It’s been a year since we departed Burundi. Here we are in the midst of move 5 in 2 years, and life is basically not one bit like we expected it to be. Leaving Burundi was one of the hardest things Josh and I have ever done. If you’ve ever moved on from something because you were told to or because you had to, and not because you wanted to, you understand. Josh and I hoped to be in Burundi for years.

In my opinion, Burundi will always be a more unstable country politically and safety-wise than the U.S. I don’t mean to offend, but I will say people who say the U.S. is unstable have no clue what a third-world country is like. We saw things and experienced things that we knew were not best for our kids to continue living with such uncertainty. Burundi is a different country, with a difficult past and an even more difficult to explain political environment. That was one facet. When a long-time global worker from Africa gave us his opinion to leave and not risk it with our boys, we listened.

Another facet to leaving was knowing our son was having issues we could not figure out and help with enough while living overseas. The knowledge we have gained in the past year regarding Neil is astounding, humbling, and has been so helpful. There is no way Neil would be where he is today mentally and emotionally if we had stayed in Burundi. We have a long road to go, but the ease of testing and care available in the U.S., with reliable internet, and so many resources at our fingertips, is simply a huge blessing that has made a big impact. He is such a precious and strong boy; he has huge sensory issues with poor cognitive abilities. Put those two things in a third-world country, and we had significant battles daily. It truly broke all of our hearts, even his. To know your child is struggling and hurting, to not understand the problem, nor be able to provide a solution, was challenging at best in all of life, especially while living in Burundi.

Since living back in the U.S., we’ve been able to get this precious boy into some occupational therapy, auditory therapy, and cognitive therapy. God has truly brought us to the most wonderful people in such unique ways, as He does. He has led us and helped us massively regarding Neil. And Neil has worked hard and had a long road. We know this couldn’t have happened in Burundi, but it still doesn’t mean it was easy to leave.

We left with 8 days’ notice, and all the last conversations were tear-filled or more like sobbing. We have stayed in touch with everyone. Before we left the orphanage, the partnership had literally just begun. A week before we left, was the first time we had a solid translator, so we could discuss and understand each other so much better. Now, a year later, our doctor friend, Boaz, and his family are officially moving back to Burundi. The partnerships have continued the best they can, but it is also all still new and organic. These are some of the reasons we want to go back to visit to discuss and see about taking teams in to serve and how we can come alongside with friends and resources and assist them at the orphanage and the hospital.

Those we cried with and said goodbye to so quickly, we want to go back and hold their babies, give them hugs, remind them how deeply we care, and give a little more closure to a fast-paced, heartwrenching goodbye we had.

We believe Oklahoma is the best place for our family right now. We are growing, maybe even beginning to thrive in many ways. It has come from great pain for everyone. We had committed to a year with Sister Connection and hoped for so much more, but for numerous reasons, that didn’t happen. God closed doors, and at least if Josh and I have learned anything in life, it’s to not force the doors open that He closes. We believe that in the last year God has opened different doors too, and some could be potential partnerships in Burundi. We hope to get eyes on the ground to see what others are doing and whether we can partner together on work in Burundi. More details on these potential partnerships to come later!

Also, one of the therapies Neil is doing is a cognitive therapy with an organization called Equipping Minds. I plan on getting a certification through them this summer, and the hope is to take that knowledge and train people in Burundi. Children with trauma and orphans are at high-risk of cognitive issues. Their brain literally develops different due to a lack of nutrition, lack of being held as an infant, and often brain trauma. The cognitive or brain therapy I am learning will be able to help those children and their brains develop in ways they are lagging or damaged. Isn’t it like God to make a path of redemption and healing even for our brains?

In summary, these are some of the reasons we left, but more importantly, the reasons we want to return to visit. I don’t know if while our kids are young, we will ever go back long-term, but I do find it humbling that one of the reasons we had to leave-Neil needing help- is the very thing we get to return and help the orphans and vulnerable children with. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good, and that’s his nature, wow!

If you’d like to help with this visit, we are halfway to raising the funds to return. Here is the website to give online to our World Renewal account to go back and visit Burundi this summer.