Passage 05- Stalled by Coronavirus

On Saturday, March 14 the Rwandan government announced that all places of worship were to be closed for the next 14 days due to the coronavirus threat.  I had been scheduled to teach at a church on Sunday morning and then do disciple training on Sunday afternoon.  All-day disciple training had also been scheduled at churches for seven additional days from March 16-18 and 20-23.  All of these activities were now canceled.  I was nearly in panic mode.

I prayed late into the night.  Then I got up early on Sunday morning and went for a run.  It wasn’t long before I was grasping for air.  “What is going on?” I asked myself. “I run three times a week at home and never feel out of breath like this.”  Later I discovered that Kigali is located 1,567 meters above sea level.  It is a “mile high” city, just like where I once lived in Denver, Colorado.  The air is very thin, making it hard to breath.

When I returned from the run, I made a commitment before God to fast.  I would not eat even one bite of food again until a door had been opened for me to teach in Rwanda.  I was ready to do a 40-day fast if necessary.  I was in this for the long haul.

Because morning church had been canceled, we traveled to a pig farm that James had invested in.  The money raised from this would be used to help orphans in Rwanda.  There are 150 pigs.  Next to the pig farm stands a nice, flat ½ acre of property that is for sale.  This land could be used to build a training center for Bible Application Ministries.  After touring the farm, I took a short walked to a nearby village.  I enjoyed watching three boys kick a small, well-worn soccer ball around.

We returned from the pig farm early afternoon and I immediately retreated to my private living quarters.  All alone in that room, I broke out into tears and sobbed.  I had prepared so hard, for so long, for this mission trip.  Spent so much time in prayer.  How could this have happened?  It was Sunday afternoon here in Rwanda and I had not been able to teach anywhere.  Not in a church.  Not even in someone’s house.  And nothing was scheduled for the upcoming week.  And look at myself.  I was not this big, strong Christian I was teaching others to be.  I was balling my eyes out.

I wiped away my tears and walked out of that room.  It was time to stop feeling sorry for myself and to turn my focus away from my inadequacies and towards God.  I contacted a close spiritual friend of mine.  After sharing my heart about the situation, my friend quoted powerful scriptures to me that restored my confidence.  Then they ministered to me through prayer.  When I hung up the phone, none of my circumstances had changed.  But mentally, I was now ready for this challenge.  I was convinced that somehow, someway, God was going to bring about success for my ministry.

That evening some tremendously good news came forth.  God had opened the door for me to teach for the next three days at someone’s house.  The schedule would be from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.  There would be 18 to 20 people waiting for me to expound God’s Word to them.  And the activity had been reported to the local government.  They had approved it.  I was so excited.  Tomorrow morning, I would be training disciples again.

I know what it is to have little, and I also know what it is to have an abundance. In any and every situation I have learned the secret to being content, whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.

I have strength for all situations in union with him who empowers me.

Philippians 4:12-13  REV