Jambo Sana

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A very big hello (jambo sana) from Bujumbura, Burundi. It has been non stop for Carissa and I since we arrived in Nairobi, Kenya last Tuesday after a marathon 34hrs of travel (Sydney, Bangkok, London, Nairobi).
Upon arriving in Nairobi we met up with Carissa's parents who are here to preach at two separate missions conferences, as well as visit a prison that our local church back home has built toilet facilities for. Our first port of call was to the prison, which is in Lamu- a small island off the coast of Kenya. Ps Jack dedicated 3 new flush toilet blocks (there were no facilities prior to this). Carissa and I were privilidged to assist with the administration of care packages to both the wardens and the prisoners (mattresses, sandals, toiletries etc). The outreach was a huge success largely due to the hard work on the ground by local partner churches who did so much of the organisation prior to our arrival.
Having stayed a night in Lamu (predominantly Muslim town with a fascinating mix of African and Arabic culture) we made our way next to Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi... but not before a trip to the world famous Carnivore restaurant in Nairobi to celebrate my birthday.
For all you vegetarian tree huggers probably best you tune out now... If the name didnt already give it away then here's the deal- this is a meat lovers restaurant and rated among the top 50 restaurants in the world. The challenge was simple, you are given a little white flag at your table: as long as that flag is still standing the carvers will keep bringing you meat, however once you have eaten your fill you must put the flag on its side as a symbol of defeat. We all devoured our way through all 12 types of meat on offer, including barbecued crocodile, ostrich meat balls, pork spare ribs, and lamb chops just to name but a few. I like to think I gave it a red hot go but after a solid hour of eating I had to admit defeat. I tried to use the excuse that I needed to save room for birthday cake but it was pretty obvious that I had nothing left.
We have since made our way to Bujumbura, Burundi where Ps Jack is currently speaking at the local church's first mission conference. Bujumbura is now enjoying relative peace having had a long history of civil war and tribal clashes in the past. Unfortunately there is a lot of poverty here, with about 70% of the population living well below the poverty line; Burundi is classified as one of the poorest countries on earth. We experienced a first hand glance at the way a lot of the world lives when driven through the slums in the east of the city. In stark contrast, no more than a few kilometres away huge walled mansions in the hills look down on the city. These are owned mainly by diplomats and NGO workers. This picture seems to be repeated in many places throughout Africa with the general consensus being that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
We are in Bujumbura for one more day before returning to Nairobi where Ps Jack will be preaching for the remainder of the week. We are enjoying Africa and look forward to getting up close and personal with a number of the big 5 on the Masai Mara early next week. Until then hoo roo for now.

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Comments

[Yannick]

Hi, Jst to tell you that am happy you have visited our country Burundi, take care