Simon Guillebaud

I received a message via the US consul to say they’d flown down a few planes and if I wanted to evacuate, I should be at the airport by 930am with $600 for a single ticket to Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. Of course I didn’t, not just because the price was a little steep for a half-hour ride, but because there’s no way I’m leaving by Burundian friends at such a time as this. That’s no judgment on those who have left, most of whom are families. I’d have got the kids out as well if they weren’t already back in […]

I came out to live in Burundi 16 years ago. I’m a Burundian national now. I love this country and don’t want to be expelled if I can help it, although now I’m a national I don’t think I’d be expelled, rather I’d be put in prison. So I write these current blogs whilst purposefully maintaining a critical distance, seeking to simply state incontrovertible facts without passing judgment. You hear me? It’s a close call as to whether I should even write these at the moment, and I may stop shortly – we’ll see how open channels of discourse remain […]

After sending last night’s blog, news came through that the President had indeed returned to the country. I had another call from the BBC so did one last interview for them on the latest situation here (maintaining neutrality as I’m seeking to do with these blogs), which gave me the opportunity to say more than just what was going on. I was asked: “Why do you choose to stay?” So in a very simply way, I was able to talk of how as a follower of Jesus I choose to do what I believe he would do, which is to […]

I’d put earplugs in during the night, figuring that getting to sleep was hard enough with all the adrenaline coursing through my body from the previous day, but even with them in I was woken up at 420am by the sound of grenades and gunfire. After yesterday’s events, and the uncertainty with which the evening ended, it was bound to be another memorable day. And so it has proved to be. My office is only 300 yards away, but it was a long enough journey to catch the mood of the population. Whereas yesterday afternoon thousands of people were dancing […]

In the current crisis, I’ve written my blogs and posted things to FB or Twitter whilst trying to retain a neutral voice, whatever my personal opinion, and I’ll continue to do so, all the more as things remain far from clear and change very quickly in this part of the world. Here’s how the last twelve hours have gone: (Police with guns v protestors with stones – most police did a very good job over the last two weeks) We all knew it was an important day. In the last two days, both Belgium and the EU had suspended aid, […]

As Burundi struggles not to implode – which is not to say it will, because we truly believe in God-with-us, who can intervene and save our precious nation from calamity – many things have gone through my mind. Near the top of the list, as a father and husband, has been the well-being of Lizzie and the children. White folks are not targeted in this deteriorating situation, but so many innocents have already been caught up in it, so who’s to say what might happen? How do a 5, 7 and 9-year-old process what they are hearing, seeing, sensing? They […]

A few months after Burundi’s war kicked off in 1993, a tract was circulated entitled ‘Abantu b’Imana bagiye he?’ Where did God’s people go? That was the question many were asking in a country so apparently Christianised – how could so many so-called Christians not stop the horrific violence taking place? Where had they disappeared to? Obviously there were more superficial converts betraying by their actions what they confessed with their lips than true disciples living out their costly faith in Jesus. Well, we don’t want to be accused of the same in this latest Burundi crisis – not that […]

This is an attempt at a succinct, apolitical, neutral-as-can-be blog of what is going on right now for those who are following and want a clear(ish) understanding of the current situation:  Pierre Nkurunziza announced on Saturday on the back of his ruling CNDD-FDD party’s endorsement that he would stand for President of Burundi for a 3rd term in office at the 26th June elections. His detractors say the third term is illegal. He and his supporters argue that it is in fact only his 2nd term directly elected by the people, which is what the constitution stipulates. Accordingly, his first […]

Yesterday I visited my friend Pascal in prison. I’ve talked about him before here. He’s still stuck in prison, falsely accused of rape. But to use the word ‘stuck’ is somewhat misleading. I was struck when I saw him by how much weight he’d put on (a good thing in the hungriest country in the world!). He radiated joy. He said: “I’ve got such peace. I can’t understand how I can feel such peace in here.”  He shared with joy how he’d led twenty people to Christ in the six months of his incarceration so far, including one politician, who had […]

It’s nice to hear good news, isn’t it? Well here’s an update on Freddy, about whom I’ve written in the past. It was before this blog existed, so I’ll include his story as written up on 20th February 2011, and then you’ll hear the very encouraging latest. Scroll down if you just want his latest, but the following is definitely worth a read. Here goes: “When Alli first saw him, Freddy didn’t have a face. Ten years ago, Alli would drive through Kayanza market and see a hooded little child beggar, with a clawed stump of a hand, demurely approaching […]

Last weekend I hired out some prostitutes for the first time in my life – two young ladies for the whole night. Because I’m a preacher and didn’t want people to know what I was doing, I asked a trusted friend, Cossette, to hire these women and bring them to a hotel where I would join them. I also didn’t want an absurdly inflated price because of being white, so she could hopefully negotiate ahead of time a more reasonable fare. Neither of us really knew how these things worked, and we were both a little nervous. What on earth […]

Below is Kyle Idleman’s recounting of my favorite Jesus encounter, in Luke chapter 7, from Kyle’s book ‘Not a Fan’. It’s quite long but worth the read, and I include it now because my next post tomorrow will be about what happened when I paid for sex last weekend.  Luke 7: 36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with […]

This is a sermon I preached at Saint Andrew’s, Mount Pleasant, last Sunday. Hopefully it’ll encourage and challenge you. Below are some discussion questions if you wanted them: Abraham Heschel wrote, “He who is satisfied has never truly craved.” I hope you haven’t given up on the potential of a life saturated with God’s presence. The cravings we feel, we were made to feel, and only God can satisfy. John Piper wrote in A Hunger for God, “If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and […]

We’re finished! According to Rick’s computer, we/he did 680km in 6 days with 30 hours of saddle time, 30,000ft of climbs, and 23,577 calories burned! Beyond the stats, it was another amazing tour. Plenty can go wrong, and very little did. Mason – the guy looking away below in the team photo at the Livingstone/Stanley memorial – tore his ligaments in a major way playing volleyball the day before we kicked off. That was about the worst thing that happened. His ankle ballooned, medical advice was to get it straight into a cast for 6 weeks, but Mason duly took […]

I recently met with three former Muslims who have all come to Christ and suffered as a result. We are supporting them monthly, otherwise they’d be desolate. I thought I’d introduce them to you. First, Mariam, on the left below: She managed to conceive easily enough, but each conception ended in miscarriage. She was told of a man (a marabout/Muslim witchdoctor-type) who could help her get pregnant, so she went to consult with him. He said it was jinn (evil spirits) who were destroying her pregnancies, so she needed to prepare a sacrifice to appease them. He said he couldn’t […]

I love my Dad. He’s a great Dad. Born in Burundi in 1946, he pursued a successful (almost finished) career as a Management Consultant, and one of our biggest shared joys latterly has been having him integrally involved in the work of GLO as coach to our key partner organisations’ leaders. They love sessions with him twice a year – his wisdom, incisive questioning, low toleration of BS – and those times with him have significantly affected their already mightily impressive performances. Dad has repeatedly come back this week after each session blown away by the quality of the leaders […]

The title’s misleading, so read on.  One pastor serving in an ISIS-controlled territory shared that in the previous week three men in his church were shot and killed for running children’s clubs in their homes. But then he went on to say these striking words: “Whenever we see disaster and tragedy, we run towards it. We see throughout history that it is in these alarming moments that God works. It is in times of war, not peace, that history is changed. Would any of your churches have ever dreamed that one day they would be full of Sunni Muslims?! Our […]

Jean is dead. I’ve just got back from his funeral. What a man! He was Scripture Union Burundi’s first staff worker in 1976, and finished his race back with us after slipping into a coma last week, aged 63. Fabulously, in terms of a sense of God-ordained wholeness or completion, as leader of our Department of Biblical Studies, he had just handed in the whole manuscript for the nation’s Bible-reading notes for the coming year to SU boss Etienne. He gave it to him, with a huge smile, and a sick note, and said: “Boss, I’m so happy. The job’s […]

This week saw us host the National Prayer Breakfast in Bujumbura. It’s the chance to get all the movers and shakers from across the political, military, business and religious divides to come together for a few hours, leaving our divisions at the door, and gathering around the table to eat, talk, pray and listen to a few speeches about Jesus.  (The President giving his speech) A whole lot of planning had gone into the event. And I’m glad to say, it went superbly – by all accounts the best one yet. One of the most senior politicians in the country even wrote […]