Reflections: More than Just a Number

My translator, Pastor Jerome Nsegiumva, in the baptistry on the Ruhango church compound. He is about to baptize a young candidate, on May 28, 2016, the final Sabbath of the Total Member Involvement (TMI) campaign. Photo courtesy of Jacques Bikorimana, Ruhango church elder.

Here I am, two months removed from the Total Member Involvement (TMI) mission to Rwanda, and I am still amazed by the reports that are coming in from that small, beautiful East African country. In early July, it was reported by the Adventist Review, that officially, over 100,000 baptisms were a direct result of the TMI evangelistic campaign that started two months earlier. It's amazing to think how God can use us, as imperfect human beings, for His glory!

It is also important to mention that the Adventist members of Rwanda took the "Total Member Involvement" theme to heart, and were active in inviting their non-Adventist colleagues, family members and friends to the meetings. Even before the TMI campaign started, Adventists in Rwanda were doing door-to-door evangelism, conducting Bible studies, and actively sharing the Seventh-day Adventist message. From the administrators, to the pastors, down to the lay members, this was truly a demonstration of "Total Member Involvement".

So what do I take away from this mission trip? A renewed sense of purpose in my walk with Christ. More and further more demonstrations of God's amazing power to use lay persons like myself, to finish the work, and a sense of awe that God has entrusted me to play a small part in hastening the soon coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Even so come, Lord Jesus!

Day 13: God is Moving!

My fellow missionaries and I, with friends at the Akagera National Park in southeastern Rwanda, on the afternoon of Monday, May 23, 2016. This photo is courtesy of my fellow missionary, Pastor Mario Asumen.

Since my last post, God has been moving mightily throughout Rwanda; almost 30,000 baptisms have taken place over the past weekend. Praise God! This past Sabbath, I preached a sermon about the Adventist health message at the Ruhango church. Immediately after Divine Service, I had the privilege of attending the Ruhango district baptismal service, where 58 precious souls were buried in the watery grave of baptism, emerging from the water as new creatures in Jesus!

God has been using this Total Member Involvement "Rwanda for Christ" evangelistic campaign to reach the hearts of not only the attendees, but also the evangelists who are delivering the messages. As I review each night's presentation, my understanding of the plain, biblical truths, that lay the foundation of Adventist doctrine, have been strengthened. After this mission trip, I will be much more confident in sharing my beliefs.

However, it has not been all work and no play. Yesterday, was the missionaries' day off, and we were treated to a safari at Akagera National Park, located in southwestern Rwanda. During the five-hour safari, our group witnessed a glimpse of the magnificence of God's creative power. We saw several groups of brightly-striped zebras galloping through the brush, the occasional warthog scampering by, several troupes of baboons, including mothers with their babies. Our group also saw the statuesque giraffes that dotted the African savanna, numerous impala, hippopotami lazily wading in Lake Hema and warming themselves in the African sun, topis, water buffalo, and other masterpieces of God's creation.

Going into the final weekend of the campaign, we are anticipating the largest one-day baptism in Adventist history: about 60,000 people are expected to be baptized. God is good! I feel blessed and privileged to be a part of an effort that will be reaping such a harvest for the Lord. God is moving mightily in Rwanda! Thank you for your continued prayers.

Day 6: Blessed and Humbled

My fellow missionaries and I outside of our hotel, in Muhanga, Rwanda, on the afternoon of Friday, May 13, 2016, before our first evangelistic meetings. This photo is courtesy of my fellow missionary, Vanessa.

It has been a whirlwind past few days here in Rwanda! God has been blessing tremendously. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is currently conducting a nationwide evangelistic campaign entitled "Revelation of Hope" at about 2,300 sites throughout the country; I am a member of a team of 15 missionaries based in Muhanga, Rwanda. My missionary team is quite diverse: we come from the United States, Canada and the Bahamas; some are students, others are working professionals. We range in age from 16 to over 50. One member of the group, Chantal, has family in Rwanda and has been able to visit her relatives during her stay.

Each missionary has been assigned to a site to conduct an evangelistic campaign with the assistance of the local district pastor, a translator (who many times is the district pastor), and a driver who provides the missionaries with transportation to and from their sites. I have been assigned to a site in the town of Ruhango, and have been working with Pastor Jerome to conduct the campaign. Pastor Jerome oversees six churches in his district and also serves as my translator. There are 400-600 people attending the Ruhango campaign site.

The "Revelation of Hope" campaign started on the Friday evening of May 13, 2016, with the topic of "Empires in Collision", outlining the prophecies of Daniel chapter 2, and its relevance for today. The following meetings have covered the significance of the sanctuary service, the Three Angels' Messages, the Great Controversy, and the Second Coming of Christ.

The number of people attending my group's sites range from 150 to over 2,000. Our group leader, Karen, who has coordinated several mission trips similar to this one, commented that the attendance for this nationwide evangelistic campaign has far exceeded anything that she has ever been involved with. People are arriving in numbers each night, including weekdays. There are people who walk over 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) to attend our nightly meetings! Many of the roads here in Rwanda are not the well-maintained asphalt roads that we see in developed countries. Imagine red, narrow, dusty roads, filled with deep ruts, and lined on either side with a stream of pedestrians; the occasional bicycle, motorcycle, or mini-bus passing precariously close to your vehicle in either direction. One could reasonably conclude that such roads are impassable when it rains.

Outside of our preaching responsibilities, my team has been able to explore the town of Muhanga. It has been a culturally enriching experience to observe daily life in a developing country; to walk down the dusty streets lined with businesses, street vendors, bicycle taxis, motorcycle taxis and mini-buses. There are not many proper sidewalks here, so people usually walk on the shoulder of the road. One thing that I have noticed while I have been here is the amount of people that you see everywhere. The streets seem to be crowded with people and vehicles. Everyone seems to be out and about, heading to school, the market, or wherever their destination may be.

Please continue to pray for the evangelistic campaign. Where there is much prayer, there is much power, and where there is little prayer, there is little power. Each night, after the missionaries return to the hotel, we are able to gain strength and encourage one another by sharing testimonies of how God has been moving on the hearts of the people, and on our hearts as well. God has a mighty work to do in Rwanda, and I am blessed and humbled to serve Him in this capacity.

Day 1: Go Ye Therefore...

Missionary service has been the lifeblood of the Seventh-day Adventist Church since its founding. Throughout its history, the Adventist Church has sent missionaries far and wide to proclaim the Three Angels' Messages "to every nation, kindred, tongue and people" (Revelation 14:6). Often discouraged, unappreciated and lonely, many missionaries have found the mission field an ideal proving ground for their faith (James 1:2-4).

I believe that what separates the Adventist movement from other faiths, is what gives power and efficacy to Adventist missionary work: Bible-based truth. Throughout the history of the Adventist Church, God has used human instruments, in the person of missionary workers, to lead souls groping in spiritual darkness to the Light of the world, to liberate those bound in false doctrines to freedom in Jesus Christ, and to equip those entangled by pagan traditions to be able to rightly divide the Word of Truth.

By participating in this mission, I have symbolically been handed the baton by the Adventist missionaries who have gone before, and become a member of a sacred fraternity, comprised of God-fearing men and women who have sacrificed their livelihood, comfort, family, and even their lives for the cause of Christ.

Mission work is the only way the Adventist Church can fulfill its divine mandate: to "go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost..." (Matthew 28:19). Only when that sacred mandate has been fulfilled, can our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, return in the clouds of glory, to receive us unto Himself, never again to part. Even so come, Lord Jesus!

Be Open to God's Leading

As I prepare for the mission trip, I was recently reminded of the Great Controversy that surrounds us—which will ultimately be won in God's favor (Revelation 20:10)—and how important it is to be open to God's leading.

John (not his real name) was a young military veteran. The town where I live does not have a proper public transportation system, so I call one of the local taxi services to take me where I need to go. Having used this particular taxi service for over a year, you get to know some of the drivers, and John was one such driver. He was a young man, most likely in his mid-to-late-20's and a veteran who spent a few years overseas. From our conversations, I could sense that John was searching for a deeper purpose in life. He listened intently when I talked to him about God and the Bible. The Holy Spirit impressed me to give him a copy of The Great Hope along with my phone number, so that he could get in contact with me if he had any questions or desired further study.

A few months passed before I saw John again, but when I did, things had changed. No more did I sense that openness to the Word of God; it was as if the devil had enveloped him in darkness.

Recently, I got a ride home with one of John's colleagues who told me the sad news: John committed suicide. I had a mix of emotions: sadness, shock and bewilderment, to name a few. How could this have happened?! In spite of this tragedy, God comforted me, because even though John ultimately gave in to the devil's lie, He still used me to reach out to him with a message of hope.

My admonition to you is to be open to God's leading, because you never know what impact your witness could be on a person's eternal destiny.

God Works in Mysterious Ways...

As I have drawn closer to Christ, I have felt a growing desire to do international mission work, but nothing has ever panned out until recently. Over Christmas break, I was at home watching a program from the 2015 GYC conference. During one of the preliminaries, Dr. Duane McKey, assistant to the General Conference President, introduced a mission trip to Rwanda, sponsored by the General Conference. The mission trip is part of the General Conference's "Total Member Involvement" initiative for this quinquennium (2015-2020). Suddenly, it clicked. It was as if God was telling me, this is the opportunity that you have been waiting for! It was not that God did not want me to go on missions previously, it just wasn't part of His plan. I felt immediately at peace with the prospect of going on this mission, which was a sign that God wanted me to step out in faith and He would orchestrate the rest. But as they say, old habits die hard.

After making the mental commitment to move forward with this mission, my first thought was, how am I going to afford it? It's not exactly cheap to fly to Africa and back! One evening, while I was showering, God put the thought in my mind: use your tax refund check to buy the ticket. Boom! That was easy...Thank you, God.

With the airfare out of the way, my second thought was, how am I going to get over two weeks off from work? That week, during one of my team meetings, with some trepidation, I brought it up to manager, not knowing how she would react. Well, not only did she grant my request, but when I told her what it was about, she was even excited for me!

Friends, God works in mysterious ways. His ways are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). While I was leaning on my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6), God had already opened a door; He was just waiting for me to walk through it! Hallelujah! Forgive me, Lord, for my unbelief.