From Rwanda: A Supernatural God

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me . . . (Isaiah 61:1a)

This is it.  Today is the day we go to Gikomero to do what we came to Rwanda to do.  Pray.  Sure, we’ve been praying at various places and for various people since we arrived in Rwanda, but today is the day we go to Gikomero to lay hands on those who have come to receive healing prayer.  This time will be similar to communion prayer time at COTA and RAC, only it will be extended by about 3.5 hours.  As I eat breakfast with the team before we leave, I can feel the Holy Spirit at work in me.  He is telling me that he has already gone ahead of me to select the people I will pray with and for and that He will put His word in my heart and on my lips.  Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say (Exodus 4:11).  With that, I am ready.  Not anxious. Not apprehensive.  Just ready. 

We arrive at Gikomero and go directly into the sanctuary where we join some folks for a short time of worship and to hear a brief teaching on Jesus’ healing of a paralytic as told in Luke’s Gospel.  (Luke 5:17-26)  Then it’s time to divide our team into two prayer groups.  As we do so I pray – “Lord may these groups be divided according to your will and for your purposes.”

Prayer team #1 – Pastor Eric, John, Teresa, Elizabeth and Patterson – is to go to the Pastor’s house to pray along with some Gikomero church members and a translator. 

Prayer team #2 – Pastor Curt, Barbara, Will, and myself, along with Pastor Alfred and three other Gikomero church members – are stationed just outside of the sanctuary – in the sun – and about 50 yards away from an outdoor stable housing about 8 very chatty cows.  Before I can even ponder (i.e., freak out about) all of the distractions surrounding me (school children are now starting to swarm), the Lord puts a hymn on my heart.  “For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies . . . Lord of all, to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.”   

I (silently) call on the Holy Spirit just before we begin and immediately He sends a steady, cool breeze and the women inside of the sanctuary begin singing and I know He has surrounded us.  Time to get our prayer on. 

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion.  Isaiah 61:1b-3a

Our first patient (not sure what the appropriate noun is in this situation) is a woman requesting prayer for healing from a tumor in her belly.  Got it. Prayers are said. Amen. Who’s next?  But then the Spirit moved in Pastor Curt and he asked if the woman was a Christian.  And thus the proverbial floodgate was opened and we were introduced to our first of numerous persons requesting prayer for healing and protection from the effects of witchcraft, curses, or demons. 

This woman had attended a wedding in which a “healer” was also in attendance.  She was healthy before the wedding, but soon thereafter developed a massive tumor in her belly ("Massive" as in she looked about 5 months pregnant).  The culprit? Witchcraft.  And she had been questioning her faith in God ever since.   

Being the logical person I am, I was quick to slough off the idea of witchcraft.  My response was to chalk these ailments up to something that I could understand.  Something I had experience with.  Something – well – logical.  The only thing I could wrap my brain around was a medical diagnosis (I’ve read enough on WebMD.com.  I know the drill.  You’ve got a common cold, cancer, or you’re pregnant. Easy enough.)  Before I could finish assessing this woman’s symptoms, the Lord interrupted my thoughts with Scripture from Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not again flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” 

Almost instantly, I could feel the darkness pressing in on all sides.  There was a spiritual battle happening around our prayer circle and the presence of evil was palpable.  But stronger still was the light of Jesus Christ.  “The light that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:5).  It was clear to those of us praying what the task before us was.  So with full confidence in the power of Jesus’ name, we entered into prayers for spiritual cleansing and protection knowing full well that it is only because of Jesus’ shed blood that we were able to rebuke Satan and his effect on these people’s physical and spiritual health.  Jesus Christ died once and for all.  The enemy has been defeated and Christ is seated on the right hand of the Father.  The strife is over, the battle won.  

And so it was for the remainder of the morning.  At times the Holy Spirit prayed through me as I interceded for patients.  Other times it was necessary to intercede for the other members of our prayer team as they fought against the forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  It was at these times that I had a clear vision of Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ hands as he prayed on the hill top when Joshua and the Israelites fought against the Amalekites.  “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  When Moses’ hands grew tired . . . Aaron and Hur held his hands up” Exodus 17:11-12

Periodically, the Lord would give us a small respite from the battle.  One which was particularly memorable came in the form of a woman who was a week past her due date requesting prayer for the safe delivery of her child.  I had the good fortune of laying hands on her very pregnant belly and feeling her baby move (leap for joy?) at the mention of Jesus’ name.  It was a beautiful experience and most certainly a gift from God. 

There was also a young woman whose family was Muslim but she wanted to receive Christ.  What a joy and honor it was to walk alongside this young woman as she confessed her sins and received Jesus.  We later heard from Pastor Alfred that she was going to go home and share the Good News with her family.  Yesu ishimwe! 

Despite the weight of many of the prayer requests we received, I left our time of healing prayer confident in God’s faithfulness to his promises. 

He will bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.  Isaiah 61:3

Although I may not ever see how the Lord responds to our intercessions, I know that He will.  How do I know this?  Because I’ve experienced His supernatural empowering of my prayers through His Holy Spirit.  He was there while we prayed.  He heard our cries to him for mercy and healing and he did not turn a deaf ear to us.   And he will answer our requests in ways unexpected, because He is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine.  Thank you, Jesus for your great love for us!

Can I get an Alleluia, Amen, Imana Ishimwe (Praise be to God)?  

---Taylor Waren

From Rwanda: Living Water

Today we were given a full tour of the Gikomero campus – the original church, the foundations for the new church, the clinic, the new HIV and lab building, the school rooms, the cow stables, and Pastor Alfred’s home.  People were everywhere – getting vaccinations, newborn babies and moms, recovering malaria patients, and school children.

My special memorable moment today was when we were driven a mile or more down a really rutted curvy road to the well pump station that is part of the water project Apostles helped provide.  We inspected the pump station and met the pump operator and then went back uphill to the new water tank on the Gikomero campus.  We were all invited to climb a wooden ladder to the top of the tank and Pastor Alfred opened the hatch on top of the tank and we could watch the clean water filling the tank.  Until this project was completed all the water for the campus and clinic had to be carried in.  We all stood together on the tank and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving for this water system and a prayer of blessing for how this water will allow Gikomero church to meet the needs of the clinic and the community.

The church plans that other locations in the area will also receive water from this tank as soon as more connecting pipes can be constructed. Pastor Alfred called this water “living water” that was bringing new life to the Gikomero church and clinic.  This “living water” will be part of the “spiritual living water” that the Gikomero church is spreading through Pastor Alfred and the ministry of Gikomero parish.

--John Wilson

Sitting with Jesus - Prayer for the week of July 20th

Below is our prayer for this week. It is a prayer that acknowledges that the Lord knows what we need before we even ask and requests that He will give us what we need whether or not we ask for it. There is some rich theology in this prayer.

The Sunday closest to July 20

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Have a blessed week.

ford

Rwanda Blog: On the Ground, Ready to Go

After 12 hours across the ocean on a very large plane, we touched down in the small Middle Eastern country of Qatar. Felt like 135 degrees on the tarmac, and it was immediately clear, we weren’t in Kansas.
Our eyes met travelers from Arabic, Asian, African and probably a hundred other nations. Beautiful people, all made by God. But very different from a stroll through North Hills. 

And we weren’t there yet.

Several hours more, and our eyes finally met the bright-faced, mild-mannered people of our host nation. Getting our passports checked, the Team began butchering and blundering some basic Kinyarwanda vocab. That produced some smiles from the otherwise stoic passport screening officials. 

Then finally, familiar faces! Eugenie. Celestine. Claudine. And many more familiar faces appeared, eager to greet us and welcome us. We sat down in the room where we’ll share meals this week, and enjoyed fresh crepes, fresh fruit and hot tea while the mellow sun sank beyond the rolling hills outside the window. 

As I type, most of the Team is playing Bananagrams in the dark because power is out. Something that happens almost nightly. We’re tired but looking forward to what’s ahead.

And what’s ahead is more faces of people made by God, loved by God. We will lock eyes with old friends and new friends in Gikomero tomorrow. We will sing, maybe dance and definitely seek the Lord with them in worship Sunday. And the week will continue from there.

Our aim is to pray with people. Sounds thoroughly unproductive in some ways. And yet, the point of our journey, the point of being linked with these folks is relationship. And there aren’t many more things that link you closer than praying with someone. So, our hope is to pray. To pray a lot.

Pray with the Shyogwe diocesan staff. With Pastor Alfred, who is Gikomero’s new pastor, and his family. With the mothers of the Healthy Mums Project. With the Health Center staff and patients. And hopefully with some families of the church. 

And the Lord only knows what will happen as he hears and answers these prayers we pray with our brothers and sisters. But hopefully we will walk away closer to them, and them to us. 

We’re on our way. Pray for us!

-Eric Bolash

Rwanda Blog: Redeemer and Apostles Team Leaves for Rwanda

The Rwanda Team left Raleigh very early Thursday morning (July 16) to travel to Gikomero, Rwanda. They will return July 28. The goal for the team is to share love and encouragement with our brothers and sisters of Shyogwe Diocese. 

Please remember them in prayer. The team verse is "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation and who say to Zion "Your God reigns!"  - Isaiah 52:7.  Pray that they would have safe travel, that they would be a blessing to Gikomero and the community, and be blessed in the deepening relationship with our brothers and sisters in Rwanda.
 

Ordinary Stories for Ordinary Time

Redeemer Family –

Several weeks ago we entered into a season of the church called Ordinary Time*. Throughout this season we’re going to be periodically sharing some stories of how the people of Redeemer are living out their faith in the ordinary places of their lives.

Our prayer is that several things would happen as a result of capturing these videos:

• First, we pray that we would be encouraged as we hear stories about what the Lord is doing in the world through the people of Redeemer.
• Second, we hope that we would get to know one another a little bit better as we hear one another’s stories and learn about one another’s desires and interests.
• Finally, our desire is that as we hear the stories of how others are living our their faith, that we would all be encouraged to consider how we are living out our faith in the ordinary places of our own lives.

Below is a video that introduces this series. I hope you enjoy it.

https://youtu.be/fefw2Z3tH3A

Ford

Ordinary Time doesn’t get its name from the use of the word ordinary that we are accustomed to - meaning ‘normal’, ‘commonplace’ or ‘everyday’. Instead it gets its name from the term ‘ordinal’ which refers to the numbers by which we count the weeks of Ordinary Time (1st week of Ordinary Time, 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, etc.). In this series, however, we’re going to use a play on words and refer to Ordinary Time in its non intended meaning.

Sitting with Jesus - June 15th

Redeemer Family –
 
Below is the weekly prayer for the Anglican Church.  Know that as you pray this prayer you are joining your voice with brothers and sisters from around the world who are also asking the Lord for this same thing at this same time.  As we were reminded yesterday from Psalm 121, we need one another’s strength and encouragement as we journey along the way.  Be encouraged and strengthened by the community of faith this day.
 
For the Sunday closest to June 15
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sitting with Jesus - Weekly Prayer (June 8th)

Redeemer –
 
As we journey together through the Psalms of Ascent this summer, my hope is that these weekly prayers will help us in our daily ascent to the presence of the Lord.  This week’s prayer asks the Lord to guide our minds in order that we might think right thoughts and then asks God for the  grace to carry out those thoughts in our lives. 
 
 
Proper 5    The Sunday closest to June 8
O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
 
Have a blessed week.

- Ford

Sitting with Jesus - Weekly Prayer for 7th Sunday of Easter

This week in the life of the church is a strange one.  Last week we celebrated that Christ ascended into heaven.  This coming Sunday we’ll celebrate the sending of the Spirit at Pentecost.  Yet in between these two weeks, the people of God were left without God’s presence here on earth. 
 
Below is a prayer for the church for the Sunday after Ascension Day.  It is a beautiful prayer asking the Lord to never leave us without His comfort.  It is a prayer that reminds us of the comfort of the Holy Spirit and causes us to pray for more and more of an experience of the Spirit in our lives. 

I pray that this will encourage you as you Sit with Jesus this week.

-Ford

“Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen”

— Book of Common Prayer

Blessed Are Those that Are Persecuted Because of Righteousness

But How Can Persecution Be a Blessing?

If someone were to ask me, ‘Why do you do this Bible-Study-teaching thing anyway?’ My deep heart answer would be this:  I want women to get a taste of knowing what life is like living with this Jesus friend of mine.  Living a life with Jesus in it, as opposed to one where He is merely visited on an as-needed basis, is a game changer.  He shows me a depth of beauty that I cannot begin to grasp in a thousand glossy magazines.  He can tell a story more heart churning and purposeful than all the novels, movies and drama series that I have ever read or seen.  He shows up, always. He knows me fully, and He loves me anyway.  His plans for me include things that far surpass having a healthy body, respected kids, and an elegant home.  To borrow a profound phrase from Tom Cruise, “He completes me.”  This Jesus is the real deal.  And I want you to know Him, because I think He will rock your world too.  So, you can understand it if I don’t really want to write about the persecution that comes with being His Friend, and how you will even be ‘happy’ when it happens.

Imagine you were going to be on this earth for 30ish years and you had this chance to make friends that would follow you, be taught by you and remember you long after you were gone.  Would you give them your philosophy for happiness by including mourning and meekness and end it with the recommendation that they rejoice when they endure the inevitable persecution that comes by being friends?  Not me.  Nope, I would buy them lunch and take them flowers.  But Jesus started this relationship with these 8 counter cultural keys to happiness, known as the beatitudes, and it worked.  These disciples (minus one) would go on to live their lives willingly poured out for this Man, Jesus - rejoicing in the persecution that came by being known as one of His friends.  Why?

Before we answer that, we must clarify that this is not some twisted recommendation to seek suffering.  We are right to want our family healthy, our marriages strong, and our society safe.  This is talking about enduring persecution ‘for righteousness sake’, or because of Christ.    This is different than persecution “because of Katie was a little to uppity with her neighbor” or suffering “because of cancer”.  The reason there is a blessing in this is because you do not endure persecution ‘because of Christ’ unless there is a mark of Jesus on you. The persecution is talking about is the result of the Holy Spirit having His hands on you enough that you are starting to fit in more with Eternity than the world around us.  When you are living a life that looks enough like Christ that the world feels the need to make a little jab, then you know He is living in you.  And if He is living in you, you are blessed.

Why did Jesus so boldly outline these crazy, counter intuitive keys to happiness?  Why did these disciples walk willingly and joyfully into persecution?  Because they met Jesus, they listened to Jesus, they walked with Jesus, and they were loved by Jesus.  They tasted the blessing of Jesus, judged it better than anything else this life can offer, and they knew enduring the persecution of living a life marked by Him was well worth it.  

One more to consider as you go:

“The Bible says, in many different passages, that true disciples of Jesus Christ will be persecuted.  It is inevitable, a natural consequence of exhibiting true Christian character…nevertheless, there is very little persecution of Christians today [in America].  Is it possible that the Bible is wrong?  Or are Christians today simply not showing forth the type of righteous character that Jesus said results in persecution?...the absence of persecution should drive a believer to his knees….”

 James Boice

So with this, I have to ask myself, in what ways have I kept Jesus at arm’s length such that my life is not at all marked by His presence?  What is one practical way that I can include Jesus in my everyday living such that I would begin to look a little different than the world around me?