Wow....it's already the start of a new week and I've learned so much here in Kigali, Rwanda. It's been a while since my last post because of some crazy situations. I had to buy a wireless modem for my laptop (which was relatively cheap) but after two days of trying it.....my anger would've been able to burn the house down because it wouldn't work. Eventually God provided a way for me to connect so I can officially say I'm linked-in at the house. But enough about my arguing.....God is Good so why does it matter.
My first week has been truly impacting because of the culture shock. I see children on the streets begging for money, the people here are driving around on motor bikes with dead chickens on there cart, and the one thing that I can't seem to understand.....the people here are very happy. I mean this place has a dark past (I'll get into that in the next blog, so be prepared for some graphic details), but everywhere I walk in Kigali, the people welcome you with open arms. I'm working at the Anglican Church's Day Care center in the mornings, and only after one day working.....I almost cried because all of the kids ran up to me hugging me and wanting me to hug them. The Arch-Bishops daughter inyett has taken my heart, every time she sees me, she screams A-D-A-MAH, and races to my arms with the cutest laugh and smile I have ever heard and seen. I understand now what Jesus meant when He said that we should have faith like a child, because just seeing inyett's face light up shows me how faithful she is to Christ and not even knowing Him fully yet.
God has shown me so much, and it's only been a week for me here. But I can begin to see why God has put me here......I was once in a country where blessings seemed to be everywhere, but all of a sudden I was beginning to worship the blessing more than the Creator who gave me that blessing. These past two years of my life have been dark, and it goes all the way back to the summer of 2009. My walk with the Lord took a big nosedive because all of a sudden, God took something away from me that I once cherished. It felt like the entire world went numb to me, and I started crying to God saying why did you do this to me.......I know I was messing up, but I was going to change for You. Then all of a sudden, He spoke to me saying, I have been answering all of your Prayers Adam......but now I need you to mature in your faith and Believe that I WILL HELP YOU. It took until April 3rd, 2011 for me to understand what He said to me that summer. My first church service in Rwanda was incredible.....it wasn't like an American Anglican Service because the worship was like southern gospel music, and the service was more free spirited than I could imagine, but it was the sermon that had woken me up. The sermon was describing the passage from Mark 6:45-52, and it was talking about the night that Jesus had walked on water. Now I want you to imagine yourself as a disciple in the boat, Jesus has told you that He needs to pray so He wants you to go ahead and go to the other side of the lake on the boat......If I was a disciple, I would think He is completely crazy because it would take Him probably the a day and half to get there. Jesus needed time to pray to His father, but it was through this time, that the Lord was shown how immature there faith really was. While the disciples were crossing the sea, a huge storm had started, and all through the night the disciples were rowing in pain because of the rough sea and winds to go along with it.....they were beginning to lose hope. By 4 A.M. they had seen a ghost out on the water.....and after crying this out, Jesus looks at them and says...."Take Heart, It is I, do not be afraid."
Now what you do learn is that Jesus "MEANT TO PASS BY THEM" and the point you see from this, is that God (Jesus) was trying to teach the disciples to be mature in their faith, even when hell itself is thrown on them. Sometimes in life, I know we feel that God isn't listening to us.....we feel cold, we feel like we're in total darkness, or worst of all we feel like God doesn't love us anymore. This is something that Satan has been using on me for two years now.....but after the service, God showed me that in order to be full to to the point of overflowing, I must mature you in your faith, which may mean you may not feel Him for a short or long time, but in the end, He will answer you in the most biggest way.
I have a blessed purpose now here in Kigali, and that is an opportunity to evangelize to the children in the Muslim community. David Mugisha, brother to Sam, and I are helping out with a local soccer team, which also means all the kids are pretty much Muslim. Our prayer request we ask is that God may guide us slowly with them, and that the Lord may show Himself to them by the love we give them. I love these kids so much, and the Lord has already established a connection with me to some of them. Pray that the harvest may be harvested, and if it's only one child, then it is still a victory. I love all of you, and thank you so much for being in my life. If you need prayer over anything just let me know.
John 16:33,
Adam Turnipseed
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