After an 18 hour journey on Monday we both slept well but were still groggy for our first business meeting with our Tear Fund host, Peninah.
In addition to teaching us some basic greetings in Rwandan which we found very useful, our discussion of practical issues brought a lot of clarity and shed a lot of light as to where we are going this week. We moved to a business lunch with Dr Bunini, senior pastor of Gilgal Church. We were amused that ‘bunini’ means big and he is big in more ways than one. He gave more details of our input into the meetings on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tomorrow morning we hit the road visiting one of the other partner churches that we are supporting - they number 15 in all.
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Well we reckon we’ve been travelling for 18 hours solid if you count the hour it took to clear immigration at Kigali airport.
After travelling through the night and then through the grey skies of Northern Europe you can see the contrast with the blue skies of the Egyptian Desert. It was good to see a bit of sunshine even thought it was through the window of an aeroplane. So many people back home have been praying for our travel and I can honestly say the whole journey went without one hiccup. Proof in itself of the power of prayer. We were met at the airport by Doctor Bunini, his wife and his son Jules. What a difference it makes when familiar faces meet you on arrival in a strange land. Tomorrow we meet with the Tear Fund staff for a briefing and some fine tuning to our trip. That’s about all I have to report from our first day so it’s off to bed for a couple of weary travellers. A BIG thank you to all who have been praying for our safe arrival. Please keep praying as we can’t do this trip without your prayers. God bless Graham and Bill Today we were delighted to be joined by Peninah and her husband Canon Antoine Rutayisire who spoke of his experiences in Rwanda, discipleship and shared from 2nd Peter. Bill and Graham leave for Rwanda tomorrow morning on a week long trip to visit our brothers and sisters in Gilgal - stay tuned for updates!
Below is the lasted update from our brothers and sisters at Gilgal. In February Neil McDougall took part in the Tearfund Cycle of Hope in Rwanda - the land of a thousand hills!
While he was there he met up with Pastor Bunini from Gilgal Evangelical Church and his son Jules, and handed over the money that had been raised through the Bloomfield Christmas card (created this year by the Brownies). With the $400 raised Gilgal was able to buy windows and doors for the Sunday School classrooms that we had helped to plaster during our visit. The church also organised a one day conference for girls focusing on the book of Esther and providing an opportunity for the girls to share challenges and pray together. Day 1 cycle - 50 miles from Kigali to Kayonza (where the East Africa Revival began). After a change of clothes we visited various Tearfund projects. I met with Ancilla, a single mother of 4 whose life has been transformed through a self support group set up by Tearfund partners. She can now grow sufficient food to feed her family and generate enough income to pay health insurance and build a toilet (with hand washing facilities) in her garden. We also saw a mill that several self support groups have built so that the community can process its own produce for personal use and onward sale. Day 2 cycle - only 27 miles from Kigali to Bugesera. Thankfully the flattest of the 3 days (as it was really hot) but I dont think there is a genuinely flat road anywhere in Rwanda! On this day we met with church groups who set up self support groups with the help of Tearfund partners. Three church members gave their testimonies and told of how the support groups had changed their lives. One member was excited to tell us that one of the best results of being able to generate income is that he is now able to tithe to the church. We met another amazing woman bringing up a family on her own who is now able to contemplate sending her oldest child to university. Day 3 cycle - a brutal 33 miles with over 3300 ft of climbing from Kigali to Muhanga. Definitely the hardest day of cycling. Possibly my worst moment was when a young boy decided to run along beside me on a big hill. At one point I thought he was going to pass me. There was much celebration when we reached Muhanga and were able to hand our bikes back to the Team Africa Rising cycling team. We learned about the local Rural Development Inter Diocesan (RDIS) service and saw more evidence of the transforming work being done through Tearfund partners. Gorillas in the mist. At the end of our third day of cycling, 6 of us travelled north to Musanze and the following morning we did a trek up to 9000 ft to visit a family of mountain gorillas in their natural habitat - truly amazing. If you want to see the photos, you will have to come to the Lifebuilders update at BPC on Sunday 5th March after the morning service. Our group returned safely to arrive in Belfast on Sunday 12th Feb. We took 16 cyclists over 100 miles over a spectacular landscape and the only trouble we encountered was two punctures and a few misbehaving chains. Our trip gave us an inspirational insight into the work Tearfund is doing in Rwanda and we were humbled by the way the people of Rwanda have chosen to move on from the genocide atrocities. Our desire is that the Cycle of Hope will inspire others to support Tearfund’s work in Rwanda. Neil Neil and the team making news in The New Times, Rwanda's leading English daily newspaper!
We arrived in Rwanda safely yesterday and today (Monday) picked up our bikes and had all the adjustments done. I tried to get a motor fitted to mine but was overruled! The cycling starts on Tuesday at 9am with main roads in Kigali closed off, police outriders and lots of local media interest. My only hope is that they don't follow us up the first big hill! Tuesday's ride is over 80km.
I met with Dr Bunini and his son Jules from Gilgal early this evening for over an hour. They were delighted to receive the Bloomfield Christmas card and a gift from the Brownies that will be put towards finishing a building for children's ministries. It turns out they are both invited to the launch of the Cycle of Hope tomorrow morning and a dinner for partners on Wednesday evening so hopefully I will get to meet them again this week. I'm off now for an early night in preparation for tomorrow. Neil From the 4th-12th February, BPC member Neil will be in Rwanda on a Cycle of Hope - aiming to raise £40,000.00 to help bring those in greatest need from a cycle of despair to a cycle of hope, through the work of Tearfund. During his time in Rwanda he is looking forward to meeting up with our brothers and sisters from Gilgal.
His team will be cycling 150 miles across the 'Land of a Thousand Hills'. The challenge is great, but their determination is greater! https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/NeilMcDougall1 Please consider the Prayer Requests and keep an eye on this blog for updates on their progress. |