Holidays at Kibuye

By Alyssa

We've experienced quite the joyful holiday season the last month here in Burundi with many encouraging visitors and community events and thought we'd share some (actually many!) pictures of our celebrations.

 We all enjoyed the traditional drummers at a Ministry of Health sponsored event at Kibuye...

 especially Micah...

and Liam!

And what fun it has been to welcome many family visitors over the past month - and to take them all to the nearby waterfalls:

 including Jessica's brother Jeremy,

 most of the extended Fader family, 

and my parents. 

 Micah welcomed lots of guests for his 7th birthday party (above and below)

 And we gained three new pets (above left) and also enjoyed the nearby hot springs (above right)

 Lots of cousin fun!

Visiting the southernmost source of the Nile River. The visitors who previously lived on the Nile in South Sudan were especially interested in this tourist attraction!

 Christmas activities included singing in church, 

visiting the hospital to share the Christmas story and pass out donated baby blankets and toys, 

 a med student Christmas party, 

 a kids' nativity play, 

making gingerbread houses, 

 delicious meals together, 

 a white elephant gift exchange,

 smiling for the camera, 

a movie, 

and an ultimate frisbee game. 

 And there were lots of group games for New Year's...

...and the traditional ball drop. 

 Our team enjoyed being a part of two traditional dowry ceremonies over the holidays - always interesting to experience new cultural events and to honor our Burundian friends and colleagues by participating in and learning about these ceremonies. 

And we put our visitors to work, too! :) Our visitors have blessed us so much with their thoughtful questions, encouraging presence, and also their ingenuity and industriousness in jumping in to help out in so many ways including with the satellite internet (above), 

 photography opportunities, 

and teaching. 

And finally, we all appreciated the year end hospital party yesterday which was quite the community event! 

 Employees who have worked at Kibuye Hope Hospital 10 years each received a goat

 and those who have worked more than 20 years received a bicycle. In speaking with the employee who has been working here the longest (40 years), I was so interested to hear his perspective. He's seen a lot of changes over the years and is happy to continue in his work on the pediatrics' service. I'm thankful for his wealth of experience and that he and many others were honored at the ceremony yesterday. 

 The speeches were inspiring

 and the gifts much appreciated. 

 And of course everyone enjoyed the meal together. 

We're so thankful for our community here at Kibuye and look forward to many more years of holiday celebrations here with our Burundian and missionary neighbors!