A summary of ministry and life in Rwanda – the 6th country of my World Race
My squad had a basically uneventful flight from Kathmandu, Nepal, to Kigali, Rwanda, with a short layover in Dubai. We arrived at the Kigali airport on the morning of May 31st. Our ministry host, Pastor Fred, was waiting outside to greet us. My first impression of him was that he was tall and quiet. Based on the information we had received, we were expecting to be doing ministry in Kigali for the month. However, we got in the van Pastor Fred arranged for us and found ourselves on the road for four hours. We reached Nyagatare, a rural village in northeast Rwanda, where we spent the first half of the month.
We made lots of friends in Nyagatare. Zeymana was the watchman at our guest house. He doesn’t speak English, but that didn’t stop him from talking to us. Christian was a little boy who lived across the street from us. He played outside his house and would always greet us when we left for ministry or returned home. My teammate Ben bought him some toy cars and trucks, which made Christian so happy. Agnes and her children Brian and Kate cooked all of our meals, and Agnes translated for us in church.
Pastor Fred lives in Kigali; he has a church there, and he also planted a church in Nyagatare. However, the Rwandan government has closed many churches in the past couple years due to increasingly strict regulations. Pastor Fred’s churches were closed two years ago. The necessary improvements needed to reopen the churches include cement flooring, windows, dropped ceiling, soundproofing, etc. We spent our mornings in Nyagatare working on building the floor of the church. We shoveled and carried bucketfuls of dirt into the church, which we spread out, leveled, and then compacted. Cement was mixed and poured on top of the layer of dirt.
In the evenings, we prayer walked and visited the homes of congregants to share an encouraging word. I am amazed at how they expressed what an honor it was to receive us, that their family and home was blessed just by us being there. I wonder if I treat visitors the same way.
We shared testimonies in church on Sundays and led Bible studies on Friday nights. Even though the church building is technically closed, the church body still meets. I shared my testimony on the first Sunday in Nyagatare, which makes this the fourth continent on which I’ve gotten to share my story.
My 24th birthday was on Thursday, June 13th. The day began peacefully. Christian, the neighbor boy, came over to play. I got to Skype some of my family. The day ended with a surprise of cake, a confetti cannon, and the movie Elf. We were cleaning up confetti for dayssss.
Getting to know Pastor Fred was my favorite part of the month. He is learning English and says the funniest things. In addition to the building regulations, the government has put educational stipulations on church leaders. Pastor Fred needs to begin a seminary program within three years to be able to legally preach.
Before we left Nyagatare for Kigali, we were able to take Pastor Fred on his first safari! We left at four in the morning for Akagera National Park on the eastern border of Rwanda. Once we reached the park, it took us about six hours to drive through. The roof of our safari vehicle popped up so that we could stand and see outside. It was a really fun day! We saw zebras, giraffes, hippos, antelope, waterbacks, buffalo, baboons, monkeys, warthogs, and many different kinds of birds. After the safari we headed to Kigali for the rest of the month.
In Kigali we lived at pastor Fred’s house. His wife was away but three of his twelve kids were there.
For ministry in Kigali, we went to Pastor Fred’s church each morning to do yard work like weeding and planting grass. In the evenings we prayer walked. We went to a Wednesday night service at a different church and got to share testimonies and a sermon. On Sundays we attended the church of Pastor Fred’s spiritual mom and dad, who called themselves our spiritual grandparents.
Pastor Fred gave each of us Rwandan names. Mine is Mahoro, meaning peace. That name has been a prophecy and a challenge for me this month. I want peace to overflow out of me, but I feel like my emotions tend to sway and I don’t live in a constant state of internal peace. I’m learning what it means to have peace that transcends circumstances. Peace that remains unchanged and unmoved in the face of the unknown, which is something that scares me the most.
My prayer for this month was revival of my heart — that I would have renewed passion, energy, and excitement for the second half of the Race. Honestly, this month was a struggle for me. My thoughts wandered a lot to life post-Race; I couldn’t keep myself from thinking about and wishing I was in the next season of life. One of my teammates shared the other day that God told them to tell me I’m worthy of love. I’ve believed for a long time the lie that I’m not worthy of love. I asked the Lord why he was telling me this now, and he revealed to me the reason was that I still have things I need to learn on the Race. There is still growth I need to seek here, especially regarding my identity. I think God was also showing me that my teammates are going to play a big role in helping me grow in believing God’s promises about who he made me to be.
My theme for this month is faithfulness. I saw so much faithfulness this month. Pastor Fred and all the other pastors in Rwanda who remain faithful to the calling God has given them. The believers here who meet faithfully despite the government closing the doors of their churches. The Lord’s faithfulness in sustaining me this month and always. Even my faithfulness in choosing to run the Race each day.
Thank you for reading about my month in Rwanda and for all your prayers <3
