After returning to Kigali from the Karongi District on Saturday, yesterday was our final Sunday. Matt went with a Rwandan friend to the dedication of a new property and church building. He was not quite prepared for the entire service being outside, but he survived the sun. Monica, Myra and I worshipped with a young church (6 months old) in Kabuga. Pastor Theophile desires to plant churches where there are none. He says there are places in Rwanda where people walk five hours one way to attend worship. I preached on “blessed are the poor in spirit” and used the story of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet in Luke 7.

The team is now packed and ready for the Kigali airport. Yes, once again our feelings are mixed. We do not want to leave and we are ready to get home. God has blessed our time in Rwanda in powerful ways. We leave with thankful hearts for our loved ones in America and our brothers and sisters in Rwanda. Our hearts are full.

Rukundo Frank

Today was our day off from teaching this week. We traveled to Rubengera to visit the rebuilt home of Immaculée Ilibagiza, author of “Left to Tell,” which is her own survival story of the Rwandan genocide.  We were surprised to find a personal connection between Immaculée and Pastor Leonidas, our Rwandan leader for the training we are doing this week. Pastor Leonidas is 62 and Immaculee’s mother was his teacher in primary school.

On our trip back “home” we stopped by the St. Jean Church, a memorial to the genocide. Then we toured the beautiful views and gardens of the St. Jean Guest House. Later we enjoyed our boat ride on Lake Kivu to Peace Island.  This is a beautiful land and the islands are evidence of God’s handiwork.  We had a fried turkey dinner with fries and fresh avocados. Tomorrow we go to the Rugabano, about one hour away, to begin our training with the second group of church leaders. Please pray for the second training and our energy.

 

Myra

The last two days Team Rifite Intego (Team on Purpose) has shared Purpose Driven Church with our first group of church leaders in the Karongi District of the Western Province of Rwanda. We were told we would be going into the “raw” village. The ride deep into western Rwanda was a ninety minute ride over a winding, bumpy, and dusty, road, but the countryside was absolutely beautiful. When we arrived at a one room church building high on Mount Ryanpande, we discovered that some of the pastors had walked for two hours without breakfast to attend the training. Day one was focused on understanding God’s five purposes for our lives and His Church. Today, the church leaders focused on application of the five purposes in their cultural context.

The experience of these two days has been extremely fulfilling. Pastor Leonidas, president of the ICC (Inter-church Council), said his heart was filled with joy because the pastors left with a deeper understanding and plans for application. Team Rifite Intego was amazed at some of the insights shared by these church leaders. One described worship as “Enthroning God in our situation.” That is some powerful theology for a pastor from a “raw” village Africa. One of the church leaders expressed that they could train others in what we had taught them, but added, “We also need training to keep us going.” The last two days have been filled with joy as God has used us to equip some of His servants from the deep villages of Rwanda, Africa.

 

Rukundo Frank

     This morning we attended a local church service in Kigali. Frank shared some words during the message using specific Rwandan illustrations that people were able to identify with. The illustrations demonstrated our team’s growth in the area of cultural learning that will continue to be an educational journey for all of us.

In the afternoon we made the journey from Kigali to Kibuye where we will stay for a week. When we arrived we ate fresh fish caught from Lake Kivu and drank more locally grown Rwandan coffee, did I mention the coffee yet?:)

Tomorrow morning we will be working studying with a group of local pastors that we hope to listen and learn from their unique cultural experience. This learning will help us to asses what their challenges are as they provide pastoral care to some of the most martially poor people.

I personally have had several deep conversations which are signs of the trust I have built in relationships here. Many of these conversations have been difficult as they deal with aspects of history that I personally did not live through and can’t being to comprehend, but somehow through the conversations I am learning more about my own experience and faith journey especially in the area of reconciliation.

Thank you for all your prayer and support.

Matt  

Team Rifiti Intego’s day began with a visit to the Nymata Genocide Memorial. This was a grim reminder of man’s cruelty to man and an emotional visit for us.

   When the genocide began in April of 1994, many people sought refuge in the church there. In a nightmare that is hard for us to comprehend, that safe haven became a prison where five thousand were slaughtered. Rather than reopen the church, it was kept as a memorial to those who died there at the hands of their own countrymen. It is a sad sight, with clothing piled on the benches and entire rooms filled with human bones.

   Pastor Vianne and a young man names Charles shared their stories with us. They each survived while losing their families in that building. We were inspired by these two Godly men who are working towards reconciliation while also helping other survivors. The discomfort that both men shared as they told their stories told us that the memories are still difficult.

   In the afternoon, we were invited to attend a Rwanda wedding at Pastor Theophile’s church. The bride and groom and the entire bridal party were beautiful, dressed in white and gold. It was a real treat to be there for this special ceremony.

  Today we head to Kibuye in western Rwanda where we will be for the week. Thank you for all your prayer and support.

 

Monica

   I heard it said that once you get the Rwandan soil on your shoes it stays there forever! I have found this to be true.


Today Monica and I arrived in Kigali where we were greeted by Patrice and my mother-in-law Myra. We then traveled back to the guest house to meet up with Frank and the team of local pastors that he has been working with this week. When we arrived at the house we were greeted with song and dance. I had the privilege of helping hand out certificates to the team of courageous leaders for the completion of their training. After a wonderful Rwandan meal and conversation with the team we made our way through the busy streets of Kigali to a local coffee shop called the Bourbon, one of my favorite spots. 

Tomorrow morning we are headed to Nyamata, a genocide memorial site. After Nyamata we head to the genocide memorial in Kigali. These visits will help us to better understand the history of Rwanda. I look forwrd to my first full day of listening and learning. 

Matthew Woodrow

 
      Wednesday, June 15, I had the privilege of visiting and working at The African Bagel Co.  To start each day they meet for Bible study, worship and prayer.  They make bagels, cinnamon rolls, pizza, donuts, chocolate chip cookies, tortilla shells and chips, croutons, etc.  The atmosphere is similar to a Starbucks; customers sit inside or out, mothers spread blankets on the ground in a picnic style to share with their children.  Many of these dear women have horrific stories – one in particular was left in the forest abandoned by her parents and then taken into another family only to be sold into the sex trade and then became infected with HIV aids.  She is struggling to forgive her parents.  Another woman witnessed her family being killed during the genocide…… sorrow and sadness too deep to comprehend.
 This ministry is teaching a trade to these women and training them in other skills such as parenting, health issues, learning English, etc.
  
 Myra
  
 While Myra was experiencing both the pain of the abused and the joy of those seeking to “do justice,” I was studying Sermon on the Mount with fifteen pastors. Yes, I was in my glory. Today the questions were great and often very deep.
  
 “If Jesus preached “a message of counter-culture,” is our culture bad?”
 “Will the ‘sinful man’ ever really be dead?”
  
 These pastors shared how they will preach on a verse they think they understand, but avoid the verses around it, because of their lack of understanding. But they are good students. It is obvious that these pastors have great potential if only they had Bible resources and someone to teach them. Taking this journey with these servants of Jesus is one of great joy!
  
 Frank

     Neither the King and Queen of England nor the President and First Lady could have had a more glorious and royal reception into the village of Kivuruga.  This is where our World Vision child, Theogene Irafasha lives with his parents and five sisters.  We drove 2 hours north of Kigali and then proceeded down a winding red dirt road until it became a narrow foot path down the side of a terraced hill. The crowd of children grew as we walked and in the distance we could hear children singing to welcome us.  When we got closer the children met us with flowers.  Theogene, who is 9, was given a pair of scissors for us to cut the ribbon that stretched across the entry way into their home.  We read the Word, worshipped and danced, exchanged gifts, and prayed together for our families and communities. Theogene is the only son, the youngest with five older sisters.  Lots of joy was shared when he realized he has five sisters and 2 brothers in America, too. The day ended with a delicious Rwandan meal at a very nice restaurant.  Oh, on this trip I got a call from Compassion to try and arrange a visit with Verena (our child of 10 years) who we had lost contact, thinking she had moved to the Congo. Our cup overflows!  
 Myra

Today was Day One of teaching Rwandan pastors.  We laid the ground work for the week and covered the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount and there were several insightful questions along the way. Before we left NH, Monica Shannon made bookmarks with Psalm 1 in Kinyarwanda and I handed them out today, discussed the Psalm, and challenged them to memorize it. We discovered that they have very little experience in memorizing verses.
  
 

Tonight we were invited to dinner with Robin and Richard Smyth who operate the African Bagel Company in Kigali.  It was so encouraging to hear from these veterans of five years about their challenges and opportunities of ministry.  They welcomed us into their home and hearts.  We shared that we were sending them one of our best Christian role models, Rachel Carter, to help in their work with women who want to be given a hand-up, not a handout.  Thanking God for another blessed day learning, growing, and serving the brothers and sisters in Rwanda.
  
 When we arrived “home” from our evening with the Smyths, to our delight, several of the pastors shared with us Psalm 1 from memory!

   It is Sunday evening and the pastors have arrived anxious to study the Sermon on the Mount which begins tomorrow.  The pastors will study with Frank all week and then they will receive extra notebooks as they prepare to teach the same lessons for other pastors.
  
 We worshipped with Zarephath Church (Pastor Theophile’s church) this morning.  Frank preached and then in the afternoon we shared with six pastors’ wives about the challenges of sharing in the ministry as a married couple….as one dear sister said, “sometimes it seems like our pastor/husbands are “married” to the ministry. 
  
 In sharing with these wives we talked about making special time for their relationships, family time, a day off, etc. In this discussion we discovered that a day off for many still requires trying to “make a life.” This means struggling for daily survival, to find work, to make money, to buy food, which is a normal way of life for the Rwandan family. They asked if there could be a time when the pastors and spouses could come together so they to grow together as a couple. The afternoon seemed to be a great encouragement to these women.

 The remainder of Team Rifite Intego, (Team on Purpose) Monica Shannon and Matt Woodrow, will join us on Friday (please pray for their safe travels).  Then our team will be all together to go to the Karongi District to teach Purpose Driven Church for forty church leaders.
  
 Day two was filled with joy!
  
 Myra