JAM: Rwanda Relationship Story

Sermon Recap

We were reminded in this Sunday’s message of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and how God is at work rebuilding a whole community.  The scripture of Lamentations 1:16 which Ivan shared gave us a foundation for the prayers of the Rwandan people and the sufferings, pains, and sorrows which they lived, endured, and continue to remember through a 100 day commemoration every year. 

From this, Ivan shared how he and his wife Jordan were given the vision to serve the vulnerable in the Bugesera community. They began connecting and becoming grounded in relationships with the people. They asked two important questions in this justice dilemma: Where can I start? and  What gifting’s do I have?

They began with agriculture (planting trees and vegetables to feed and fund the community) and recently they built a well for clean drinking water.  From there, they continued to listen with genuine hearts and the leading of the Holy Spirit to use their educational and business backgrounds for a vision and work to build Aspire Academy, a primary school that will offer Christian education, discipleship and so much more.  They plan and hope to continue to have the parents from the community join in the building process, also inviting others to join in helping meet the needs of students and families,  and with the hope of breaking the cycle of generational poverty. 

We are invited to join Ivan and Jordan, and the Bugesera community in trusting that God is good. God is the one who brings new life to the community.  

Practices for Tonight

Reflection.

You are invited to revisit the question from the Justice series: How can I use my power and privilege to do justice? 

Begin as Ivan and Jordan did by asking the Lord to open your eyes and heart to help see:

Where can I start right now?  Maybe this is carrying on a conversation with a friend, your family, or your children about Rwanda and the story Ivan shared. Maybe it is beginning to pray regularly for the vision of Aspire and the Bugesera community.  

What are the gifting’s I have?  Notice where you spend your time. What kind of skills and work do you do or have you done? 

Share. Spend time sharing what stands out to you from Ivan’s testimony.  

Is there a word or phrase that keeps coming to mind or surfacing as you think on what you have heard and recall?

Are there any tensions or wonderings that are helpful to offer and give voice to in your group? 

How might God be inviting you to respond to what you have heard about Ivan’s story, their work, or the Rwandan community?

Prayer.

The invitation may be to join in the prayer of Jeremiah from Lamentations 1:16 by reading the verse aloud and holding the Rwandan people in prayer as they begin their 100 day Commemoration. 

“I weep for these things; My eyes overflow with tears,

Because a comforter, One who could restore my soul, is far away from me. 

My children are desolate and perishing, For the enemy has prevailed.” Lamentations 1:16

Pray with thanksgiving for the “good things that still come to us” —the ways God has healed the Rwandan people from the stories shared by Ivan. 

Pray for the continuing work and provisions of the Aspire Academy, Ivan and Jordan’s family, and the Bugesera community.

Pray! Prayer Needs for Aspire Academy

• Construction permit to start building

• God’s provision in financing and building the school

• The students and their families

• Christian teachers who love children and teaching

Practices for the Week

Here are a few offerings you may wish to do:

• Return to the Reflection portion and the question: How can I use my power and privilege to do justice? -Try journaling, share a conversation with a companion, spend time in prayer and solitude seeking the Lord’s wisdom with these things.

• Take a prayer *walk through your neighborhood or a drive through a part of town where you see justice is missing.

  • Notice what you see or hear.

  • Ask the Lord how you can begin building relationships with the people you meet in your neighborhood (outside the grocery store, at the park, waiting at a bus stop, hanging out on your school campus …) 

• Journal about what you noticed or were praying. Is there a problem that can’t wait to be solved? Or maybe it is to wait while praying for open doors?

Trust the Holy Spirit to lead you as you continue to grow in awareness, relationships, and understanding.  

*Consider doing your walk or drive with a companion or as a family. 

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