Preparing To Go To Rwanda - August 2024 (Pathways - EFCA)

 

A picture from the Training John Nett did in May.

I'll be updating my trip with details here - though some basic updates will be done on Facebook.  If you want to pray specifically and here more about what God is doing, this is the place to check.

Preparing takes on many forms.  I've been preparing my by communicating with Pastor Nicodeme (our Master Trainer Leader there) about dates and plans and needs.  He translates all the material into Kinyarwanda and Pastors in Musanze, the town we'll be training in.  I've been communicating as well with Damian Peasley, a youth pastor friend for 19 years and now a Pastor friend.  We worked closely together for many of those years in the Central District while I lived in Eagle Grove.  This will be his first trip. 

Part of the preparation is logistics.  I work hard to be as cheap as possible but this time the tickets were more expensive than expected.  We need Visas and have to make sure we have all our meds and such up to date.  

I have to do all the Psalms homework so I can teach it.  I've never been through the Pathways Psalms training so I have all the lessons to work on (a lot of it is basic sermon preparation).  I do have to prepare a closing demonstration sermon from the book of Psalms as well.  

I am also preparing for life at home while I'm gone.  My wife and kids handle it quite well, but I definitely have many pieces to prepare at church while I'm gone.  A simple prayer request is that God will provide someone to lead worship on August 18th. 

I will drive down to Damian's house (near Des Moines) on August 7th.  We'll be at the airport August 8th before 6.  We fly to Chicago, then Newark, then Brussels, then Kigali.  We'll spend the night in Kigali and then on Saturday we'll take the bus up the mountain for 2 to 3 hours to get to Musanze.  Thankfully costs in country are incredibly cheap (comfortable hotel with air conditioning will be less than $25 a night = and that includes breakfast).  A meal at a restaurant will likely be about $6.  The bus ride is about $5.  We'll preach Sunday morning at different churches.  Monday morning our training starts around 9.  We'll finish around 4.  This continues through Thursday noon.  We'll take the bus back to the Kigali and fly out that evening.  Brussels, Chicago (long layover), and then Des Moines.  

One thing I always do is bring a lot of things to leave with the Pastor there and tell him to use as he wants to.  I bring an extra suitcase (still need one) that I will leave there.  I get most of my clothes from Goodwill and leave them.  I also like to bring soccer balls and sometimes a few extra Bibles if they are available.  It costs so little and is a way to bless them.

One of my favorite parts of the trip is walking around in the evening and just meeting people on the street.  I don't want to do touristy things, but I love to make friends and get to know the country.

You might remember the story of great genocide back in the 90s in Rwanda.  We are not allowed to ever ask about it and they themselves don't talk about it often.  

Top Prayer Request

- The preparation mentioned above

- That the pastors we train have passed on the previous training

- The the pastors we train will come with their homework done 

- To be a blessing to those Pastors in more ways than just training

- And I'll always take prayer for travel mercies and for God to work in my heart 

- That Nicodeme will be able to help find an extra translator that I can use outside of training