We have been a part of something really special this month.
Our first morning of ministry me and our exposure guy, Sam, headed out with a translator, feeling very unprepared and unequipped. We stopped to talk to a group of women washing clothes and dishes at the side of their house. Our translator talked for a while and then turned to me.
"Tell them what you're doing here."
I told my name. I told where we were from. I started talking about God. I realized I was so far out of my comfort zone that I couldn't even feel uncomfortable. God gave me words to speak to them and pray for them. Two of them got saved.
Further down the road we stopped to talk to some construction workers. Two young men wandered over to hear what the mzungus were talking about. They both got saved right then.
Several days ago I stood in front of our church, looking at the beautiful faces, ready to give one of the 30 minute sermons that we preach 14 times a week. I used to despise talking in front of people, now I love it. God has been speaking life, encouragement and exhortation to His people through all of us. All have been blessed, many challenged and several introduced to the Kingdom.
Divine appointments. They happen every day. The harvest is ripe and plentiful and we have been reaping it. I've lost count of the people who have received salvation, seeking new life.
The community here is changing, coming alive. It's not because of us. We've just been allowed to be apart of it, to usher in the movement of the Holy Spirit.
I can't promise that every person who has confessed belief is actually saved. Only God knows the heart. But I know that one of the young men we talked to the first day has regularly been coming to church.
I know that a lot of people have come to Christ and rededicated their lives durning our church services every day. They've been prayed over and given mentors. That when we have gone back to visit people we can see how God is changing their lives.
Like every person here, he has a heart wrenching story from the time of the genocide. Two weeks ago when some of us visited, he was a drunkard, drinking ten large bottles of beer a day. But he accepted the Lord. Now he's down to two. He cannot stop praising the goodness of His God. Last night he was dancing at the front of the church, filled with the Holy Spirit.
Yes, Rwanda is a fragile place. The people are deeply scarred and although they raise awareness to protect their future, they deeply fear repition of the past. That once again someone will say the word to kill while the world turns their back.
But God is raising up His people. Freedom, hope and joy are exploding in this place. What strikes me so much stronger than the horror stories of the war is the way this country has overcome. Yes, a short while ago countless people had to choose between killing friends and family members or seeing others brutalized and murdered. But now countless people are choosing to forgive, to change, to strive for what is right. Yes, we have talked to many homeless young people who, left to their own devices because their families were killed, have turned to drugs and alcohol. But we have seen so many more people who have chosen to turn to God instead. This country is growing and healing, one person at a time.
We have been a part of something really special this month.
Seeing God's people in Rwanda walk forward into His Kingdom.
