A team of ten from our community brought their luggage packed for twelve days in Africa and carpooled to the airport this morning. There was excitement and apprehensiveness in the air. They had an itinerary of where they would be staying, going, visiting, relaxing and debriefing.
Rwanda is a beautiful country of rolling hills, mountains and grassy lowlands. In French, it has been named ‘Pays des Mille Collines’ meaning ‘Country of a Thousand Hills’. Its’ beautiful Lake Kivu has one of the most spectacular shorelines in the world.
The first stop the team will make is at Kigali’s Genocide Memorial Center built on a site where over 250,000 people are buried. It is a sobering exhibition of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 when in 100 days over 1,000,000 people were brutally murdered. The building also documents other genocides around the world.
This sobering stop gives a framework of how a country was wounded, is healing and moving forward in reconciliation. Rwanda is also healing from HIV and AIDS epidemic. This affects 2.9% of Rwanda’s population where approximately 210,000 are living with HIV. The genocide and AIDS have over 660,000 children orphaned.
One of the team members has six pairs of shoes in their luggage. They will meet villages of people who cannot afford any shoes. Their average income is equal to $570 US dollars. In spite of these desperate statistics, the team will find the Rwandan people filled with joy and hope. Most of the people have found their hope and joy in Jesus Christ.
When the team returns in twelve days they will puzzle over Christians in the US that lack joy and hope. They will struggle with their own sense of peace while adjusting to one of the highest standards of living in the world. They are already people making a global difference through child sponsorships, micro-financing and actively living with less.
The words of Jesus become clearer.
Matthew 5:1-12
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and He began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Rwanda is a beautiful country of rolling hills, mountains and grassy lowlands. In French, it has been named ‘Pays des Mille Collines’ meaning ‘Country of a Thousand Hills’. Its’ beautiful Lake Kivu has one of the most spectacular shorelines in the world.
The first stop the team will make is at Kigali’s Genocide Memorial Center built on a site where over 250,000 people are buried. It is a sobering exhibition of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 when in 100 days over 1,000,000 people were brutally murdered. The building also documents other genocides around the world.
This sobering stop gives a framework of how a country was wounded, is healing and moving forward in reconciliation. Rwanda is also healing from HIV and AIDS epidemic. This affects 2.9% of Rwanda’s population where approximately 210,000 are living with HIV. The genocide and AIDS have over 660,000 children orphaned.
One of the team members has six pairs of shoes in their luggage. They will meet villages of people who cannot afford any shoes. Their average income is equal to $570 US dollars. In spite of these desperate statistics, the team will find the Rwandan people filled with joy and hope. Most of the people have found their hope and joy in Jesus Christ.
When the team returns in twelve days they will puzzle over Christians in the US that lack joy and hope. They will struggle with their own sense of peace while adjusting to one of the highest standards of living in the world. They are already people making a global difference through child sponsorships, micro-financing and actively living with less.
The words of Jesus become clearer.
Matthew 5:1-12
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and He began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
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