Weddings in Burundi

Today is our 41st wedding anniversary. We seldom find time to celebrate it because in our "real life" there's too much Christmas hustle and bustle, but these mission years have made it easy to celebrate. No Christmas rush here. We went to dinner last night with the Frogleys for a joint celebration, Janet's birthday on Friday and our anniversary on Sunday. We went to a very nice restaurant and had good pizza in a pleasant environment with good company.

Many people in Burundi will be having December anniversaries. Saturday is wedding day here and we always see many of them, but this month there seems to be even more weddings.

Some weddings have huge numbers of guests and seem pretty fancy.

Everybody is in their fanciest dresses. Sometimes wedding clothes are part of the dowry.

They make long processionals from the church to the reception centers, like people do at home on the way from a funeral to the cemetery. They turn on their lights and load people in cars, the back of trucks, large and small, in transports and buses, on a motorcycle taxis and bikes. They decorate the car of the Bride and groom with paper flowers, fabric or ribbon and bows. Somebody is always standing in the back of a truck in front of the bride and groom videoing the whole processional. The group drives through town together to the reception, tying up traffic just horribly every Saturday.

The picture on the right is very typical with people in cars, moto-taxis, and standing in trucks , all dressed in the wedding best. Last night it took us twice the average time it takes to get to the restaurant. There were at least five weddings with long lines of wedding goers with hazard lights flashing and cameras rolling enjoying the December wedding celebrations.

A Tiny Miracle

Sister Malabi asked if we could have a Children's Christmas party for the new Bujumbura group. We thought it was a good idea and they wanted our support. What were we thinking? It turned out that we were in charge. Sister Malabi had a family wedding in the Congo and she and Frere Malabi weren't even able to come.

We held our planning meeting last week. I went prepared with a narration with congregational songs and parts for the children. Our first meeting was a disaster!! I spoke English with a little French. Sister Frogley spoke English. Most of the Moms spoke Swahili or Kirundi only. The children spoke Swahili, Kirundi and a smattering of French and only about half of the 15 children there read in any language. We tried to plan with our terrible language problems and when we left I wasn't sure who, if anybody,would be there for the party, let alone be prepared with parts, scriptures or anything else. So, I stressed out all week. We were totally unsure who and how many people would be there. We made banana bread for 60 and Thursday Veronique and Anne Marie Malabi, Sister Frogley and I filled treat bags for 30 children, just hoping we would have somebody come, but that not all of Bujumbura would show up.

We had no idea what to expect.

We arrived at the church almost two hours early and found our cute little non-members Anicet and his sister, Mireille, waiting for us as always. They come alone and are regularly there before we arrive. He speaks only Kurundi, but he knows what we need done and is always there to set up chairs, pass out books or do whatever needs doing. Little Mireille follows behind him wearing a smile that just melts your heart and Anicet watches over her tenderly. Anicet had taken a part and the elders promised to help him learn it. Just before the meeting the elders came and apologized for not having helped him learn his part. To all our surprise, somehow, Anicet had learned his French part perfectly. It was a big surprise since he speaks no French. He was so pleased with himself when he did it flawlessly in the program. Little Mireille put one of the wise men in place and was pretty happy with herself too.

We set things up, cut banana bread, poured the apple juice and waited. By the time we got things prepared and it was time to start, we had 24 children and their parents there. Wow!!

Some of the children had never practiced with us, but we gave them quick instructions on where to put the nativity figures and we began. Each little person who took a part last week had them perfectly memorized and were brilliant! Those who didn't have speaking parts put nativity pieces on the table as the others took turns speaking. Brent narrated beautifully. I directed traffic. Elder Frogley filled in reading scriptures no child had prepared. Ann Marie Malabi directed the children in their music and games, which the children loved doing and the parents loved watching.

They sang two songs-I am a Child of God and We Wish You A Merry Christmas. Pretty good for only being in the church for a month or two, having no Primary organized yet and learning the songs last week after church in a language that most of them don't speak. It was awesome!

It was a VERY GRAND, WONDERFUL SUCCESS!! It was a tiny miracle.

We ended the program with the elders doing a beautiful rendition of Silent Night.

Then it was banana bread, apple juice and spiced nuts for everybody and our great elders spontaneously began to sing Christmas carols for us.

I've never been happier with a Christmas program in all my life! It wasn't fancy or impressive by some standards. But it was a great success as our Children's Christmas Fete and another good first for our little group in Bujumbura.

African Nativities

We have collected nativities for the last few years. Last year in the Congo we looked for one and were most disappointed not to find a single one. But this year we made up for our failure in a big way. We now have four nativities.

This one is Burundian. The pieces are very nicely carved and also very large. They're about 10-14 inches tall. On the right is the shepherd in the big wooden nativity contrasted with the tiny banana leaf shepherd.

This nativity is tiny. It's Congolese and made from banana leaves and came in a box that was also woven from banana leaves. These figures are only about 1-2 inches tall, but are very intricately made. It was made by a member who we met in Kenya and is done after the style of Congolese figures.

This is the mother and child. We got it in Burundi and have seen this several places here. It must be a traditional Burundian style of nativity.

This is a Masai nativity. It was made by the same artist who made the banana leaf nativity and is very primitive. It's made of ebony. It has Masai figures from Kenya and is very interesting. The wise men are in traditional medicine man dress with feathered head pieces, the shepherds are dressed like the herdsman who still today tend the precious Masai cattle using clubs to ward off lions and other predators. You will notice that all the people have elongated ear lobes, which is typical of the Masai tribe. Both Mary and Joseph have shaved heads, which is done among the Masai when a couple has a child. It represents the lifting of a burden of childlessness from their heads. The traditional African animals replace the usual nativity animals.

Each nativity has a story about its creation or acquisition. We will love seeing them every year to remind us of our time in Africa and our special calling to proclaim the birth, life and atonement of our Savior.

Short but Sweet

This week we had a very short, but very sweet visit from Elder Paul Koelliker of the 70, his wife,

Ann, and Pres. and Sister Packer. They came for just 24 hours. They flew in at 1:30 am on Tuesday and flew out at 1:30 am on Wednesday. It's a grueling trip with a 7 hour layover in Kenya. They're on the first leg of an 11 day mission tour. What a challenging life these leaders have as they trek all over to serve the African people.

Packers and Koellikers

We got them hotel rooms where they could relax & sleep for 4 hours before our busy day began.

By 8:30 we were at the hotel for a quick breakfast and review of the day's activities.

Then we were off to zone conference where we were well taught and enjoyed lunch together.

Sisters Frogley, Koelliker, Packer and Lorraine visited a few shops.

That was followed by a meeting for the men with the missionary leadership

and a quick stop for the ladies at the souvenir market.

We all met at the site of the dedication of the land by Elder Holland. The men hiked up the hill to the monument where the dedication was held and stopped to take a few pictures along the way.

Elder Koelliker, Pres. Packer and Brent..............Elder Frogley, Elder Koelliker and Brent

The ladies waited below the monument and tried to communicate with some local children,

who spoke only Kirundi. That indicates that they're too poor to attend school.

The only word they knew in French was" l'argent" (money).

Local children gathered at the water source.... Brent and Elder Koelliker share a quiet moment

On the way home we happened upon a group of Burundian drummers and enjoyed quite a show.

Burundi is famous for its drummers and at night we often hear them , but hadn't seen them before. President Packer asked them if Brent could play with them and was told that he could for $50. Needless to say, he didn't join them, but it was a great show.

Then we went back to our house to relax, visit, share our concerns and desires for Burundi,

have dinner and wait for their 1:30 departure. It was indeed a short, but very sweet visit.

Women's Day

This week we had a bit of a crazy time with baptisms. We've been holding our baptisms at the pool where our American member lives. Brother Willis works for the American Embassy. It's a very nice place and they have been very accommodating to us. The first week it was sparkling and beautiful. By the next time they told us that the pump wasn't working. but they would empty and refill it. When we arrived it was pretty green. They told us that they would be getting the pump fixed, but knowing how things go in Africa, we decided on Saturday to go and take a look for ourselves. There was NO water in the pool. They had drained it and told us that they wouldn't be filling it until they get a new pump from Nairobi. Who knows when that will be. It was interesting that they didn't think we would need to know that ahead of time, but then TIA! Rule #1 applies.

So, we frantically started making calls to find another place to do our baptisms. We knew that we would have some disappointed missionaries and baptismal candidates if we had to postpone the service. We even checked out the lake again. We were about to give up when we got a call saying that the hotel where the men stayed in Aug. had been known to allow baptisms in their pool. It was going to work out after all.

So, on Sunday we had a wonderful Sacrament meeting with 80 people in attendance. Since our membership is only about 35, that's quite remarkable. It was testimony meeting and probably more than half of the people who bore their testimonies were people who desire baptism and bore witness of the truths of the gospel, but have not yet been baptized. Most of the others who spoke have been members of the church for less than two months. They bore sweet, powerful testimonies of the truth of the gospel, God's love and blessing to them in finding the true church, their love for the Book of Mormon and their support for the prophet. It is quite a humbling and remarkable experience to witness such a testimony meeting.

Then we went to the Source du Nil Hotel for the baptisms. As we drove there we saw members walking along the streets in small groups, looking quite conspicuous in their white shirts and ties.

We found a private little place in the shade to hold our meeting. It was very touching to stand in a circle and sing and talk with these good saints.

The pool was very nice and very public! We had to pay the customary swimming fee of $3.00 per person who got in the pool. They assured us that they would ask the people in the pool to move to the other end when we were doing the baptisms. It turned out that when were started everybody just spontaneously stopped swimming and we had a group of about 20 swimmers hanging on the edge of the pool watching every baptism. They were quiet and respectful, so it was unusual, but OK.

We had 11 baptisms. There were four new young adult age members. It's so encouraging to see these strong young leaders of the future coming into the church.

Then we had a beautiful young mother baptized. She is the wife of a member. He joined the church when living in Kenya. We are so happy whenever a family is united in the church.

The other six baptisms were all members of Brother Johnson's family. He was baptized a month ago. He is a pastor who left his ministry to join the church. Sunday he baptized all the other members of his family who were old enough to be baptized. What a great day it was to see two families united in the church. They will be strong additions to our little group.

In the church in Africa we have about eight times as many men as women join the church. The men join without their families and then, maybe, after some time in the church, they invite their families to join them. So, it was exciting that this baptismal day was WOMEN'S DAY. This wonderful group of 7 women of all ages were baptized.( You may notice that hair is not an indicator as to whether you are male or female. African women bemoan the fact that they don't have much hair and use wigs and extensions to improve their natural hair.) There was a lot of hugging and sisterly giggling as they shared this special moment together.

Here are all 11 people who were baptized this week. We are beginning to feel like we are ready to move to the next step and have a real branch where all these good people can serve in callings and enjoy the full programs of the church. It's a great time in Bujumbura.