Kigali Sunset

Our neighborhood gets dark in a hurry about 6 pm, when the power is out. It was yesterday. That was Sunday and a good day overall, with much to share. I spent much of the day with David Bucura and Friends at the Village Meeting in Kicukiro, near the monthly meeting church and missionary compound.

As we left the church driveway, David was confronted with a large truck, blocking the road.  Some men were unloading plastic patio chairs and had the truck parked right in the middle of the road.  David decided to back up, and turned around in the driveway.  As we turned to go up the hill, instead of wait for the truck, I learned why we had not been this way before. Within meters, the road got steep and very bumpy.  There were large ruts in the road, rock filled; with many ditches, big stones and all kinds of twists and turns, and ups and downs.  I had the impression we were doing four wheeling somewhere on the flanks of Mt. Hood.  The little Izuzu climbed steadily and we made it eventually to a main road, paved and straight.  Mind you, this route was right in the middle of the city of Kigali.

Earlier that morning, we had arrived at the church yard, with one other car pulling in, Debby Thomas and family and Brad and Chelsea Carpenter disembarking.  The 0730 service was in English and lasted about 90 minutes.  There was no power for much of the time.  AFter much singing, David Bucura gave a message, which was a review of previous sermons on holiness.  It was a good message and the group was involved, as David asked questions and expected an answer.  There were about thirty in attendance, with most being Rwandans.

During a break time between this service and the next one, I visited with Bonheur and his wife, was greeted by many children, and chatted with David in an office in the Sunday School building.  The second service was very crowded, with scores of children, many of whom were wearing choir robes.  It was a children’s service with a special speaker, a Tanzanian woman, who spoke Kiswahili.  A Congolese woman in the congregation served as a translator into Kinyrwandan.  David gave me some spotty translation into English.  The message was directed at the children, and used 1 Samuel 2 and 3 as the text passage of scripture. Prior to the message, there was lots of singing.  There was congregational singing, and there were numerous choirs.  This service lasted about two and one half hours.

I was honored at the conclusion of service to be asked to pray to close the service.  David told me just to pray in English (that’s good!).  I felt moved to pray a blessing on the group and thanked God for being there with us.  My “amen” was greeted with a healthy “amen” in response.

I appreciated my time with Rwandan Friends and look forward to worshipping with them again next week.  After the second service, I met a number of folks, including the headmaster of the George Fox school.

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