Blogging In The Dark

I've been putting off writing an update because Andrew was writing one...but he got bored waiting for me to upload it so he has become a rogue blogger (www.crocodilerocklifeinburundi.blogspot.com )

There was a power cut in the middle of me doing this...I hope it works!

We're safe, we're settled, we're blessed, we're challenged and we're tired...but Bujumbura feels like home already and we're getting to do what we've been sent here to do.

Work

This is by far the hardest, most varied and most difficult job I have ever had. My 1st month on the job has been about keeping the 'ship' steady and afloat...which has been no mean feat. Issues come into my office far faster than can be possibly dealt with...many of which have complicated, traumatic or delicate backgrounds. Praying, prioritising and a sense of humour have kept a complete meltdown at bay.

In my first week of term I had a dismissal, some resignations and two suspensions!

We see the spiritual warfare firsthand. Every day my leadership team and I get hit where and when we're vulnerable. But things are beginning to settle. There's perhaps another month of pain and then we can start thinking about the future.

Please pray for strength

Recruitment...

...is one of my biggest issues. It is impossible to enforce contracts. If a teacher decides to leave, they leave. This means that we have to recruit under pressure; which takes time and risks the wrong decisions being made.

For the Secondary School it is almost impossible to recruit in Burundi. Education here is still in the 'relief' stage, not 'development'. There aren't Burundian teachers qualified enough to teach to at GCSE and A-level standard. So we recruit from Kenya and Uganda.

The issue with recruiting from Kenya and Uganda is that the Burundian Franc is depreciating...so we are struggling to offer competitive salaries. I'm busy putting together a strategy that will reduce our foreign exchange risk and open up new sources of recruitment.

In the Primary School we are losing an English couple at Christmas. Currently they are our Head of Nursery and a Year 5 teacher. A BIG loss! Again I'm trying to find ways of recruiting for these roles.

On a more positive note, we have advertised 4 internships with Hope University, Bujumbura. We are desperate for an additional Admin Assistant and three Classroom Assistants. They are desperate for work experience. But the bar is high; they must have excellent English, a strong Christian faith and be able to work to the highest standards. I'm really excited as a I hope that this will provide an ongoing, mutually beneficial relationship with a local university.

Please pray for God's blessing on our recruitment and relationship with New Hope

Building work...

...is a nightmare. I have many different types of urgent. Things aren't finished. New work is rubbish. New work has already broken. Everything will be sorted 'tomorrow'. We always seem to be one building job away from disaster...and every job is a can of worms.

The sceptic tank at the new school is over-flowing. The builder and project manager were called. The conclusion is that the water table is too high and that no one has a solution...apart from not using the loos...which all have broken seats.

Again...prayer, prioritisation and a sense of humour are key. Most things won't get done. Most things won't get done in the way we want. But we hand each day to God and do the best we can.

Please pray that I will have patience and grace

Finances...

...for the school are ok...just. We self-finance...just. But if we want to improve, grow and create well educated Burundian children we're going to have to work hard at controlling our costs and increasing our income. Boring, but essential stuff.

Please pray for our wise stewardship

Salaries and housing...

...is another priority issue. Historically salaries have been offered without reference to a transparent salary structure. Consequently there are some significant imbalances. The same is true for the way in which housing was offered. Indeed your nationality has had a bearing on your pay and benefits! Not a way to keep your staff happy.

So this week I've drafted a new structure....and next week I see what I can afford to with it.

Please pray that there won't be conflict over this issue

Bursaries...

...are proving tricky. Other than the two orphanages we support, there is no policy for offering assistance to those who need it. If we offered a free space to all the 'needy' we'd have most of the country banging on the door. I've had meetings with refugees, struggling missionaries and penniless pastors. We want to be compassionate, but each time we help we have to make sure we don't create the wrong kind of precedent.

I hope that in the future the school will be able to offer more assistance, but we'll need a clear framework in which to do this.

Please pray that I will have wisdom during these difficult discussions

Getting out of the office...

...is something I want to do more of. It would be so easy for me to never leave this one site. I now have alarms on my iPad so I know when the various break-times are. I try and rotate through staff devotions and already have a couple of assemblies under my belt...and from next week will be reading to the Nursery children each week.

My attempt at working at each site equally is a complete disaster work in progress.

Please pray that my relationships with staff and pupils will be blessed

Examinations Officer...

...is another job title I have now! Receiving the huge Edexcel manual the other week was a bit daunting...but I think I've got it sussed now....as long as I remember to enter the students for their exams.

Please pray for peace over this daunting aspect of my role

Perks...

...do exist though. Every morning I get a (questionable) cup of coffee brought to my desk...though there's too much bowing, scraping and removing of shoes for my liking. Someone will take my dry cleaning in (only £1.38 for suit trousers) or queue for petrol for me. I can borrow money from the office (I'm still not used to always carrying lots of cash). I also get the best parking space and the biggest chair (which sinks after 2 minutes of use)!

Give thanks that it isn't always hard

Planning...

...will help avoid many of our issues. If I bring nothing else to this role, encouraging the school to take the 'longer view' will significantly improve how we operate.

The future...

...is key. Everything I've mentioned so far is just about getting everything settled. But I really want to look to the future. I really want to help the school improve. I really want to allow the school's missional heart to flourish. I want us to be able to help more children...but that's next month's job.

Please pray that the school's future will represent God's desires

Life

Contrasts...

...are a strange and sometimes disturbing fact of life here. Today is pay day for some of our workers...always a slightly awkward time. Not because of what we're paying them....but the contrast with what they spend for us. It's weird on payday to give them a big stack of notes for food shopping and a small pile for their salary. We pay fairly...but it's not a lot.

Technology is such a godsend. We get to stay in touch with friends and family...England doesn't seem that far away. AND......we still get to watch Downton Abbey!! In early 20th century England, the way many things were done wasn't very efficient. But this inefficiency meant more people needed to be employed. The same is true here. And it's curious that on the one hand I want my staff and workers to be more efficient, but on the other I know that if they were I'd need fewer and therefore provide a livelihood for fewer.

(By the way our house, sadly, bears little resemblance to Downton Abbey)

Please pray that we will continue to try and live humbly

Sport...

...still manages to be a feature of Wisdom family life. I'm getting to run and swim fairly regularly. Allie goes to the gym with the girls from church. Andrew still swims. Harry, despite being the youngest in his original year and now being put up a year, is running rings around his peers. Caspar and Felicity are doing PE a couple of times a week.

Sport is very cheap here and this, plus the heat and healthy diet, means we're all shedding excess pounds really quickly.

Fitting everything is a bit of a challenge. I did join my neighbour for a 0530 run-swim-run. The exercise was fine....the time was stupid. He now runs on his own.

Please give thanks for fun and friends

Shopping...

...is another curious feature. The more we explore, the more we find e.g. cheap mars bars. But by shopping around sensibly, we find that we are able to eat very well at a great price. And surprisingly we can get hold of things much cheaper than our workers can.

There's a shop the other side of town which is supposed to be an up-market shop...and it is. But it's really cheap. For a couple of ££ you can bags of lovely bread and quiches...plus five ice creams for £1. You also buy some weird brands of washing powder...'Puff', 'Slurp' and a few others that I can't publish here.

I think the difficulties of living here are still plenty....but God's showing us all these little ways of making life seem less daunting.

Recent fuel shortages hurt though. Ensuring there's enough generator fuel is stressful and right now the car has an empty tank in our garage.

Please give thanks for His provision

Workers...

...are supposed to make life easier. Often that's not the case...indeed staff prayer meetings often include prayer for our workers. Often it's tempting to just do it yourself. But life here's difficult enough as it is and we often have to remind ourselves that employing, caring for and training these guys is an additional aspect of mission out here.

Things are improving and sometimes it's really tempting to employ an army of workers. Working for us as a Saturday guard is the only work that one of our guys has. If I took him on full time it would cost less than £50 a month...which isn't much to give someone a livelihood. But I don't need any more full time workers and I'm not sure how it would be perceived.

Please pray wisdom, peace and grace with our workers

Cars...

...go from the sublime to the ridiculous. Ours is still in customs, so we've using 'rental cars'.

The first one broke.

The second one got sold.

The third didn't work.

The fourth was tiny.

The fifth looks ok...but I haven't really had a chance to drive it yet.

Ours should appear on Wednesday.

Please give thanks that we have a vehicle and fuel!

High Society...

...is another odd thing. We are being very careful with our money. We're spending less than planned. We're not living extravagantly. We try and stay in touch with the culture we're living in. Yet what we do and how we live sets us apart from the the cast majority of Burundians.

Sometimes we have the odd treat to keep our spirits up. Allie and I were out on a 'date' the other day (grocery shopping) and we thought we'd pop into the the new patisserie 'Le Cafe Gourmand'. Once you're through the tinted doors, you're transported back to Europe. It's modern, clean, cool and sells the most unbelievable cakes and pastries. It was amazing! And still comparatively cheap...hand-made, Belgian cakes and coffee for two for less than a fiver!

Please pray that Allie and I will continue to get some time together

Money...

...generally has been a blessing. What we have is proving to be enough....despite having some significant, unforeseen costs (especially from our house in the UK...which is a real headache). Support continues to come in and we're only about £10k from this year's fundraising target.

Please give thanks for God's provision

So...

...all in all, this is the adventure it promised to be. God is blessing us and keeping us safe...and I'm pretty sure we have no regrets.

God Bless,

Jez