Three Countries in One Day!

That's right - we hit three countries in one day!  It might just be a world record.  Or a record for Refuge and Hope, anyway!  

Counseling Conference - Rwanda

The journey began in Gisenyi, Rwanda, just on the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  Last week Refuge and Hope was pleased to host a conference in Gisenyi on counseling people who have been traumatized by war and conflict.  About 40 pastors and other ministers from DRC and Rwanda joined us to participate in this two-day conference led by Dr. Scott Christie and Dr. Doug Dickens from the U.S.  

We are very grateful to Scott and Doug and their wives, Susan and Sherri, for coming out and doing such a fantastic job at the conference.  The participants received much-needed instruction in counseling people of all ages dealing with traumas ranging from the loss of a parent to rape, and we hope that this will be the beginning of a continued relationship with these ministers.  We are also extremely grateful to our partner, Pastor Stephen Bamoleke of Shalom Transformational Ministries, who worked very hard to coordinate logistics and get the participants there.  We could not have done it without him!

Dr. Doug Dickens leading a session at the conference

The Amazing Race - Rwanda, DRC, Uganda

After the conference was finished, we woke up in Rwanda and quickly hopped across the border into DRC to visit our student sponsorship project there.  We only had a few hours to spend in the town of Goma there in Eastern DRC, so it was quite a whirlwind of activity.  We were very excited to first visit with some of the students we are sponsoring in secondary school and see the Shalom Church in Goma where they are receiving support from the pastors there and where they have become involved in the choir.  

We also met a women's group that meets at the church, the local health clinic the church supports, and a rape center where girls and women of all ages who are victims of rape can come for treatment and rehabilitation.  Needless to say, all of this was a lot to fit into one day trip!  But we are grateful for the opportunity to visit and look forward to returning and continuing our involvement in the Goma area with our wonderful partners there.

Shelah with some of the students and pastors

So after spending a few busy hours in DRC we hopped back over the border into Rwanda and then drove up through the beautiful, hilly countryside of Rwanda to cross the Ugandan border.  Then, after adding many miles to the odometer, Refuge and Hope's version of The Amazing Race was finished!  We had successfully completed a two-day conference in Rwanda, a good visit in DRC, and a long journey across bumpy roads, national borders, and lush landscapes.  And even though the travel was a bit exhausting, it was a blessing to go - and we are already looking forward to making another Refuge and Hope trip there soon.  So stay tuned!

(Map courtesy of Lonely Planet)

Update: Kaberamaido Church Leaders Conference

We at Refuge and Hope International are excited to report that last week we led a successful training conference for about 75 pastors, lay leaders and other regional church leaders in a rural district of northern/central Uganda called Kaberamaido.  Participants came from all across the district to take part in the 3-day conference focused on spiritual leadership.  We are extremely grateful to Jerry and Dorothy Hubbard, who came out from Alabama to help lead the conference.  Jerry led the main teaching on spiritual leadership and Dorothy led a workshop on prayer and provided invaluable assistance for the rest of the conference.  Along with Dorothy’s session on prayer, Refuge and Hope staff members led additional workshops on various topics including counseling, youth, chronological Bible storytelling, stewardship, and HIV/AIDS (taught by a local Ugandan expert). 

I cannot tell you how encouraged our Refuge and Hope team was by the whole event!  The participants were a joy to be with, and our local committee of people who helped coordinate the event was well-organized.  The pastors and church leaders who participated in the conference were SO grateful for the opportunity to receive Bible training – something they say they can't get enough of out in the rural areas - and we were able to leave them with some good resources, including a copy of the New Testament in the local language of Kumam (see photo). 

We also made a point to give participants some down time, including opportunity for recreational games (volleyball was a favorite) and a showing of the Jesus film.

For me, one of the highlights of the entire conference was a workshop on engaging youth in ministry that I led along with my Ugandan colleague, Harriet.  The first day we had a good group of pastors who work with youth, but the second day we decided to pull in some youth who had been hanging around and helping out to join us and have an honest discussion of what youth need to get involved in church ministry.  We had such fun laughing with them and exchanging ideas.  It makes me excited about going back to engage these youth again; in fact, we’re planning to hold a conference for youth in Kaberamaido in June, so please be in prayer for that! 

All in all, the conference was definitely a hit, and I am grateful that I was able to be a part of it.  I really believe the Lord spoke to these church leaders through the teaching, and I pray that He would continue to mold those people into the leaders He's called them to be in their churches and communities.  Please join us in that prayer!

-Jennifer Wilmore, Special Projects Director (Volunteer)

Jennifer is a volunteer serving with Refuge and Hope in Uganda over the next several months through CBF’s Student.Go program and the generous support of her family and friends.  She enjoys traveling, eating beans and rice, and hearing Ugandans clap and laugh when she uses simple Kumam phrases on them.