Preparing for Kigali Festival: Reason to Celebrate

(Friday, May 1) I recently returned from a successful trip to Kigali, Rwanda. Thank you so much for your prayers!  Very productive meetings were held and exciting events took place in preparation for Kigali Hope Festival happening on July 17 and 18.

This festival has certainly been custom-made by God for this very time in Rwanda. Influential leaders there are passionate for souls and convinced by the Holy Spirit that this is the time, place, and model for harvest. The Body of Christ is being built up for years ahead.

There is a personal evangelism reality built into every part of the festival, and as the spiritual leadership there unanimously agrees, it is just what’s needed in this day. Our chairman, Bishop John Rucyahana; our coordinator, Joel Sengoga; and our friends at Africa New Life, including Pastor Charles Buregeya and the many others are all awesome! What a team.

Highlights from my time in Kigali include:

The Pastors’ Lunch

360 pastors were there, including nearly all the denominational leadership in the area. Nice breakthroughs were made with some who do not typically get involved in unified events. There was a great extended time of prayer together, and the pastors took 46,000 festival prayer cards to focus their people on the main thing (PRAYER and INVITING OTHERS).  More prayer cards equals more mobilized believers! The tougher news is that we now need to print more prayer cards … and that means we need your help securing funds for what is obviously going to be a very successful church mobilization plan! 

Press Conference

All major and many smaller newspaper, radio, and TV stations were represented. The main newspaper ran two stories on Sunday and another this week. 

The Season of Service Launch

We drove straight from the press conference to Karama School (2,300 children) and the Genocide Survivors Village next door (one of six the government has recently completed).  Neither has clean drinking water. But they soon will, thanks to the amazing alliance which includes you, the local churches in the village, the city government, and our great friends with Water For Life.

We will begin the process of installing a combination of water catchment systems, wells, and filtrations systems and hygiene education in a number of identified schools as Season of Service projects leading up to the festival.  Our friends Nick and Jen Greener are moving their family there for the next three years to continue that work! 

When we arrived for the groundbreaking ceremony at Karama School, we were met by more than 600 people from the community! These included an African youth choir from the village’s church; the District Mayor, Vice-Mayor Gakuba, the school’s headmaster, and various pastors and civic leaders. Most moving was the speech by the village elder thanking God for the situation.  In answer to our prayers, the sun even shone allowing us to make the trek up the mountain without incident for the first time all week!

The city is broken into 24 sectors. Each has an SOS committee and 10 of these have already identified their own, independent SOS projects. These range from building bridges to cleaning up neighborhoods in an effort to tangibly demonstrate the love of Christ and open relationships for the sake of the Good News.   There will also be medical clinics the week of the festival and onsite at the festival stadium. 

Leadership Meetings

We met with all the various committees and also worked with the local staff.

Meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame

He was gracious and committed to giving us counsel and being at the festival events. We’ll pray that works out and that we can be a part of the work to bring regeneration and reconciliation to Rwanda.

I had the opportunity to share with him the vision for the festival, Jeremiah 29:7, and my testimony. He was especially enthusiastic about the festival’s focus on the nation’s youth, and service to young people and families.  Bishop John arranged and led the meeting incredibly, as he has been doing as festival chairman at every level! Praise God for him and the many other incredible leaders and staff of the festival.

We also met with Kigali Mayor Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira and our friend who visitied to observe Portland CityFest in August, 2008, Vice Mayor Jeanne d’Arc Gakuba. Both have a tremendous vision and are very committed to the festival’s success.

I could go on for pages! 

God has opened many doors. We will be hard pressed to step through each one, but with God’s help and yours, we will! 

Please continue to pray for Tim Robnett (festival director), Joel Mutimura Sengoga (local coordinator), and for the rest of our staff.  Also, pray for the local churches as they continue their wonderful work of directing people to God himself through the living Savior Jesus Christ. Finally, pray that the FMX demos become a reality (as there are quite a few hurdles to this happening). 
 
Please consider helping us find all the funding to deliver the Good News through Kigali Hope Festival on July 17-18, 2009.  We really need your help. If you can send a check to this end, or give online, please do so and we will rejoice together! Your financial support will go directly to bringing clean water to those in Kigali, and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with those who have yet to know Him.

Thank you!