As my feet daily get stained by the African red dirt
as I walk down these dusty roads,
I can’t help but think about how these streets, not 20 years ago,
were stained red by the blood of the massive genocide that swept Rwanda.
But now, I welcome the red.
I want my feet to be permanently stained by this place.
To me, the red stands for the beating heart of this continent
and the pulse of love, joy, and hospitality that brings these countries to life.
Ministry Setting
I am here in Kigali, Rwandathe capital city. But in the outskirts where I am staying, this seems less like a thriving city and more like a remote town. Cars bump along the one main street, which is lined with little shops, while commercial airlines fly just a few hundred feet overhead as they come in to land at the airport just 5 minutes away. Occasionally, you have to pause your conversation until the roar of the jet engines pass by.
All the other roads here, though, are just wide, red-dirt paths, but rarely do you see a car rattle through these streets. Most of the paths are narrow walkways where you can tell water has carved out ruts in the paths.
Waking up at about 7 in the morning, my team, along with 2 Passport girls who are with us this month (another trip that Adventures in Missions offers), nibble on some chapatti (an African flat bread similar to Indian naan or Greek pita) and sip on hot tea, before heading out to the local kindergarten school just a 5 minute walk down the dirt path. The school is actually connected to the church that we are partnered with this month. For 30 minutes we sing songs with the 3-, 4-, and 5-year olds. Then we return home, to the house of the bishop of that church who is head over many churches in the area and connected churches throughout Uganda. Pastor Peter is our contact, the bishop, but his son Moses in the one who leads us around and translates for us.
Stories from the Field
In the afternoons we go out for house visits, evangelizing to people in the area or teaching in peoples homes from the Scriptures. On the first day we went out, I got to speak the truth about Jesus to a father, and then pray for him to receive Christ! We returned to give their family a new Bible because their daughter, who has episodes of being attacked by evil spirits, one time ripped the only Bible they had access to during one of her fits. We later came back to pray for her as well that she be delivered from these demons.
On another day, I met a dear old woman, a lady whom Moses calls mother, who is a widow, a refugee from the Congo. Her husband was killed in the Congo, along with 5 of her 10 children. Two of her grown children are with her here in Rwanda, but three remain in the Congo, one of which she does not know if he is dead or alive. Her son that is with her here in Rwanda has been hurt by the church and does not like God, so she is fearful to go to church when he is around, but she is a strong believer. We went to her house to encourage her, but I walked away from that home having an African mother myselfa refugee widow from the Congo living in Rwanda who boasts of having American children who come to visit her!
And these are just a few of the stories!
This month has been a month of me coming into the ministry that God has for me. We have been able to attend church several times here. Listening to the sound of African voices in perfect harmony singing praises to their Father to the beat of an animal-hide drum is one of the most beautiful to behold. Then to join in on traditional African dance, full of passion and vigor, you can tell that they are worshipping a big God because their big worship reflects it.
Personal Reflections
One of the first days I was here I got to give my testimony in front of a church we went to visit. As I reflected back over that opportunity, I thought about how for most of my life I have desired to be a big name in Christianity to do big things and have wide influence. I wanted to be a great evangelist like Billy Graham, a self-sacrificing missionary like Jim Elliot, a heroic servant like Mother Teresa, or a world-renowned author, speaker, and pastor like Francis Chan or David Platte. But here in this little African village, in a Friday afternoon church service of no more than 30 attendants, I got to tell what God has done in my life. I realized this is the beginning; this is what God has for me. Perhaps my influence will not be by speaking to thousands at a time or writing a book that will be read by millions (perhaps God might use me in that way some day, but that is not for my pride to dictate by for God to direct if that is His will). But perhaps I might have the same magnitude of influence, but just one person at a time, one small church service at a time.
Then, not 2 days later, I got to give a message in another church, encouraging the church in their joy. The next day I was hugely encouraged. I was told that many Mzungu (white person) preachers come to Africa to teach on the Bible, but the words that I spoke really did speak to them, that they were from God. I was told how they could tell that I had a special anointing. This was great encouragement to me, but I also strive to remain humble about this, recognizing that there is nothing special about me but it is totally the grace of God at work in me for the sake of others.
But this month, this trip–my very life–is not about me. Its not about my serving myself in the work God is doing in and for me. If that is my focus, then I truly gain nothing. I still must fight to serve others. I ought not lift up my own ministry, but wholly support the work that others are doing. And when I do get to serve someone directly, it is not about the service that I have done, but its about the work God is doing for them
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