You might like to meet some of the local brothers and sisters who have been very supportive. (Generally, Rwandan surnames are anywhere from three to five syllables, so I will not even attempt them at this point.)
Ariane, Benjamin, Emile, Yvonne, Ernest, Florence, Jedediah, Babé, Sis. and Bro. Gatera
(one great family!)
Epimaque (who didn't make it into the other picture, but is still part of the family)
Jean de Dieu is a ministerial servant whose family's picture appeared in a recent publication--I won't tell you where.
Jacques introduced me to the president's residential area, where we narrowly escaped being shot at by armed soldiers.
Régis is a new Bethelite (as of April), having previously commuted and served as one of the Kingdom Hall caretakers.
Siméon is a ministerial servant and regular pioneer. His 14-year-old brother Blaise has dreams of being a Bethelite or a circuit overseer, or learning Spanish and moving to Bolivia (remember the WT study article?). Oh, and also learning Chinese.
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Arthur is the coordinator and Philbert is the service overseer of the congregation. They both serve at Bethel. Philbert has a great Bible study twice a week with a man from Britain who previously lived in South Africa, then Brazil, and recently moved to a city in Rwanda about 2 hours from Kigali. (It's rather complicated.) They study via Skype.
John and Rita are from Kenya. He designs websites and is noted for giving very well-researched comments at the meetings. She works in an optical store (which will come in handy when time comes for me to get new glasses).
Peter has a printing business. David works at a brewery with ever-changing shifts (and manages to pioneer). They take pride in wearing the same color scheme to the meetings.
Patrick is actually from Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, but previously went to school in South Africa. He invited me to visit Lubumbashi someday, but that would be a 3-day bus ride one way. Hmm...
Doesn't come to meetings, but is supportive nonetheless...
There are many more brothers and sisters than those whose photos are shown here, and one day I'll get around to taking everyone's picture. It's great working in the English Congregation here because there are a lot of brothers to preach with. I work with a different brother each time, the only problem being that I can't always remember whom I was with when I get a really good return visit, so that I can find the location the next time. But I'm getting better at orienting myself in this big city!
Finally, I couldn't resist this nice panoramic shot of the city of Kigali:
Epimaque (who didn't make it into the other picture, but is still part of the family)
Jean de Dieu is a ministerial servant whose family's picture appeared in a recent publication--I won't tell you where.
Jacques introduced me to the president's residential area, where we narrowly escaped being shot at by armed soldiers.
Régis is a new Bethelite (as of April), having previously commuted and served as one of the Kingdom Hall caretakers.
Siméon is a ministerial servant and regular pioneer. His 14-year-old brother Blaise has dreams of being a Bethelite or a circuit overseer, or learning Spanish and moving to Bolivia (remember the WT study article?). Oh, and also learning Chinese.
Arthur is the coordinator and Philbert is the service overseer of the congregation. They both serve at Bethel. Philbert has a great Bible study twice a week with a man from Britain who previously lived in South Africa, then Brazil, and recently moved to a city in Rwanda about 2 hours from Kigali. (It's rather complicated.) They study via Skype.
John and Rita are from Kenya. He designs websites and is noted for giving very well-researched comments at the meetings. She works in an optical store (which will come in handy when time comes for me to get new glasses).
Peter has a printing business. David works at a brewery with ever-changing shifts (and manages to pioneer). They take pride in wearing the same color scheme to the meetings.
Jean Bosco, my original Rwandan contact, and his family (plus adopted son, center)
Doesn't come to meetings, but is supportive nonetheless...
There are many more brothers and sisters than those whose photos are shown here, and one day I'll get around to taking everyone's picture. It's great working in the English Congregation here because there are a lot of brothers to preach with. I work with a different brother each time, the only problem being that I can't always remember whom I was with when I get a really good return visit, so that I can find the location the next time. But I'm getting better at orienting myself in this big city!
Finally, I couldn't resist this nice panoramic shot of the city of Kigali:
I've know Ariane, Philbert (briefly), Rita, Patrick, and perhaps the guy in the last photo. I can't be sure.
ReplyDeleteI want to hear more about almost getting shot at.
ReplyDeleteOK, perhaps it was a slight embellishment. But, yes, we were preaching in the area of the president's large estate, and there were plenty of armed guards giving us suspicious looks. If we tried to get past them, no doubt I would not be around to write this.
Delete