Colin & Joy's report

Ben's report

More to follow!

Ben Jeffery (left) from Crawley reports on his September trip to Rwanda

Ben with the Kayihura family who looked after him

t is amazing that however much you prepare beforehand, God never ceases to surprise you. Before I went to Africa, I spent a lot of time preparing things which I thought would be useful to offer while I was there - bible studies, games, activities, and so on. I expected to be supporting Colin with his work and spending some time with the young people over there, teaching some bible basics and building up relationships with some sports and games. However, things don’t always turn out how you expect them to.

I realised this when after four days Colin left to go to Uganda and I stayed in Rwamugana (near Kabarore in north-east Rwanda) with Sadiki. I had already been staying with a lovely African family while the others were in a hotel so I was already comfortable with the environment. However, the prospect of being the only white man in the area was, at first, slightly daunting. This also meant that my plans to help Colin were no longer applicable. The weekend had gone well and the large conference seemed to be a great success (despite the torrential downpour of rain).

God re-defines Ben's understanding of 'small groups'

was forced to build friendships fast and found myself having a great time. I was shown a side of African life which I had missed when I had come before, as I had stayed in a hotel. Despite irregular electricity and frequently cold food (e.g. cold chips, spaghetti and beef, not cold salad and bread – that would have been easy) I learnt to enjoy their cuisine and lifestyle. I found that my out-of-practice French improved so quickly that after just a few days there were almost no language barriers.

I had expected to do some youth work but unfortunately the opportunity never came about. Instead of this I was frequently asked to play my guitar and sing in front of people. I had only brought my guitar with the intention of using it to pray and praise God in small groups (the smaller the better) as I am a little shy singing in front of people. However, whenever they saw the case I was often encouraged to sing in front of the whole church whether large or small. They loved the sound of the guitar and many people told me that they were blessed by my playing. This also encouraged friendships and I was able to teach them some new songs as well as learning a couple of new ones myself.

Airport farewells

Sadiki encouraged me to build relationships with the young people in Africa. Sadiki and I had planned to visit some schools and churches but eventually we decided that it was more beneficial to build up some good friendships within the Church which might last. Over my time in Rwanda God taught me that relationships are the most important thing in life and I saw that what God gave me to do there was much more important than anything that I had previously planned for.

Ben