Wednesday 4th September
Following a long day of traveling, our first full day began with breakfast in the guest house followed by our orientation meeting with Pastor Fred Katagwa, Executive Director of Africa New Life Ministries (ANLM) and brother of Pastor Charles Mugisha who preached at Breathe in November last year.
Pastor Fred spoke passionately about the miracle that is Africa New Life; a faith organisation that started with 29 sponsored children in 2001 and has grown to over 10,000 sponsored children living in seven communities across Rwanda. At the heart of each of the seven communities is a church which is key to ANLM’s vision; to transform lives and communities through preaching the Gospel and acts of compassion.
Set within the spectacular rolling hills of Kigali, Africa New Life HQ provided the perfect setting for us to begin our orientation and initiation into all things ANLM. Not only did we get our first glimpse of the church that provides the heartbeat to this vision but we also had a guided tour around the offices, Bible College and their latest faith venture – the second largest private hospital in Rwanda!
This 60+ bed medical centre is appropriately named ‘the Dream Medical Centre’; a place where faith and science meet. At the Dream Medical Centre, patients are treated for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs with state-of-the-art facilities including three theatres!
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that God is not finished yet! ANLM are building a tower-block to house all of their Bible College students in which they can train Pastors to plant and lead churches and further the vision of Africa New Life as well as spread the Gospel all over Rwanda and the rest of the world. Printed in every room, office, coffee shop and classroom on site are messages of faith, hope and love; reminders that God can do incredible things.
ANLM’s story is all the more remarkable given the context of the Rwandan genocide that took place only 25 years ago in which over 1,000,000 people were killed by their fellow Rwandans. 250,000 of them are buried at Kigali Genocide Museum which is where we spent our afternoon. The memorial and museum has to be seen to be believed and experienced to be fully appreciated. Having spent a couple of hours there, the team are slowly beginning to process their own feelings and reaction to a very hard-hitting and emotionally numbing experience.
Take a look at the Museum’s website (https://www.kgm.rw/) for more information.
As day 1 draws to a close, we have been blown away by what God has revealed to us in only 24 hours. For me, what God has done in Rwanda and with ANLM is perfectly summed up in the scene that greeted us as we exited the Genocide Museum. From the graveside of 250,000 victims, the Kigali city skyline stands tall and proud. From above, you can see and hear the hustle and bustle of a growing city and economy, busy streets and traffic, chirping birds, beautiful lands and the distant hum of children happily playing. In the shadow of death, the story of Rwanda is one of restoration, hope and life.
