A Confused and Hopeless Man
Pius has always been very proud of his status and success. A lawyer by profession, well-educated and married with eight children, six of whom live in America, he has a lot to be proud of. However, if you were to ask Pius to describe himself he would tell you that he is “a confused and hopeless man, looking for something but never knowing what”.
“I have been living a dreadful life,” he told us. “I feel enslaved by drugs and alcohol. I thought they would help me find my way, but I’ve only felt more lost and alone. I thought that having status in my community would make me feel complete, but I only feel more empty.”
Night Gospel Rallies
As the Rwanda Mission continued throughout last week, the evenings were filled with neighbourhood gospel rallies which aimed to reach people with the Gospel as they came home from work. The AE teams played loud music and as people gathered to dance and sing with the team, they began preaching the Gospel to the crowd. Many people accepted Christ at these rallies throughout the week. Pius was one of them.
“When I heard them preach about Jesus I realised that my life can be better; that I’ve been living for the wrong things.”
“When I heard them preach about Jesus I realised that my life can be better; that I’ve been living for the wrong things. When they were telling us about sin, I felt it so clearly in my heart and I knew I needed forgiveness. I came forward to confess and pray for Christ to save me from my sin and I am determined to follow God from this day on.”
“I’m so thankful for AE coming into my neighbourhood because it had never before occurred to me that the answers to my suffering could be found in a church. Now I understand that God has a wonderful purpose for my life and I’m excited to tell my wife and children about the changes in me.”
Faith Comes Knocking
Poverty was a powerful force in Faith’s life. Desperate to escape her family’s impoverishment, she took matters into her own hands. She believed that she could do better on her own. Now 17, she looks back on her life with sadness and regret.
“Instead of feeling free and happy like I thought I would… I’ve become more and more bitter and angry about my life.”
Faith told us, “I left my family when I was young, deciding that I could make a better life for myself on my own. What I found instead was rowdy friends who caused trouble and introduced me to drugs and alcohol. Soon, my life became full of drugs, I cared about nothing else. Then, I began to practice prostitution so that I could pay for drugs. Instead of feeling free and happy like I thought I would when I left my family, I’ve become more and more bitter and angry about my life. I’ve had no peace of mind and my life has had no meaning. It’s been terrible.”
Marketplace Evangelism
“As I was walking through the market today, I heard a man speaking into a microphone about how Jesus had restored him from the hopeless life he was leading. I felt like he was speaking directly to me like he knew exactly what I had been through even though I’d never seen him before. I decided in that moment that I needed to be saved and allow Jesus to help me change my lifestyle. I am excited to join the church nearby so that I can get the support I need to live a better life than this. Thank you for coming to tell me the amazing news about Jesus.”