The Heart of Africa

The main thing that I took away from Burundi was not a lesson learned or even something obtained, but a freedom that I already had but needed to find. The main thing that I was blessed by was absolute and unadulterated beauty.

Burundi is called "The Heart of Africa" for both its culture and for the actual shape of the country itself. I found another layer to this idea as I got to know the people there throughout my two months of leading a DTS team. There was a certain rawness about them that I admired. It made it easy to see God in their eyes -- especially in the eyes of the children. I could get lost in them. They were so connected to their own humanity and that is a beautiful thing. I think they were some of the most beautiful people I had ever seen. They presented themselves without pretense or hesitation, unashamed. It inspired my spirit as well as my artistic soul. There is something to be learned from the Burundians.

The children amazed me. Even those who had been neglected or mistreated, suffering from poverty or cruelty, were so soft-hearted and affectionate -- so trusting. I was deeply touched by all of the children that I built relationship with and even the ones who I only held the hands of for a day. It was a joy to show them the love that every child should receive; that by which we are loved by our creator.

Our team was a huge blessing to me: I could not ask for better co-leaders or for better students. They made leading a joy and they left me space and freedom to be myself and to take each day as it came. That is something I really love about not only our team but the lifestyle there as well. Each day is taken as it is and left as it was. Living simply, in a village without distractions, allows a person to focus on a task ahead and to complete it within the same day, even if it is something to be further built upon as time goes by.

Each day was new and unique. I loved the ministry that we were engaged in.

Practically, we have done quite a bit. We did community work every week, working on roads, mostly. We painted a lot of chairs and tables for the local school. We built two roofs for houses—one of them paid for by the students’ own money—and we supported the building of a third. This makes a huge difference in people’s lives, as many have no way to stay dry in the rain. We provided clothing for those in the surrounding villages who are most in need. One day, we hosted 22 street kids for the day. We picked them up and took them to the base, where we played games with them, washed them, clothed them, and fed them. While I really wish that we could do more, I could see the difference it was making. Two of the children were girls and when the older one stepped out in her new dress (by new I mean slightly used and a bit oversized) she had a huge grin on her face. For the rest of the day she strolled around like a queen. We also have a list of people that we are trying to provide Bibles for, as very few have access to it in Kurundi.

One of the main ministries that the base in Burundi runs is with the local fisherman at the lake. Many of them have spent basically every day

of their entire lives out fishing or in the market selling what they have caught. There hasn’t been any opportunity to even hear about the gospel, often. We went down two to three times a week, in the morning, to evangelize and talk with them, and we invited them to our fisherman ministry back at base, where a group of them came to worship and hear teachings, getting a chance to be discipled and to commit themselves to their faith.

The second half of outreach involved a lot more evangelism and home visits than the first half did; both areas that have been the hardest for me in the past, but have come to be some of my favorite ministries. I’ve learned much better how to just step out and to rely on the Holy

Spirit for words. The people there are mostly really open to listen and quick to respond in one way or another. Many home visits and conversations have even ended with hosts giving their lives to Jesus without even being prompted by us. We would always follow up with these people when we could, and we gave Bibles to those whom we were able.

Throughout the whole outreach there was a lot of teaching a preaching, which was a first for many of the students. I watched them all grow a lot in this area. The churches of Africa have a lot of life and a real spirit of celebration. There was always a LOT of singing and dancing. I really loved this as well. The Western church has things to offer, for sure, but has often, unfortunately, traded this spirit of life and celebration for one of stiffness and rigidity.

In general, The Heart of Africa is teeming with life, or that is, has the potential to be. The land is rich and colorful. I have never seen such perfect soil, and they have multiple harvest seasons every year. Yet there are still so many struggling just to survive and to feed their children. There is not always much value placed on the individual life.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not one of religion and it is not exclusively applied to what we may dub as "spiritual." God created a physical world to be an expression of that which is spiritual. The two realms are interlinked and do not exist independently. The Kingdom of Heaven is when they come together in unity, as they were united in the very creation of mankind and in the manifestation of God as Christ. We display the love of God not just by talking about it but by getting in the dirt and working to better a community or the life of an individual. This was a value that our team was careful to try to communicate at all times, both through doctrinal teaching and by our own actions. Worldview was a huge theme for us.

I knew that Africans are generally more open than Westerners and that we would build relationships upon going there, but I did not expect to encounter the beauty and the heart that I did. The passion displayed by both the youngest and the oldest of believers was pure and sincere.

Their striking physical features and their deep, dark eyes have been my muse. Those eyes are so open and pure. There are bigger than myself; deep and vast beyond my full comprehension. I couldn't help but become fixated on them and was a bit surprised by how they would hold my gaze. Whatever makes them this way, I knew I needed to have more of it. Even living in their dark mud houses, these people had something really special. Even in their sadness, there was a hope that came from it, I felt.

On our last day there, we watched a group of performers play traditional drums and dance to them in a way that I found raw and wonderfully strange. I felt as though it were altering my own heartbeat, driving the human life around it into the deep drumbeat. It stayed with me and I could hear the drumming long after I was in the air, leaving Africa behind me.

Thank you so much for reading and for those of you who have been supportive during the past six months. I will share what is next for me soon, when there is a bit more clarity, but the rest of the year will be mostly devoted to more travel and missions.

If you want to be a part of my list to receive regular newsletters, just let me know by messaging me or by emailing me: emkathey@gmail.com.

-- Emily Kathey

#africa #travel #spiritual #living