necessary to go down into the valley to fetch the water.

We visited a church plant which was an agricultural centre, but the nearest water was 7 km away from a spring in the valley. We crossed this valley where a lot of households had planted rice. This is the Rainy Season and at one of the churches we had to wait for the rain to stop before we could leave. It was pouring off the roof of the church and off the Primary School and rushing down the murram path as a river. All this water is wasted and takes the top soil down to the valleys.

Travelling east towards Tanzania we saw some houses that had been built for returning refugees and each house had a gutter, down pipe and a cement tank. Elsewhere I have seen an example of a brick tank. Is it an impossible dream to imagine that every pastor and church plant leader has his own tank and that the church has a tank to help the local population? We have the information but not the local expertise - yet - and not the cash to make it a reality. "Lord, show us the way forward."

We leave Kayanza and Buye on Friday, spend one night in Bujumbura going south to Matana for the rest of our time out here. It will be good to look back and reflect on our time in the north. It has been a great time - made easier by staying with Steve and Anne - and we've enjoyed learning about their work.

With our love and thanks for your continuing prayer. 

Pat and Pam