Do you Dare??

For all of those who are in long term Missions, have been in Missions, and are thinking about Missions!

“Missions” What a term!! What a calling! What a life!! On the front lines some say. Still others think that it is an easy way out to what they call “real life”.
Following dreams, visions, and desires that one believes has been put in them buy God him self. The sticky point is not following those things but to stay before the Lord when those things start to become reality. When they begin to grow and take shape before your eyes.
Do you dare to dream?
Do you dare to let me place my vision and desires inside you?
Do you dare to follow?
Do you dare to stay before me?
These are questions that the Lord has asked me! They are questions that I believe he asks every one that will say here I am Lord send me.
I said yes, yes, of course, yes to all those questions. Then the dreams came. The Visions started, and the desires became so heavy on my heart.
He reminds me often that they are his and not mine. Then he follows up with more questions.

How vulnerable will you be?
How far will you go?
Will you stay before me?
Will you trust me?
These are cutting questions!!! Not easy to answer!!! But I will, I will go all the way. I will stay before you. I will….. (GULP) trust you.

I see people falling left, right, and center around me. Being chewed up and spit out so to speak. My eyes always filled with tears. With a lump in my throat, I ask Lord are you there???
He says “Travis I am here!” I say “Lord???” His responses “I didn’t say it would be easy. Travis this is war. Do you trust me? Will you stay before me? I AM HERE!! Are you with me?"............. I am here, I am with you Lord….. Okay I trust you. Now we walk on!

I write this with tears streaming down my face, as I know many of those who have been beaten down chewed up and spit out by the enemy, giving up on God, the church and his people. Because of what they have seen in the war or have experienced. (I was one of them at one time.) I know others who have left the war zone only to pick up the fight some where else.

The truth is Missions can hurt. It can be filled with joy but also with tears. There can be pain in the offering!Blood and even death are many times close by. It is not an easy life! It is a war! It is reality! Fighting for people, and their eternity.

The questions remain hard, sobering questions!
Do you Dare?
How far will you go?
How vulnerable will you be?
Will you stay before me?
Will you trust me?

It hurts but I say yes I will go and yes I Dare to trust you with my life.

One Week.....

(Sorry no photos this time.)

Oh my…. Another April…. This means that starting on the 7^th to the 14^th, every thing in Rwanda becomes even more increasingly difficult to handle. The mark of the Genocide, from thirteen years ago.
This is a time of mourning, of sadness, and reliving of the trauma that was inflicted years ago. One week, to relive hell…. Not much happens on this week, we sit around listening to the painful memories of those we have grown to love and of those we are getting to know.
Such Pain!!!!! Such Trauma!!!! Is there an end? I am only silently listening, praying and knowing that it is this pain and trauma that the Lord has sent us here to combat and comfort. To bring an end to such hell!!

One week to remember, one week to relive, one week is over and then it is back to surviving, picking up the pieces from yet another year of unresolved pain from inside the heart and mind.
One week is set aside, reserved so to speak for such events to take place. Then one must move on, it is the only way from keeping ones self from collapsing from the pain, or becoming paralyzed from the trauma.
So it is suppressed, pushed down and contained. For how long???

I am told stories that I can not imagine! One of my good friends tells me of a time when a group of 14 men came looking for her, they did not manage to find her so they went to one of her neighbors. The men (all 14) raped her friend and left her to live with it. Its stories like these and much, much worse that we hear day after day. All I can do this week is cry….

The worse thought is that these people don’t just live with it for a week but every day of their lives!!

I am sorry, I can’t go any further………. It hurts too much!!

God help me to bring your healing to such a hurting people!

My bike...

Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills.

Imagine all these hills, for you that have your mountain bikes or rollerblades it would either be a thrill or let’s say a hell of a work out. My thoughts are forget the up hill just let me have a nice bike and feel the wind in my hair as I go as fast as humanly possibly down these killer hill sides.

Now let’s see where can I find such machine to let me enjoy this ride. While driving one day to Kibuye (the far western province, right on Lake Kivu) I saw it, it was perfect. I have never seen something like this before. I had to have it, what a ride it would be. A bike! Home made, very sturdy and I’m sure not to expensive. I stopped the car, called the boy over and in my best Kinyarwandan (local language) told the boy that I wanted to buy his bike from him for 10,000frw ($10). A bit surprised, the boy says 20,000frw ($20).
This went on for a while, finally he agreed, the payment was made and he helped me to load it into the car.Wow I had my bike finally.

But don’t you think for one moment that I will be caught dead going down one of these hills with this thing. Unlike the Rwandese, you should see these kids ride these things.
It sure makes a great souvenir to sit on my back porch area though.