Out-of-town preaching trips

As a congregation only three months old, we have accomplished quite a bit!

Of course, we have all the meetings in Chinese (by necessity), which means all the brothers have had to 'step up to the plate' in handling parts. Yes, it is somewhat like jumping in the deep end of the swimming pool, but they are doing admirably. Treasures From God's Word talks, Living as Christians parts, and even public talk symposiums!

So last month, imbued with a newfound adventurous spirit, we planned a trip outside of Kigali to do Chinese preaching. A group of 9 of us traveled to Kibungo, which some of you long-suffering readers may remember was a place I went a few years ago to try to find a Chinese Bible student. Though I didn't find him, I did take note of the fact, for future reference, that there were other Chinese in the place.

So one Sunday in January, we set out east of Kigali two hours, armed with plenty of literature. The scenery was beautiful, the spirit high, and the singing loud. We visited a stone quarry. We talked to Chinese overseeing road construction. Many of them were happy just to have someone speak in their language.

We made a record of 15 Chinese people we spoke to that day. We obtained contacts by means of WeChat (微信), a messaging app used by Chinese almost exclusively (mainly because China has banned WhatsApp and its parent, Facebook). Chinese love to exchange, by scanning QR codes, their contact information. We like to use WeChat to establish a friendly relationship with Chinese people, then over time gradually introduce spiritual subjects.

Well, our trip was so successful that we planned another one in February, this time to the north, to Musanze. It was another 10-hour trip, climbing higher and higher to this mountainous region that is about 3-5 degrees cooler than Kigali. This is also a touristic area, where people come to see gorillas and volcanoes. A local brother said he would accompany us and show us where all the Chinese people were.

One experience from this trip: Two publishers arrived at a house where a Chinese lady was standing outside the front gate talking on the phone. Then, she went inside the gate, the gate opened, and a car pulled out. The publishers talked to the driver, a Chinese man, who said he was rushing to work, but would they like to get in the car and continue the conversation at his office? So, they went with him, and in his office, they showed a video from our website about a lawyer who came to the conclusion there must be a Creator. (This video is very effective with Chinese people.) He agreed with the reasonableness of the lawyer's position, and said he would be willing to have further contact with us.

Kibungo group

Musanze group

These trips have invigorated our ministry in the Chinese field!