Wheels for Burundi
Two years ago I received an invitation from Bishop Bosco Sindambiwe to come and train pastors and evangelists in Burundi, as well as lending help with bicycles. Meanwhile, one of our church members sponsored a missionary to go to Burundi for five years full-time. A few months ago this missionary—Tim van Aarde—visited South Africa and requested I consider coming to help in Burundi. A man who is very well known in Burundi, Ruben Safari, who works for Scripture Union, Tim van Aarde and Bishop Bosco Sindambiwe, working in co-operation, set up two conferences—one in the north of Burundi (Muyinga) and one in the south of Burundi (Makamba).
Conference in the North: Muyinga
This conference was very well attended, as 41 pastors were trained in the use of the Heart of Man chart. On the second day more than 800 people were confronted with the gospel during a period of practical training. Approximately half of these people committed their lives to Jesus Christ! During the time of testimony, when the pastors reported back on their practical experiences, one of the teams brought back amulets and charms from a group of people involved in witchcraft. When these people accepted the saving message of Jesus Christ, they handed over all their witchcraft items that they had been wearing on their bodies to the pastors to burn, since they had now been set free from the bonds of Satan. It was awesome for us to see all these witchcraft items being handed over to be destroyed. Praise to God!
Another amazing testimony was when a pastor stood up and said that he wanted to confess something. He confessed that he had been a pastor for quite some time but that he had never led someone to Jesus Christ personally. However, since he had been trained in the use of the Heart of Man chart the previous day and went out to do the evangelism practical that morning, he had led many people to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. He is incredibly joyful of the fact that he can now lead people to Jesus Christ. He is rejoicing about how God is using him now to lead people to Christ!
Conference in the South: Makamba
In Makamba, 30 people received Heart of Man chart training and 30 bicycles were made available. Once again, during the second day of the conference, at the report back session, amazing testimonies were heard concerning many people who had accepted the Lord Jesus. What astounded me in particular was when one of the teams reported that, during the time of the presentation of the gospel, some of the people told them that they have never heard of the gospel of Jesus Christ! It is hard for me to think that somebody can live without knowing the Him.
Another amazing testimony was when Rev. Martin Blaise Nyaboho told us a story. The Heart booklet had been banned in Burundi years ago because, in Kirundi, the title of the Heart booklet (which is now UMUTIMA W’UMUNTU) was previously UMUTIMA… “the name of the then president of the country!” And because of this, since the Heart booklets speak of the heart of the sinner, it sounded like the booklet was speaking of the heart of the president as the greatest sinner in the country! Therefore the ex-president banned the booklet! Thankfully, the booklet’s title has been changed in Kirundi to what it is at present. We can report, however, that the current president of Burundi is a true believer and Christian evangelist in his own right.
During this conference, it was reported that a few hundred people committed their lives to Jesus Christ because of hearing the gospel through the use of the Heart of Man chart during the practical session.
Raymond Lombard
Director
Wheels for God’s Word
Project Number 1019041
© 2009 Church of God World Missions
