Rwanda & Beyonda

Rwanda & BeyondA!

I’m headed back to Rwanda from May 19th to June 6th for round two of my class through the Book of Acts. I’ll be teaching in the town of Gisenyi (by beautiful Lake Kivu on the border of D R Congo again. Afterward, I’ll be driven 5 hours away to the mountain region known as Bihembe.

I’ll be teaching about 60 pastors from two major denominations during this trip. I’ll team up with GTN staff members Pastor Glenn Miller (no, not THAT Glenn Miller) and Pastor Rick Seltzer as we equip pastors together to thrive and impact Africa!

I’m excited to teach from Acts because the focus of the course is on living out the rescue mission of God in “Rwanda and beyondA.” While I’m there, I’ll also be working with two Rwandan leaders as they flesh out their respective ministry visions; both have a desire to reach Rwandan youth and children.

There is potential for an especially significant impact as a result of this trip. Watch Instagram and Facebook for pictures, videos, prayer needs, and to see the outpouring of God’s blessing!

Ethiopia Update

Thank you to everyone who prayed and fueled the recent trip to Ethiopia! I had the privilege of teaching and training 94 excellent students in two cities, Nazareth and Shashamene. I taught classes on four keys topics; Hermeneutics (interpreting the Bible), Homiletics (preaching the Bible), Personal Evangelism, and Bibliology (the origin, trustworthiness, and power of the Bible). The students were young, hungry, and well engaged! See pictures of the two groups below.

Blessed Beans!

- Watch an Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

On our last day in Nazareth, the students Ethiopians conducted a special ceremony where the green coffee beans are roasted and then brewed over a small coal fire, then served with special treats. It’s a blessing to be the recipient of this ceremony. You can see some of it on video at this link.

Here is a bit of what the sister is praying for in the video: “May our teachers see our fruit...Help us walk according to your word...May God help us bear fruit...Consider the sacrifice of our teachers may we bear fruit”.

Ministry In the Ether

I’m currently encouraging and coaching pastors and leaders in Malawi, two separate leaders in Rwanda, and I’m currently online with leaders in Southeast Asia. Zoom and What’s AP effectively allow leaders to be equipped and encouraged in the times I’m back here in the States!

In a text from yesterday – Rhudolf, my pastor/friend in Malawi just baptized two new believers this week!

Local Ministry is Cooking Too.

This Sunday, I preach at a church in Ventura County whose pastor left suddenly and unexpectedly. I’ll be helping out preaching in the summer as they search for a new pastor.

In May, I will be meeting with the staff at a different church who need care, encouragement, challenge, and shepherding. Pray for pastors and their teams – most are tired from Covid 19 related leadership challenges and from all the terrible division sweeping our churches and our country.

I’m also blessed to come alongside a few other pastors here in the US who are in need of a listening ear, compassion, coaching, counsel, and consultation. There are so many opportunities to serve Him these days; I am blessed.

Prayer Requests

Pray for a profound Kingdom impact resulting from the upcoming trip to Rwanda!

Pray that my friends and I don’t contact Covid or get a false positive test on our way out of Rwanda. If so, we are stranded there with poor medical help and no easy way home.

Pray for safety and blessing for my family while I’m away. Andrea ended up at the ER while I was away on the last trip (a false alarm, thank God. Praying for the family of missionaries while they are in the field is vital – attacks at home are common!

Pray for health, supernatural energy, and travel mercies as I hit the road again!

Pray for our ministry to attain 100% funding as I continue to meet with potential new ministry partners.

Pray for divine direction as I prepare covert online teaching for a closed Southeast Asian country (coming this summer).

My friend, Pastor Tassew is a key pastor in Ethiopia. He thanked me at lunch recently. He shared how our coming to train them truly helps the pastors and how they can’t believe we would leave home and travel all that way to help them in Ethiopia. I told him he should thank YOU, the ministry team that fuels the effort through prayer and financial giving. Tassew says, “Thank you,” as do I; we agree it’s a team effort.

You blessed Ethiopia my friends.

- C