The idiom "put your best foot forward" means to "embark on a journey or task with purpose and gusto" or "to make a bold start." It originated between the 15th and 17th centuries, and seems to have been used either because people actually thought one leg was more beautiful than the other or because one foot is more dominant than the other and putting it forward made for better bows and curtsies. Regardless, 2 of the young ladies among the 203 applicants for Discovery School's 6 open positions took the meaning of this phrase to a whole new level. There were so many people that we had to give the exam in the church. We turned every other bench around, thinking people would use them as desks, but, as I mentioned before, these girls decided to "put their best foot forward" and use their laps as desks instead. 
Maybe it worked, because we ended with six of the most qualified employees we have ever hired. Praise the Lord!! It was great fun training them-- for the first time ever no translation was needed at all. Their English is GREAT! Best of all, they were SOOOO happy to have received a job. We were talking about how to help children remember information, and as part of the lesson I asked them to share their happiest memory. One of them teared up and said, "Honestly, the best moment of my life was yesterday night when Jesse called to tell me I had gotten a job." Wow.
Jesse and I have also been doing our best to "embark on a journey or task with purpose and gusto" over the past few months as we have tackled preparations for our time in the US that will begin TOMORROW as our plane takes off aroun 1pm EST. Preparing for time at "home" involves working towards leaving things well as well as buying tickets and setting up a travel schedule for visiting friends and family. To that end, we have been investing lots of time in decision making and planning with our team here, setting the vision and coordinating the details of things that will happen while we are gone.
In April, we headed out on a team unity retreat with our missionary team, which now includes Jeremy and Sonja Bassett (new arrivals as of March), as well as Danny and Anne Johnson and Casey Conaway. Our current volunteers came along as well-- Rheagan (from Scotland, who is finishing up a seven month stay) and Jude (who arrived last month and will stay until the end of December, Lord willing). We visited someof Burundi's tourist spots-- the southermost Source of the Nile, a gorgeous water fall, and the deepest ravine in Africa.
We spent time in prayer together and shared a lot of laughter as we tackled some of the challenges unique to an African vacation-- like building our own bridge to get across a deep gash in the road.
The guys were pretty proud when the cars made it across, understandably so, as it was quite a FEAT. Our car hydroplaned and skidded off the road right at the beginning of the last leg of our journey. The car ended up precariously balanced on two stumps. If God hadn't had someone choose to cut down exactly those two trees, we would have either rolled or smashed straight into a tree. We are SO thankful for His protection.
The guys were pretty proud when the cars made it across, understandably so, as it was quite a FEAT. Our car hydroplaned and skidded off the road right at the beginning of the last leg of our journey. The car ended up precariously balanced on two stumps. If God hadn't had someone choose to cut down exactly those two trees, we would have either rolled or smashed straight into a tree. We are SO thankful for His protection.
Early this month we joined the Discovery School teachers on their yearly trip. Burundians in general don't have money for sight seeing, so every year we take the staff to a different spot in teh countryside that most of them have never seen. This year we drove south for several hours along Lake Tanganyika to a good swimming spot, then shared a picnic of grilled fish and ubuswage (cold cassava dough) and gave speeches about the good work and dedication they have shown this year, and encouraging them to continue to put their best feet forward (can you use it in the plural??) in the coming year.
In between there were the myriad details like finalizing curriculum, setting Discovery School salaries and school fees for next year, leaving instructions for finalizing the new computer lab in progress, and bazillions of meetings working towards reconcillation of conflict within the assemblies. Jesse also visited a different assembly every weekend this month, sharing the Word and working towards unity. Honestly, this intense period of conflict has worn us out, and though we see God's hand at work in moving everything progressively toward restoration we find ourselves dragging our feet and having to really push ourselves to put ANY foot forward, best or not. We are definitely ready for a time of rest and renewal. Jesse was able to go away on a two night retreat with the other men that are on the administration committee, but that was just the beginning.
Please pray that this time back home will restore us, and that God will get us all the way to the US safely. Pray also for the continuing process of reconcilation in the assemblies here, and for the summer clubs, building projects, and other preparations for the coming school year that will be ongoing while we are gone.
See you soon! More from the other side of the ocean, Lord willing....
Joy
