 Building Bridges in Rwanda. |  Gene and Theophile give Jeremiah the first Kinyarwanda Study Bible on this trip. |
Gene and I arrived on Tuesday and left for the South Province on Wednesday, five hours later than planned. Wednesday morning Gene visited the Genocide Memorial in Kigali while Theophile and I gathered our final supplies for the trip south. What was supposed to be simple became complicated with multiple issues. Finally, when we thought we were ready to leave Kigali, we discovered a low tire. Once we repaired the tire it was almost dark (we were hoping to arrive in the South Province during the daylight). Desire, our driver, was doing fine, until we were almost at our destination in Gikongoro. One of the log bridges had lost some logs. Now, it is 10 PM and we cannot reach the other side without bridge builders. The Rwandan “engineers” were there. They repositioned logs until the bridge was passable.
Wednesday morning we began “Three Lessons on the Holy Spirit” for thirty-six church leaders from various denominations. They expressed that, “the churches in Rwanda are very confused about the Holy Spirit, but the teaching of Rwanda Challenge is very clear and they understand very well now.” These leaders were in agreement that the RC teaching is what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit. Previously, many believed they needed to pray, and pray, and pray to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the church leader would shake them and pray for a long time so they could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now, they understand that every follower of Jesus is given the gift as promised by Peter in Acts 2:38. Even some of these church leaders had doubts whether they had this gift. We became a bridge between their experience and God’s truth.
On Thursday and Friday nights we were able to show The Passion of the Christ for the people in that village. In the two nights I would guess a hundred people expressed a desire to follow Jesus with their lives. Theophile instructed them to find a local church leader and express their desire to be immersed into Christ. I am reminded that Jesus is the Bridge Builder between us and God.
This morning we left Gikongoro. A large group of Rwandans were preparing a more permanent remedy to the bridge that needed repair. Working together as a community they offered a bridge so we could cross over to the other side.
Now I am reminded that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have worked together in community so we can cross over into an eternal relationship with them.
Thankful for God’s Bridge,
Frank
Wednesday morning we began “Three Lessons on the Holy Spirit” for thirty-six church leaders from various denominations. They expressed that, “the churches in Rwanda are very confused about the Holy Spirit, but the teaching of Rwanda Challenge is very clear and they understand very well now.” These leaders were in agreement that the RC teaching is what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit. Previously, many believed they needed to pray, and pray, and pray to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the church leader would shake them and pray for a long time so they could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now, they understand that every follower of Jesus is given the gift as promised by Peter in Acts 2:38. Even some of these church leaders had doubts whether they had this gift. We became a bridge between their experience and God’s truth.
On Thursday and Friday nights we were able to show The Passion of the Christ for the people in that village. In the two nights I would guess a hundred people expressed a desire to follow Jesus with their lives. Theophile instructed them to find a local church leader and express their desire to be immersed into Christ. I am reminded that Jesus is the Bridge Builder between us and God.
This morning we left Gikongoro. A large group of Rwandans were preparing a more permanent remedy to the bridge that needed repair. Working together as a community they offered a bridge so we could cross over to the other side.
Now I am reminded that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have worked together in community so we can cross over into an eternal relationship with them.
Thankful for God’s Bridge,
Frank
 Rwandans sit and stand shoulder-to-shoulder to view The Passion of the Christ |
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