MUSEE VIVANT

The week after Sudan, the Good Shepherd team joined us here in Bujumbura. It was so fun to host them—to give them a tour of Buj, to show our work with refugees in Nyanza-Lac, to have them meet our friends and co-workers, and to play.

The last day (and actually a bit of highlight for me, because it was just so fun and a little crazy), we took them to “Musee Vivant” (“Living Museum”) where an assortment of the wild animals of Burundi can still be found (we no longer have elephants or lions, but can claim hippos, crocs and snakes!). To Brandon’s delight (and Sarah Beeghley’s chagrin), the rules of such places are MUCH more relaxed than in the States… we had the freedom (led by our English friend and crocodile enthusiast, Simon) to jump in the cages with the crocs and tug on their tails, to hold baby crocodiles, and to watch, within a few feet, a trainer play with a very deadly cobra (outside a cage!). As the pictures convey, the day was fun and adventurous… and a pleasure to share with our friends and mentors from Good Shep. I think our friend Brando had the most fun: