Sunday Already?

A quick breakfast overlooking the lake and it was time to bid a sad farewell to this beautiful place. Our overriding impression is one of contrast. The stunning setting has resulted in rapid development in the town to cater for tourism which is growing fast in Rwanda. Coffee shops, beach resorts and boat tours seem strangely out of place in a country that has only just connected electricity outside of the city. Tourism provides some work for local people and given time will hopefully improve lives in the local area.

This is a large Diocese however, and an hour and a half drive found us in Nyange to worship at the only open church in this large Diocese, three others have been built but have not received permission to open. The church was built in 2022 and was registered as an Early Development Centre, the building guidelines are less stringent than for a church!!! The local government representative was not concerned that on a Sunday they would use the building for worship and so weekly services are being held.

We are not convinced the recommended ‘soundproofing’ panels are very efficient, particularly when the windows are open, but it obviously ticked a box!!

It is also impossible to get the car to the church, but they still needed to provide car parking space.

The church is led by Pastor Yvonne, previously a local mayor but now an ordained minister. She has led the church since its completion when the parish had just 3 Christians, and now has a congregation of around 140 men, women and children. By Rwandan standards the service was relatively short, around 2½ hours. Bishop Jean Pierre completed his sermon in half an hour, possibly a record, but we did have a further 3½ hour drive to Kigali ahead.

Official figures show this parish has 12% of its population living in extreme poverty, well above the national average of 5.4%. They are mainly subsistence farmers, land is scarce, and the soil is poor.

There is great work going on here, counselling, income generation, bible study etc, the church congregation is even supporting 6 students through their secondary education. Three individuals gave their testimonies of how they have given their lives to Christ as a result of the practical and spiritual work of the church. The pastoral team are obviously working very hard.

After the service we gave the young children tennis balls, not quite the usual C.H.I. as we simply didn’t have the means to control the havoc that would have ensued, or enough balls to give the older children.

We were taken for lunch to a smart, but sparsely furnished house, which it transpired had belonged to Pastor Yvonne’s parents. We learned that they had both been killed in the genocide leaving her responsible for the care of her siblings. She no longer lives there, but the house is cared for by the president of the M.U. and is a great church resource when required.  Venturing out the back to admire the piglets recently born from the pig that had been gifted, we could not help but notice the graves to the side of the house. A final resting place, and a constant reminder of the atrocities that happened here.

Then it was back in the car for the long drive ahead.  Tonight, we will stop in Kigali at the cathedral guest house. Bp Jean Pierre is not a keen driver, however, having driven for 6 hours and held a church service already today, he is heading straight back, although he assures us, he will be stopping halfway.

This evening, we met with Raymond who oversees the Prison Ministry in Kigali. He’s one of the Kigali team but had been at a meeting when we met with them on Friday. He spoke with obvious passion about the work he is doing, the heartbreak of the conditions in the prisons and the need for basic hygiene materials and play items for the children alongside educational items and scripture materials. He spoke frankly about the challenges of prisoners as they are released and how he works with them to help them adjust. Sadly, this is a really difficult project to raise funds for as, for obvious reasons, we cannot provide pictures as feedback.

And so, another long day comes to an end, blog, report, photos, bed. Good night, sleep well.