Tuesday, July 2, 2013

RWANDA Mission 2013


Greetings,
                Praise the Lord! Below you will find the account of my trip in a blog format. I will be posting this pictures over time. As soon as I can put it together I also plan to release a short documentary will be composed of the footage that was taken during the trip. This will be posted to YouTube. Please browse through the details of the trip to see what the Lord has done and consider linking arms with us. BRIDE Ministries (www.bridemovement.com) will be partnering with Rwanda Reformation Ministry (www.rwandareformationministry.org) for long term goals that are under development and we will also be raising money to assist in the work being done over there. If this mission field is something you feel led to give towards please visit their website and see how you can help. If you are interested in being a short-term missionary, communicate with us, because this is also something they are looking for. Blessings!
6/5/13
                 I arrived at the airport in preparation for my 10:15 pm flight to Turkey. Everything went smoothly. When I boarded the plane I was pleased to find out that it was nice and big with entertainment centers on the back of every seat. While I didn't make much use of it, the flight offered a broad array of music, movies, television shows and even games. After the plane doors closed there was still no one sitting next to me and so I thought I would be getting lucky. However, about 5 minutes before take off a young Muslim lady was seated next to me. She was originally from Somalia.
                Apparently she gave up her seat to let a husband and wife sit next to each other and so they sat her next to me. She was nice and we spent several hours discussing our various religious beliefs. I did a lot of listening at first, but after a while she began to ask some questions. She lives in America and so Christianity was not a foreign concept to her. However, I did have the opportunity to share some of the more radical experiences I have shared with Jesus. I think these really shook her up. Around 2 am Chicago time I went to sleep. We chatted a little more after I woke up, but there was only about an hour and a half left before the plane landed and we went our separate ways. I pray that I was able to plant a seed that will take root.

                The food on the flight was okay. The dinner was better than the breakfast they served before we landed. When I got off the plan I was in Istanbul, surrounded by people I could not communicate with. I made my way over to my next flight gate but with only an hour and twenty minute layover I was basically left with time to go through another checkpoint, buy some water, find my gate, and sit down to write this. Lord Jesus, I pray for salvation, healing, and deliverance to follow me everywhere I go!

 6/8/2013
                Shortly after arriving in Rwanda I went to sleep. My trip really started the next day. I was pleasantly surprised by the outside appearance of Jean's house when I woke up and took a look at it. Jean is my friend and the missionary/pastor that hosted me during the trip. At present, another gentleman is living with him as well. I will refer to him as Bosco. He is working with Jean to accomplish the goals that they have for the mission field there. The inside of the house was nice but very basic. I learned quickly that hot water was not an accommodation that I would be enjoying while in Rwanda. The house itself is apparently fairly expensive. Jean is only living there because of the goodwill of a donor who paid for Jean to live in the house for one year. As to how the house will be paid for next year, there is only faith.
                One thing that really struck me was that there were no garbage cans. This was true in his house, and also everywhere else. Like many of my questions, Jean just laughed when I asked about this responding, "This is Africa my friend." What I later found out is that the people simply collect their garbage into a designated place on the property and burn it themselves. This allows people to avoid the costs of paying for garbage disposal.
                We weren't in Jean's house for very long. We left around 1 pm to go to the village. This is when I was able to see true poverty. Rwanda is divided up into five provinces which contain a total of thirty districts. The main city of Kigali occupies 3 districts and the rest of the country's 27 districts primarily contain villages. Jean, works in the district of Bugesera, about an hour's drive from the city. This district  is filled with poverty, violence, abuse, and witchcraft. While the present state of the region is very bad, he has vision to introduce the gospel of the kingdom and to bring societal transformation in the areas of agriculture and farming, education, and business.




                In the district we are working in, 60% live below the poverty line. The people in the village are so poor they cannot buy a house. Many of them simply build their own shacks out of clay and mud. The shacks they have consist of four walls, a ceiling and a floor. There is no furniture to speak of and the people sleep on the dirt floors. Some of these shacks will house ten or more people. They are so small the people will literally sleep shoulder to shoulder. There are no restrooms. The people will simply use a hole in the ground. For those that don't have a house, they will sleep outside.

                 As for food, the primary diet consists of beans, bananas and potatoes. The people will either grow or find their food. Some of the people that are more well off may have a goat, and the very well off ones will have a cow. The water they use from the nearby lake is filthy. The average person cannot drink this water. It is filled with dirt, parasites and disease. It is no wonder that many of the people have various internal diseases and diseases of the blood.
                Life in the village is very simple. Most of life revolves around eating, sleeping, and dying. People die all the time. Death is so common it is rarely mourned. Parents will literally have children that go out in the morning and don't return in the evening. The lake they use for bathing and water has alligators which will sometimes attack and kill the people, particularly the children.
                As for marriage and family, it is in a dire state. The men may have a wife, or not, but they often just hang around and impregnate the women. Most of the people in the village will not know who their father is. The women will begin to have children around the age of 12 and just continue until they die or stop ovulating. There is no birth control, very little money, no education for most of the people, and no family structure. To make matters worse, many of the people have a drinking problem.
                Most of the people in the village are completely illiterate. They cannot read or write. The only skills they have are those which are essential to life. The type of ministry necessary to reach these people must incorporate the teaching of literacy, life skills, and technological solutions to help them overcome their environment. For instance, farming is very hard as they don't have effective tools. Moreover, in the summer the ground is very dry, dusty, and claylike. They have no way to irrigate it without new technologies to allow them to get the water from the lake. As it is, they will take a one hour journey to the lake to simply collect enough water in jugs for drinking.
                I am making this journal entry after my second day in the village. When we arrived the first day, we had a worship service and showed the movie "The Passion" to the people. This brought out a huge crowd. I was also introduced to some of the villagers and shown around the village. They showed me the living situations of the people, the lake where they go to gather water, and other elements of village life. After the movie showing, we went to the "hotel." I'll discuss this place further in the next entry.

                Today I ministered in the evening. Jean rented some extra tents and including the 64 people that gave their life to Jesus this afternoon there were likely over 500 in attendance. I taught on the healing power of Jesus. At the end response to the call for healing was overwhelming. As I ministered, God had me to prophecy a word to the whole group declaring that their ability to believe God would determine how much He would be able to do for them among other things. It was very powerful. After I got done speaking the word I felt drunk in the spirit. Under this anointing I prayed for and prophesied over one person after the next. There were so many that eventually we simply had to stop and say a prayer over all of those that were left. Hallelujah!
6/10/13
                During our three day campaign in the village we stayed in a hotel. This place was unbelievable. The room had a bed and a table. That was it. The bathrooms were a real challenge. The toilet was a filthy porcelain case around a hole in the ground. Depending on the time of day, one might even find fresh poop lining the hole. The place where a person bathed was a filthy concrete room with nothing. To get clean a person has to wear sandals. They go into the place with a large bowl or bucket. They then fill it with local water and wash by hand with a bar of soap. Afterwards they dump the water on themselves to rinse off.

                The restaurants there are different than in the states. Here, in most restaurants you just take what you get. There is no such thing as a menu. The concept goes something like this: If you don't like it, you can leave. The concept of customer service is non-existent. They make food, you pay, end of discussion. The lack of excellence is unbelievable. People care little about the appearance of their environment, and that is just the way it is.
                When I preached on Sunday it was very powerful. I addressed demons and the authority that Jesus has over them. The people in the village have a lot of problems with demons, curses, and witchcraft. Ministry in this area is desperately needed. At the end of my teaching I took the people into a corporate repentance for certain sins. When we got to the sin of witchcraft the people were no longer with me. I went into very heavy intercession at this point and prayed hard while everyone watched. I was even stamping on the ground! When I was finished everyone felt the breakthrough. I had the people pray with me again and this time there was corporate repentance of witchcraft. After this we prayed about one more issue but the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me that for now, we were done. 
                When we returned in the evening we had a worship and prayer service. We prayed over every person in the village that wanted individual prayer. Afterwards we said a corporate prayer to bless the land. Beyond the spiritual break through and the hundreds and hundreds of villagers that attending during the weekend, there were over 60 people that accepted Jesus Christ for the first time, and if we count the people that rededicated their lives to Christ, there were over 70 individuals that made a decision for Jesus. Praise Him! When we were finished it was dark and we began our journey back to the city.
                When we got back I was so happy. I cannot remember the last time I had so much joy over a shower with no hot water!! The next day was Monday. This is a pastor's day of rest. We primarily worked on improving their website. We also had many lively discussions and even spent some time developing a business plan for some opportunities that I had no idea were available to Jean. There really is a ton of potential here in Rwanda. The only ingredients that are missing to unlock great wealth and economic development are start-up capital and people with an entrepreneurial mind-set. This trip has taught me so much, and I have only been here a few days. Praise God!
6/11/13
                Today I got a late start because we were up late the previous night working on their website and writing a business plan. We got some food and then they took me to the Genocide Memorial. The restaurant we went to advertised pizza and so I decided to give it a shot. What I got wasn't pizza. It had dough, cheese, and a number of other ingredients that left it tasting like any other local African dish. It satisfied my stomach, so who am I to complain?






                The Memorial was very nice. It had beautiful gardens and I took plenty of pictures. Ten minutes after I began touring the indoor exhibits, the power went out. This was my first introduction to another common aspect of Rwandan life. Apparently the power goes out on a regular basis. Since there was no backup generator everyone simply had to go outside, end of discussion. Of course they don't force people outside, but who is going to hang around in a pitch dark room? I walked around the gardens and took a number of pictures. Then I camped out in their library area and read materials on the genocide until Jean and his cohort Bosco returned from where they had gone. (They had dropped me off and planned to get hair cuts before picking me up). Apparently the power outage affected them too because they didn't have their hair cut when they got back. Then we drove to another area of the city.
                The rest of the day was spent running various errands. When we got back we were visited by other members of the team that is helping Jean to reach the village. Tomorrow we will be meeting with a real-estate agent to look at various investment opportunities. Afterwards we will be travelling to the village to minister again.
6/12/13
                Today was a good day for several reasons. Unfortunately there were several things that took place today that were not so great. On the positive side, this morning we finished the revamping of their website www.rwandarestorationministry.org. This has been a major obstacle for them thus far and so today was major breakthrough. In order to make this happen I was working on their website until 2 am. Then in the morning we continued to tweak it until it was perfect.
                On the downside we were supposed to take time this morning to look at various investment properties, both in residential and business. The purpose was to get a feel for what is required to acquire property in Rwanda and what kind of opportunities are out there. The problem was that the real-estate agent we called never came. He was supposed to arrive at 9 am and by 12:15 pm he still hadn't arrived. Since we were going to the village we simply had to let this opportunity go by. We will return to this task on another day. This is normal business in Africa.
                When we went to the village there was more break through awaiting us. However, it wasn't immediately apparent. When we pulled up to the church sight the hundreds of villagers that had been present for the weekend events had dwindled to about 40-50 individuals. Nonetheless the evening was powerful. I again shared the Word and spoke to the people about how God can change the landscape. I taught about His power to cleanse and heal the land. The amazing thing was that after I was finished and asked for questions, there weren't any. As a matter of fact, one of the villagers who was formerly homeless stood up and commented that he understood everything! Both during and after my teaching I had the people make declarations of repentance and decrees to the land. We spoke to the land commanding it to get in line with the Word of God. Afterwards we prayed for the sick and had a powerful time of ministry.
                Unbeknownst to me, while I was preaching in the church Jean had gone to another part of the village to visit with a man named Leonidas. The fact that Jean is now speaking with the man at all has been a miracle. Leonidas was formerly part of the Pentecostal church here, which due to their extremely rigid religious beliefs look upon the common villagers as untouchables. Even preachers that reach out to villagers are considered to be antichrist! However, during my first weekend here he invited us into his house, fed us, and softened his heart towards us. In any case, while going with the intention of meeting with this man Jean wound up speaking with many of the non-Christian people in the village. It turned out to be an incredible opportunity for Jean to bridge gaps with people in the village that he has thus far avoided and that have thus for avoided him. He had great favor with them and their testimony came back that they are not opposed to coming to his church as long as they can get to know him. While we were praying for breakthrough in the land Jean was experiencing breakthrough with the unsaved villagers. It is simply amazing the way God is cracking open the whole mission field.
                As we drove back, Jean and I stopped to get some food. Unfortunately the BLT I ordered was absolutely disgusting! The bacon was at least a centimeter thick and instead of baking or frying it, they boiled it. Yuck! Nonetheless, we also had a great heart-to-heart discussion. As we talked we discussed several more local investment and business opportunities that we will be exploring over the next few days. The purpose for which will be to have local provision for financing ministry and living expenses. Praise God!
6/14/13
                By the end of Thursday we had successfully completed three separate business plans and then today we finished putting together a funding request. In addition, I received communication regarding the possibility of having my own television show in Chicago! Wow? Throughout the day on Thursday we focused mostly on brainstorming and putting ideas and concepts into organized documents. The day was divided up between doing this and eating. We also took a trip downtown to meet with a professor who is working with Jean to put together their plans for computer training partnership they are engaging in with the government. I also found out that I would be preaching today (Friday) at a secondary school to young adults (ages 19-21).
                In the morning Jean woke up determined to get breakthrough with a time of prayer. I believe that is exactly what happened. I went all out and did something I haven't done so aggressively in quite some time. I went to war with a spirit in the second heaven. This is something that is difficult to explain to most Christians since there is very little teaching on this. Even for me this is something God had to introduce me to first hand. In any case this is the account of what happened. After we entered into prayer I drifted into the gift of discerning of spirits and explained what I began to see. I saw what appeared to be a plain or landscape. There was a sort of sling shot device and it would shoot balls into the sky. The projectiles would hit what was like a membrane that surrounded the place like a sphere. While the projectiles would send shock waves throughout the membrane, they would not pierce it.
                Then Jesus took me from that plane and into another membrane where I saw people of a different nationality experiencing the same thing. I went out of that sphere and saw that there were many spheres, representing many groups and ministries, all experiencing the same thing in different parts of the world. When I backed out of this viewpoint I realized that all of these spheres were orbiting something. It was a giant throne within a sphere and there was a spirit on the inside whose assignment was to maintain the membranes around the planes.
                Jesus took me up to this thing and I perceived it as if I were underneath the giant throne on the left side. Then the spirit bend its head down--I looked at it and it looked at me. I could feel the reality of the encounter in my spirit. The best way I can explain this is that it felt as if my spirit "locked-on" to this spirit. I knew that to do anything about this spirit would mean doing some real heavy duty and exhausting warfare. I prepared myself for a few minutes and then I went at it beginning with the words "spirit I defy you to your face." The intention of my warfare was to displace the spirit, which I believe was accomplished. It's a hard thing to explain the kind of intensity that is required to contend with these types of spirits in the second heaven. After I finished prophesying the vision that was giving me insight into the issue I began to go after it. Screaming at the top of my lungs I waged warfare on it and I broke its throne. I then declared open heavens over every ministry affected by this issue. When I was done I was out of breathe, exhausted, and extremely sleepy.
                I was tired for the rest of the day. I took two naps in an attempt to get enough rest before preaching at a school that evening. I was truly worn out after this encounter. This is why I don't particularly care for this kind of prayer. Confronting very powerful spirits in the second heaven is necessary at times but it is extremely draining. However, the other men that were with me all testified that they felt something break.
                That evening I went to preach at a technical high school. I spoke to them about greatness and how God needs to use the greatness in us for His purposes relative an end times army that He is raising up. This was very difficult preaching. I was trying to take different angles but to me it felt like preaching to a wall. I felt like I didn't have anyone's attention, a few of the students walked out, and I was trying to follow the Holy Spirit. When I felt like I had reached a point where the anointing to teach completely lifted, I just stopped and said it was time to pray. I said a prayer of salvation and then I began to pray for the sick. I also spoke a prayer to inspire and release the greatness and gifts that were resident within the students. The prayer at the end was very powerful, but the teaching was extremely difficult.





                The real shocker was that the student pastor asked me to come back next week saying he really enjoyed the teaching and wanted to hear more. Others came forward afterwards saying the same thing. I prophesied over a number of them afterwards which I believe was very powerful. While I believe I talked about the things the Lord wanted me to discuss, I encountered a very real barrier in the spirit. There is so much teaching that is lacking that it makes any attempt of moving beyond a basic message difficult, particularly so since a large percentage of the students, I came to find later on, do not even completely understand salvation. If I go back next week we will see what happens.
6/15/13
                God does not cease to amaze me. While the prayer experience that I documented yesterday may have seemed a bit extreme for some, here's just the beginning of the fruit. Jean has been trying to meet with some gospel artists here in the country for over a year now. However today, the day after our break through prayer, we sat down with one of the most popular gospel artists in the country (he is on the left in the picture). Moreover, he is on board to help Jean accomplish the goals that God has given.  God is unbelievable!

                Today we also finished a business plan for another operation.
6/17/13
                The miracles continue. On Sunday one of several amazing things we witnessed was spontaneous giving by the people. For a year now the people have been very difficult about giving any type of offering whatsoever, yet today they gave. Some gave money, others produce, and one lady gave a huge sack of rice! Jean couldn't believe his eyes. As I taught the people followed me the entire way through the message. Real learning was taking place as I taught them how to hear from God. Afterwards, there was a powerful time of ministry. I laid hands on many people and a number of prophecies went forth regarding the release of ideas, concepts, and innovations from heaven that will significantly impact the way things are done in the village.
                After service we were informed that a gang in the area that had gone uncontested for years were arrested by the government on Saturday. This was a miracle because for years the government refused to do anything about this gang. What would cause them arrest them all now? I believe this is just another part of the break-through we are witnessing on a daily basis. I thought back to the prayer on Friday. I wonder just how much was accomplished?
                On Monday, I spent a majority of the day battling with sick to my stomach. I think I ate something bad on Sunday. Nonetheless, by the end of the day I was healed.
6/19/13
                Yesterday was a fairly relaxed day. While there were various events that took place throughout the day the most significant part of it was in the evening when I went to minister at the university. I preached to several hundred students on our identity as Kings in Christ (Revelation 1:6). The response was incredible as the students were lit on fire as a result of the message. There was a great deal of excitement that continued all the way back to Jean's home in the form of singing and praising God. During the day I also had the opportunity to spend some time giving counsel to an individual that I met over here.
                Today, however, was a busy day. It began with a meeting with the minister of health and fitness in order to discuss the transfer of land and a school from another local pastor and into Jean's oversight. He plans to use this school and land to begin establishing his vision for a leadership institute. While nothing was made official it was a necessary first step that will undoubtedly end in the acquisition of land and a pre-existing school for absolutely no financial cost. God is good.
                Afterwards we went back into the village for the Wednesday service. I ministered on faith. The people swallowed it up and understood everything. It is incredible to watch the break through that has taken place in just two weeks. When I first got here they were clueless regarding many things, but now I can see the understanding in their eyes. They have grown fond of me and every time I stand before them to teach it gets easier because there is expectation now.
                After finishing in the village we drove back to the university for a second teaching. I only had about 10 minutes to teach and so I simply built upon the foundation I laid yesterday and gave them an illustration using identification cards. While I didn't have enough time to really teach the concept I know that some of them grasped it. For those that didn't, I believe by faith that the prayers that were said afterwards imparted change and transformation anyway. While it wasn't as amazing as yesterday I am confident that the impact was felt.
6/20/13
                Today started with a bang. We had a very powerful time of prayer and breakthrough in the morning. Jean had a powerful touch from God during this time. The most notable aspect of the morning for me was when I prophesied that Jean was now to receive his assignment to the apostolic office. By doing this he would receive a new grace that would make things that were formerly difficult become easy. After I got done prophesying the atmosphere was incredible and all we could do was sit in silence in awe of the Lord's presence.
                After prayer we spent some more time working on business objectives. In the evening I closed my three part sermon on the Kingly identity that God has given us. The students ate it up. They had genuine understanding. I could tell they were with me tonight and I am praising God for the breakthrough He brought to their understanding of identity and world view. Praise the Lord.
6/23/13
                Today is Sunday. This is the record of the past three days. On Friday we spent all day working on business projects to generate finances to fund ministry here. The doors and opportunities that God opened were absolutely incredible.
                On Saturday we worked on their Sobanukirwa.com project all day. This is an effort that they are using to preach the gospel while partnering with the government for the agenda of raising the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) literacy from 4% to 53% nationally in five years. Through this avenue they have trained hundreds of people in different districts and have had the opportunity to preach the gospel to them all. They are looking to expand the scope of this particular outreach.
                I began by editing their program overview. I also wrote an open letter to solicit for event sponsorship for their upcoming event in India and I wrote letters to invite Ministers of the Rwandan Government to speak at the event. In addition we met with a contact I was given by a friend I have in the states. We also logged several more business ideas, all of which will generate large amounts of revenue that can be used to finance ministry both here and abroad. The way God is piecing things together is new, fresh, and frankly mind-blowing. I am literally watching God establish my friend in an entirely new approach to ministry which will have the capacity to revolutionize world missions.
                On Sunday we were back in the village. Today the people sacrificially gave again. Last week one person gave a big bag of rice, this week, one person gave a big bag of sweet potatoes. Many gave financially. This is incredible because we are not soliciting their giving, this is being led by the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, they are coherent. They are gaining comprehension and understanding. Initially, they were physically present but mentally checked out. The first time I spoke to them a majority were not paying attention... they were there because of the tents, the loudspeakers, and the movie that had been promised for the evening.
                This is common in Africa because--frankly--people have nothing to do. If people see that others are gathering somewhere--they go. This is something that many American's which have never left the country to do mission work cannot understand. The problem is that the same people that will raise their hands and be in the Christian crusade pictures on Monday will raise their hands and be in the Muslim pictures on Tuesday. Understanding doesn't take place. The people will get food, get a bicycle, get a water filter, etc. and when the salvation call goes forth, its only respectful in their mind to do what the "nice people" are asking. This does not mean the people are becoming true disciples of Jesus.
                What I have learned since being here is that people have no teaching. When I say no teaching, I mean that many that have sat in church for over a decade cannot quote even one or two verses of scripture. People don't read, even if they know how. In the villages where illiteracy prevails, it is even worse. In America people are trained to believe what they read. Here, people are trained to believe what they hear. This creates a very different culture. There is a very different mind-set. The negative aspect of this issue is that the people here stay in ignorance regarding the Christian faith. They just say the same things they were told, and then preach what they feel like saying. Since no one reads no one stands up to point out that there is a problem. Thus there are many people that while they may attend a Christian church, they have no clue about what the Bible actually says. The worst part is that many don't care, as they are mentally checked out the majority of the time anyway.
                This is why this trip has resulted in so much break through. The village that Jean is targeting has these same problems. The people have been coming to church, but have remained largely disengaged. However, since I have been here, the people are finally understanding what they are hearing. Even they themselves are saying that they can't believe the move of God which is bringing understanding and revelation to the church. They are gaining real confidence and faith in Jesus Christ. They are no longer checked out, but now they are listening and their testimonies prove that they are applying what they are learning. It is incredible. When I am speaking to them I can see the light in their eyes. I can see that God is lighting a fire on the inside of them.
                Today I was with them for the last time. I spoke to them on prayer. The intensity with which they were listening was phenomenal. It has been such a blessing to be a part of God's breakthrough in this mission field. Afterwards, Jean drove me to another place where he is planning to build his creation center, medical facility, school, and other elements of his vision. The man that owns the land has already approached Jean to say that God spoke to him. He is convinced that he is supposed to sell the land to Jean. Even if it takes years, he has promised Jean that he will not sell the land to anyone else or do anything with it because he has heard from God. Talk about provision from heaven!
                We spent some time visiting with another minister this evening and then went to get our first real meal of the day (it was after 7:00 pm by this point). With a mere three days left in this country I am expecting God to do much more before I leave. I truly serve a God of break through.
6/25/13
                I spent the majority of the day on Monday and Tuesday working on projects and going to meetings. God set up a series of events that still has our heads spinning.
6/26/13
                Today we did not go to the village. We stayed in the town and ran errands. While I considered staying some extra time, after looking into it we all agreed that the difficulty involved in me staying longer on this trip was not the best course of action. This was the day I was to leave. However, we learned that hundreds of villagers went to church for the Bible study!! This means the Bible study on this day was larger than the Sunday service for the former two weeks. This is break through! This is fruit! This is revival! This was the note on which I packed my bags, boarded my plane, and came back to the states to deliver the report. Praise the Lord!

                To give towards this mission field visit www.rwandareformationministry.org. Blessings!