Lesson 3 – Count Your Blessings

Continuing where I left off…the handbags. I realized I didn’t share one of the really awesome stories about getting the bags back into the states. Knowing the limit to avoid tax is $800 I knew it was going to be a miracle if I was able to enter back into the US and not have paid duty on the handbags. Avoiding being detained with the belief that the bags were samples/resale would be an even bigger miracle.

My passport is well used specifically with Canada and every one of those entries is for work related to Gap Transportation. So when one declares close to $800 in handbags it would be easy to see why I might get flagged for further discussion.

I was praying and asked those around me to pray that the customs officer would be understanding and that I would have no issue clearing customs. I had primed my camera to have the pictures of the women sewing in case I needed to share the full story.

The customs officer spent time talking about my being on a farm (most of the area outside Kigali qualifies with crops and cattle, goats etc all in one spot) and being in the National Park. He never asked about my bags. He looked at the detail, saw my total was over $800 looked at me and stamped my form and said “Welcome Home.” Knowing I was still on camera I kept it together but had all I could do not to cry. I was praising God inside trying to remain very calm and cool.

That was indeed a blessing and one I do not take for granted.

My second blessing regarding the bags is today Pastor John saw me showing some of the women the bags at church and told me they would fit in perfectly with his Advent Conspiracy Part 2 Message next week. That means any bags I have not received donations by next Sunday will be offered to those at CF City Place in the lobby so they can be part of the story too. I love that the story will be told even more broadly. God is just choosing to delight me in this endeavor.

Getting excited thinking about the women who will now have an opportunity to provide for their family. Women gaining confidence in their abilities; raising their children telling them how God provided the opportunity for school. God’s economy is far greater than our economy!

Constantly reminded God’s blessings are abundant if we take a moment to be still and reflect. I love the Hymn "Count Your Blessings". The chorus says it all: "count your blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.".

Handbags Providing Skills and Confidence

Picking up where I left off during my last post, it is now time to fill you in on the handbags. God continues to amaze me how He puts his handprint on things that He has ordained and the handbags were no different.

On the final leg of my trip home, I had a layover in Charlotte. Realizing I was in need of a very strong lip balm I stopped in the Body Shop. I had my handbag and one of the women asked me about it. She new it was an African print and shared her family was from the Congo and she so wanted to buy some bags. I shared the history behind the bags and that I would be exchanging bags for donations to a scholarship fund for the school. She took down my email and she has been patiently waiting for me to get this post up so she can place an order.

Shipping the bags wasn’t in my initial plan but I LOVE the thought of the story being told in locations outside of Florida. The encounter was truly of God and I took it as a sign that God was in this project.

About the Bags
Women at the Anglican Vocational School sewed the bags. The women in the class for the most part are widows and have to support a family. The goal of the school is to help the women learn a skill that will allow them to provide for their family.

Ensuring women are trained in a skill and able to provide for their family is a key defense against human trafficking. When a family is able to meet their own needs, they are not at risk to fall prey to someone who offers to “help”.

For a minimum of $20 you will receive a bag of your choice. For each donation, $10 will go into the Vocational School Scholarship Fund to be established at the Church of the Blessed Mango Tree.

The bags have a zipper closure and there are two pockets sewn inside (big enough to hold cell phones).

Bags will have a hangtag sharing the history of the bag to create more awareness.

How to Order
If you are in West Palm Beach, you can come on by and shop directly or I am willing to complete the exchange at CF City Place after the 9 am service and before the 10:30 am service.

For those out of town, I am willing to ship for an additional fee of $6 for orders of 3 or more handbags.

There are 10 designs and each one has a number. Please send your order to jmlangwpb@gmail.com. If you want to drop by this weekend I will be home for those local.








Isaiah 61
Isaiah 61 is the name I am putting on the hangtag. That passage of Scripture went through my head while I was in Rwanda and believe it is a story of hope amidst trials and hardship.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a] 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins 
and restore the places long devastated; 
they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. 
5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. 
6 And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. 
You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. 7 Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, 
and instead of disgrace 
you will rejoice in your inheritance. 
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. 8 “For I, the LORD, love justice; 
I hate robbery and wrongdoing. 
In my faithfulness I will reward my people 
and make an everlasting covenant with them. 
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations 
and their offspring among the peoples. 
All who see them will acknowledge 
that they are a people the LORD has blessed.” 10 I delight greatly in the LORD; 
my soul rejoices in my God. 
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation 
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, 
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up 
and a garden causes seeds to grow, 
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness 
and praise spring up before all nations.

Lesson 2 – See Where God is At Work and Join Him

Over dinner Tuesday night, I was speaking with Cyrus who was our host for the trip (he is director of Africa for World Help). He was sharing prior to our arrival he had met with the Anglican Church and toured the vocational school that was training women on skills to support their families. I asked if we were visiting the school as I thought that would be an awesome way to encourage women. My radar went up as he started to show me pictures and I saw women sewing handbags.

For better or worse, American women are consumers and most of us like to shop. The results of our Not For Sale “freedom sale” at City Place campus a few years ago validated women are motivated to shop when it directly benefits the lives of other women. Seeing those handbags I knew there was an opportunity to do something with them. I was excited to be able to learn the story behind them.

Cyrus was gracious to get a tour set up and to work with the director of the school as it related to purchasing bags. Due to the fact they are in start up mode, they have not been able to get ahead on inventory so if we wanted bags we needed to order them.

Dinner Wednesday night I felt God say – order 100 and take them back and share the story and give others the opportunity to support these women through a scholarship fund. Cyrus shared some of the women in school, attended Church of the Blessed Mango Tree where we worshipped on Sunday. Pastor Nathan had shared there were many who wanted to go school but needed financial support as most of the women were widows.

We decided to take an order from our team and we ended up with an order of 190 bags! What a great encouragement to these women learning a new skill. They were currently working on a big order and now would have another one right behind it.

I digress for a moment, as this idea to order the bags would not have happened if my debit card had not been restored. When I called my bank the day before we left to flag my credit and debit card with an “out of country” note to ensure they would go through and not get shut down the representative ended up canceling my debit card; my card was wiped out of the system. I was told there was no way to reverse it and I would have to wait until my return back to the states to get a new card. The manager promised to work hard to see if there was a way to reverse it but she wasn’t confident and kept apologizing. As we were leaving for the airport Friday she called to say she thought my card would work so try it when I got to the airport. I tried it and it worked! Since credit card was not a currency taken at the vocational school cash was needed. Thankful that the manager was so diligent. I share this with you as God got the victory this day in the fact I had ability to withdraw enough currency to pay for the 100 bags.

So back to lesson 1 – do what you can do. I love to invite people to join me in helping others. Sharing the handbags and their story is something I can do and do it naturally. Lesson 2 – seeing that God was already at work at the church and the vocational school made it easy for me to join in to support the effort – no need to reinvent the wheel.

You want to know how you can support the women and be a part of sharing their story and I promise you will get that opportunity…. tomorrow! (I also promise if you are reading this and not in WPB I you too can take part in the opportunity.)

In the meantime if you aren’t familiar with Advent Conspiracy click on the link below. http://vimeo.com/30556886. Throughout my posts this week I will be providing in addition to the handbags ways you can support Advent Conspiracy in Rwanda directly touching the lives of those the team and I were blessed to meet.

Lesson 1 - Do What You Can Do

We were blessed to meet with the Bishop of Rwanda. Humbled to be in his presence and to learn from him. Although it was a tough read, his book is necessary for all of us to be reminded that evil is present and we must be on guard. We must speak up even when it is not popular, before it is too late. I told him it was the hardest book I have ever had to read and he replied, “it was the hardest book to write”. Thankful for his courage to tell the story filled with so much pain knowing it is the only way beauty can come from the ashes. Truth must be exposed.

Overwhelmed by all the pain, suffering and senselessness of the genocide one wonders “what can I do?”. Bishop John’s responded “do what you can do”. He said “start with something you can do and then trust God will show you what else he wants you to do to help.”

I thought that was great advice and looked forward to figuring out what it was I was meant to do; I was confidant God would make it clear. Interesting enough, by that evening, I knew what I was to do.

Word Association - Rwanda

Beautiful – Gracious – Humble – Kind – Thoughtful - Safe – Diverse – Loving - Green– Freedom in Worship – Precious – Forgiveness – Hope – Stories still to be shared – Servants - Opportunities - Yellow water jugs – Joy – Beauty for Ashes – Genuine - Beautiful children - God at work.

Those are just a few words that come to my mind when I think about Rwanda. What I know for a fact – I love the people and I am excited to see how God is at work!

In the past, I have gone on mission’s trips and have loved each country and the people but have never felt a desire to go back. In a few cases I support the ministries but have not felt compelled to return even when the opportunity has presented itself.

Coming home I felt a part of my heart remained in Rwanda but still had no idea if I would want to go back. My answer came, as I was journaling on the last flight home to West Palm Beach. I was writing overall reflections and had created categories and the next thing I knew I had written “opportunities for next trip”.

I am excited the possibility to back next year. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to take a team from Christ Fellowship or partner with World Help. God is at work and that gets me excited! More to come on this topic later but wanted to get that question out of the way!

Greetings from Kigali

We've had a couple of very rich days of ministry here in Rwanda. On Monday the team went to Bugasera, one of the villages of reconciliation where both victims and perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide now live together in reconciliation. We heard powerful testimonies from both those who lost family members and were attacked themselves, and from those who participated in the murders of the genocide. Rarely has the light of the gospel shined so brightly as in these people who are learning to forgive and live in peace together. This particular village was highlighted in the documentary As We Forgive, and we met many who were featured in the film (see below for a link to the movie trailer).



www.asweforgivemovie.com/trailer.htm



Tuesday morning the team was granted an audience with Bishop John Rucyahana, one of the key leaders responsible for the rebuilding of Rwanda. This proved to be a highlight for many of our team, as he shared his testimony of personal loss and his many efforts to heal his broken country. After lunch, the team toured the national genocide museum and memorial in downtown Kigali. We had just enough time after the museum to make an impromptu return visit to the Widow's Village where we sang and danced with the women and children into the night under the African stars. We've just returned to the hotel where the internet service has *finally* been restored. Team members are quickly trying to post photos to Facebook even as I'm writing this email.



Tomorrow morning we plan to visit the Village of Hope, built for the orphans of the genocide. We do have one team member who's cold seems to have developed into a respiratory infection and will be seeing a doctor tomorrow morning. This is an added precaution before we head into the remote region Akagera later tomorrow afternoon. Please be in prayer for her that she might heal very quickly. The rest of the team is doing very well, is healthy, and is getting a decent amount of sleep in between some emotionally demanding days.



Thank you everyone for your prayers and support throughout our trip!

Greetings from Rwanda

The team enjoyed a full day of ministry today and are ready for bed. The morning was spent at The Church of the Blessed Mango Tree where the team led Sunday School, sang songs to the church, and shared testimonies. Everyone enjoyed experiencing the engaging service. The afternoon was spent at a village built for the widows of the genocide and their children. The teams' hearts were touched by their kindness and generosity, and many got to go into homes and visit personally with survivors and their children. This evening the team watched the documentary As We Forgive in preparation for tomorrow, when we'll be visiting the village where the documentary was filmed.



We still have a few students who are feeling sick, and they would greatly appreciate your prayers. Some are adjusting better to the time difference than others, but all seem genuinely excited about all that they are experiencing.



Thank you again for your prayers and support!

Destiny and Flexibility

I have met 15 of my team members. Each of them brings a different sense of energy and insight and I am looking forward to serving with them and learning from them. I will meet the final 6 at the airport in the morning. Excited that through fb have alreaded connected with three of them so we will be able to pick up where we left off.



I was amazed at some of the stories team members shared on how they ended up applying for the trip. Our team leader, Dr. Corsini shared that there were 700 applicants for this trip. I was speechless, no mistaking it that God had a plan for me to be on the trip. He shared the first trip had 300 applicants so the response was amazing. Overwhelmed. This trip to Rwanda is part of my destiny. God's providence that I go, learn, experience and testify to what has happened.



Flexibility

The behavior most needed for this trip is flexibility. We have already seen the plans change and have been told they will change by the hour. I am excited about what we have been told that if even a portion comes to fruition it will be amazing. Currently we will have an opportunity to visit a windows village, orphanage and villages outside of Kilgali.



Our main purpose is to be witnesses for the western world to tell of what is happening in Rwanda as the west has in general chosen to overlook them. Pray that I will be a good listener, that my words would bring comfort and that I would be sensitive to when I should just be silent and be emotionally available just by sitting, providing a hug, holding a hand, whatever seems appropriate.



Flight Plans

For those who want to track my travels below is my flight plan:



Friday Nov. 11th - Washington Dulles, Ethiopian Air 501 departs 11:00 am est and lands in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Nov 12th 7:45 am Central African Time (6 hrs ahead)



Nov 12th - Addis Ababa Ethiopian Air 807 departs 10:50 am cat and lands in Kigali, Rwanda at 12:20 pm cat



Nov 19th - Kigali,Rwanda Ethiopian Air 806 departs 4:00 pm cat and lands in Addis Ababa at 7:30 pm



Nov 19th - Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Air 500 departs 10:15 pm and lands in Washington Dulles on Nov 20th at 7:40 am



Nov 20th - Washington Dulles USAir 2285 departs 1:40 pm and lands in Charlotte at 3:06 and then USAir 1017 departs for WPB at 4:25 pm and will be home 6:21 pm on Sunday night if all goes as planned

Bags Packed – First Leg Washington DC

It seems like yesterday I was asking people to pray about the trip and God clearing 3 hurdles for me to be part of this trip. Overwhelmed by the encouraging words, calls and prayers.

I am thankful I go covered in your prayers. Expecting God to break my heart in new ways this trip so I would be “wrecked” as Russell prayed at my party Saturday. I go with anticipation and expectation that God is going to show up in ways I would have never imagined.

Spiritual warfare is a fact. I have sensed the last few days pure exhaustion and heaviness of heart. Committed to keeping up with my Esther study and staying in God’s word no matter what.

I meet half of the team Wednesday night. Pray that we connect and quickly unite in one mind and spirit.

Thankful God goes before us, behind us and hems us in.

Community and Cycling

Blessed to be part of many communities in West Palm Beach. Last year about this time I started cycling at Velocity. Blake was one of the owners and at that time part of my First Impressions Team and he invited me to try Velocity.

Spinning aka “cycling” had been part of my life when I lived in NJ but from the first time I walked into Velocity I felt community. Over this past year I have met wonderful people and have formed a sense of community.

This past weekend people came up to me and gave me money for supplies, medical advice etc to ensure I was ready for Rwanda. The owners Chris and Blake came to my graduation party this weekend and gave me the t-shirt pictured.

Rwanda is in need of community. They are trying to put their communities back together with those who murdered being brought in to help rebuild the houses of those they killed. Community is hard.

Chris in addition to being an owner is also one of my favorite instructors and he is always reminding us in class that we are a team and we need to use the energy in the room to keep us going. We are teammates for the sole purpose of pulling each other through the class. Regardless of where you live, you have the opportunity to be part of the community of Rwanda. We have the responsibility to live out what community should be so we model that for the world. We are to work together, regardless the odds, regardless the circumstances. We are a team.

I have packed the t-shirt and look forward to giving it to someone who is in need of encouragement. In cycling you are in a peloton and you take turns leading to allow everyone the opportunity to rest. I hope to share that vision and bring back that persons picture, post it in Velocity to inspire us. When we ride, we have a team member in Rwanda that is counting on us to encourage them and do our part demonstrating community where we live. We are one community when we are of like mind even though we are on the other side of the world.

Peripety and Prayer

Peripety

Studying the book of Esther with my life group this fall is just what God had planned as part of my preparation for Rwanda. I had chosen the study prior to knowing about the trip. No surprise, God knew.
One of the concepts we have studied in Esther is peripety; it is defined as sudden change/reversal of events. Outside of Esther, one of the greatest examples of this concept is the resurrection story.

Luke 24:1-8 says:
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. "Why are you looking for the living among the dead?" asked the men. "He is not here, but He has been resurrected! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” And they remembered His words.

This passage came to mind as today I was honored with a graduation party. I received a priceless gift that was hand crafted by Gerry Jamison (see picture). As I was admiring his workmanship I noticed the three nails that stuck out on the cross. Unlike other crosses we see, Jesus is not on this cross. There are just the three nails to remind us of the fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sins but He IS Risen… he is no longer on the cross, he is no longer dead. He is alive!

The work of reconciliation in Rwanda is an example of peripety. Bishop John Rucyahana shares in Bishop of Rwanda the following: With God all things are possible. We are moving beyond the first encounters of victims and perpetrators to a place where people can worship and attend church together. They can sing in the same choirs, shop in the same markets, play together on the same sports teams, and work next to each other on the job…. If they can afford to forgive, why can’t the world forgive?

It is through the power of Jesus Christ that the root of the genocide – hatred has turned to reconciliation. Satan may seek to kill and destroy but Jesus was able to conquer death and it in that fact that we have hope. The power of the cross is the only way to true reconciliation. Bringing people to true repentance and forgiveness can only come through the supernatural power of Christ.

Standing in the Gap

Today I was overwhelmed by the love of those whom God has placed in my life over the past five years. Some I have known the entire time I have been in West Palm Beach, and others I have just met in the last few months. The common thread is they are all people I take delight in and for some reason they seem to like me back which I am grateful.

At the end of the celebration for completing my masters in Pastoral Counseling, I was covered in prayer for my trip to Rwanda. There were many tears shed and the heavy burden on my heart for the people of Rwanda was no longer my burden alone, others now share the burden. Knowing that people will be standing in the gap for me and praying on my behalf, for Rwanda and for the team is such a comfort.

Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. “

Rivers of Tears

While many wonder if I am getting excited for my trip, I must tell the truth. A heavy heart and what I sense as oppression overshadow my excitement. I am reminded that I am going to a country that for years Satan ruled through the leaders that was capped by the genocide. Satan does not like the fact the country is trying to reconcile; he is not pleased. He is not delighted that people would come to help people learn skills to teach and to apply as it relates to reconciliation and forgiveness.

My heart grows heavy as I am reading the Bishop of Rwanda. Reading about the plans that were put in place and how other countries helped prime Rwanda for the genocide made me ill. Reading the gruesome stories on how man became part of Satan’s army – at times demon possessed nearly put me over the edge. Many times I had to put the book down and pray that God would remove the visuals from my mind. I was crying the other night and found the tears were for those who suffered, for those who cannot escape the images because there is no book to put down, it is what they lived. They say 4 of 5 children in Rwanda lived through the genocide and saw the blood shed. Lives are forever changed bringing many psychological issues and physical issues as a result.

What kind of human would boil a baby in oil, shoot a baby in the chest sitting on his mothers lap before he kills her, leads parishioners to what they thought was safety to only be a death trap? The brutality was extreme and that is what makes reconciliation tough, as it isn’t so easy to forgive. There is far worse that was done to children would break your heart. I hold on to the fact they are with Jesus now and they do not recall any of that pain or horror they experienced.

The Bishop says in the book “shedding miles of tears before one is able to forgive. To repent of such cruelty requires divine motivation and divine presence to attempt it. To repent of such demonic cruelty requires the cross of Jesus right in the middle of it.”

Pray for protection – both spiritual and physical, for health and for safety. I am thankful my God is Jehovah Nissi – he goes before me in battle. I sense the battle has started and I am asking you to join me in fighting through prayer for Team Rwanda.