One pastor was asked in advance of the first internship whether he would like a group of student workers. He said, “No, we don’t need them.” After hearing the results in other churches, he was first in line to receive a group of students for the second internship experience. Students worked with his church for four weeks. Formerly a church of primarily children, this church now has a more commendable group of adults and an adult trainee-leader working under the pastor.
It all started with a missions conference at the Wilmore Free Methodist Church in 1997 and an introduction to Mike and Vickie Reynen. We were young and excited to learn more about missions, so Mike and Vickie graciously arranged a trip to Nigeria for us, a summer that forever connected our hearts to Africa. Little did we know the path God would lead us on, one of true joy even amid significant pain and loss.
Allain is a pastor at Kibogora Free Methodist Church, located in a rural village on Lake Kivu in western Rwanda. He is busy serving the church in youth ministry, working as the coordinator for Rwanda’s Youth for Christ (YFC), and serving with Compassion International. When I asked Allain why he feels called to youth, he told me it was because he remembers what it was like to be young and encounter the challenges youth face.
In Iraq, Haris* had heard about Christians. He had heard they are good people. Haris, his wife and his son learned this firsthand when they found...
I visited a village where I had never been before. I planned to start a house church there and came to gather information about the area, the people and the culture. While sitting at the coffee shop, I prayed and asked God to guide me to a man of peace. From experience, I know the Lord goes before us and brings the right people in our path. Later, I went to a shop to have some of my clothes ironed. While there, I started a conversation with the shop owner. I asked him about his village, and then I asked him where I might find a place to spend the night. He asked me, “Why are you here?”
Em-Elias asked me to have a meeting at her home and speak about love and forgiveness. A few days later, I held the meeting and spoke about the importance of forgiveness in the Christian faith. Em-Elias was listening carefully. After a while, she asked me to repeat what I had been saying. I didn’t know why she asked me to do so. As I started again, I noticed Em-Elias was gazing at Umaima, her daughter-in-law. Umaima was listening carefully.
