Post First Day of Teaching

John Scudiere and I have had a couple of truly meaningful days.  Yesterday we had the privilege to worship with a local church here in Kigali.  A group from the youth choir serenaded us as we arrived.  We sat at the head table and took in a wonderful time of worship as choir after choir sang and danced.  John shared a very powerful testimony from Matthew 5:3 about the pour in spirit, recalling a time in his life when he was especially aware of his need for God in his life and his families and how God had honored that.  As I had a full view of the congregation, you could tell it was powerfully received. 

I also had the privilege of sharing a Gospel message.  And then, just like back home, got to participate in a baby dedication.  It was cool to hold in my arms this cute little Rwandan child and pray for her and her family.  There is certainly one thing we learned from Sunday and that is John in the better dancer!

Today was the first day of what we really came here for...teaching the Pastors.  We think there were 56 allow we were expecting only 55.  We are meeting in a small church building in Masaka.  It has several lights, a cement floor, use to have some glass in the windows, and has a tin roof.  It is made from mud block.  And yes it has old fashioned outhouses.  I made my first trip to them today.  The pastors are an eager group. We started about 2 hours late as some of them had difficulty arriving, but then we got it going.  They embraced the biblical background information eagerly and with tons of questions.  It is a good sign...they have 4 weeks ahead of them.  We delved into preaching the word, and they confessed they have difficulty in doing this with and depth...a nice confirmation of why God has brought us here.  If I can figure it out, I will post a picture or two. 

Pray for several things...1.  That God would give us words when we get asked questions out of the blue, like the one today as to why Christians don't have Mosques like the Muslims. 2.  These pastors are sleeping, learning and eating in the same place...alertness can be an issue as the room gets hot.  3.  That they can absorb more information than normal...that God would heighten their learning capacity.

Blessings,

Neal