July 11, 2014.
We ended the Community of Practice at noon and said our goodbyes. The morning consisted of a short devotional comparing the good and the false shepherd described in John 10. We explored how helpers may end up becoming “hirelings” due to burn-out and
Community of Practice
loss of vision. After the devotional, our tables each became case consultations with caregivers discussing their hard cases and receiving encouragement, support, prayer, and a bit of advice. In a number of instances, caregivers brought up the issue of those who have mixed parentage (Hutu/Tutsi) and the struggle to deal with their identity. I and others have noted that this group has been far more vocal talking about the different “tribes” where previous groups have rarely even mentioned these groupings. It makes me wonder whether this is unique to this group or whether there is something going on in the country that makes it okay to discuss identity.
After our goodbyes, we traveled south for 2 hours to the university town of Butare. Butare is the home of the National University. First stop in Butare consisted of an ice cream at Sweet Dreams just down the road from the Shalom Guest house where we are staying (known internationally as the project with the female drumming corp). Our purpose here is to meet with Anglican Bishop Nathan Gasatura and some of the pastors/leaders of his diocese to discuss the trauma recovery needs. Bishop Nathan has been a friend and attended some of our previous training. Diane spoke a bit about “talking, tears, and time” and the process of healing through trauma. We had a good dialogue where one question was raised, how can a Hutu counselor help a Tutsi victim (or vice versa)? I was thankful that Baraka Paulette, the new president of the new Rwandan Association of Christian Counselors, was present as she answered in a very beautiful way, putting all at ease. Though our time was short, we squeezed in a bit of singing and dancing in the cathedral.
Before our meeting, a few of us purchased locally roasted inexpensive Rwandan coffee and an espresso at Café Connexion across the street from the cathedral and guesthouse. This cafe was not something most would venture into in the United States. It contained dingy walls, a couch and a couple of stuffed chairs, a shelf full of brown bags of coffee, a large coffee roaster and the center of the room was a small desk with an espresso machine. Yet, this was possibly the best coffee I tasted on the trip. [the return trip the next morning and bag of coffee brought home and now gone supports this opinion!] After dinner, many of us walked down the dimly lit main street in the dark passing the university. It was good to walk and good to deepen relationships with fellow GTRI mates.
Musings on Faith and Psychology 
One thing I want to add to this: during the case sharing time at my table group at Community of Practice, a woman ended up telling her story. She discussed a very painful experience she had. She commented on how the list the group had made during Phil’s John 10 devotion just prior to this (“the voice of the thief” vs “the voice of the Shepherd”) and said this was incredibly helpful as she thinks about her story. She articulated she sometimes feels vulnerable to the voice of the thief and this devotion was very helpful to her healing process. She emailed me last week and again mentioned what she’s been learning from chewing more on John 10. Proof that you just never know who these devotions will move and how God can use them.