All too often, we judge a book by its cover, a person by their past and sometimes even a nation by its history. When we bring up the nation of Rwanda, North Americans often think of the genocide that happened in 1994. Our awareness of this genocide may well only be because of the movie 'Hotel Rwanda.' Over a million people were killed in a 100 day period during that time, and to this day this nation is unfairly judged as a place that is unsafe and as a place where murder, racism and genocide had their way.
My eyes were opened to a people who refused to be labelled as Hutu or Tutsi today which were the tribal groups that divided them. Today the people proudly declare themselves to be simply Rwandans, and the rebuilding of their beautiful nation has been nothing short of a miracle from God. It was a life-changing day for me at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where I learned about the history that led up to a genocide and saw how horrible man can become without God. I have never been so emotionally overwhelmed, literally sobbing out loud as I saw how children's lives were brutally taken and entire villages were wiped out through a demonic hatred.
The Apostle Paul wrote that were sin abounds, God's grace abounds much more. Where darkness tried to have its way, this is precisely the place where the Gospel needs to go. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot put it out. In May 2016, we were privileged to be able to preach in numerous churches throughout Rwanda, ministering to leaders in Kigali and across the nation as they fulfill the call of God to restore a nation.
This trip started out with some challenging moments as visa issues almost prevented it from happening, but the hand of God was shown before boarding the first flight in Canada, and many lives were impacted in our time there with our team from Saskatchewan of Pastor Paul Dubois from Melfort, Pastor Perry Hubick from Saskatoon, and Pastor Brett Watson from Canora and myself. Once again God showed His greatness and His faithfulness by opening doors and providing His supernatural power and provision as we touched lives throughout Rwanda.
Thousands of lives were impacted with the Gospel in Entebbe and Kampala Uganda during the month of October 2015 by evangelists Brad Mayer and Charles Kazumba. Working with a partner enabled us both to 'catch more fish' as we preached nightly at the 'Uganda Healing Crusade' in Entebbe, leading over 1000 souls to Christ. A conference was also held in Entebbe with leaders from five nations receiving teaching to grow their ministries. In Kampala, we ministered to pastors and evangelists and shared Christ in a large local prison. Souls were transformed, bodies were healed, and the kingdom of God was expanded as we worked together to touch Uganda.
One powerful result of our time in Uganda was our host pastor's mother coming to Christ. With hundreds coming forward nightly, it was awesome to see this kind of personal connection and how important it is that the Gospel goes forth. Someone's mother, sister, brother, child and more will be reached every time we are faithful to preach Jesus and watch Him move. We ministered to orphaned children, people who had been diagnosed with HIV, and those with demonic influences in their life. Pastors were provided with much needed Bibles and other study materials as we set our hearts on presenting Christ's love to this nation.
