On being Bukavu socialites!

Since the end of Seed, we’ve managed to keep our schedule a bit full! The past two weekends have entailed some fun social activities, as well as some interesting opportunities. 

We had an MCC celebration of the completion of Seed – which means homemade ice cream! 

We hosted visitors – one British friend who works in Goma and was in town for the weekend (that was a tasty breakfast and fun game night over Indian food); and also a couple of men from the City to City church network joined us for lunch and really encouraging conversation after church.

We connected with a guy from an organization we respect who are considering opening a program in the mining center of Congo (south-central) and also with an Egyptian UN peacekeeper who is the only Christian in his regiment and was so excited for the chance to go to church! 

There’s been a good bit of rain and a few beautiful rainbows! 

We celebrated with a lawyer friend and his wife the birth of his first child. That means the day they came home from the hospital, they fed and provided all kinds of drinks for about 200 people who showed up their house to congratulate them! 

We shared meals with two of our closest expat friends in Bukavu, one of whom announced that she’s quitting and going home because it’s too stressful here. :(

 

I (Karen) led some reflection exercises at the celebration of International Women’s Day for our church ladies, and we’ve both been giving announcements at church in the English service on a regular basis. 

Mark’s started teaching a 6 week class on International Public Law, and we’re gearing up for the Frisbee tournament this coming weekend! We’re taking a team from Bukavu to Kigali, most of whom have never left the country before! We’re visiting their families to make sure their parents are okay with them going, and that has taken us into parts of the city we’ve never been before. 

It’s been a fun and very full couple of weeks, and we’re enjoying the opportunity to connect more with people around us. I am working on taking more interesting pictures of daily life here, but so far, I still only have pictures of receipts and documents. My apologies!

Lovely camping trip

After the conclusion of Seed, I had earned some time to relax and enjoy the calm. We found exactly what we were looking for in a camping trip to an old mission retreat center in Rwanda, about 2 hours away from Bukavu. It's on the beautiful Lake Kivu with a lovely swimming spot, as well as diving board, rope swing and kayaks! We had a great three days and two nights.

We stayed in a "cabin" which is actually simply furntished, built with brick and has cement floors. There was even a two-burner gas stove, but we opted to cook most of our meals over the campfire in order to retain some of the "street cred" as camping. ;) And we did have some little varmits in the house (mice) and loud birds to wake us up in the morning, so I think it counts!

We did spend a lot of time outside, either just outside of the cabin or down by the lake. Mark tried to sleep outside the first night, but it started raining on him. It was a sweet time for me to let my mind unwind some, and I'm so glad Mark convinced me that the drive was worth it.

If you're ever in the neighborhood ;) , we highly recommend Kumbya for a quiet place to refresh your soul!