As some of you know, part of the reason I’ve been AWOL recently is because I was traveling — I spent about a week in Rwanda with my pastor and his wife. Our church is linked with the church in Rwanda, so we went to strengthen the existing relationships, build new relationships, preach, do some training, etc. It was a wonderful, wonderful trip! If you want to read a bit more about our time there, visit our church’s Rwanda blog at redeeemernorthshore.org/rwanda.
I have had a hard time verbalizing why the trip was such a refreshing, energizing time for me — as well as answering the question, “what did you take away from your trip?” So here’s my best attempt to verbalize what I brought home with me — some serious, some not — from Rwanda.
It is amazing how much and what variety of things people can carry on their heads! 
I was mesmerized by all the people walking along the roadside, gathered in public spaces or at markets, transporting goods from one place to another. The streets here seem empty by comparison (if you don’t count cars).
It is also amazing how easy it is to forget how much you have been given — how very grateful each of us ought to be for the resources we have at our disposal. One of the biggest needs for the church in Rwanda is for pastors to receive theological education – or even education beyond elementary school. And here we are in Deerfield, IL, right next to a seminary and right down the road from several other seminaries. We really know SO MUCH! And what we don’t know, we can easily find out by picking up a commentary. You can’t do that if you only read Kinyarwandan. There is a Kinyarwandan translation of a Study Bible that was just published, but it is too expensive for the average Rwandan pastor to purchase. It costs about $10.00 — small price to pay for us, but a big price in Rwanda.
Preschool Children in Ruhengeri
Our pastor’s wife is a professor at a prominent college near Chicago, and she did some training for preschool teachers in the Shyira Diocese. She had purchased some markers to give to the teachers, one for each of them — and she said they treated those markers like they were bricks of gold. Think of THAT next time you have a complaint about your child’s school! We here don’t know how rich we are, each one of us.
Note the poster in the background — refers to a program that guarantees each child gets one egg per day. Out of almost 200 preschool, only a handful have the resources to put this program into place.
Not that poverty is something to be revered — there was a night and day difference between the children we met that had the privilege of attending a church preschool and those we saw running around on their own in the streets. But think of how much more we could do with the resources we’ve been given instead of spending iton entertainment and superfluous things for ourselves…
I love the people I met — names became faces, faces became personalities. When, God willing, I go back, I will know some people who also know me. I will have a foundation to build on. I have sat with my fellow clergy from the Shyira Diocese and been encouraged by them, offering some encouragement in return. I have had the privilege of hearing the stories of their calls to pastor. I have preached at our sister church in Musanze and brought greetings to the children from the people who helped get Sonrise started. I am not just a name to them, and they are not just names to me — we are partners and family.
- Clergy from the Shyira Diocese, Rwanda
When someone is going on a church-sponsored trip like this, the temptation is to ask, “What are you going to do?” The more I think about it, the more I think this is the wrong question to ask, at least with trips such as the ones our church has sponsored so far. Instead, ask the question “With whom are you going to be?” Projects have their place, but people are more important than projects. Build the relationships first, and the work will become clear.
I’m so grateful for the time I got to spend in Rwanda with friends old and new. Thanks to those of you who donated so that I could go and who prayed for me along the way. Here’s one last parting shot: some a capella singing (worship) that was part of the preschool teacher training.
Light and Shifting Shadows 