I am not a natural blogger. When stuff happens, whether it
be good, great, or terrible, I say “Oh, that was _______” and then move on. So
I guess this is a blog to cover some things I should have been blogging about
in the last 2 months.
The last couple months I have been pondering on what it
really means to LOVE. Love is such a nice word. But to really do it takes some
work on our part. Reading and meditating on the Word, for one. Learning how to
be completely and wholly selfless. Learning to listen. Learning to do what
makes you uncomfortable for the sake of others. It’s not about simply
tolerating. It’s about choosing to love and treat people as Jesus DID. Jesus
was once alive on the earth, walking as a human. Same needs, same weaknesses,
same problems. The difference was Love. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 ‘Love endures
long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with
jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude
(unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not
insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not
touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it
pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and
unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under
anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every
person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures
everything [without weakening]. Love never fails.’ I don’t think any more of my
words on this are needed. I am grateful for the Word.
Since Gitega International Academy started in September, I
have been leading worship at the chapel there on Sunday mornings. I can
honestly tell you that I still sweat as much as I do during my Insanity
workout. Afterwards I walk outside and wipe whatever makeup is left on the
sleeve of my shirt, put my hair in a ponytail, and thank God for the gifts He
has given me.
Thanksgiving in Burundi! I was blessed to be able to spend
Thanksgiving in Gitega with my boys, and some new friends. There is apparently
a chef hidden somewhere inside Zack, which was an awesome surprise. Turkeys are
hard to find and terribly expensive here, so chicken was the next best options.
The Menu: Honey-cinnamon roasted chicken, curried beef, potato salad, magic
sweet potatoes (JD), sauced-up cauliflower, green beans, guacamole and chips,
and delicious bread. It was seriously good. And it was home, which was
wonderful. God has blessed me richly with friends and family here.
Thanksgiving dinner
Fun at the waterfalls. Or the 'Big Chutes'
And NOW I get to tell you about the time I almost died. This
is a fun one. It was Sunday November 25,
I was in Gitega, and had just been picked up by our trusty driver Celeste, who
is an impeccable driver. Firstly, let me tell you about the vehicle. It is not
quite lime green, almost like a pistachio color, and it is old. It tends to
overheat often, so seeing it smoke is not usually a sign of immediate trouble.
So I was picked up in the truck, as were 4 of the Homes of Hope mamas that had
just gone to the market. We are driving along the cobblestone road that sounds
romantic, but is actually just bumpy. Driving along, when suddenly the car
starts smoking. I watch Celeste shut off the engine and roll down the hill in
neutral, coming to a steady stop. The mamas in the back seat were freaking out,
panicking, and trying to get out of the car as quick as possible. I, on the
other hand, am calmly telling them its fine, don’t worry, it is just
overheating, ‘sawa sawa’, NBD. So they all very smartly scramble out of the car
to the opposite side of the road, as I begin to sense that something else is
happening here, because seriously, EVERYONE is looking at me like I am crazy
for calmly staying the in the car. So I finally decide to get out of the car,
just as a few random Burundians start throwing dirt in the engine. I think to
myself “Well, that doesn’t look right..” I get far away just in the time to see
the electrical fire being put out that was directly in front of my passenger
seat. I don’t know much about cars, but I DO know that an electrical fire is
probably not the best thing to be sitting in a car for. Ha. Thankful we are all still alive!
Last thing- I AM LEAVING ON AN AIRPLANE TOMORROW!!!!!!!!
WHAT??????
And I get to meet this perfect girl on Friday! I love her.
See all you US of A-ers in a few days!
Praying for you to have a blessed trip home with the rest of your family! If you are in Austin, I would love to host you- FB me! See you on the plane back to Burundi!
ReplyDeleteGood morning how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because trough them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Burundi? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Burundi in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Calle Valencia, 39
28903 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez