Stunning! Beautiful! Outstanding! Those were just a few of the adjectives that went through my mind during the bus ride from Uganda to Rwanda. I do not know what I expected to see but it wasn’t what I got. There were beautiful rolling hills. There was green all around us! I think I was expecting a waste land to be completely honest. In my mind I clumped all of Africa together and had a picture of the Sahara desert. I soon found out that I was highly mistaken.
Rwanda is a beautiful country which prides itself on being one of the cleanest and I would say one of the most developed countries in Africa. It almost felt as though I had stepped into Europe. Get this, one day every month, the entire country takes the day of and cleans up Rwanda! I love it.
Here’s a little list of some of the things we did in Rwanda:
-preach, preach, and preach some more
-go house to house to encourage believers
-talk on the radio
-talk at high schools
-pray at a hospital
It was a jam packed month. We were constantly on the go. Very little rest time. But there was so much growth. I was in the Word more than I had ever been in my life. Our team came together in an amazing way! Honestly I don’t know what I expected coming into this new team (Team Change), but whatever it was, it was blown out of the park. I fell in love with our team very quickly. We strive to know more Jesus. We strive to love each other well. We strive to pour our hearts into ministry. We strive to call the best out of each other. It is remarkable.
By the end of the month it felt like we were a family. WE ARE A FAMILY! We trust each other. We tell each other what we are struggling with. We tell each other what we are learning. We celebrate with each other. We LOVE each other. I have been encouraged by this team more than I have been the entire race (I’ve loved all my teams)!
The entire month was incredible…until the last week. That’s when we found out we had been robbed. It was hard on our team. We never came to a conclusion of who did it, but it distressed a lot of us. But it taught me one thing. It’s just money. I don’t need money to take care of myself. I need God to take care of me. God has been providing for me since the day I was born. Why would He stop now? I was robbed, okay, but God is sovereign right? He knew that would happen right? I may not see why it happened, but I know that God is all-powerful. I know that God has a purpose in everything. I know that God loves me deeply. More deeply than I can possibly imagine. Therefore, I am okay with losing that money.
On top of that, I forgive. I forgive whoever it was that robbed us. No one is perfect. I in no way condone the crime that was committed. But I understand that everyone gives in to temptation.
I pray for this person, whoever it is. I pray for a repentant heart. I pray for (let’s say him) him to see the crime he has committed as wrong. I pray that he tangibly feels the love of God in his moment of weakness. I pray that he looks to Jesus and asks to be forgiven. I pray that if he confesses, he is met with love and not judgment. I also pray that this incident doesn’t taint the month for our team. God, I pray that you allow us to still see all the good that came out of the month. That we look back at Rwanda and still see it as a beautiful country, in which You are doing astonishing things. God I thank You for being sovereign. I thank You for being in control of everything. I thank You for loving me so well! I trust you and I love You! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
