Dear Rwanda,
You have wrecked me. You have ruined me. You have destroyed who I once was. The girl who stepped foot in this village for the first time two months ago would not recognize the girl I am today. Everything that I clung to, everything that I thought I wanted, everything that I once thought of important is dead and gone.
The presence of Jesus is real and alive here. I’ve seen it. I’ve experienced it. I’ve been transformed by it. It ripples through your churches as people sing loudly and dance wildly and beat on drums and lose themselves in praise. It dwells among your people as they devote hours upon hours, days upon days, and weeks upon weeks to praying and fasting and reading your word. It brings revival to groups of children, to widows, to genocide survivors, to patients diagnosed with AIDS. Jesus is tangible here. He feels so close that it’s almost as if you could just reach out and grab him. I am different because I have encountered him differently here.
Joy is real here. It’s evident everywhere. Your people exude it. They are full of it. It can’t be shaken and it can’t be taken away because it is from Jesus. They are poor and they are hungry and they are overcome with troubles and afflictions, but man oh man do they have JOY. It’s contagious. I’ve caught it, and now there’s no going back. I didn’t know what the joy of the Lord truly looked like until I saw it exemplified in the Rwandan people.
Rwanda, you are simple. In my little village we don’t have television or shopping malls or nice restaurants or even running water. Our electricity is out almost as often as its on. Rarely do I see a car, just twelve-passenger vans that somehow always end up carrying twenty+ people. When I walk down your dirt paths, I’m greeted by baby goats and sweet kiddos shouting “mzungu! Mzungu! Mzungu!” But I wouldn’t change a single about you. I don’t need the material things of this world that I once held onto with all my might. All I need is Jesus. You have taught me that. You have shown me that true happiness is found in Christ, and not in anything that money can buy.
Lastly, you have taught me the true definition of FREEDOM. Freedom is not doing whatever you want whenever you want, but rather being in Christ. In Jesus, you don’t have to look a certain way, you don’t have to act a certain way, you don’t have to conform to any patterns, you just have to love him and turn to him. In Christ, I am free to be who He made me to be. I don’t have to impress anyone, I don’t have to make anyone like me, I don’t have to fit into any stereotypes anymore. I am free.
Rwanda, you have made me love Jesus more than I thought possible. You have made me throw off shackles of my old life. You have made me surrender every aspect of my life to the Father. You have made me lay all my crowns at His feet. You have given me unshakable joy, perfect peace, boundless grace, and unconditional love. Through Jesus, you have made me into a new creation. These two months have been two months of transformation, and I will never be the same.
For the Kingdom, Ellen
Also, thanks for taking the time to read my blog, friend! The love and support is much-appreciated. If you are interested in helping me continue on this journey and supporting me financially, I am still in need of about $600 by May 1st. You can donate through this blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
