The Power of Relationship — An Affair with Reason

"I thank God because ever since I came to Homecare Center, I have a meal to eat every day, even on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays! My children are able to go to school now, I am learning skills that will allow me to make beautiful clothes that will help others to look and feel beautiful, and I won't have to beg for money anymore. I am studying the Bible and learning that God loves me, and today I know that I am truly blessed because you have come so far just to visit us and spend time with us. I never could have imagined that I would be so rich." ~Francine, soon-to-be graduate of Homecare Center

The women we visited in Burundi are all widows or orphans. Most lost their loved ones in the genocide, which began 20 years ago in April 1994, and all of them have endured hardships that are difficult for us even to imagine. One young woman shared her story of being buried alive with her siblings by their mother in hopes that they may somehow escape the brutal torture of hacking to death that characterized those awful attacks against the Tutsi people of Rwanda and Burundi. As the women shared their stories, they cried with each other, they cheered for one another, and they danced together, living out a remarkable community of unconditional love and acceptance rarely seen.

As I was preparing for this trip, many people asked me what I would be doing in Burundi. Often when I explained that I would be visiting widows and orphans still suffering from the horrific genocide of 1994, the question followed, "Yes, but what will you be doing there?" Our culture is all about doing things. We're about accomplishing tasks, completing our to-do lists, and loving others by doing things for them. On the one hand, this is biblical. We certainly don't want to wish someone well and send them away hungry, or tell them we care but refuse to help in any practical way. At the same time, however, I think we have drastically underestimated the power of just being with one another. Many of us, myself included, have missed a lot of tremendous opportunities to love and bless one another simply by being together, sharing our lives with one another, holding one another, and singing and dancing with each other. After all, where is the accomplishment in that?

During my time in Burundi, I saw firsthand the remarkable, magnificent, transformative power of relationship. For some time now, I have been questioning and examining the definition of productivity, and during this trip my questions were answered. What I saw was that relationships are perhaps the most significant, worthwhile, impacting investment we can make. They are not efficient, and they are not easy, but they are very, very productive. And I have come to believe with all my heart that giving our time to be with others is more beneficial than anything tangible we could possibly give. The women at Homecare Center impacted my life forever and gave me more than I feel I could ever give back, and yet they feel the same. The fact that someone would leave their comforts to travel across the globe at risk of illness, danger, exhaustion, discomfort, and all things unknown, just to be with them, and the fact that many other people would give money to send them, sent a message louder and clearer than anything else could have. They heard us say, "You are valuable, you are loved, you are worth it." I wish I could take everyone I know to Homecare Center to experience what I experienced (and I hope to take some of you with me next year) because words cannot do justice to the impact that our visit had on these women and on our team. I experienced the life-altering power of just 10 days of in-person relationship with beautiful, wounded, hopeful women who once believed they were the scum of the earth and now know they are children of God. We shared stories, laughter, tears, song and dance, and they taught me how truly glorious a community can be. I pray that I can bring back this piece of Burundi to my own culture, making people my greatest priority among all the tasks of life, grieving with those who grieve, celebrating our many blessings often, and laying aside my self-consciousness to be all that God created me to be to the benefit of others and the glory of God.

"One day the Lord will say to you, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then you will say to Him, 'Lord, when did I see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did I see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did I see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' And He will reply, 'You did it for me when you went to visit my servants at Home Care Center in Bujumbura, Burundi.'" ~Former graduate of Homecare Center