Taj Mahal

Mwaramutse!

It rained last night. Quite unusual for this time of year. The rainy season ended at the beginning of May, and the dry season started. So yesterday when the rolling thunder started, I just kind of assumed it would just be a nice noise, maybe some cool weather from the mountains to accompany it.  A few sprinkles came, no big deal. Then more sprinkles came. Then it started POURING. The most thunder I have ever heard during one storm. It stopped long enough for me to walk from the guy’s house to mine, and then started again. Pretty sure it rained all night. I woke up around 3am to the loudest thunder I have ever heard; it shook my whole house. Quite exciting. Now that I think about it, that probably explains why I totally missed my alarm this morning and had to get dressed and out of the house within 8 minutes. Good times.

This has been a great week. On Saturday, Operation Christmas Child gifts were distributed to children in the community. BYFC was able to get the container with tax exemption quite easily, which is a miracle. I love watching the tangible work that God is doing. Imana shimwe. On Sunday, we attempted to go to church at 9. Most churches in Burundi last about 4 hours, but since this one only lasts 2 hours and we got lost until about 10, we got smoothies instead. J I had my first big market experience as well. There was a roller blading team and live music right outside, not sure what was happening but it was cool to see from afar! We have a team coming on Saturday from the UK, they will be doing medical clinics here in Buj and in Cibitoke in the community.  There are basically teams coming weekly during the summer. A lot of the time they stay in my house, so I am usually playing hostess during the week. It’s fun to get some different personalities in the mix. Today I am going to Homes of Hope Cibitoke to see my babies! I am so ready to hug their necks and hold their sweet hands. I hope to visit them at least once a month while I am here. They are my joy.

I am now Aunt Sissy to beautiful baby Gracie Bell. I miss her. She is perfection. When I see her in December, she will be 6 months old already. Still in slight disbelief. It’s been an emotional ride since my first day here. My heart longs to be here, but longs to be with Gracie and my sister. God has such great plans for that baby girl. We do not even know the extent of all He will do through her. He is so faithful. Gracie Bell is a tangible miracle, and I love her so much!

We went to an Indian food restaurant on Saturday night, ‘Taj Mahal’. I am not a big Indian food fan. I have only had it twice in the states, and it just isn’t my favorite thing. So----Step one, order a drink. Out comes this thick white yogurt drink. By far the weirdest thing my taste buds have sipped out of a straw. It tasted like sweet, salted sour cream. Sip one was weird. Sip two was good. By sip three, I was hooked. Next came the garlic naan. MMMMMM. I love naan. Next was the main course. So I ordered this Chicken Seek Something, and was quite excited to eat some chicken for the first time in a month. To my surprise, out comes this sausage-like meat product….still don’t know what it was. I had one bite. Let’s just say I am a texture person. By the grace of God, Zack was kind enough to want to trade me. The rest of my meal was a fabulous combo of chicken, rice, naan, and sour cream through a straw. Delish. There is an Italian food place around here somewhere that I want to try. Maybe this weekend. I will keep you posted J 

Oh, and it's raining again.