YWAM Kigali

We've been working with some fantastic ministries here in Kigali over
the last few weeks, and now I've had a chance to see around them a bit,
I thought it time to share a bit about them.

The StreetKids:
Serieux is on staff here in YWAM Kigali, and he's been working with the
same group of boys over the last 8 years. These are kids who were maybe
orphaned by the genocide or just have no where to live, and have been
living on the streets. Part of the ministry that we've been working on
is the football, where they come together for 2 times a week for some
intense training (seriously..they are fit...and good) and then have a
little programme after with a talk and some prayer. You can really see
how much these boys respect Serieux and just how much he is dedicated to
them, incredible to see. Once they've been with the programme for a
while they have a chance to attend the Vocational Training School that
YWAM runs on the base, and train in carpentry, tailoring or a few
other trades. It's a great set up, and really making a difference in
these guys lives.

Aprecom:
This is a supportive ministry for those with or affected by HIV and
AIDS. The other day, I got on the back of a motorbike and travelled half
an hour into the countryside to visit one of these groups with a guy
called Amisse. We arrived there to find a group of around ten older
women meeting to support one another and to pray. One lady Veronique
wasn't there, so we went to see where she was. When we got to her house,
we found she had broken her leg. She was just sitting outside her tiny
house on the front garden. We prayed with her, and Amisse gave her a
small sum of money that was all she needed for some medicine, but she
didn't have it.

Harvesters:
Another Serieux initiative. Every Saturday afternoon, about 50 people
in their late teens and early 20's arrive at the YWAM base. They have
an hour of teaching and worship, and then split up into differnt groups,
modern dance, traditional dance, singing... and those are just the 3 I
saw. They practice, and then perform at different venues. It's a great
place for these guys to fellowship with other Christians, as well as
learn a new skill. One of the Harvesters now dances on the Rwanda
national team.


I feel like we've only touched the tip of the iceberg. YWAM here also
runs a pre-school, a primary school, has started a church, numerous
youth and kids programmes, HIV/AIDS ministries, widows ministries and
child sponsorship programmes.

This whole base seems committed to making a real tangible differnce to
the area around here. It is a base full of passionate, committed people
who are willing to go the extra mile to help the people around them.
I've really been struck by how special this group of people is. How
much of a privilege it is to be working alongside them for these few
weeks. We are a blessed team to be here.

Tomorrow, we're headed down to the Tanzanian border with Rwanda to a
place called Bukora where the YWAM ministry here wants to plant another
base. We are the first Western team to be allowed to go down to this project,
so it's a big privilege and a big challenge all at the same time! They have a
house there, but there is no running water or electricity... so it's going to be
a bit of an adventure, but as you've seen from this post,we have some good
hosts so we're in good hands!