Sunday Activities

I went to a worship service in English on Sunday at Partners Trust International. Upon arrival they were singing “You Never Let Go” a contemporary Christian song that is on the radio in Canada. The refrain begins, “Oh no, You never let go, through the calm and through the storm” but there are also these great lines from the first verse “Your perfect love is casting out fear and even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life I won’t turn back, I know You are near” cushioned by Scripture verses from the psalms before and after. I found great comfort in the words and then we immediately went into “Our God Reigns” which seemed so appropriate. I know that even in the toughest of days here, I do believe in these concepts.
The teaching, on the first few chapters of Mark, was challenging. The preacher asked who would we have been if we had been part of the scene (almost Ignatian in theory) when the family of Jesus came to rescue him? The religious leaders, his family, a member of the crowd, or his disciples? In which group would we have stood, not knowing what we know 2000 years later? I don’t think there was an easy answer for me, although I do continue to turn the question around in my mind. The preacher also gave a beautiful explanation of several points that I had not considered. He asked why Jesus touched the leper if he could heal him. There was no need for him to touch the leper which was considered unclean, and so it was an unexpected act. He wanted to show he was one with the leper and he almost changes places with him—the leper going into the village and Jesus retreating into the desert which was where most outcasts were. I wonder how often we can willingly change places with the poor and marginalized?
After lunch, a group of us went to the Musee Vivant, a tourist attraction here that is a mix of a zoo (primarily crocodiles, snakes, and 2 antelopes) and a reconstruction of a typical Burundian village. The storm clouds looked threatening but we were fortunate to see all the exhibits without a deluge. I am not sure I would place this in the category of fortunate, but our guide decided to feed one of the crocodiles a live guinea pig while we were there. The crocodile was not as fast so it took several attempts before he devoured the little critter, with squeals resounding from his closed mouth for a few minutes before silence and a smug look of satisfaction ensued. One of the men in our group captured it on videotape so for those not brave enough to watch it live, reruns were available.
We stopped briefly for drinks at the lake before one of the group and I went for supper at a lakefront restaurant. Ordering food has been a challenge here but this time, Ian who does speak French and I had a good laugh because the conversation was hilarious. I ordered spinach lasagna and the waiter came back to say there was none but there was meat lasagna which still sounded fine by me so I adjusted my order. However, another waiter came back with a second man and said unfortunately there was no meat lasagna only spinach. Hmmmm…..You can’t always get what you want but sometimes you can??? Towards the end of supper, Ian noticed other guests looking towards the lake. Two hippos were in the water. Before we left, they had actually come ashore and were munching contently on their own evening meal. It was a fabulous day all around (well, maybe not so much for the guinea pig) as my time here in Burundi begins to draw to an end.
Peace,
Suz