Greetings from Rwanda - Neal has asked me to put in my two cents. It has been a long and good day and I think Neal actually needs a bit of a rest so I will do the blog report tonight.
Neal took about two days to get into his rhythm, but he now has the Pastors spell bound.
As we have gone through this process, we have found that these mostly rural Pastors have a real heart for the Lord, but no formal training on the bible or how to read and interpret the text. They have developed no context for how the Jews lived, or history of the region, or understanding how to use the similar accounts in multiple Books to pull out new information. That is the challenge and opportunity. What the group confessed is that they simply avoid sections of the Bible that they do not understand.
Yesterday, we saw a monumental change in these students of the Bible - their eyes were opened to the new possibilities, you could palpably feel the growing hunger/thirst for seeing how these the stories and words that they love, contains so much deeper meaning, and in fact sometimes a totally different meaning than they had previously held. There were also unexpected challenges: during one question we found that there are translation errors in their bible.
Neal is aggressively telling these folks that they have a responsibility to God to make sure that what they are teaching is correct biblically - and being a Pastor is a job of life long learning. Let me tell you, they are responding to the Good News that Neal is presenting. This morning they were firing off questions - hard questions - they are engaged. And frankly, Neal is having a blast, he is in his element!
The teaching area is about 40ft long and 20 ft wide. The day starts with Bishop Theophile and Neal sitting at a front table There are six rows of students, 10 chairs across. When there is a breeze, it is quite pleasant, without the breeze + humidity, it deadly - water dripping, but no one seems to mind. Of course there is evidence that the Pastors are discussing what they are learning long into the night - there have been a few people nodding off during the day. But I must tell you, Theo and Neal are quite the show - both excellent preachers, very lively and animated. When they both get going the place rocks - people don't sleep when this team is on fire! As I said, the teaching starts with both Theo and Neal sitting - that does not last long, they are up on their feet, emphasizing the messages with their hands and arms swinging with passion. The only thing more energetic are the songs that start each session - I will bring you a short clip next Sunday, it is a wild thing to experience is all I can tell you now.
I have met several of the Micro Seed women, they are truly blessed by this meager money. And don't tell Peggy, but I have purchase several baskets for her.
The suits have been distributed, they were all received with joy and thankfulness. I have taken pictures of the happy recipients to be shown at the church - your gifts were appreciated.
Neal and the teams that will be coming to Rwanda ARE a real blessing to these people. You should all be very proud of your support!
Muraho friends! How exciting that you are back in Rwanda, training pastors, educating midwives, encouraging the work of Microseeds, and no doubt blessing all the lives you come in contact with. Kurt and I will be following along in your journey, and praying steadfastly for your efforts. It's hard to believe it's been a year since we were there also. We are "homesick" and look forward to the day (hopefully not too far away) when God provides for us to go back and do some ministry. Please pass along our greetings to everyone. Kurt especially has kept in touch with Theophile and several of the other pastors there, and it is encouraging to hear of the work you are now doing. God bless you mightily as you serve Him there.
ReplyDelete