Category: General

I’ve been back from Burundi a few days, and it’s been a chance to decompress a little away from the pressures there. A number of you have been asking for details on my movements this summer, so here goes with my speaking schedule. But if you come, there’ll be no guarantee on which man will show of the below (MankiniMan, SuperPantsMan, MassageMan, or SeriousPreacherMan) – apologies for the offensive pose, it’s hard to make a blogpost on a speaking schedule very enticing to read… OK, I promise to be dressed appropriately and talk seriously at most of the venues below! It […]

The MV-Liemba is the oldest ferry in the world. She was built by the Germans on the eve of World War One as a battleship to assure their dominance of Lake Tanganyika. Later she became famous through the book ‘The African Queen’, and then the film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. Through several sinkings and reincarnations, she is now saving the lives of Burundians as she enables 1,200 refugees to be ferried to Kagunga in Tanzania every day, where over 50,000 destitute people are languishing. Why are they fleeing? They are frightened. Many speak of intimidation by the Imbonerakure […]

John Piper writes: “I feel like I have to get saved every morning. I wake up and the devil is sitting on my face.” Very rarely will a blog make an immediate impact on my life, but this one did. I read it last night and already today my day was different. You can read Piper’s blog in full here. Essentially he outlines six reasons why I am (and maybe you are) unwittingly addicted to social media and prioritise that in the morning over spending time with God to get the day off to a better start. So here are […]

I’m thinking of writing a book called ‘The Curse of Comfort’. Let me explain why by describing my visceral experience of worshipping God in community at church this morning. There were fifty of us adults, and thirty children. That’s under half of what we usually are, because many people have left the country due to the deteriorating state of security. We are Bujumbura International Christian Church (BICC), but the international representation today was down to a Congolese, a Russian, two Koreans and myself. Our community is depleted, hurting, and confused – but tight, trusting, and together. Lot of empty chairs, […]

On 7th May last month in Nyakabiga quartier, Jean, who was a member of the ruling party’s youth wing (Imbonerakure) was seized by a mob of supporters of the opposition, killed and burnt. It was definitely an own-goal by the opposition, who had been claiming the moral high ground in what was framed as a David v Goliath battle for the future of Burundi. As I looked at a number of pictures of this young man – his lifeless body, charred face and protruding hand – I thought of his Mother, his Father, and his sisters. What must they be […]

I’m sat in a café having a snatched lunch alone, and I’m crying. The sound of gunfire in the capital is normal now. Most people are petrified. Suffice to say, there’s plenty to make one weep right now after last week’s failed coup and the deteriorating political and security situation. Maybe I should be embarrassed to be crying, but I’m not. Those watching me no doubt save their tears for tonight at home behind locked doors. A Burundian proverb says: “Amosozi y’umugabo atemba aja mu nda” (‘A Burundian man’s tears fall inside in his stomach’) – men aren’t meant to […]

Brothers in arms – some of my favorite people, my Scripture Union colleagues, involved in planning today’s strategic outreach I’m so privileged to be here for ‘such a time as this’. I’m working with some of the most passionate and committed people on the planet. I’ve told you before, some of God’s best troops are Burundian, and having been here so long, I’ve identified some of the very best of the best to get behind. So we’ve banded together as an outworking of Great Lakes Outreach and formed an idea (not an organization or even a network, as the expectations […]

This downtown street would normlly be bustling with activity I continue to refrain from expressing a political opinion in this blog, simply relating undisputed facts as they have developed. I love Burundi so much, have dedicated my life to this country, and I’m aching inside at what is happening here. I’ve been at my desk writing emails, or in the shower, and suddenly tears have started flowing as I grieve the enormity of what is taking place in this precious nation and the hundreds of thousands of lives being shattered by events as they develop. The refugee situation is getting […]

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 […]