Sleepless in Burundi
Originally posted on 8/6/2012
Disclaimer: I make no assurances, real or implied, that this blog post will make any sense whatsoever. I'm going on my 49th hour without sleep. Do I really need to say more?
I'm writing this from the restaurant at the hotel. The restaurant is outside, next to a small pool. That sounds a whole lot nicer than it is, trust me. I don't know how good the food will be, but the myriad mosquitoes seem to be dining quite well.
This is the first time we've stayed in this hotel. Usually, we stay at the hotel Dorado. Dorado is quite nice comparatively speaking. Last year, however, they tried to up the price of my (reserved) room by 25%. I talked them down to merely $10 more per night, but that was still about $150 more than I counted on. So this year we're staying in a less expensive hotel. The good news is that my original room had a dysfunctional air conditioner, so they moved me to another room which actually had a place to hang up your clothes. Nice!
Neither Martin or I slept on the plane. We squirmed like worms in hot ashes for the sixteen hours it took to arrive at Addis Ababa. It was a little more comfortable flying to Bujumbura via Nairobi. We took little cat naps on that flight. The alarm clock for our slumbers was the plane slamming down on the runway in Nairobi. We hit so hard some of the oxygen masks popped out of the overhead compartments. I've never seen that before. Same scene, different country when we arrived in Bujumbura.
Joseph, in contrast, slept the sleep of the innocent on the way to Addis Ababa. As a result, he is currently wide awake, viewing all this as the wonderful camping trip that it is. Martin and I are bleary-eyed and are currently plotting our revenge. Perhaps when we've had more sleep we'll be more charitable. We'll see.
Tomorrow I begin teaching. I plan to review what we learned last year and then complete the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. On our way from the airport, we stopped by the church and some of the brothers came out to greet us. What a joyous time. For those few moments the weariness left me and I was refreshed. I trust that same energy will return tomorrow after tonight's sleep.
Please remember to pray for us. Ministry always needs prayer, but ministry in Africa is unique in so many ways. Your prayers accomplish more than you can possibly imagine.