Jean D'Amour shared in the teaching responsibility with Theophile and me. On Thursday he taught on community; the biblical vision of the family of God. I was amazed. He took the concepts he had learned from Rwanda Challenge and attached them to culturally relevant illustrations. As Theophile quietly interpreted for me what Jean D'Amour was teaching, my heart was rejoicing. He pressed hard the concept that in Jesus we are brothers and sisters in the same family; we have the same Father regardless of our race, tribe, economic situation, status, or class in life. As he put flesh on these concepts and I sensed how the teaching was being received, it was obvious; Jean D'Amour has the gift of teaching. All he needs is a deeper understanding of God's truth. I was reminded of the words of Gerard, one of the EACL group; "I can teach if I know the information." Jean D'Amour can teach!
One of the surprises of this trip is to experience Innocent's desire to know God's Word. Innocent is our driver on this trip. When he has work, he probably makes about $50 a week. He has fourteen children and five grandchildren. In our travels he has discovered the Kinyarwanda Study Bible and can't seem to put it down. Every day I find him in the car studying another book of the Bible; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Kings, Revelation, 1 Corinthians. I don't know how he chooses what he will study next. I just know he studies for hours every day. I keep warning him that he is going to know more about the Bible than his preacher. It is obvious to me that many Rwandans want to know the Bible, but they have never had the opportunity.
Frank