Last Sunday we had an amazing experience in which once again the Lord taught us something very challenging through one of our Rwandan friends. This is actually something that we have become increasingly aware of. [Please see the blog entitled "Whether you and I want to admit it or not!" to follow more of what the Lord has been teaching us in this aspect of our lives!]
So as we were singing praise songs at the beginning of the worship service, Mama Mutesi* came forward and starting leading us in a very simple song that says "Ntabwo tuzongera kubabara" or "We will not continue to suffer/hurt!"
Let me pause for a moment to tell you about Mama Mutesi, she is a wonderfully cheerful lady who is a member of the Murinja Friends Church (one of the churches we are working in with D for D). Almost 2 months ago, Mama Mutesi's oldest child, a daughter about 18 years old, died after fighting for many years with various complications of a diseased heart. In the past 4 or 5 years, they were constantly at the hospital, seeing different doctors, trying to find medicine, etc. This has been a major part of Mama Mutesi's life for these last years and after all of that working and fighting, her daughter died. In a week and a half, this small church of Murinja lost 4 people to death. Two children died unexpectedly and an older man died, as well as Mama Mutesi's daughter.
As Mama Mutesi came forward on Sunday, she was dancing with absolute joy, exuberantly claiming and proclaiming the promise that "We will not continue to suffer and hurt!" Her face was radiating with the joy of the Lord, her smile was absolutely contagious and I found myself smiling uncontrollably. I remembered Moses' radiance after coming down from being on the mountain with God. I was overwhelmed with the incredible hope we have in Jesus! As Mama Mutesi was singing at the top of her lungs and dancing a beautiful dance of joy, she led all of us into one of the most exciting, Spirit-filled times of worship that I have ever experienced.
In Hebrews 2:14-15, it says, "Because God's children are human beings--made of flesh and blood--Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying." Mama Mutesi showed all of us that day that she has been absolutely delivered from slavery to the fear of dying. She is looking forward with anticipation the day in which she will see the Lord's promises in Revelation come completely true!
Revelation 21:4 "He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever."
AND
Revelation 22:3-4 "No longer will anything be cursed. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads."
In D for D, we are working with the Lord to emphasize the truth that He wants to transform our lives today and that we are supposed to pray and work toward His kingdom coming and His will being done on earth on it is as heaven. In Rwanda, this is a very important message, because the emphasis is almost always on heaven, that all of our problems will go away when we get to heaven.
We were deeply struck by the opposite truth taught to us by our Rwandan friends on Sunday; Difficulties, pain, and death is a normal part of this life and our hope is in Jesus for our future home in heaven.
So you see, we need each other. We need our Rwandan friends to remind us that we are only here temporarily and that our home and hope is in heaven through Jesus Christ our Lord and King! And our Rwandan friends need to hear the other side, that the Lord is and wants to building His Kingdom in and through us, here and now!
*In Rwanda, parents are often known as Mama or Papa so-and-so (the name of one of their children). Example: my parents could be called Papa Brad and Mama Brad. Often, we don't know the name of parents, we just know them by their children's name.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Whether you and I want to admit it or not!
Whether you and I want to admit it or not, as Americans our tendency when it comes to people from other cultures and traditions is that we usually think that we are better. We think we could teach them a lot about life and how God really wants us to live, worship Him, raise children, eat food, etc.
The Lord has been confronting this pride within us and challenging us to learn from our brothers and sisters in Rwanda! Yes, there are some things that the Lord might want to use us to teach them, but likewise there are some things that He wants to teach us through them!
We all have different perspectives based upon our worldviews, culture, experiences, personalities, passions, gifting, etc, that shape the way that we see life, how we interpret Scripture, and how we incorporate our faith into our lives. God is a magnificent and creative God who created the numerous languages and cultures among the many diverse people groups on Earth. The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization states that “Because man is God’s creature, some of his culture is rich in beauty and goodness. Because he is fallen, all of it is tainted with sin and some of it is demonic.”(Perspectives: Chapter 71, "The Willowbank Report: The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, P. 483.)
If we were are all sitting in a circle around a globe each of us will have a slightly different perspective of the globe. There are parts of the globe that you would see that I would not be able to see. And others would see parts of the globe that you and I both cannot see. But if we could gain perspective from each other, we would be able to see or understand more clearly what the globe looks like.
It is my belief that every culture has a somewhat different and unique perspective on God and Scripture, and that if all of these correct perspectives could be put together, we would see and understand God, His glory, and His universal plan and purpose more completely. Although He is far beyond our comprehension and we will never fully understand Him, His ways, or His thoughts – Isaiah 55: 8-9! I think that this, working together, could empower our churches to be more of what God desires them to be. Also because of culture, we all have blind spots (areas that are distorted by our culture) when we interpret the Bible, which distorts the beauty of the way we live out God’s will in our lives and the Church.
May the Lord help each of us to be willing and ready to learn from people around us who have a different perspective so that we might more fully live in the Lord's plan and will for our lives. May His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven!
The Lord has been confronting this pride within us and challenging us to learn from our brothers and sisters in Rwanda! Yes, there are some things that the Lord might want to use us to teach them, but likewise there are some things that He wants to teach us through them!
We all have different perspectives based upon our worldviews, culture, experiences, personalities, passions, gifting, etc, that shape the way that we see life, how we interpret Scripture, and how we incorporate our faith into our lives. God is a magnificent and creative God who created the numerous languages and cultures among the many diverse people groups on Earth. The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization states that “Because man is God’s creature, some of his culture is rich in beauty and goodness. Because he is fallen, all of it is tainted with sin and some of it is demonic.”(Perspectives: Chapter 71, "The Willowbank Report: The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, P. 483.)
If we were are all sitting in a circle around a globe each of us will have a slightly different perspective of the globe. There are parts of the globe that you would see that I would not be able to see. And others would see parts of the globe that you and I both cannot see. But if we could gain perspective from each other, we would be able to see or understand more clearly what the globe looks like.
It is my belief that every culture has a somewhat different and unique perspective on God and Scripture, and that if all of these correct perspectives could be put together, we would see and understand God, His glory, and His universal plan and purpose more completely. Although He is far beyond our comprehension and we will never fully understand Him, His ways, or His thoughts – Isaiah 55: 8-9! I think that this, working together, could empower our churches to be more of what God desires them to be. Also because of culture, we all have blind spots (areas that are distorted by our culture) when we interpret the Bible, which distorts the beauty of the way we live out God’s will in our lives and the Church.
May the Lord help each of us to be willing and ready to learn from people around us who have a different perspective so that we might more fully live in the Lord's plan and will for our lives. May His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Discipling for Development
Discipling for Development (D for D) is a process we are engaging in in Rwanda that helps bring whole life transformation into Rwandan communities. We as missionaries, together with Rwandan Christians engage in relationships with people in a community, helping them to identify the resources in the community, coming up with sustainable solutions to the problems they themselves identify. We do this while also sharing God’s love for them, realizing that God’s message to them is good news in all areas of life. Teachings (and transformation) happens in the areas of economics, health, relationships, spiritual growth, farming methods, etc.
The Lord has been transforming us and the way we see Him and the way we understand the Good News that Jesus came to bring to us! Here it is in a brief explanation:
THE CREATION: God created everything good, He said it was very good! (spiritually - we were united with God; physically - there was no pain, no sickness, no death; relationally - there was peace, love, selflessness, etc; environmentally - there was enough good water, good food, people lived at peace with animals, etc) It was all amahoro (shalom). God was King of everything and everything was just the way He wanted it!
THE FALL: Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. They decided they wanted to be King, and in that sin everything was distorted or ruined! (spiritually - we were separated from God and His will for our lives; physically - then came death, sickness, pain, etc; relationally - then came hatred, jealousy, murder, war, lying, cheating, etc; environmentally, drought, famine, bad water, etc. Everything is not the way God wants it. Humans are King. It was all non-amahoro (non-shalom).
REDEMPTION: God sent Jesus, the Redeemer! Jesus came to redeem all that was distorted or ruined! Although things will never be perfect on this earth, Jesus has, is, and will continue to redeem until the day He takes us home! (spiritually - He has made a way for us be united to God and live life with Him as our King, Savior, and Friend; physically - He gives us grace in our pain, sickness, and there is hope after death. He also heals us as He chooses; relationally - He has broken down and can break down all the walls that divide us, hatred, bitterness these can all be removed and replaced with God's love flowing in us and through us; environmentally - creation is groaning for redemption from the curse of the fall, but our task of stewarding and caring for the earth has been given to us anew in Christ! To those of us who choose to live in God's Kingdom, God is King and He leads us to walk in His will; He empowers us; and He helps us in all areas of our lives!
So when we teach about goats and how God created them and what He thinks about goats and help them discover some better ways for caring for their goats we are sharing a piece of the good news...God being involved in every part of our life and helping us as we know Him more and more in our work, in our families, with our neighbors, environment, etc. So in this way we are intentionally sharing / showing the gospel message in a way that connects to what Rwandans have known and experienced in a traditional religion that touched all of life. But now we are proclaiming the true gospel that touches all of life! We believe that in D for D we have a tool for the Church that can help us to experience, live in and share the Good News of God's Kingdom to our Rwandan friends, colleagues, and neighbors in a way that speaks deeply into the hearts of Rwandans.
We are currently working in 4 communities; Murinja, Musovu, Kirambo, and Karembure. In the first 3, (Murinja, Musovu and Kirambo) we are focusing on already present Evangelical Friends Churches. Each church chose some members to be on a committee that we are meeting with regularly and mentoring.
The fourth community is Karembure, in which we do not currently have a church. There are many Friends Church members who have recently moved to that community because they were forced from their homes. So the Yearly Meeting is thinking and planning toward planting a church there someday. We have been working with a group of community members; some are Christians, some are not. We have been meeting with them as well regularly, building relationships and beginning the whole-life mentoring process.
We are going to make a blog entry describing each of these communities in the next few weeks. So to learn more about this, please check back and learn how you can pray specifically for each of our communities.
The Lord has been transforming us and the way we see Him and the way we understand the Good News that Jesus came to bring to us! Here it is in a brief explanation:
THE CREATION: God created everything good, He said it was very good! (spiritually - we were united with God; physically - there was no pain, no sickness, no death; relationally - there was peace, love, selflessness, etc; environmentally - there was enough good water, good food, people lived at peace with animals, etc) It was all amahoro (shalom). God was King of everything and everything was just the way He wanted it!
THE FALL: Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. They decided they wanted to be King, and in that sin everything was distorted or ruined! (spiritually - we were separated from God and His will for our lives; physically - then came death, sickness, pain, etc; relationally - then came hatred, jealousy, murder, war, lying, cheating, etc; environmentally, drought, famine, bad water, etc. Everything is not the way God wants it. Humans are King. It was all non-amahoro (non-shalom).
REDEMPTION: God sent Jesus, the Redeemer! Jesus came to redeem all that was distorted or ruined! Although things will never be perfect on this earth, Jesus has, is, and will continue to redeem until the day He takes us home! (spiritually - He has made a way for us be united to God and live life with Him as our King, Savior, and Friend; physically - He gives us grace in our pain, sickness, and there is hope after death. He also heals us as He chooses; relationally - He has broken down and can break down all the walls that divide us, hatred, bitterness these can all be removed and replaced with God's love flowing in us and through us; environmentally - creation is groaning for redemption from the curse of the fall, but our task of stewarding and caring for the earth has been given to us anew in Christ! To those of us who choose to live in God's Kingdom, God is King and He leads us to walk in His will; He empowers us; and He helps us in all areas of our lives!
So when we teach about goats and how God created them and what He thinks about goats and help them discover some better ways for caring for their goats we are sharing a piece of the good news...God being involved in every part of our life and helping us as we know Him more and more in our work, in our families, with our neighbors, environment, etc. So in this way we are intentionally sharing / showing the gospel message in a way that connects to what Rwandans have known and experienced in a traditional religion that touched all of life. But now we are proclaiming the true gospel that touches all of life! We believe that in D for D we have a tool for the Church that can help us to experience, live in and share the Good News of God's Kingdom to our Rwandan friends, colleagues, and neighbors in a way that speaks deeply into the hearts of Rwandans.
We are currently working in 4 communities; Murinja, Musovu, Kirambo, and Karembure. In the first 3, (Murinja, Musovu and Kirambo) we are focusing on already present Evangelical Friends Churches. Each church chose some members to be on a committee that we are meeting with regularly and mentoring.
The fourth community is Karembure, in which we do not currently have a church. There are many Friends Church members who have recently moved to that community because they were forced from their homes. So the Yearly Meeting is thinking and planning toward planting a church there someday. We have been working with a group of community members; some are Christians, some are not. We have been meeting with them as well regularly, building relationships and beginning the whole-life mentoring process.
We are going to make a blog entry describing each of these communities in the next few weeks. So to learn more about this, please check back and learn how you can pray specifically for each of our communities.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A couple of stories from Kirambo
A few months ago one of our D for D coaches (Joe Fry, who works for the Navigators in a ministry called Mission: Moving Mountains) from the U.S. was with us for a few days. He wrote up a couple of wonderful stories that we shared with him. You can see them below and praise God with us for the wonderful things He is doing among us!
The Insurance Bananas of Kirambo, Rwanda.
What does health insurance have to do with bananas? Ask members of the Evangelical Friends Church in Kirambo, Rwanda. They can explain with joy how their health is improving through bananas.
The Rwandan government offers a national health insurance program for all citizens for a modest annual premium. Kirambo is located far from cities and jobs, however. Its agricultural residents struggle to meet daily basic needs. They long viewed health insurance as a luxury that was beyond their financial reach. When church members became sick or were hurt in an accident, they often approached the pastor, Tertullien Nsabimana , asking for money to pay medical bills. In some cases the victim may die at home because the uninsured family cannot pay for hospitalization.
Tertullien and his Disicipling for Development team have a vision for seeing their church experience transformation in every area of life. They also believe that God has already given them resources to solve their problems. With this in mind they researched the problem of uninsured church members and how to empower families to pay for their own health insurance. The team came upon a solution in the form of a new hybrid banana plant that produces large yields of high quality fruit. It grows well in the local soil and climate. They calculated that the average annual yield of one banana plant, sold at local market prices, would provide enough income for a family to pay for health insurance.
The next step was to instill a vision and mobilize the entire church. Church leaders began educating members through their weekly home fellowship groups. People reflected on the problem and soon embraced the plan. Then banana plants were made available to members, who were shown how to care for them properly.
The result to date is that eighty percent of the households in the Friends church in Kirambo are now - or soon will be - paying for their own health insurance. Prayer and accountability through the fellowship groups has been critical to the success of this initiative. It is enabling church members save the income from their bananas to pay for health insurance rather than using the money for other things. This has been an unprecedented victory both spiritually and physically for church members. It is also lifting a huge burden from pastor Tertullien, from whom church members formerly begged for financial help during a medical crisis.
Community members outside the church have been watching with amazement all that is happening. Some are starting to plant their own bananas; some are coming to Christ. The insurance banana initiative in Kirambo is a creative example of how God’s people are mobilizing local resources to improve life and advance His kingdom in rural Rwanda.
How Little Becomes Much: The Pumpkin of Blessing in Rwanda
Marita is a member of the Kirambo Friends Church in southwestern Rwanda. God has done an amazing work of grace in her life. Earlier this year He did equally remarkable things through her testimony.
Marita is HIV positive. Her husband left her long ago. Abandoned, infected and alone with two children, she lived in abject poverty. She owned only one set of clothes. Everywhere she walked she kept her head down and avoided eye contact. She hoped no one would talk to her because she felt ashamed of who she was and of her poverty.
But after Pastor Tertullien Nsabimana gained a new vision for his church through Discipling for Development, his team brought Marita into a discipleship group. They encouraged her through the Word and prayed for her. Her eyes soon began to open concerning the truth about her worth in Christ. She started following Jesus and began to realize that He has given her abilities to help herself and her family to survive. She learned, for example, how to earn money by selling at the market and how to save part of her earnings. She soon accumulated enough savings to acquire goats, a small parcel of land to farm, and she built a small house for herself and her children. Now, when Marita looks into the mirror there is no more shame. Her head is lifted up, her eyes shine, her voice is animated and she is full of joy! She is currently teaching her children how to take care of their own animals, to help pay for school supplies or other expenses. She says, “I may have HIV but I haven’t died of AIDS yet!” Someone asked her if she would forget about God now that her life is going better. She responded, “After all that He has done for me, after all He means to me, I will never leave my Jesus!”
God is not only working in Marita’s life, but through her. Each year in December the Friends Church in Kirambo has a celebration in which members bring a thank offering in response to the Lord’s blessing during the past year. Last December (2009), Marita was concerned during the days leading up to the celebration. Her money situation was tight at that time. What could she give back to the Lord? When the celebration day arrived she decided to bring to church something significant that God had provided for her: the largest pumpkin in her garden.
Marita humbly brought her pumpkin forward and laid it beside the other seemingly more significant gifts. The hearts of church members, who knew her story, were deeply moved by the offering she brought. Suddenly someone made a bid on her pumpkin; the “bid” actually being an offering to be given to the church. Another member responded by making an even higher bid. Seizing the spirit of the moment, soon many church members began joyfully bidding on Marita's pumpkin. When the bidding came to a close and all the money was collected, church members were utterly amazed. The total offering given that day exceeded 700,000 Rwandan francs (over $1,300 USD). This offering was by far the highest the church had ever seen. It was truly an unbelievable moment.
"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on." Mark 12:41-44.
Visiting the church that same Sunday was a choir from a church located in the neighboring country of Burundi. The visitors witnessed what God miraculously did with Marita's pumpkin. Before leaving they asked if they could take her pumpkin with them back to their own church. They were raising funds to build an addition onto their building. The choir members returned home and shared Marita’s story, including her offering of the pumpkin and the response of the Kirambo church. Again the Holy Spirit moved hearts, this time in Burundi. The offerings collected in response to Marita’s story totaled over 3,000,000 francs (over $3,000).
Marita, like each of us, is still in a process of transforming. Yet God is using her mightily to advance His kingdom in Rwanda. A local radio station recently interviewed her to learn more about what God is doing in her life. Marita and her pumpkin are a wonderful illustration of Mark 12:41-44 and how little becomes much when God is in it.
The Insurance Bananas of Kirambo, Rwanda.
What does health insurance have to do with bananas? Ask members of the Evangelical Friends Church in Kirambo, Rwanda. They can explain with joy how their health is improving through bananas.
The Rwandan government offers a national health insurance program for all citizens for a modest annual premium. Kirambo is located far from cities and jobs, however. Its agricultural residents struggle to meet daily basic needs. They long viewed health insurance as a luxury that was beyond their financial reach. When church members became sick or were hurt in an accident, they often approached the pastor, Tertullien Nsabimana , asking for money to pay medical bills. In some cases the victim may die at home because the uninsured family cannot pay for hospitalization.
Tertullien and his Disicipling for Development team have a vision for seeing their church experience transformation in every area of life. They also believe that God has already given them resources to solve their problems. With this in mind they researched the problem of uninsured church members and how to empower families to pay for their own health insurance. The team came upon a solution in the form of a new hybrid banana plant that produces large yields of high quality fruit. It grows well in the local soil and climate. They calculated that the average annual yield of one banana plant, sold at local market prices, would provide enough income for a family to pay for health insurance.
The next step was to instill a vision and mobilize the entire church. Church leaders began educating members through their weekly home fellowship groups. People reflected on the problem and soon embraced the plan. Then banana plants were made available to members, who were shown how to care for them properly.
The result to date is that eighty percent of the households in the Friends church in Kirambo are now - or soon will be - paying for their own health insurance. Prayer and accountability through the fellowship groups has been critical to the success of this initiative. It is enabling church members save the income from their bananas to pay for health insurance rather than using the money for other things. This has been an unprecedented victory both spiritually and physically for church members. It is also lifting a huge burden from pastor Tertullien, from whom church members formerly begged for financial help during a medical crisis.
Community members outside the church have been watching with amazement all that is happening. Some are starting to plant their own bananas; some are coming to Christ. The insurance banana initiative in Kirambo is a creative example of how God’s people are mobilizing local resources to improve life and advance His kingdom in rural Rwanda.
How Little Becomes Much: The Pumpkin of Blessing in Rwanda
Marita is a member of the Kirambo Friends Church in southwestern Rwanda. God has done an amazing work of grace in her life. Earlier this year He did equally remarkable things through her testimony.
Marita is HIV positive. Her husband left her long ago. Abandoned, infected and alone with two children, she lived in abject poverty. She owned only one set of clothes. Everywhere she walked she kept her head down and avoided eye contact. She hoped no one would talk to her because she felt ashamed of who she was and of her poverty.
But after Pastor Tertullien Nsabimana gained a new vision for his church through Discipling for Development, his team brought Marita into a discipleship group. They encouraged her through the Word and prayed for her. Her eyes soon began to open concerning the truth about her worth in Christ. She started following Jesus and began to realize that He has given her abilities to help herself and her family to survive. She learned, for example, how to earn money by selling at the market and how to save part of her earnings. She soon accumulated enough savings to acquire goats, a small parcel of land to farm, and she built a small house for herself and her children. Now, when Marita looks into the mirror there is no more shame. Her head is lifted up, her eyes shine, her voice is animated and she is full of joy! She is currently teaching her children how to take care of their own animals, to help pay for school supplies or other expenses. She says, “I may have HIV but I haven’t died of AIDS yet!” Someone asked her if she would forget about God now that her life is going better. She responded, “After all that He has done for me, after all He means to me, I will never leave my Jesus!”
God is not only working in Marita’s life, but through her. Each year in December the Friends Church in Kirambo has a celebration in which members bring a thank offering in response to the Lord’s blessing during the past year. Last December (2009), Marita was concerned during the days leading up to the celebration. Her money situation was tight at that time. What could she give back to the Lord? When the celebration day arrived she decided to bring to church something significant that God had provided for her: the largest pumpkin in her garden.
Marita humbly brought her pumpkin forward and laid it beside the other seemingly more significant gifts. The hearts of church members, who knew her story, were deeply moved by the offering she brought. Suddenly someone made a bid on her pumpkin; the “bid” actually being an offering to be given to the church. Another member responded by making an even higher bid. Seizing the spirit of the moment, soon many church members began joyfully bidding on Marita's pumpkin. When the bidding came to a close and all the money was collected, church members were utterly amazed. The total offering given that day exceeded 700,000 Rwandan francs (over $1,300 USD). This offering was by far the highest the church had ever seen. It was truly an unbelievable moment.
"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on." Mark 12:41-44.
Visiting the church that same Sunday was a choir from a church located in the neighboring country of Burundi. The visitors witnessed what God miraculously did with Marita's pumpkin. Before leaving they asked if they could take her pumpkin with them back to their own church. They were raising funds to build an addition onto their building. The choir members returned home and shared Marita’s story, including her offering of the pumpkin and the response of the Kirambo church. Again the Holy Spirit moved hearts, this time in Burundi. The offerings collected in response to Marita’s story totaled over 3,000,000 francs (over $3,000).
Marita, like each of us, is still in a process of transforming. Yet God is using her mightily to advance His kingdom in Rwanda. A local radio station recently interviewed her to learn more about what God is doing in her life. Marita and her pumpkin are a wonderful illustration of Mark 12:41-44 and how little becomes much when God is in it.
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