“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10).
The restoration that Peter promises in this biblical text is a bit of a mystery. Whether his promise is referring to an earthly restoration, or a Heavenly one, we believe that someday it will all make sense.
In the end, we will stand before God and all the wrongs will be made right. True justice will prevail. The fallen world we live in will be restored.
Until that day, believers live with an expectant hope. During our time on earth, God has called us to help be part of this restoration process.
We steward our resources, we count the cost and we give ourselves to restore what has been broken. Even though we live in a broken world, God gives us opportunities each day to be part of an ultimate restoration!
One stunning example of this delightful work of restoration is Tesi. Many of you know and love Tesi. She was unable to receive the care needed for her vascular malformation while in Rwanda so she traveled to the US to receive life-preserving medical care. Tesi became a special part of many of our lives during her two years here.
Personally, I will never forget witnessing the joyous reunion of her father and mother, and her younger brother Kevin, outside the Kigali International Airport when they returned to Rwanda. Absolutely beautiful! After years of military deployments and missions work overseas, there is nothing that will bring me to tears more quickly than reflecting on many of our joy-filled family reunions, or witnessing others as they experience the same!
Kevin and Susan Hollern invested more than two years of their lives providing care for Tesi, and her father JP. They provided them a home in Colorado, and facilitated more than 200 medical and surgical procedures for Tesi.
People who care about Tesi in Colorado recently upgraded her boot. I had the privilege of delivering it to her in Rwanda, but we quickly discovered that she had grown more than any of us anticipated. So, after some diligent work by our Rwanda team, we were able to meet with a prosthetist in Kigali to upgrade her new boot.
Today, she is proudly walking around the village with a properly fitting boot for the first time in many months.
Restoration. It takes a lot of effort, but the impact is undeniable!
I am pleased to share just one more magnificent part of Tesi’s recent story: Just seven hours after Chaplain Shema and I visited and prayed with her family (and filmed the video for this post), Tesi’s mother, Rachel, delivered Cyuzuzo Gloria, Tesi and Kevin’s healthy, beautiful new sister!
What an honor it is to be part of these “God-stories” halfway around the world! Join us today and do something amazing!