The safari wind-down was very good, but we missed the elephants. Other wild life abounded: baboons, hippos, monkeys, giraffes, crocodiles, impalas, water buffalo, zebras, ridgeback (warthogs), topis (deer), bush buck (small antelope), common eland (large antelope) and many strange and beautiful birds.
Rwanda’s beauty continually flirts with the senses. This land of a thousand hills, also known for being the source of the Nile, captivates. Her delightful people are living out redemption as they rise from the ashes of genocide. Hope abounds and confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ is rising even as so many rural Rwandans continue their desperate struggle for a better tomorrow.
The world, and the world of missions is changing. We sit here in a Kigali café with three Rwandan friends. Each one of us, African and American, between friendly verbal exchanges, are interacting with others far and near via the internet on nine devices among the six of us. One African is deftly juggling a laptop, tablet and cell phone. Yet, we have travelled thousands of miles (actually flown, at super-human speed) to be physically present. Our partnership in the gospel has become a high-tech/ high-touch affair beyond the wildest imaginations of previous generations. We praise God for the innovations that keep us connected between visits, but we still need to feel one another’s embrace, to dance together and to sing together.
When we are actually physically with one another, something transcendent and glorious happens for those visiting for the first time as well as for those of us who consider this a home away from home. Together we have discovered that grace flows from beyond ourselves and in both directions. As one of our sisters pointed out at our goodbye party, “What we are experiencing together is not about us Rwandans or about you Americans, but about our God who is pouring out this love that flows from our hearts to one another.”
Tonight we fly home via the modern miracle of human flight, but our spirits will be soaring far above our five-mile altitude. May all the angels in heaven praise our Heavenly Father who is redeeming for himself a people comprised of every nation. By His mercy and grace we will reign with Jesus, enjoying God’s delightful loving presence for ever and ever.
Rwanda’s beauty continually flirts with the senses. This land of a thousand hills, also known for being the source of the Nile, captivates. Her delightful people are living out redemption as they rise from the ashes of genocide. Hope abounds and confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ is rising even as so many rural Rwandans continue their desperate struggle for a better tomorrow.
The world, and the world of missions is changing. We sit here in a Kigali café with three Rwandan friends. Each one of us, African and American, between friendly verbal exchanges, are interacting with others far and near via the internet on nine devices among the six of us. One African is deftly juggling a laptop, tablet and cell phone. Yet, we have travelled thousands of miles (actually flown, at super-human speed) to be physically present. Our partnership in the gospel has become a high-tech/ high-touch affair beyond the wildest imaginations of previous generations. We praise God for the innovations that keep us connected between visits, but we still need to feel one another’s embrace, to dance together and to sing together.
When we are actually physically with one another, something transcendent and glorious happens for those visiting for the first time as well as for those of us who consider this a home away from home. Together we have discovered that grace flows from beyond ourselves and in both directions. As one of our sisters pointed out at our goodbye party, “What we are experiencing together is not about us Rwandans or about you Americans, but about our God who is pouring out this love that flows from our hearts to one another.”
Tonight we fly home via the modern miracle of human flight, but our spirits will be soaring far above our five-mile altitude. May all the angels in heaven praise our Heavenly Father who is redeeming for himself a people comprised of every nation. By His mercy and grace we will reign with Jesus, enjoying God’s delightful loving presence for ever and ever.
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