God is working in remarkable ways in Rwanda during this pandemic. We are implementing contingency plans and will share more details soon.
There is a cool story in Nehemiah chapter 8. It begins with crowds gathering to hear Ezra the Prophet read the law aloud from daybreak to noon. Okay. Did you catch that? That is a long church service! The narrative continues by noting that “the people listened attentively.”
When the reading was complete, shortly after midday, Nehemiah had an encouraging word for the people:
“Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength’” (Nehemiah 8:10, emphasis mine).
There is an important principle here: Worship leads to joy.
When we pray, placing our faith in Jesus and the work He is doing in and around us, we are filled with joy. Joy is not happiness. It’s deeper than that. It is based in hope and faith and it becomes our strength.
This week, we’d like to give you a quick peek into the prayer and joy of some of our Senior 1 students (7th Grade) as they gathered for a morning assembly before the pandemic.
Our family is honored to be a Hope Angel for one of these amazing students. Seeing her dance with joy fills us with joy! What a gift. We know that the modest financial investment our family is able to make each month, our prayers for her each day and the encouraging notes we are able to send her, are helping propel her to fulfill her God-given purpose. We know that she was created for a special purpose and can’t wait to see how God brings it to life in the years ahead.
Every one of these incredible students is an image-bearer of God. They are as “valuable” as my own five children are. Are we willing to allow God to connect us across oceans?
We make it easy for your family to step into a relationship with a family in Rwanda. Pray with us about how we can help transform each other into the people God wants us to be!
As I heard Bill High say this week, “Let’s not waste a good disruption.” There are powerful opportunities that emerge during times of crisis. How can we trust God to help us exploit these opportunities? It begins with prayer. And, as we pray, may the “joy of the Lord” be reinforced in our lives, no matter where we live in this beautiful world.