IMPACT MISSIONS

Impact Africa 2009

Pastor Randy Shoulders, David Mitchell, and Dan Berryman are on mission in the nations of Burundi and Rwanda, Africa from June 25 - July 18. Below are some of the personal journal entries.

Tuesday, July 7 (Randy Shoulders)

I walked farther today than I have ever walked in any three days combined on any other mission trip. I’m physically exhausted. Another 120 or so people prayed to accept the good news, so it was well worth it. I wish I could remember more of the day, but…I’m too tired.

Monday, July 6 (Randy Shoulders)

When I woke up today, I realized almost immediately that this would be a day of spiritual warfare. I didn’t feel well and chose not to eat breakfast, and had to force myself to get in the van because once you’re in the van there’s no turning back. But then on the way to our mission points, a conflict arose about who was going where and which translators would be helping whom. We pulled off the side of the road to discuss the matter. After about 10 minutes of debate, I was back in the van headed for my mission point. Then a few minutes later the van was pulled over at a police checkpoint and only after “paying for a ticket” (read bribe here), we were allowed to proceed.

The most memorable person we spoke with was an 81 year old woman named Terez, a refugee from the Congo during the war in Burundi. She confessed that she had murdered many people through poisoning them and asked if it were possible for God to forgive her. She said that she was tormented by nightmares concerning one specific incident. She lived next door to an evangelist’s family and decided to kill the evangelist and his children, so she set out some poison in some food, only to have her own husband and children eat it by mistake. They all died. She had murdered her own family and now she is alone in her old age. Could God really forgive her for murdering her own family? Would she be able to go to heaven?

After a long discussion, she prayed to receive God’s grace and complete forgiveness! A pastor from the new church will be assigned to visit with her some more and help her work through her guilt and sorrow for her sins.

In all today, I was able to witness to over 200 people with more than 140 of them praying the prayer. But I have a confession to make: At the afternoon meeting I became frustrated and irritated at the van driver because he had gone AWOL with some of our supplies. That meant I was left to my own creative resources, so I told and acted out the story of David and Goliath. Even these basic Bible stories are unknown in this area, so it was a thrill to see the eyes of those listening when Goliath fell to the ground with a BAM as he was hit between the eyes with a stone from David’s sling.

When Manuel finally arrives with the van, my first words to him were not so nice. “Where have you been? You were suppose to be parked here all day!” Then he pulled out some report forms and told us that he had been sharing the gospel up the street and that 6 people had prayed with him. I felt about 6” tall as I realized that this man who had just accepted Christ into his heart four days earlier was now living out his faith. Amazing!

The drive back to the hotel was one of reflection as I tried to recall some of the faces in the crowds, the eyes that I looked into, and the dirty hands that I shook. Then I glance out the window of the van to see so many people walking along the road. How many of these hundreds of people would put their trust in Jesus Christ if given the opportunity?

There’s more work to be done…

Sunday, July 5 (Randy Shoulders)

After breakfast everyone fills the van to make our way to church together. There’s no way to sufficiently explain a worship service in Burundi. It begins at 9:00am with the announcement that we don’t have much time today because we must leave by 12:00pm to go our mission points. Three hours?! Are you kidding me?

There’s some singing, introductions, some more singing by the men’s choir, announcements, more singing by the ladies’ choir, more singing by the children’s choir, and then a little singing for everyone. Then comes the offering. They have a wooden basket for guests and a separate wooden basket for members which began to overflow during, you guessed it, another song for offering. One woman placed a live chicken next to the offering box because she didn’t have any money. A live chicken! This is so cool!

Finally, the pastor of the church asked Dan to share and then Tricia presented the evange-cube. Then they asked all those who were sick or physically in pain to come forward. The altar immediately was lined with over 40 people kneeling in prayer. And I was asked to pray for healing and strength for these who were struggling. To my knowledge, no blind man regained his sight nor lame man the use of his legs, but I was blessed by just having the opportunity to speak God’s love and grace over these who were so desperate for the Lord’s touch.

Following the worship service, I, along with my American friends, was ushered to the back of the church where we were invited to sit down for lunch. This is indeed a special privilege. On the way to the luncheon, we passed by a concrete pit with four steps leading down into it. I learned that this was the baptistery and that it gets used twice each year, on Christmas and Easter.

Lunch was uneventful because I decided a couple of years ago that I would not eat local food that was not either thoroughly cooked or fruits that were peeled. I do not want to get sick.

After the meal and a 45 minute drive, I was dropped off at my mission site where I would spend the week sharing the gospel with my translator, Ruben. I met the new pastor, stood on the plot of dirt where the church structure would one day be, prayed for God’s blessing and then began the walk along the paved road to share the good news.

I’ve heard others tell how they have some amazing, in depth conversations with the people they meet and I wonder how that’s possible. Whenever I begin to talk with one or two people along the street, it’s not long until a larger crowd of 30, 40 or even 50 people begin to crowd around to see and hear. That’s not to say I’m disappointed with this. It’s incredible to hear 30-40 people praying the sinner’s prayer together and committing the lives to Christ.

Back at the hotel, we gathered to discuss the day’s events and to spend more time with our African ministry partners. To hear them laugh and sing makes my heart melt.

Saturday, July 4 (Randy Shoulders)

We left Bujumbura at 11:00am for the second leg of our mission journey. Four hours later, after several stops, we arrived in Cibitoke, a community in the northern part of Burundi. It’s a more rural community and the poverty is more noticeable.

The hotel where we are staying is much less, how shall I say it...comfortable, clean, livable? My room has a desk, metal hangers, and a full size bed with a sheet, a rock hard pillow, a mosquito net and a family of cockroaches living in the corner. The bathroom is down the hall and is equipped with a roll of non-perforated toilet paper that is more like soft sandpaper. The water gets turned off at 8:00pm and doesn’t get turned on again until after 6:00am and the water pressure fluctuates from steady to dripping. And oh yeah, it’s only cold water.

Dinner is scheduled for 7:00pm, but doesn’t get served until after 9:00pm, and is comprised of rice, peas, fried potatoes, and a piece of bread. It’s not bad, especially when lunch is a rarity in Burundi.

Humidity is high, there are no air conditioners and the bedroom windows don’t open, so it becomes a little of a challenge getting to sleep this first night. I guess the all-night wedding party outside my room didn’t help. The party was over at 6:00am, just in time for me to hurry to take my cold shower.

Friday, July 3 (Randy Shoulders)

60 people showed up for the Pastor’s conference today. It was a interesting time for all of us. David and Tricia cooked our lunch in the outdoor kitchen at the church. It was a big challenge, but they pulled off a great meal of pasta and wild rice with some American spices that David brought from home. Afterwards he donated those spices to the pastor’s wife which made her very happy.

The Conference went very well. It was fun trying to find ways to make these couples laugh out loud. It took about 3 hours to get them to warm up and relax, but from the feedback, everyone enjoyed it and went home with some new perspectives of pastoral ministry and the relationship that a pastor and his wife should share.

Thursday, July 2 (Randy Shoulders)

We finished our first campaign yesterday in our five mission sites, so today we will not be going out to evangelize or preach or encourage the churches. Instead, Dan, David and Tricia went to the local street market to purchase food and supplies for tomorrow’s Leadership Conference. I will be leading this 6 hour conference for about 40 pastors and their wives.

I’m having to pray and think about what I should share with my Burundi brothers. And more importantly how can I share it in a way that is culturally relevant? Will they be able to get my off-beat sense of humor or will they be offended?

Wednesday, July 1 (Randy Shoulders)

Today the people of Burundi celebrate their national independence with a morning parade which means we were delayed in traveling to our mission point sites after which I was able to return to Tiriri, the refugee village where I met on Sunday afternoon following the worship at New Vision Church with Pastor Domitian. 

Each morning three teams climb into the van to be dropped off at their sites that were suppose to be within 45 minutes from the hotel. However, it seems that each day I find myself sitting shotgun for at least twice that long until finally arriving at my destination. It’s not a problem really since I’m getting use to this African pace of life.

Upon drop off, I walk to the new church site with my trusted translator, John Claude, where I’m greeted by about 10 faithful congregants eager to join God’s work of evangelism in this area. We meet together for prayer, re-training on use of the evange-cube, and a couple of songs. I made the mistake of mentioning to someone that I’ve learned a simple song in Kiri-rwandan, “Imana ni ziza.” I say it was a mistake to mention this because now we sing it ALL the time. I guess they think it’s my favorite song, but it’s just the only one I know the words to.

            Imana ni ziza, allelulia                        God is good, alleluia

            Imana ni ziza, allelulia                        God is good, alleluia

            Imana ni ziza, ni nziza cane.               God is good, He is so very good.

We walk out of the church in teams of three and begin walking the dirt roads prepared to share the gospel with whomever God puts in front of us. And it’s not long until I find myself surrounded with a handful of locals so we pause, ask their permission to share the story of God’s love with them, and proceed with the message as the group quickly grows from a few to few dozen. They listen, laugh with me or at me, I’m not sure which, and ultimately bow their heads as John Claude leads them through the sinner’s prayer to receive God’s forgiveness and eternal life.

It’s an amazing, unexplainable scene that gets repeated over and over again throughout the day. By the time I return to the church in the afternoon, over 135 people in this village of outcasts and displaced people have discovered a new kind of acceptance through God’s grace.

That’s not to say the day was easy. The goal is to train the people who walk with me how to share their faith using the evange-cube so after a few stops and letting them watch and learn, I began challenging each one to attempt to share. As you might expect, they were nervous and cautious, but they did it. The problem came as we kept finding ourselves witnessing to Muslims, as you might know, are very resistant to believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only way to having a personal relationship with God. My new Christian friends in Tiriri were being thrown into the fire of opposition and hostility, but they stood their ground as they tried to answer the questions that the Muslims raised, but ultimately they would not accept the real Answer, Jesus.

As we walked away from these “failed” witnessing attempts, I found myself quickly coming alongside the one who shared exhorting him or her not to become discouraged since God is in charge of drawing people to Himself and we are simply called to be obedient and faithful in sharing the message.

Any discouragement was short lived because soon we were surrounded by a new group of eager listeners who would open their hearts to the good news.

We returned to the church site at 2:45pm where a large crowd began to form for worship and discipleship. David, Marina and the van came to pick me up at 3:30pm, but I wasn’t told. Instead, the church leaders went out and told them to go away and come back later because worship was just getting started. Just getting started?! I was tired and very ready to go! Oh well, after standing and singing for another hour and being asked to share/teach/preach two different times, they had finally had their fill of Pastor Randy and allowed me to depart in peace.

After a plate of grilled Sangara (fish) and rice and a fruito (juice), I fell onto my bed for a blessed night’s sleep.

Tuesday, June 30 (Randy Shoulders)

It's almost midnight and I've been laying in bed for over 2 hours, but can't seem to sleep so I decided to sit up and jot down my thoughts. And of course the first ones go instantly to my family. This will be a busy week for all of us since Lizz is in Italy on a mission trip with Young Life, Molly will be going to Minnesota to be a Nanny for 3 weeks (ya betch ya she comes back speaking weird), and Helen will spend several days in California. That leaves Lara, MLE and Luke stuck to the hot pavement of Scottsdale. I find myself thinking of you all and praying for you more than usual. In fact, just writing your names in an email floods my eyes with tears as I realize how much you mean to me...

Anyway, today I went back to the community called Magara which is located in the southern part of Burundi along Lake Tanganyika. Big banana trees cover the hillsides along with other fruit trees and mud brick houses. It is a very interesting place. I'm told that I am the only white person that the people have seen in this area except for the United Nations representatives a couple of years back, so you know how sometimes you feel self-conscious like you have spinach on your teeth and everyone is looking at you? Well that's how I feel from the moment I step out of the van until we crawl back in it at the end of the day. And to top it off, today I wore a neon green shirt just to make sure everyone could see the tall mzungu (white man) as he walked down the street. I looked a picture that I had someone take of me with a group and it was only then that I realized how goofy I must look. Do you remember the Jolly Green Giant in those old green bean commercials ("Ho, ho, ho. Green giant!")? That's me. I must be 6 inches taller than everyone here and outweigh them by at least 75 lbs. I mean, I almost scare myself as I look at that picture.

I was informed that the weather in Scottsdale was cloudy and 108 degrees. In Magara the temperature is something like 90 degrees with a steady cool breeze coming off the lake. That is of course if you are outside. Today my ministry partner/translator, John Claude, wanted me to have an indoor experience and led us through the neighborhoods to share the gospel. At our first invitation inside a woman's home, I quickly realized why people stay outside most of the day. Her home was a simple 2 room mud brick structure with a small two foot high table with a bench and 2 small chairs. These chairs were like the ones we might find in a preschool classroom made of wood. And I was instructed to have a seat in one of these chairs. I'm stressing a little as I worry that I might put too much stress on that chair and it will collapse under my weight leaving this poor woman with only a bench and one small chair. But I'm proud to say the visit went without the destruction of property. While I was speaking with her and sharing the message of God's love through the evange-cube, the room began to fill up with kids, teens and adults who were curious about why the giant green bean man would visit their neighbor.  The sweat poured down my back as 10, 15 and then 20 more people stuffed themselves inside this small room sucking the air out of it and replacing it with the African aroma. 15 minutes later 12 of those people prayed to begin a personal relationship with God. II Corinthians 2:14 says, But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

I was invited by the community administrator (I guess he would be like the mayor of the city in the USA) to speak to a group of widows in the area. This gentleman was in the first group that I spoke with yesterday when after welcoming me to the community he listened to the gospel presentation and gave his life to Christ. And now, just one day later, he had spread the news and gathered these widows together in one meeting place and asked me to come share with them and pray for them. To get to their location, I had to walk through the local market place. Now this is not like Safeway or Walmart. It's more of a farmer's market with individuals setting up shop along the paths with their fruits and various foods on display on tarps lining the ground. It's difficult to explain the feeling of walking through such a place. It's like I've traveled back in time to what rural life in the States might have been like in the early 1900's.

I made a turn at the end of the road to discover the meeting area for the widows which was on the shoreline of the lake. The wind was strong and caused waves to lap loudly as it hit the rocky beach. In the distance, about 300 yards, was a docking place for the local fishing boats. Again these boats were of times past without motors or fiberglass. I took a picture, but I'm not sure it will reveal the true beauty of the scenery.

There were over 100 people gathered under an open air pavilion-like structure awaiting my arrival. I thought I was to meet with a few widows, but this was much more. Everyone was seated on benches with the Magara Community Administrator at the front talking. Yep, this guy was a true politician who never missed an opportunity to give a speech. I was quickly ushered to the front to sit in the seat of honor. And after a few more words from the Administrator I was introduced to the crowd. My heart ached as looked into the weary eyes that looked back at me. What could I possibly say to relieve such pain? The best I could do was to attempt to share the heart of God for them, after which I prayed and gently touched each widow's hand. It was one of those moments that shakes the rust off a hard, cynical heart. I walked away, but only after leaving part of my soul with them.

Writing down the events of the day does not do justice to the power of God. Words seem to get in the way of trying to explain it all. Maybe I'll be able to better picture it for you later in person. Until then, know that I love you and am eager to spend time with you.

"Nakagaruka" (see you soon)

Husband, father, son, and little servant of God wearing the extra large neon green shirt.  

Tuesday, June 30 (Randy Shoulders)

It's almost midnight and I've been laying in bed for over 2 hours, but can't seem to sleep so I decided to sit up and jot down my thoughts. And of course the first ones go instantly to my family. This will be a busy week for all of us since Lizz is in Italy on a mission trip with Young Life, Molly will be going to Minnesota to be a Nanny for 3 weeks (ya betch ya she comes back speaking weird), and Helen will spend several days in California. That leaves Lara, MLE and Luke stuck to the hot pavement of Scottsdale. I find myself thinking of you all and praying for you more than usual. In fact, just writing your names in an email floods my eyes with tears as I realize how much you mean to me...

Anyway, today I went back to the community called Magara which is located in the southern part of Burundi along Lake Tanganyika. Big banana trees cover the hillsides along with other fruit trees and mud brick houses. It is a very interesting place. I'm told that I am the only white person that the people have seen in this area except for the United Nations representatives a couple of years back, so you know how sometimes you feel self-conscious like you have spinach on your teeth and everyone is looking at you? Well that's how I feel from the moment I step out of the van until we crawl back in it at the end of the day. And to top it off, today I wore a neon green shirt just to make sure everyone could see the tall mzungu (white man) as he walked down the street. I looked a picture that I had someone take of me with a group and it was only then that I realized how goofy I must look. Do you remember the Jolly Green Giant in those old green bean commercials ("Ho, ho, ho. Green giant!")? That's me. I must be 6 inches taller than everyone here and outweigh them by at least 75 lbs. I mean, I almost scare myself as I look at that picture.

I was informed that the weather in Scottsdale was cloudy and 108 degrees. In Magara the temperature is something like 90 degrees with a steady cool breeze coming off the lake. That is of course if you are outside. Today my ministry partner/translator, John Claude, wanted me to have an indoor experience and led us through the neighborhoods to share the gospel. At our first invitation inside a woman's home, I quickly realized why people stay outside most of the day. Her home was a simple 2 room mud brick structure with a small two foot high table with a bench and 2 small chairs. These chairs were like the ones we might find in a preschool classroom made of wood. And I was instructed to have a seat in one of these chairs. I'm stressing a little as I worry that I might put too much stress on that chair and it will collapse under my weight leaving this poor woman with only a bench and one small chair. But I'm proud to say the visit went without the destruction of property. While I was speaking with her and sharing the message of God's love through the evange-cube, the room began to fill up with kids, teens and adults who were curious about why the giant green bean man would visit their neighbor.  The sweat poured down my back as 10, 15 and then 20 more people stuffed themselves inside this small room sucking the air out of it and replacing it with the African aroma. 15 minutes later 12 of those people prayed to begin a personal relationship with God. II Corinthians 2:14 says, But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

I was invited by the community administrator (I guess he would be like the mayor of the city in the USA) to speak to a group of widows in the area. This gentleman was in the first group that I spoke with yesterday when after welcoming me to the community he listened to the gospel presentation and gave his life to Christ. And now, just one day later, he had spread the news and gathered these widows together in one meeting place and asked me to come share with them and pray for them. To get to their location, I had to walk through the local market place. Now this is not like Safeway or Walmart. It's more of a farmer's market with individuals setting up shop along the paths with their fruits and various foods on display on tarps lining the ground. It's difficult to explain the feeling of walking through such a place. It's like I've traveled back in time to what rural life in the States might have been like in the early 1900's.

I made a turn at the end of the road to discover the meeting area for the widows which was on the shoreline of the lake. The wind was strong and caused waves to lap loudly as it hit the rocky beach. In the distance, about 300 yards, was a docking place for the local fishing boats. Again these boats were of times past without motors or fiberglass. I took a picture, but I'm not sure it will reveal the true beauty of the scenery.

There were over 100 people gathered under an open air pavilion-like structure awaiting my arrival. I thought I was to meet with a few widows, but this was much more. Everyone was seated on benches with the Magara Community Administrator at the front talking. Yep, this guy was a true politician who never missed an opportunity to give a speech. I was quickly ushered to the front to sit in the seat of honor. And after a few more words from the Administrator I was introduced to the crowd. My heart ached as looked into the weary eyes that looked back at me. What could I possibly say to relieve such pain? The best I could do was to attempt to share the heart of God for them, after which I prayed and gently touched each widow's hand. It was one of those moments that shakes the rust off a hard, cynical heart. I walked away, but only after leaving part of my soul with them.

Writing down the events of the day does not do justice to the power of God. Words seem to get in the way of trying to explain it all. Maybe I'll be able to better picture it for you later in person. Until then, know that I love you and am eager to spend time with you.

"Nakagaruka" (see you soon)

Husband, father, son, and little servant of God wearing the extra large neon green shirt.  

Days Four & Five, June 29-30 (David Mitchell)

I'm going to combine 2 days in to one email because I didn't get a chance to write yesterday. I had a bad a morning yesterday and was trying not to break down and cry. Like I wrote before, this country is just starting to become whole and as a country is starting to turn to God but there is still a tremendous amount of spiritual warfare going on. It feels like the enemy is coming after me big time. It was such a dread feeling this morning for me to think that I had to go into the field. Right before we left to go into the field I ran back to my room got on my hands and knees and asked God to give me enough strength just to make it thru the this day and not break down and cry while in the field. One of my fears is this; I'm the type of person who will go to a party but I hate the entrance part. When we get to where we are going in the town of Gatumba we have to cross over a bridge and that overwhelming feeling really starts sets in. Each day when we get to the church, I get quickly out of the Van and hurry myself into to church so I can hide for another 20 mins as we pray and get our directions for the day. Then I have no choice and my pride will not allow me to show fear, so I venture out. Then as soon as we head down the road and start speaking with people (which usually happens with-in 100ft of the church) I start to be ok. This is where God takes over. Next thing I know I've been out for hours and have only gone about 3 blocks and have spoken with 100s of people. Time just flies by and when I get done I feel wonderful. For me, the rewards for being here is people actually want to hear about God's word. I'm constantly surprised that I can actually speak about God (with knowledge) and share about God. People truly want to hear us speak and because of us, our coming to Christ. Yesterday I stopped in front of what I thought was a church that was set 100 yards off the road. There were about 20 older people sitting just off the road in a small patch of grass. We approached them and thru my MP I asked if I could share with them and they said sure. We shared with them for about 30 mins and all of them came to Christ…tell me that is not God because it sure is not me. We when we finished, a older man about 60 years old told me thru my MP that he was a Muslim until we spoke to him about the free gift. He said we convinced him to accept Christ as his Lord and Savior. That was huge to me. He came to our Church for the late afternoon service and how been there for each service and each get together we had. As for what I thought was a church that we were in front of when we were sharing with this man was in fact a Mosque. Another time a lady heard us speaking and wanted us to come to her home so she could ask us some questions. I assumed she had a biblical question about salvation or she was Muslim and wanted to debate. When we got to her home we all sat down outside her door and she ask me this; I want know if God can forgive me if I had an abortion. Also ever since she had the abortion she could not get pregnant and had been married for 3 year s with no children. You have to remember this is huge thing in her country to not be able to have children. She believed God was punishing her for her abortion. So I told her of course God would forgive her and all she had to do was confess. That's when she told me she was not saved. I asked why and she said because she didn't think she could because of her past. So we worked thru that for about 30 mins and her and her husband both accepted. So now I'm thinking this is not so bad, I started to get up to go and she says before you go can you pray for me to get pregnant. She says if you pray I know I'll get pregnant. So we spend another 30 mins trying to get her to understand that even he she couldn't get pregnant there are many other ways to have children in her life including adopting one of the many orphaned children in her country. I shared some of my own personal testimony so with God's grace and his discernment, we pray and we pray and we pray boldly that God will (if it His will) that she gets pregnant. We went back to visit her today and she was very happy to see us and she shared with us that her husband had told her yesterday before we came over that she was not to have anything to with those crazy muzungus (white man) and now he saved and has been at church with his wife. God is showing me so many things on this trip. I got up today and felt pretty much like I did yesterday but again, It turned out to a great day in the field and over a hundred & fifty people have come to Christ thru my team in the last 2 days and I think as of this morning I think they told us over 4 or 5 hundred have come to Christ in the 3 days we being out…and there is only 7 of us here from the states. Please give yourself a pat on the back because even though this was all God doings and not mine or yours these people would not have heard the Good News without all of you partnering with me with your prayer and financial support. Please do not stop praying as we are just getting started and this is just the 1st of 3 weeks in Africa and I won't be able to get thru it without it. When we were coming back to the hotel thru town during rush hr (I've only see one traffic light in the entire country) which is a crazy thing in itself, I was sitting in the front seat and watched as the driver (going about 1 mile a hour) bump the car in front him and I didn't try to stop it because I assumed it was normal…I was wrong, the driver just was not looking. Because of how crazy it is, I thought it was normal. Here's the kicker, no one stopped. We went to a restaurant to eat tonight and when were leaving the restaurant that is next to Lake Tanganyika, I was shining my flashlight toward the grass area on the side of the road and there about 30 ft away was HUGE Hippo eating…pretty cool…Marina was all worried that it was going to eat us even though we were in the van…we laughed at her. Please pray that I start to get some real sleep. Please pray that I let God use me as He sees fit and not as I see fit. Even though it's been hard and whole lot different than last year, I'm happy to be here and feel blessed to get to be part of increasing God's kingdom…. Thank you for your support. Thank you for helping me come here...the rewards outweigh any concerns or problem I may be experiencing.

Sharing [together] what God can and will do thru all of us. Amahoro (Peace)