My day started out a little different than normal. Since my
bag was lost during our flight into Rwanda I had to go on a special trip by
myself to Kigali to retrieve it. I was a bit anxious about leaving the rest of
the group and venturing into the capital city on my own but as it turns out
this was an incredible blessing in disguise.
Our guide and interpreter this week, Joseph, coordinated my
ride into Kigali in the same car as Bishop Alexis Olindabagabo. So for over an
hour I got to talk one on one with the Bishop. What a privilege! He told me all
about his experience being a bishop in Rwanda and how God is pouring out his
blessing all over this gorgeous country. He explained how the conference center
where we are staying nearly closed down if not for the direct intervention of
God through key relationships, Alan Hawkins being one of them. Now this center
is a magnificent and profitable ministry to people from all over the world.
Bishop Alexis also shared with me his dream about furthering the relationship
that we have with Rwanda. He has such a huge heart for this country and its
people.
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| Afternoon dancing at Musenyi |
After the car ride myself and Joseph got my bag from the
airport (Thank God. My one pair of clothes was getting very smelly) and
proceeded to take a public bus back to meet the rest of the group. This was
quite an experience. Up to this point everywhere I’d gone had been with a large
group of 18 mizungus (their word for “white people”) and we attracted all kinds
of attention and caused a big ruckus.
But what this solo trip afforded me was a chance to see life the way it
actually occurs in Rwanda and not attract as much attention. With Joseph as my
guide (and very dear friend) we made several errands and used the pretty hectic
and chaotic bus system to get back successfully.
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| Musenyi |
What I learned while I was on this 5 hour side trip was
something very profound. Rwandans, although they look and speak different than
us and are surrounded by very different circumstances, are exactly the same as
you and me. They get through the day just like the rest of us. They share the
same joys and the same struggles. They go to the bank just like we do and they
grind through a workday just like we do. They smile and greet their friends and
neighbors just like we do. We are cut
from the same cloth even though we think them to be so different than us.
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| Musenyi |
God made us all in his image. We all resemble the same God.
At a human level we are all the same. And through the cross of Jesus we are
united in the same Christian family even though we are half a world apart.
Whether in this life or then next, one day we will all worship God together in
beautiful harmony. I can’t wait for that day.
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