For our last day of Ministry in Rwanda, my team and I had the most incredible opportunity to be part of an evangelistic outreach! Honestly, if there is every a “perfect way” to end a month on the Race, it’s with a crusade! And this story just highlights the mightiness and faithfulness of God to work with minimal time and resources.
Two days before we were scheduled to leave Rwanda, my teammate Jen was talking to our translator, John, about how we were all interested in doing a worship night in the village square on our last day. John had an even better idea— he suggested we do a crusade in the square instead! We were all very excited about the idea and decided to pursue it further by talking to our ministry host Pastor Fatier. She excitedly agreed but told us we would need a supply budget of about $150 USD in order to host such an event. And you know what? God brought the money in less than a full night’s sleep!
Tuesday, 6/25/19. The day of the crusade came quickly. To start the day, some of us helped build the stage we would later be using to preach. We also met a famous gospel singer from Rwanda who graciously agreed to help us host the event. We were thrilled! In order to prepare, a few of us even fasted the whole day, seeking the Lord to do what only He could do. But before then, we had a small hurdle to jump over.
Pastor Fatier suddenly remembered that there was a village leader meeting at the same time as our event. These meetings happen every Tuesday, and they are big deal. The leaders force everyone in the village to close their stores and come to the meeting. No one is exempt. However, God turned this for His good (as He always does). The leaders eventually agreed to have their meeting for only one hour, and they moved the location to the village square, the very place we were going to be hosting the crusade immediately after their meeting! And wow! Talk about a great turnout!
About 800 people (probably even more) showed up to the event! The service we had was so smooth, you would have thought we planned this months in advance. The church’s worship team sang a few songs before we came on stage. Me and my teammate Tyler were able to lead them in a few songs, even singing a few songs we had learned from this month in the Kinyarwanda language! As soon as we transitioned to their own native language, the atmosphere completely changed. It suddenly became THICK with the Lord’s presence… and we were outside!
After we finished singing, the gospel singer invited us to sing and dance with him as he did a few of his own songs as well. That was such a fun and exhilarating time! We all danced and jumped on the very rickety stage we had built just hours before! All of us this month experienced a new level of freedom in worship, and it was so beautiful to get to worship so freely with the people we had grown to love so much!
After the praise and worship time, my teammate Jen brought an evangelistic message that was strong and clear— it was so beautiful to see how much she has grown in sharing what is on her heart. She proclaimed just how much the Lord loves us all and wants a deep relationship with us personally. When we asked how many people wanted to accept Christ, the stage was suddenly swarming with people.
Rough count:
300+ people (including children) accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior!!!! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! And the Lord blessed me to be able to lead them in a prayer of salvation.
Truly, what the Lord did that night surpassed all of our expectations! And with so little time! God truly does not work in bounds of time, and time is NEVER a limiter of His great power! Thank you all for your prayers and support! The Lord has been blessing us beyond measure as we continue to bring Kingdom to the people around us!
In all things, be blessed!
AG
