Ministry Partners,
June 1
--- Today is Alfred’s final day at work before he begins his vacation, 25 days
of ministry!
I awoke at 6:15 to a beautiful sunny Rwandan day,
having breakfast at 7. I decide to not have the omelet breakfast but opted for
a bowl of my granola and Rwandan tea.
The same team doing water wells is also here and two
of the young men agreed to take a look at my computer. It turned on but after
they left it stopped working again. I am thankful Alfred left his computer for
me to use.
Pastor Wilson arrived at 8:30 and the excitement he
demonstrated, verbally giving God praise, for the arrival of the crusade
posters and handouts made my heart smile. We had a good visit talking about
different scriptures as we waited for Pastor Peter to arrive. Pastor Wilson
does well at English but there are times Pastor Peter’s translation is also
helpful for him but especially for me to understand.
After Pastor Peter’s arrival we went over the agenda
for the crusade and I asked for his input but he said he liked the agenda as
presented. I gave him the needed funds for the rental of chairs and a sound
system as well as funds for the construction of a speaker’s platform. He was
extremely happy when I told him he could have the platform for the front of his
church after the crusade. We had a great discussion about Rwandan cultural
issues, I am still learning so much.
Pastor Peter is having trouble with his phone so we
are going to the Commissioner General’s office to find out about the approval
letter and to stop by Alfred’s office as he called and said he needed his
computer. I am going to take my computer with me and find out from Alfred where
to take it to find out what is wrong with it.
Alfred looked very “smart” in his new shirt, a gift
from the friends at church. It was so fun to be introduced to every work
associate of Alfred’s as he got teased by his co-workers and me. He has been
promoted much and it is evident that he is very well thought of.
Then Pastor Peter and I were off to town but as it
was lunch time I invited him to lunch at our favorite buffet place. We were
there early so we were able to sit outside, usually the seating outside is
already taken. The food is/was excellent and the cost is surprisingly
reasonable for the large variety of items only $5. We had a great lunch
finished off with wonderful pineapple. For those who know me, it is my favorite at
every meal if I can get it. We had a great visit about his work and the church
that he holds at the IRM office
property along with his family and children, two of his sons are at university
now.
Then we were off to get Pastor Peter’s phone fixed.
We walked down a dirt ally, between buildings to a back room type of shop, the
size of a small walk-in closet. A tiny cluttered work shelf and 2 chairs filled
up the space. I sat in one chair while the repairman sat on the edge of his
work shelf. He left at one point to get a part but when he was putting it in he
discovered it had gum on it. It was evident that this new part was used so he left again to get a new one.
The room was so tiny and with the heat, the room
became stifling but I was concerned about offending this repairman who had been
so gracious as to offer me his “office” chair. I chose not to wait outside and
was pleased that the repairs did not last more than the hour and thirty minutes
that we were there. I observed that he appeared to be knowledgeable about his craft
and was glad when the repairs were done.
Curious Rwandan men heard about the Muzungu (white person) who was at the repair shop and came to
peek in the door just to check. I would have liked a photo of the repairman and
his shop.
Pastor Peter asked if there was anything else we
needed in town and as we were also in the area of clothing I told him about the
dress I had seen at the airport in Nairobi and wondered if we could find out if
that type was available locally. We found one shop and although I did not see
the dress I was looking for I did see one Rwandan style 3 piece outfit that I
liked and I bought it.
I thanked Pastor Peter for waiting while I picked
one out and he said “Why not, you waited patiently for a long time while my
phone was being repaired”. He procured a taxi at a good rate as he had me wait
down the street so we could be out of the city center area before the 5 o’clock
rush. Costs for just about everything here is more when they see a Muzungu. The taxi dropped me off at Moucecore and then took Pastor Peter
home to spend time with his family.
I tried on my new Rwandan 2 piece dress on and took the
headpiece to one of the office girls here and asked her to put it on her head
to show me how to do it. She smiled and laughed but readily showed me how. Then
I went to my room and put the fabric on my own head and went back to show her
and the other young woman. I got
resounding approval for the outfit and how I had done the headpiece. They said
I was very very “smart” and that other Rwandans would highly approve. I could not
help but laugh with then for I had bought the outfit to wear at home when I do
my presentations or other times when I will be sharing about Rwanda.
Alfred arrived about 6pm for a dinner of Tilapia,
macaroni w/sauce, beans, chips and a fresh carrot/tomato/avocado (my first fresh
item to eat at this guesthouse and I will not do that again) with oranges for desert.
The teck/ICT
technician person that does all the computer work for Alfred’s workplace
was busy working on computers at a bank but he was going to come to Moucecore to
check out my computer. He came straight from the bank and arrived at 9:15. Not
good news…….it appears that the sales person at the electronics shop at the
airport in Amsterdam did not sell me the correct cord. Although it allowed me
to initially use the commuter, my notebook uses 12 volts and the power cable he
sold me was 19 volts.
He decided to take my notebook with him to see if he
could make the necessary repairs and Alfred left me his computer so I could get
this journaling done. I wanted to get this Word doc. Copied and pasted into the
blog but the internet is not strong enough tonight. Hopefully, it will be
tomorrow.
Enough work for today. Its midnight and time for me
to go to bed.
June 2
--- I slept lat this morning, until 7:30. I guess my body knew breakfast was
scheduled for 8, my clock is working but not the alarm.
Alfred’s wife, Blessing, is arriving today, a 10 hr. bus ride, at 10 for
the weekend. She and their 3 children are current in Uganda as she is going to
the university there to get her Master’s
Degree like Alfred did. Blessing fits her name and she is just that, God
has blessed Alfred by giving her to him for a wife. It will be so good to see
her.
It is noon and they are about to arrive for lunch
then Blessing will translate for me during my time with the 60 HIV/AIDS ladies
at the office.
What a blessing it was to be with the ladies at the IRM office today. I shared about
how/when God called me to preach the Gospel in the prisons and walking in
obedience ever when I had fear. Then I shared some of my personal testimony
followed by making the choice to forgive those that hurt us and that releasing to
Jesus the bitterness and resentment we feel towards them then brings joy and
peace into our lives.
I knew the
Holy Spirit had already prepared the soil of their hearts as 6 received God’s
free gift of salvation and one rededicated her life sharing about how my
message about forgiveness had ministered to her because until today she had not
been able to make the choice to forgive. Thank you Lord for each one of these
precious ladies and may you pour out your blessings upon them.
There were some interesting questions concerning
forgiveness before we closed with prayer and then Alfred took a number of group
photos and candid shots. The ladies had a hard time leaving…………we just ran out
of time. We were only supposed to be with them until 4:30 but it was almost 6
when we finally drove away in our taxi.
Dinner was ready when we arrived back at Moucecore
and after dinner we watched Courageous. Alfred and Blessing gave a big thank you
to Skip and Nancy for the DVD. They will share it in couple’s ministry here.
Once again it is midnight and time for bed. The
electricity went out about 1 ½ hours ago and the computer battery is running
low.
June 3 --- Sunday morning in Rwanda, a very good
day to worship and praise the Lord.
After a breakfast of French toast, pineapple and
Rwandan tea Alfred and Blessing arrived to take me to Pastor Jerome’s village
church. I first met Pastor Jerome last year and he wanted to give me his
testimony. He said he had been a prisoner at the 1930 Central Prison when I did
a crusade there and in 2010 he took the IRM
Spiritual Leaders Training. When he was released he started studying with
Pastor Peter, from the Rwandan Foursquare Church, who was one of the local
follow-up pastors that was also involved in the training. He now has his own
Foursquare Church and he has a heart for working with IRM, returning to the prisons to give his testimony and to share
the Gospel.
He met us at the roadside and he was quite an elegant
sight in his white trousers and white calf length coat.
We walked with up the hill on a dirt pathway only a
short distance when we heard the beautiful singing coming from his small
church. We had arrived a bit late as they had started at 10. After they
finished that song Pastor Jerome introduced us stating how he first heard me
preach in the prisons and that I was his Spiritual Mother. I was the first time
I had ever heard myself referred to that way in a public setting.
It was a blessing of realization that brought
tears to my eyes, the Lord has brought me so far and blessed my life beyond
measure.
Choirs sang both young and older, then there were
testimonies. My watch said 10 min. to 12 when Pastor Jerome stood and said a
few words and motioned to the man sitting behind me who was sitting next to the
wall. As Alfred, Blessing and I turned to look….. I watched the man stand up
and remove the wall clock that was hanging there!!!!!!!!!!!! We just couldn’t
help it, we started laughing out loud as did the other parishioners. I figured
Pastor Jerome was preparing to preach a very long sermon.
Then he handed
the mike to me and one to Alfred. I looked at Alfred with a puzzled look as he
said “Your turn to preach”! To which I commented, “Oh, I thought I was going to
hear Pastor Jerome preach”. I asked Pastor Jerome how long I had to preach and
he said, “I’ve removed the clock, no matter.”
I preached about “Making Choices out of Fear”,
included some of my personal testimony, some about holding on to bitterness and
resentment and some about the beginnings of prison ministry and IRM. I quoted Eph.2:8.9 followed by
Blessing, Alfred and I doing the “Gift Bag” skit. I gave the invitation while
Alfred sang a song of invitation and then we watched the Holy Spirit bring 9 to
saving knowledge in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Jerome prayed over them and I had the
privilege of leading them in a prayer of salvation.
Then Pastor Jerome asked me if I was coming again or
did I want to hear him preach then. I said “You took the clock off the wall, go
ahead.” And that is what he did for about 20 min.. By the time we had finished
it was 1:30. Everyone was so gracious and allowed us to take photos and one
woman introduced herself as also having the name Arlene.
Then Pastor Jerome asked that we stop by his nearby
house before departing and of course it would have been rude to have
refused……..little did we know that for this Muzungu it was quite far and
uphill.
When we finally arrived at his house it appeared
many of the people from the church were also invited and then, according to
Rwandan custom, it became evident that we had actually been invited to dinner.
How gracious of Pastor Jerome and his wife to host
such an event in my honor. The meal was delicious, especially the rice. In all
my visits to Rwanda I had never eaten rice flavored in that manner, I had to
restrain myself from eating more than my very generous portion.
After eating we thanked Jerome and his wife and made
our way down the hill to our taxi and back to Moucecore. It was hard to see
Blessing leave for Uganda at 5 but she need to get back for University studied
and work tomorrow.
Alfred and I had dinner at 7 and the worked on IRM business stuff. I finally “kicked
him out” at about 9 as we will have a very early and busy day tomorrow.
I have worked on this computer for 11/2 hours and I
have been promised that my computer will be fixed and back to me tomorrow ….. I
really hope so. The plan was to post at least every other day but this is apt
to turn into a novel if I don’t get it back soon. We have no idea why Alfred’s
computer will not let me get into my Gmail account or why the blog will not
allow me access. Neither will accept my passwords…….hummmm.
It’s very late now so I’m off to bed.
That none would be lost,
Arlene
