February in Rwanda felt long but also flew by at the same time! My co-leader, Jackie, and I wanted to take advantage of Rwanda being a small country and see all four teams this month! Jackie and I traveled together for the first two teams and then split up the last week to go to the two remaining teams spending anywhere from 8-10 days with each team. As a result there was a LOT of traveling for the two of us. No rest for the weary! (No, we aren’t weary.) In fact, I feel very rested and peaceful, even with all the moving around and energy exhausted.
There were many things we did with the three different teams! In between ‘doing things’, there was lots of relational building time, learning, and convos about Jesus! (Which is the most exciting!!) 😀
This is JP, a manager of a guesthouse in Kibuye. We built amazing relationships with his staff and was even able to volunteer with them by doing laundry, cleaning, and kitchen work.
This was a church we went to a few times. I was so blessed by their dedication and love for Christ. We went to a women’s prayer event that lasted over 6 hours! No food and no bathroom break. They are incredible women with big hearts for Jesus and Rwanda.
This is the view from the housing for the second team I visited. It oversees the entire city of Kigali. We took advantage of this view many days and prayed blessings and revival over the entire city.
My final week I was with a team that helped at a disability school. We were blessed to watch a practice performed by blind singers and deaf dancers.
This is Rotem, she is an Israeli traveling for 11 months (haha same same) by herself (but different). We were able to celebrate her birthday with her. She was such a delight to be with! She wanted to worship and pray with us, which was amazing because as we explained the songs that we were singing we were able to share the message of Jesus and why him coming is so important to the Christian faith. She was very interested in hearing and open! Praise God!
God has been teaching me to pray and expect big and bold but then also to be content with the small things. I desire to do BIG things for Jesus but He has been teaching me to see the importance in the small actions that He asks us to do. When we are diligent with the small things, then He will give us big responsibilities.
One example was when we were waiting for a taxi. It was night and cold. There was a child sitting near the street all alone (maybe 9 years?). Something tugged at my heart for him. I could tell that he had no where else to go and that he would probably stay there all night. I felt I should go over there but I thought, ‘Lord, I have nothing to give him’ ‘I can’t do anything to help him or change his situation’. But I felt the Spirit press me to go anyway. I sat down next to him on the curb and started talking. His English was limited so I only really got his name. I began to talk to him as if he could understand me. I prayed for him and started speaking life over his life; that he would grow up knowing Jesus, would be taken in, have food, warmth, clothes, etc… As I sat there I noticed he held an empty bottle. I thought, ‘I have water’. I pulled out my water bottle and motioned for him to open his. I filled his bottle up with what I had. The taxi came, told him God loves him, and then we left.
Many times in our lives we pass right on by the small things God wants us to do. It would have been easy to not see him sitting there. Easy to not sit with him. Easy to miss his empty bottle. Even when we think we don’t have anything to give or any part in someone’s life. We might. We might have water, we might have prayer, we might have comfort, we might have love.
God is teaching me to see these small things in every day life. It’s not just when I feel like I have ‘ministry’ to do. It’s constant. Throughout every minute of our lives we have the ability to SEEK ministry everywhere and anywhere by letting God direction our attention and our thoughts. In order to see the small things God has for us to do, we need to give God space in our minds and in our life. What are the small things in your daily routine that God wants you to see? How can you be faithful with the little so you can be faithful with the big?
