Hank's email to a few

Our flight from Brussels to Bujumbura was
canceled due to the plane hitting a bird (through the engine
apparently, not while we were in board thank God).  So the airline put
us up in a very nice hotel and provided for our meals and we had a day
to see Brussels.  Then on Monday we flew on down to Bujumbura,
arriving around 7pm.  No problem getting through customs (just a long
line!) and ALL our luggage arrived intact!  We spent the night at
someone's home in Bujumbura and then Tuesday morning Hannah went out
to change money and get a supply of groceries while I stayed with the
kids.

That afternoon we took the 3 hour drive up a windy road (think about
any of the roads up to one of those Selkirk lakes, but it was paved
and the views were amazing!) to Kibuye.  There's no "town" to speak of
here, but people are everywhere (although it doesn't "feel" crowded).
There are always people walking or biking on the red dirt roads, and
very few cars.  Jason (the surgeon) and I have gone running at 6:20am
a couple days and there are usually people working the land with hoes
and machetes.  It is very peaceful and quiet, you never hear vehicles
or machinery, just lots of birds.  It is very green, now toward the
end of the rainy season.  Days are usually partly cloudy to sunny,
around 80-82, nights very comfortable  around 60.  Mosquitos are
minimal.  There are plenty of fresh pineapples, avocados, bananas,
limes, papaya, green beans, and other standard veggies.

I'm scheduled to run a dental clinic 3 days next week, pray for a good
turnout.  I had one day of clinic this week, but the news hadn't
spread so it was pretty slow.  Apparently there is someone around here
who knows how to "get teeth out" but that's without ANY numbing and I
suspect there are a lot of teeth that are just broken off and the
roots are left to rot in the jaw.

The kids are having a great time playing in the dirt with all the
friends.  There are currently 15 American kids under age 10!  Another
family (6 kids) is here visiting at the same time, they're from Texas
and he's a retina specialist.  There's also a teenage girl here from
Ohio helping with kids and doing a little VBS for the MKs.

We toured the hospital and the conditions are certainly desperate.
Medical equipment is ancient and in short supply.  Electricity is
sketchy and unpredictable.  The other day John, the opthalmologist,
was in the middle of a cataract surgery when the power went out.  They
had to pause and grab a little Honda generator before they could
continue.  There's only 1 pulse oxymeter for the entire hospital.
There are no ventilators, no neonatal incubators.  Anesthesia for the
OR is just ketamine and there are NO monitors (Troy or dad can
explain).

We'll be here in Kibuye through Easter Sunday and then we'll head back
to Bujumbura for our last week.  The kids are happy here and don't
want to go back to hot, humid, crowded Bujumbura (1 million + people).
 I hope to be able to do a bit of dentistry there, too, and I think
I'm also going to spend some time meeting with the people who are
setting up a dental training program at the university there.

Internet is very VERY slow (think SLLLLLLOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWER than old
1990s dial-up!!!) and not always available...

There's lots more to tell and share and we hope to show lots of
pictures and give more details when we get home.

Miss you all,
Hank