Christmas in Africa . If you guessed I've been thinking about snow, you'd be right. Not the fluffy, slowly drifting, "White Christmas" kind of snow, however. The kind of snow I've been thinking about this December is the kind that forms a giant snow ball that tumbles down a hill getting bigger and bigger until it reaches an unsuspecting cartoon character, who only has time to glance up and widen his eyes in panic before he is swallowed, leaving only his feet and occasionally his head sticking out. I really feel like I can identify. Things have been rolling along faster than I have been able to keep up with these past few months. Tumbling between wonderfully exciting things and things that are really hard has made my head spin.
In mid October, just after I wrote my last prayer letter, I miscarried our second child at six and a half weeks. It wasn't until mid November that I began to feel physically and emotionally normal again, and even now the grief still hits from time to time, which I know is normal.
At the end of October, Jesse went on an amazing film trip. The team (Jesse and a group of Barundi from our church) arrived on Friday night and strung the big white piece of cloth we use for a screen up on two poles outside a church in a small village called Banda that sits on the edge of a steep hill. The church had spread the news by mouth that someone was bringing films about Jesus, and as it grew dark 5,000 people showed up!!! When Jesse hiked to the other side of the valley the next morning, they told him that there had been a crowd on the hill directly across from Banda watching the film as well. The screen looked like a small portable TV from that distance but was clearly seen, and the sound was faint but clear. On Saturday night it rained, but at least 4,000 still were in attendance, even though they had to sit on wet ground. I am so glad all those people heard the good news!
On the first weekend of November, Jesse went on the first film trip where he has had to walk to the site—one of the men from the church carried the generator on his head! Since this was a much less populated area, the number of attendees was smaller, more like 2,500. The exciting thing about this trip was that the church found a way to gather together those who wanted to respond to the films by inviting Christ into their lives. Usually it is so late when the films finish that they have used up the full allotment of time the local government has given permission for and are only able to have a show of hands. This time they invited those who wanted to respond to come into the church building, and over two hundred crowded into the tiny building to meet with the elders and pray. Praise the Lord!!
Between the first film trip and our visit to Tanzania at Thanksgiving, Zach had malaria two more times. He continued to have diarrhea at least two times every day, and we were seriously worried about his weight. While in Tanzania we e-mailed a doctor in the states and took Zach to see a visiting American pediatrician. Our concern was valid, he said, but as long as Zach paralleled the growth curve he was in no immediate danger. He suggested that Zach probably had a mal-absorbtion problem and recommended we try a gluten-free diet to see if it would stop the diarrhea. We were still worried and began to pray about the possibility of moving our planned furlough to an earlier date. We also emailed some of our sending churches and asked them to pray.
When we returned, I taught my first seminar for the teachers of the high-school age Sunday School class. (Jesse translated— my Kirundi has reached the point where I can make basic conversation if I am willing to talk around things so I can use words I know, but it's not THAT good!). Burundian adolescents face many of the difficult issues teenagers in the US do, with the addition of a few extras. Many have lost loved ones during the war and are so poor that food, clothes, and school fees are hard to come by. On top of all this, the bad economy makes it unlikely that they will be able to find good jobs even if they do graduate. Recognizing teenagers as a distinct group is something new to Barundi culture, as traditionally children began to function as adults in society early on in adolescence. The group of churches we work with has just started a Sunday School class to target this age group, and they asked me if I could help them learn new age-appropriate methods. The group of volunteers is small, but the seven of us had a wonderful three hours together- we talked about some developmental issues, went through a sample lesson together, and spent an hour discussing questions. We plan to meet again Jan. 3. It was encouraging to see the way that God had used my previous experiences to prepare me to answer their questions and to meet this need— I think I notice at least once a day the way God has perfectly planned Jesse's gifts and experiences to fit him to the needs here, and it was nice to see an example of the way that is true for me as well.
Then Zach got a bad cold. The diarrhea had continued despite the diet, and when his appetite dropped with the cold he began to lose weight quickly. He weighed in at 19.14 pounds on Dec. 9 and at 18.7 pounds on the 19th. This means that he is not following the growth curve and is actually curving downward at a rapid rate. Even if he gets well and gains a pound in the next twenty days, he will still fall below the "one pound per month of age" mark, which puts him in the danger zone and means he is technically "failing to thrive." Mentally he is developing normally and on target or ahead on all developmental milestones, but we need to come home. The pediatrician I have been emailing says that if this continues for much longer Zach will likely be small and struggle with frequent illnesses for the rest of his life. Of course, we do not want this to happen, so we are making plans to come home ASAP. We will arrive in Charlotte, NC in mid January and will be taking Zach to the Children's Hospital in Charlotte for diagnosis as soon after that as we can get appointments. Please pray for us as we make the necessary arrangements and say goodbyes. At this point we are not sure how long we will be home, but it will be for at least six months since Zach will need to not only get back on track but also store up a little extra to help him make the transition back to Africa.
We have no doubt that this is the right decision, and though it will be harder to be involved in the ministry here from so far away, there are many things we can do to be involved. Jesse will continue to edit Christian films to make them culturally appropriate, begin a curriculum review for the Bible school, and continue to be involved in the decisions made by the church executive committee through email. I will continue to study Kirundi with Jesse's help and will be able to collect materials to help the Sunday school teachers. We will let you know more about this once we have arrived back home.
For now, please pray—for Zach, pray for easy transition to the US, good health, and renewed growth. For us, pray that, like the cartoon character in the snowball, we will survive the ride and be able to step out intact, shake the snow off, and bear testimony to God's sustaining grace.
Thank you as always for your prayers and support. Merry Christmas!
Joy, Jesse, and Zachariah Johnson
