Choosing Thanksgiving

It's Ash Wednesday and I'm in a Chicago suburb instead of at a B&B in Tennessee. Winter air travel gets complicated when ice storms shut down multiple states! But always God gives more grace. Another day with my sweet, beautiful (inside and out) sister who I won't see for at least another year. And still enjoyable R&R at the Wong B&B in Naperville, IL! I hope the snapshots below reflect the many, sometimes unexpected, gifts of the last couple months in the US. Time is flying as I seek to enjoy the moments while looking ahead to my return to Burundi March 24.

 Dim Sum with my brother-in-law's sweet family

Chinese New Year party - I love learning about other cultures. And this is my year - the Year of the Goat/Sheep/Ram! I'm happy to be a sheep. :) Xin nian kuai le! 

 Gotta love Chicago! 

I think I'm getting enough winter memories to last me for a while. :) Took this picture to show my Burundian friends and colleagues. 

Added bonus of time in Chicago - getting to spend time with my awesome new teammates and introducing them to my sister Lauren. Caleb (water engineer), Krista (NP), and Liam will hopefully be joining us in Burundi soon! 

Meanwhile in Burundi:

 I'm so excited to see that the feeding program has begun at the hospital. No more patients hungry on the wards or mothers without enough milk for their newborn babies. Looking forward to seeing the difference this will make when I start back to work there in April. 

And a weekend in Colorado = more winter fun with family:

But a month in Birmingham provided some early spring green:

And lots of occasions to talk with folks interested in Burundi who care about me and pray for me. Also great educational opportunities to gain more experience with cardiac echos for kids with congenital heart disease, to talk with experts about medical education, to get help writing NICU protocols for Kibuye, & to network with others interested in global health.

 I continue to be so thankful for the Grant family who love the babies in Burundi so much and who God has used greatly to begin a NICU at Kibuye. I loved getting to meet their youngest son and to share pictures with the whole family of the NICU in honor of their two boys who are NICU survivors. 

 I've enjoyed connecting with American kids on many of my visits and hearing their hearts as they ask great questions and are interested in life in a far away place. 

Red Mountain Church. I'm so thankful for the chance to reconnect with folks there who love me and support me faithfully. And I appreciated the opportunity to be present to meet the new senior pastor and to also "happen" to be home at the same time as the other Red Mountain missionaries who live and work in Uganda and Ukraine - what a serendipitous blessing! I love my church! 

And speaking of churches, as I've enjoyed English church and Bible studies and community groups in Nashville, Birmingham, Naperville, and soon Charlotte, I've been encouraged to think of God's people around the world. I've been blessed to participate in church life in so many countries and love to remember on Sunday mornings folks worshipping - in joy, peace, sorrow, brokenness, & love - all around the world. Here are a few pictures from my archives of some of those places - a foretaste of "every tribe and tongue" worshipping in eternity. 

 Village church in Kenya above (love cute little Abi and Micah here pointing out the addition of animals in the service)

 Bethesda AGC church where I worshipped most Sundays in Kenya at Tenwek

 Ethiopian church above

 Painting at the Ethiopian church

 French church meeting above - loved learning to worship in French

 And our church in Burundi on Easter Sunday last year

OK, just a few more pictures of fun times in the last month. Probably should have divided up this post into several, but oh well. 

Pfister pfamily pfun at cousin Rachel's wedding

 More joyful reunions with sweet friends like the Johnson family

 Reading actual books - will go back to Kindle reading next month! Loving getting great reading suggestions from friends who know me...

…and from the Wheaton College & Mission Training International bookstores.

 A day hanging out at Wheaton remembering the joys and stresses and weather and learning of those intense college days - for Christ and His Kingdom!

 Discovering a new banner at the Billy Graham museum representing prayer for my part of the world. We especially pray for peace to reign in Burundi during the elections in May and June. 

 And finally, my travels have been greatly improved by Jack Lewis. Narnia audio CDs in the car,  remembering the wardrobe at Wheaton, and reading his biography. I owe a lot of my theology to C.S. Lewis - and especially to Aslan!

Thanks for reading to the end of this very long post! 

Video footage of Burundi

I think I mentioned a while back that we welcomed three video teams to Burundi this year - all from different organizations and for different purposes. I certainly learned a lot through those experiences and have new understanding of the effort and many takes required to come up with a good product. I really appreciate the videographer and photographer's ability to capture the beauty of Burundi and to express the story in a unique way. Learning to talk in front of a camera is another skill I didn't know I would need as a missionary! Medical missionary life is full of surprises!

If you're interested in viewing more of life in Burundi in video, click on the following links:

http://vimeo.com/103554862
The first one is our short team video which seeks to succinctly capture our team vision and give an overview/introduction to Kibuye Hope Hospital.

http://vimeo.com/113219412
The second video highlights the challenge of malnutrition in Burundi. We're very excited that a new feeding program is beginning this month at our hospital to give two meals per day to each patient. Hopefully this will strengthen nourish them to heal from their illnesses but will also demonstrate our care for them at their time of need.

http://vimeo.com/113346454
The third video expresses the vision of Serge, our sending agency, also with footage from Burundi and including clips from interviews with me and with my teammate John.

And the following beautiful photos are from the UNICEF film crew. Their film is in French, but highlights UNICEF's work with malnutrition in Burundi, including providing the materials and formula for our malnutrition ward at Kibuye.

Familiar life on three continents

Where am I? And where's home?

Well, I moved into my new house in Burundi on November 1st and had two weeks to unpack suitcases, hang pictures, welcome guests, and settle in before leaving. I love my new Burundian home!

 Receiving a beautiful woodcarving housewarming gift from the medical students at Bible study

 First Bible study in my new home

These students are incredible! They were so sweet to share testimonies that evening of how God has been working in their lives through the Bible study and through their time working with us at Kibuye Hope Hospital. It's so encouraging seeing them begin to understand grace and the gospel in addition to learning new medical knowledge! 

 Thanking the construction workers with a special meal

 plantains before cooking

 Cow before butchering and cooking :)

The beginning of my Kirundi speech to thank the workers

 Goodbye party/Birthday party with the team

 Sweet send-off as I left Kibuye

Goodbye to the medical students

Then I flew back to the US via Europe and stopped in Switzerland for a few days to visit some friends. 

 Shannon and I have been friends for more than half our lives! 

 This reminded me so much of Albertville, France where I studied French for 10 months before going to Burundi

 Fall leaves!

I love Europe at Christmas-time - and especially sharing the experience with special friends

And then I flew back to the US where my family was so ready to welcome me home! 

 And to treat me to my favorite Panera dinner

And ice cream, of course :)

I arrived back in the US just in time for Thanksgiving and am so thankful for the opportunity to celebrate that American holiday with my family & all our traditions.

And it's been so fun to celebrate Emma's 4th birthday and Samuel's 6 1/2 birthday in person!

And to finally meet and get to know baby Lily!

So with all the traveling and transition, it's easy to focus on my "homelessness" - not being completely at home in any culture and longing for an eternal home. And that's true. But I also am incredibly blessed in my transcontinental life. There is so much that is comfortable and familiar to me in various places around the world. After living in the US, Kenya, France, and Burundi, I have favorite foods and favorite places in all those countries. I've made memories there and look forward to hikes and beautiful views. In living there, I know where to buy toothpaste and what songs we sing at church (in various languages). I'm comfortable with greetings from these various cultures (though I do get confused at times as to which greeting to use in which culture - handshake, kiss on the cheek, side-hug, etc.). But most of all, there are people who know and love me and whom I know and love in several different cultures and countries. I'm thankful for a life that is interesting (to me) and full of love and friendship and I do look forward to the day (likely in heaven) when all my loved ones are finally in one place (besides Facebook :)).