the slopes...

Boarder boys...

So smoooooooth...

...whoa!

Bottoms up!

The only ski bunny! (say's Daddy!)...

...and the ski bunny's only boys!

Noël

This morning was one of those special moments for the Bauman family. The four of us brought an “offering” to the table to begin this Holy Night. Joshua, our thinker/ponderer, brought a clear and moving description of a shepherd in the day of Jesus: simple, poor with “lots of time to pay attention.” Caleb, our feeler/hoper, brought a two-sided picture, because "it was hard to explain". On one side was a depiction of himself at the manger, kneeling with the shepherds and giving Jesus his "only gift," His heart. On the other side was a very detailed picture of Jesus on the cross, blowing away the "sins" that were attached to Him as he died. Kneeling in front of Jesus was Caleb giving his heart to Him. In his little mind, they were the same...the Christ child and the dying King. Oh, the orthodoxy of children!

As I told O.Henry’s joyous story, The Gift of the Magi, Joshua and Caleb's eyes grew big and wide as Della and James realized they had sold the most precious thing to give a perfect gift, only to find out that the gift was no longer important. "They gave each other the gift of love, the most important gift," was Joshua's response. The gift itself no longer mattered but only the heart that gave it.

Back to the shepherd's and God’s news to a weary world. Stephan reminded us (www.underthemango.com) that God still searches out the poor "shepherds" to announce Emmanuel ("Ave" is Latin for "Hail" or "Hello"), while fewer "Kings of high estate"search out Emmanuel.

May you experience the thoughtfulness, hope, and unconditional love of Emmanuel as Christmas dawns.

The Baumans love you!

Indy boys...

water boys

captain, my captain...

A Sunday in Annapolis...

Two boys at the helm...

woods and wonder...

so fast...

This reflection of Joshua and Caleb pierced my soul: so fast they grow...

the meeting of minds

Caleb meets Van Gogh at the National Art Gallery in D.C.

lego boys

Welcome to our world of legos....

inventor boys...

noel

Merry Christmas from ours to yours....this year in Massachusettes with snow, lot's of it, and lot's of each other as a family....

always wanted to be Bilbo...

No, those side burns are not real! Bilbo, I am, as I create a Tolkien experience for my seventeen 6th graders at Cambridge School. "There's more to you than you know," says me to them in honor of Gandolf and his weak-kneed student.

I'm trying to believe these words for those of us growing older as I try to be supermom and super teacher this year. It's all privilege and pleasure, just a bit busy...sipping, at times, from a fire hydrant. Stephan's still changing the world through World Relief. I'm just trying to change one kid at a time.

Love and miss you, as always.

green fields....

Ireland...in the footsteps of Patrick, Brendan, and Beamish  (except on bikes!) with two wonderful, wonderful friends....

communion first...

It was a first for Joshua this summer...his first communion at St. Brendan's in the City, our Washington DC church home.

peaks and valleys...

unto us...

Last night, Stephan and I went to an amazing Midnight Mass at St. Ignatius in Baltimore. There was light every where... in the voices of those who spoke, the mezzo-soprano who sang, the priest who lead the mass, and every candle that could be lit was. It was truly beautiful. But it wasn't until we came home, crept up the darkened stairs, and looked upon the faces of our sleeping boys that the light of advent became really meaningful. For unto us this day is born a child..the light of the world, the whole world. From a child. For those in dark times and those in bright light... He is Emmanuel. May he shine for you wherever and however you are today.

We wish you love and peace,

Belinda, Stephan, Joshua, and Caleb....

blur

Needless to say, it's been a blur...

... but one of the most beautiful blurs.

Like the dance of winter sunlight on a bright, happy, yellow Penske truck.

Like the dizzy joy of finding an AMAZING Maryland bike trail...

...and the splash of new paint on walls built in 1938.

Like the happiness of pretending, playing, and finding out along the way...

... that even though Africa seems far away, we like it here in Maryland too.

All our love to you--the Baumans

PS: That's the State Capital building above, not quite our house :)

out of africa...

I remember writing this time a year and a half ago...trying to articulate the Land of a Thousand Hills to you-- a land of contrasts and contours, where....

...you feel like you have seen the deep darkness of evil yet, inside of only a day, also the very face of God.

...you hold a little one against your heart and know that the odds are against her to even reach the age of five, yet entrust her to the One who knit her together.

... you see the utter freedom and joy of your own little ones as they run and play and sing with Rwandan playmates.

... you feel the quiet majesty of being less than five feet away from a Silverback Gorilla in it's natural habitat.

Tomorrow our precious Rwandese friends will have a celebration for us, to thank us for "living among them". They will roast a goat in our honor, dance and sing and beat the celebration drums. We, the Bauman Tribe, are struggling to find a way to tell these ones what they have become to us... trusted friends, co-workers, mentors... and just how precious each of their lives and stories of suffering have become to us.. How to tell them the deep and lasting hope we have gained by living with them, by loving them. They will give each of us a Rwandese name, and at that moment we will be part of them. I think that tomorrow we will eat and dance and beat the drums with our hearts.. Maybe they will see that the day our plane takes off, we will never be the same...ever. But our plane carries us back to you all... the ones who have joined us, prayed for us, helped us. Our Rwandese names belong to you too.

caleb kiss...

Now, I am sure that getting a kiss from a face that looks like this is HIGH on your "life is now complete" list!! Caleb cannot resist baby Victoria, our Deputy Country Director's daughter (Jean Paul). Victoria is one of those perfect, beautiful Rwandan babies that steal our hearts here. She wakes to the sounds of cows lowing and chickens crowing on her daddies farm. She snuggles with her mommy and aunties and eats a high protein mixture of cereal that mostly makes it into her mouth! Victoria has a wonderful life and reminds us often of how good life can be for a baby here if we keep working hard towards increasing our child survival and child development programs. For many children here in Rwanda, just surviving to age five is the greatest trial they will endure. Victoria is so very, very blessed for this is not her case. Caleb and Victoria are special friends as children of our incredibly creative, infinitely compassionate God!!

It is this same compassionate God that has been talking to the Bauman Tribe about making an unexpected change--yet again--in our lives. World Relief has asked Stephan to become the Vice President of Programs. Wow... sounds pretty big! So if I was to take a snap shot of what that looked like, maybe the images would look something like this:

-Visiting our programs in Sudan, canoeing down the Nile with our Sudanese and Dutch nurses as they contemplate the huge task before them in a war torn country;
-Encouraging our Cambodia, Indonesia and China staff as they work through the many trials that accompany multiple disasters and difficult political systems, and;
-Strategizing with our Rwanda team as they consider the next phase of deepening our healing impact throughout the country.

So, with this little snapshot book, we announce to you our dearest friends that we will be relocating to Baltimore, MD (and the World Relief Head Quarters) in January 2007. We will be staying RIGHT HERE in our hearts and minds, as this promotion only affords the Bauman Tribe a BIGGER world to be a part of (Africa, India, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and right at home with our refugee relocation throughout America). We will not be leaving Rwanda until the new year, so please keep remembering us as we make this transition to another new culture... our own!

it's gonna pop...

It's amazing what can happen in a couple of weeks! Let's see... we have been doing lots of work and school, had wonderful visits from old friends and some new ones, too, a "mystery illness" that landed me (Belinda) in the hospital hooked up to an IV for a day, and four days flat on my back (I am fine now!!). All to say, we are still here in Rwanda...growing and learning and giving no matter what the day brings.

While Stephan was out on a recent field visit, one of our HIV/AIDS associations bestowed upon our family a huge gift... a live chicken! This is a gift of great sacrifice by those from the village. We were honored. The chicken quickly made itself at home by letting Caleb feed him huge African slugs and by taking walks through our kitchen (Caleb LOVED chasing him out of the house). Joshua and Caleb asked, " Do African chickens sound the same as American chickens?" My knowledgeable answer is YES... and just as loud!

Joshua and Caleb asked if we could give "Lee Lee," our chicken, to a family or village so they could eat the eggs and "get healthy." One of our staff members, Jean Baptist was going to be making the long journey home to visit his family village near the Burundi border. Now a young man, Jean Baptist was only 12 when the genocide happened but he remembers his father taking his family by cover of night to the forest where they hid for 3 months. He grows very quiet as he tells me, " You know, I do not remember ever sleeping at that time..." When they came out of the forest, his father was attacked and they slit the tendons at his ankles. From that day on, Jean Baptist became the one to work for the family. He has put himself and two siblings through school and supported both his father and mother. Today, Jean Baptist, took "Lee Lee" to his village to feed his family eggs.

Joshua summed it up well when he said, "My heart feels so happy right now it's gonna pop..."