This week we held the first of our 2-day LDC’s (Leadership
Development Conference). These always precede our church-planting expeditions.
2 of our expeditions will be Burundi-national-led. The final expedition will be
led by our North American team. We drove to Bubanza Province which is a about a
40-minute, white-knuckle drive away from Bujumbura. We last worked in Bubanza
in August, 2008. Seems like a million years ago. So much has changed in Burundi
since then. In 2008, Burundi was just barely in the process of ending the civil
war that destroyed so many lives and much of the country. Bubanza was the
province most impacted by the war. They were literally cut-off from Bujumbura
and the rest of the country from 1993 until 2005. In 2008, so much of the
military camps still lined the road to Bubanza. Lots of vacant land lined the road since 1000’s
of coffee trees were cut down in an effort to eliminate places where the rebels
could hide. Many people were driven from their homes by the military, by the
rebels, by the conditions of the war. Bubanza is a beautiful place and it is
slowly being re-built with help from many organizations, among them the Chinese
government. When we last visited there, we met with Governor, a devout Catholic
man who welcomed us to evangelize the area. He said that his people were
suffering much from the war. They needed so much help. NGO’s were not allowed
to enter the area until the war had been officially ended for 6 months.
Meanwhile, people were starving, in need of medical assistance, desperate for
help, while NGO’s were just waiting for the all-clear so they could proceed
with relief efforts. Though the people are still desperately poor, thankfully, it appears that there has been much progress.
The
pastors we met with were passionate about preaching the Gospel and excited
about planting churches where there are none. Five local denominations were represented: New
Vision; New Life; Cepebu, Vivante, and Rocher. After 2 days of teaching,
fellowship and training on sharing the Gospel using the Evangecube, these
leaders are more than ready to answer the great commission to “Go!” We will
begin a national-led, church planting expedition next week. It takes a lot of
faith and perseverance to plant a church in Burundi. Every obstacle you can
think of is usually right in front of them, beginning with zero funding
available. But God’s plan is perfect. His ways are perfect. We have seen His
faithfulness over and over again as He provides generously and in unexpected
ways. May there be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Bubanza. May the
fiery arrows of the devil be extinguished before they are even thrown. May the
power of the darkness tremble at the overwhelming, unstoppable force that is
the Church, united to “Go” all for the Glory of God!
