Joy

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands” ~ Psalm 100:1

As we drove through Rwanda on our way to our first mission point, I was astounded at the scenery. The smiles and simple joy of the people is what really struck me. Smiles always get me! As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I noticed the sound of drums as we piled out of the van at our mission point on the very first day. Anticipation filled my heart, and my soul was quickly filled with joy too as I found what was waiting for us.

We found a church filled with beautiful people. It definitely wasn’t your typical American church. It had a roof of sorts held up by some handmade wooden poles. The part where the congregation sat (on handmade wooden benches that were carried to and from the church each day from down the road) was a mud floor. Where we and the pastors sat had a floor made of rocks. We sat in handmade wooden chairs that were very unbalanced on the rocks. I sat very still and straight, so I wouldn’t fall; though the children probably would have enjoyed that!

When we arrived the people were already singing praises to God. They didn’t cease when we arrived. They just kept right on singing and dancing. We just joined right in until it was time for introductions, preaching, and such. That first day wasn’t a typical day, but God was already moving. We presented the evangecube and 3 young boys accepted Christ. What a wonderful start!

After we finished worship that first day, we split up into training groups. It was very important to train with the people there to let them know exactly what we would be doing and how we would be doing things so they too could be right there with us going out into the field. Can anyone guess who I got to “train” with? It got the best group anyone could have asked for! You’ll never guess who I got to spend time with… I got all of the kids! Mary came with me for a moment, and we got the bubbles out. All you could here was “ME ME ME ME ME ME!” All the kids wanted to pop the bubbles and try to blow the bubbles. It was absolute insanity but so much fun!

After Mary returned to the church, it was just Julius and I with the kids. Julius is a very faithful ministry partner to e3 in Rwanda. Julius also blew bubbles with the kids, but before I knew it, he was asking me to give my testimony to the kids. That wasn’t something I was prepared for, but it felt right. I shared some about myself with a group of approximately 50-60 kids (maybe more). We then talked about Jesus and the free gift of salvation. Before I knew it, just about every kid there (some were very young) were praying to accept Christ as their personal savior. Man, is God good!

During the training sessions with the adults, others also received Christ. I never found out a total and don’t need to know the number. God knows. He knows it all. I am sitting here reading my journal about that day. I can’t help but stand in awe of how mighty our God is. It amazes me how He can use anything and everything for His glory.

I mentioned the drums and the music in Rwanda. I want to share a journal entry with you from Saturday, May 22^nd: “I don’t even know where to begin about this amazing day. Our orientation meeting/service was absolutely incredible. Anna sang songs like “Hallelujah Amen”. The room was filled with joyous singing and praise of Americans and Rwandan nationals. It was so soulful”.

So here is where my heart is at today. Forgive me if this blog isn’t exactly what you want it to be or what you expected it to be. I’m just going to share what is on my heart though. Since my return to America, I’ve noticed something. I came home, went to church, went up into the choir, and looked over the congregation as we sang. At a time when I should have been feeling joyful and worshipful, I felt sadness. I felt sadness because I looked over a congregation that seemed to have no joy or happiness. It was very discouraging…

Let me elaborate… We Americans live in a country where we basically don’t want for anything. When we’re hungry, we eat. When we want something, we go buy it. When our children want something, we go get it for them. We have no idea what it is to NEED something. Not really. We want things, but we don’t really have needs anymore because we can buy whatever we want. We have everything we want; still, we all walk around like we’ve been robbed of our joy. I am just as guilty of it as anyone. Still, I want to scream, “Wake up people! Where is your joy? Where is your happiness?”  How is it that people in a country like Rwanda who truly do have needs can be so full of joy while we who want for nothing in America roam around like we’ve lost our best friends?

Not only do we carry ourselves in that manner, but we verbally complain… Constantly! I’ve never seen such a blessed people (again this includes me), yet we are always wanting more. We are never satisfied. We as parents and grandparents are this way and are setting a horrible example of this for our children and grandchildren. I see it every single day and it’s honestly kind of sickening.

God hasn’t given you your title, job, money, etc. so you can just keep buying, spending, going into debt, storing up your treasures here on earth, etc. God has blessed you and all of us so we can bless others. Look around you. Open your eyes! There are people everywhere who truly are in need. There are thousands of children starving to death every day. There are thousands of children dying every day simply because they don’t have clean water to drink.  There are children (in America and elsewhere) who don’t have homes and who are in need of real help. Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Take a closer look. Do some research. There are needs that need to be met all around you, and you can make a difference!

We’re only here a short time. Spend your time wisely. Spend your money wisely. Spend both glorifying God instead of yourself. Look into the eyes and faces of people around you. Look at photos from around the world. There are people falling through the cracks all around you. Are you seeing them or are you choosing not to see them? Ask yourself what you really need. Do you really need all of those clothes and shoes? Do you really need all of those tech. toys? Or do you need to do more for the Kingdom?

Whatever you do, I pray that you do it with joy. I pray you sing and praise Him with joy. It’s really on my heart today that we all learn to give more and do so cheerfully (II Corinthians 9:7). Christ gave us all of Himself, so let’s give Him more of us. Let’s give Him more time, more money, more love, and more of anything else that comes to your heart and mind.
He is worthy!