Our trip for the day was to Cankuzo (Chan koo zo) Province which is also a part of the Diocese of Muyinga. To get there we traveled through Ruvubu National Park. This is a
band of parkland following the course of the Ruvubu River flowing northeast through the northeastern part of Burundi – and which empties into the Nile system. The scenery was magnificent, as was the view of the river and the groves of papyrus growing down in the valley. When we were picked up by the Bishop to make the journey, there were two young police officers carrying automatic rifles in the very back seat. We thought that we might be giving them a lift to 
somewhere along the way – an impression that was gradually corrected as they continued to stay with us all the way to our destination and then joined us for the return trip. Once back in Muyinga we asked about this and were told that the trip through the park is not safe without police presence. Apparently there are bands of thieves who roam within the park and will stop travellers to get what they can. With police sitting in the vehicle however, the problem is solved. As it turned out, we were stopped on our way back into the park by some people who were clearly not supposed to be stopping us. They glanced into the back seat, were suddenly all smiles and we were waved through.On the other side of the park we visited Kigamba parish. We stopped at a small, mud-brick church with a couple of dozen local people who had gathered to greet us. It being a Monday and a work day, these folks had left there usual activities (mostly agricultural) in order to be present for the occasion. We were there only a short while to meet and greet the people and then let them get back to their daily work. Even in the poorest and smallest of congregations there is an attention to the formalities that protocols demand. All those present are welcomed by the pastor, always including greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The purpose of the gathering is stated. The guests, including the Bishop are introduced and welcomed. The Bishops speaks, thanking everyone for taking time from their activities to be present and telling them how wonderful it is to be with them. The Bishop then introduces the guests, tells why they are present and speaks about the importance of the occasion. The guests are then asked to speak and share about who they are and where they come from. In our case this includes telling them about the Diocese of Qu'Appelle, about what things are like in southern Saskatchewan, about why were are coming to visit them. We always bring greetings from “your brothers and sisters in Christ” in the Diocese of Qu'Appelle and tell them that the diocese has been praying for them over the past year as we have prepared to consider a Companion Link with them. We always mention that at this time of year the water is all frozen in our part of Canada (which they always find astounding) and that Qu’Appelle is almost twice as big as all of Burundi (which they find equally astonishing).
After our short stop in Kigamba we continued on to the town of Cankuzo where we were treated to another feast at a local hotel (in the hotel, but entirely prepared and presented by the local church folk) with the local clergy, evangelists and Mothers’ Union representatives. We were then shown a parcel of land on which they hope to build a church. It turns out that while they have 14 congregations in the local area, there is no church in the main centre itself.We then made our way back to Muyinga via the park (more wonderful scenery), getting back after dark in time for supper and bed.
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