We did a lot of preaching this month in Rwanda. Pretty much every single day we had a church service.
Preaching is a challenge for me. I’m aware that it’s not one of my gifts or something that I particularly enjoy, but sometimes the Lord simply asks for obedience. It was my turn to prepare something to say for church on Sunday morning. I had no clue.
Papa, what do you want your children in Rwanda to know?
What He said made me so nervous. I knew it would be heavy to talk about. I didn’t want to bring up hurts. Wounds regarding the genocide, I will never understand. I didn’t want to be the one to go there. But I knew it was God’s heart.
That morning as we were worshipping, my heart felt so heavy and burdened that I was brought to tears. I thought the enemy was trying to plant fear in my spirit, because no part of me wanted to share what the Lord had put on my heart. But I knew I had to.
God was giving me His emotions for the people of Rwanda. I was feeling the pain over their brokenness because Father God felt it first.
Ok Holy Spirit, here we go. This MUST be all you, because I can’t stop crying enough to even speak.
God has a heart of forgiveness. He is calling you to forgive those who have hurt you in the past. If you continue to harbor bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart, it allows the enemy to have a stronghold in your life. God is asking you to forgive, so He can bring true healing to your hearts. God is a God of justice. Jesus will come back to fight for you. He will make the wrongs right again.
Then I read a few words the Lord gave me for them….
Dear beloved sons and daughters of Rwanda,
I love you! I have always loved you! I have never left your side. You are no less important to me than anyone else in the world. You are not forgotten now and you were not forgotten back then. You ARE never alone. You WERE never alone. I was holding you by the hand, my beloved children. My heart was broken during those days where Satan had reign over Rwanda. I was devastated. My love for you is so strong my dear children in Rwanda. I am sorry that you may not have felt my deep love for you. It has never stopped. I have not forgotten what has happened to you, I will fight for you and bring justice. In the end, I will make the wrongs right. Trust me. Please trust me. As my sons and daughters, please receive all the love that I have for you. Beloved, my love for you is deep. It never changes. Nothing you have done or will ever do will make me love you any less. You are worthy. I say you are worthy of my perfect love.
Love, Father God
After I finished, my heart felt lighter. I didn’t even notice that many people in the congregation had been crying, including the pastor. Pastor got up there, and asked people to come up and share how God had touched them through the message. Then He told them I would be sharing that same message on the Christian radio station in Kigali.
I was like, “Ok Lord, I didn’t expect that but I trust that you will speak to your people again.”
Friday of that week at 5:00pm, I went with Pastor’s wife and Anjali to the radio station. I was so nervous. But Father God spoke once again! And the next day a woman came to their church because of what she heard on the radio. She testified to having a hard time forgiving those who killed her family in the genocide and how she knew God was calling her to forgive.
It’s crazy how God works. He doesn’t NEED us. But He really does WANT to use us to speak to His children. Sometimes it’s simple. Sometimes it’s bold and a little scary. But as long as He is in all of it, there is nothing to fear. I never would have had the guts to bring up those things if I didn’t know for sure it was on the Lord’s heart. I mean how can I tell others to forgive people who killed their families right in front of them?
So don’t ever think that something is too bold or too big for you to share. If Father God puts it on your heart, He will be faithful to use you to deliver His word. I want to trust Him more and more that He will speak and I will hear Him. And that I will feel with my heart what the Father feels.
After we met these sweet children, we couldn’t help but bring them home. We brought them to our house one day and gave them a bath, new clothes, and lunch! So cute!
Another day we bought bags of beans and rice to give to the children. We also brought milk and cookies to hand out. A lot of the children around our village don’t get to eat every meal or even every day. We had expected and bought for around 50 children. There ended up being 135 children. We shared the story of Jesus multiplying 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread to feed the people, and we asked the children to pray that He would do the same today. We ended up having enough for every child! Praise Jesus!
