I hate beans. Not sure I’m ever gonna like them, but maybe they’ll grow on me one day. Won’t have much of a choice after we uproot ourselves from our comfy life here and plant ourselves in the middle of Africa.

I hate beans, but I love Burundi. 

Wow, what a difference a week or two makes. Thank you to everyone for their interest, support and prayers over the past while. God had a plan in sending us halfway across the world to a country nobody has heard of. I can tell you that our trip was productive. It was such a learning experience for us, and we’ve come back home armed with information, experience, and the knowledge of what to do next. We can continue to prioritize, learn, grow and begin to raise funds in a more dynamic and effective way.

We will continue to update the blog in the coming weeks. We have tons of stories to tell and tons of pictures to show you all.

Let’s start with me. Nadine was able to get out the message that I was sick, and now I can tell you that I’m better. Our best guess is Dengue fever. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice to say I’m very happy I’m feeling better. It was a tough week for sure, but we can move on!

A few days into our trip, I caught myself praying; “Lord, if you’re gonna come back, please wait a little while. Just please give me some time to serve in Burundi.” 

We spent our time networking, visiting hospitals and clinics throughout the country, visiting and staying in orphanages, meeting some outstanding people, and we even got to participate in the building of the guesthouse we will be staying in when we move in January!

Beans: you all know my thoughts on beans.

Hippos: pretty cool seeing these awesome creatures out in the wild. Watch out though! Hippos are responsible for more human deaths than sharks, worldwide!

Cold Showers: we’ll get used to them.

Muzungu: the word for “white person.” We heard it a lot. There aren’t a ton of foreigners that visit Burundi, in fact there are very few. So every chance to see a white person is a chance to run out to the side of the road, raise your finger and shout “Muzunguuuu!” We’re pretty sure it is the first word every Burundian baby learns. We got used to it pretty quick.

More to come in the weeks and months ahead. Thank you again for coming on this journey with us! Enjoy the pictures!