Live The Revolution!

Rwanda, Land of a Thousand Hills! How I will miss you! Your abundant sunshine, your tropical beauty, the incredible grit of your people. I shall miss the vibrant life and colorful personality of your towns and streets. I shall miss the unhurried pace, the bright smiles, the friendly waves and greetings. I shall long for your grand mountains and your encompassing hills and the happy trilling of birds. I was just getting used to the curious stares and cries of "mzungu!" (white person) everywhere I go. You have taught me much, Rwanda, and I will not forget you. May I never be the same again. May I never again become so comfortable and satisfied with the glittering trifles of prosperity that I cease to press forward in the revolution that God has begun in my heart.

I asked God to rock my world and change my perception of life. He is answering my prayers. These five weeks have been a defining moment for me. Jesus Christ is challenging me with the transforming power of the whole Gospel. This has truly been the Year of Jubilee (freedom) in my heart and soul. God is connecting loose ends in my faith and the lights are coming on! This year I have encountered Jesus Christ like never before in all my 21 years as a believer. It is all HIM! Praise You Jesus! You are amazing!

With all the reading I've been doing this month, God grabbed my heart with one extremely uncomfortable but powerful book. I don't have time here to express what God is working in me through its message. The best thing I can do is to highly recommend that you read it for yourself! It is called The Hole In Our Gospel, written by Rich Stearns, president of World Vision. It's a convicting revelation of what the Gospel of Christ is supposed to look like when it is lived out in the lives of His followers. Rich lays out what we have missed in our understanding and application of the Gospel. It speaks with urgency both to individuals and to the church across America. If we would catch the fire of this Gospel and take Jesus' words seriously, we will change the world! I am only one and can account for no one's response to Christ but my own. But I desire to somehow spread this radical message and see the people around me impacted as I have been. Trust me, you need to read this book! Now if you can read it in the context of a very different culture and the visual realization that the American standard of living does not apply to the rest of the world, it will be even more effective!

My mind struggles to adequately translate the deep stirrings of my soul into thoughts and words that will communicate to you what I have been given through this journey in Rwanda, not to mention all the ways in which God prepared me beforehand. The deep desire of my heart as I return home is that God's transforming power at work in me will become more and more evident to the people in my life. The proof of growth is in the fruit. I want to be an expression of my Creator that inspires people to give Him glory. I want to live only to love Him who died to win my heart back. May my lifesong sing to Him forever!

A few weeks ago I go to watch a DVD message/drama portraying what it might be like to stand before the Bema of Christ. Bema is a Greek word used in Scripture to describe the judgment seat where Christ will one day require an account of all His followers and will reward each of us according to what we have done. The pastor presenting the drama, Peter Briscoe, explained that this event appears to be an evaluation of how we used the life and resources that God has entrusted to us on earth as stewards. Our sins will not enter into the picture, as they have been covered by the blood of Christ. "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8:1 We know that none of our works will save us. We are saved by grace through faith; it is the gift of God, as it says in Eph. 2:8. But if you go on to verse 9, God tells us that we are saved for good works, which God has prepared for us to do. The question is, are we putting our faith to work? Are we using God's gifts for His kingdom and storing up treasure in Heaven? Or are we using them to hoard earthly pleasures for ourselves? The Bema drama is an imaginary account of one man who finds himself before the judgment seat and discovers that he has built very little of eternal value on the foundation of His Christian life. His is a story of nominal Christianity with a focus on worldly success rather than on Christ and the things He is interested in. It is the kind of life many believers in America today could identify with. In the end this man is left with only a few treasures of eternal value; most of his work is burned away. "But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
1 Cor 3:10-15 (NIV) This challenged me to think deeply about my life; to recognize what God has given me: in time, relationships, possessions, money, talents, opportunities, and circumstances, and to ask myself, What have I done with these things? And what can I start doing now to ensure that I am building with materials that will last? How should I live so that Jesus will be able to say to me, Well done, good and faithful servant? I know one thing that I want to do differently, and that is to cherish the people in my life and invest as much as I can in them. People are one of the few things on this earth that are eternal, and whatever we invest in others' lives will count on that Day.

So, needless to say, this has been a full and rich experience for me and I pray it is only the beginning of the wonders God will do as I seek to love Him with my all. I hope that my musings have been an encouragement to my readers. These are honest journalings of my personal adventure with God. I am a work in progress. Lest you should be tempted to see me as some sort of spiritual celebrity for taking this trip or because something I wrote impressed you, please don't! Anyone could do what I am doing. I said it before and I will say it again, that I am the one most privileged to come here; it is not some heroic or sacrificial act to travel to another country and reach out to your neighbors halfway around the world. It is an awesome blessing! I am sure I have received far more than I have invested. I would love to have the chance to do this again! And I am so grateful to everyone who made this trip possible.

So, I must say farewell to this beautiful land Sunday at 4:00 PM. I am ready to be with my family, but I wish I did not have to leave Rwanda; it really grows on a person! I do miss my family and friends, but I would never miss Ohio, especially not in the winter! Ahhh, parting is such sweet sorrow! I am trying to comfort myself by thinking of things that are good about winter. Things like.... flannel sheets, burning scented candles, working 1000 piece puzzles, burrowing under piles of fleece blankets, Christmas lights in my room that stay up for months, Christmas music, hot cider and other holiday treats, and yes, even the million sparkling gems in the snow on a SUNNY day. There is something deliciously cozy about warm cozy things when it is freezing outside. And I did get a lovely extension on my summer! So... I will try to focus on the positives, because I know I have abundant reasons to be grateful. And I think I'm going to find a lot less to complain about,too! So if anyone hears me whining about some petty thing.... just remind me of the air quality in the streets of Kigali. And the dependability of electric, water, and internet. And the joys of leaky faucets and leaky pipes and leaky water tanks and tiny French showers and stiff line dried clothes. And what fun it is to meet a large cockroach on your bathroom wall! Hey, life is life, no matter where you are! Thank you everyone for coming along with me on this journey and I will try not to be a stranger here. This blogging thing is pretty cool! Goodnight one last time from Kigali, and to my family and friends in Bristolville.... See you soon!