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Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8
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Rwanda
Like bungie-jumping (reputedly – I wouldn’t know, I never have nor would), there are life experiences that are scarcely FUN in the heat of battle, but one brags about ad nauseam for years. Hope:Rwanda was such.
Of course there were wonderful highlights, when our spirits soared, and we rejoiced with shouts of praise to our amazing Father. There were lowlights, when quintuple whammies of the great African ‘No’ battered even God-inspired perseverance.
Even the Kenyans agreed that the Rwandan character is complex. You greet with a stylized hug graded for familiarity. A biceps-grab for strangers, and full-bear with back-slapping for friends. This is followed by a courteous hand-shake, while the deferential will grasp their own right forearm with their left hand and even bow a little.
Many minutes are now employed asking how you are, how your family is, how your work is, how your business is, and again how your family is. Only then can business proceed. At this stage, arms may be folded, faces closed, and the conversation can become, as they would say, ‘tough’. Their indecent history may be to blame.
One day we asked my PA when his birthday was. ‘I don’t know my real birthday’, he replied. We were stunned. ‘We don’t celebrate birthdays…’ he looked wistful. ‘But my sister tells me that I was born the month before the sorghum turns red.’
Though familiar with last-minutitis, here it’s an art-form. One Sunday night I was phoned to say we ‘had a problem’. A certain provincial committee were refusing to work. Nothing new here, except that their event began on Tuesday. What preparations had been made? Almost nothing. We made the two hour drive into the forested hills on Monday morning. It was raining and cold. Greetings were exchanged, and arms folded. The issue, as so often, centred on money. Things were said that shouldn’t have been. Fingernails were examined. And then after four long hours without warning the sun came out, smiles and heartfelt apologies were produced, and a plan of action made for the
event to begin… the following morning. It did, and proved to be of God, and a wonderful success. I cannot believe that the angels in heaven don’t shake their heads in wonder.
The roller coaster
The events of Hope:Rwanda ran into each other like ants in a nest. Conferences, crusades, heart surgery, mosquito net distribution, education training, dentistry, village building, well drilling, church roofs, schools, football tournaments, gigs and concerts clustered for attention like street kids. Some proved immensely testing, others seemed to just happen around us.
Interestingly, by the Closing Ceremony, we were on a roll. All ‘toughness’ had dissolved in grace and organising became almost normal. Mark & Darlene Zschech, the visionaries and our bosses, flew in with many others of the Hillsong team. Thousands of pastors gathered for a wonderful conference, and on the closing night a symbolic flame was transferred to the local committee chairman who together with his team intend to lead Hope:Rwanda into the future. Even the government who so supported the initiative said that 15th July would be celebrated in future as a Day of Hope.