A team of CR leaders from Saddleback Church, Dave Lopez, his wife Jana Lopez and Jana O'Guin are preparing to go to Rwanda on Thursday, May 20th for a Celebrate Recovery mission trip.
What follows is a brief itinerary of the trip. You can follow along day by day and pray for specific things. We will be posting updates and prayer requests periodically from Rwanda (depending on internet connections!) so we can stay connected with you and let you know how to specifically pray for us during our trip.
May 20-21 10:30am LAX to Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Nairobi to Kigali,Rwanda
Lord take us safely and smoothly into Africa.
May 22 Meet with Jean Pierre and Pastor Stratton at the P.E.A.C.E. office. They advise and guide us throughout our stays in Rwanda. It’ll be good to see their familiar faces again.
Bless those who You put in our path to encourage us.
May 23 Travel to visit Anglican Church of Rwanda. Senior Pastor Jean Baptiste attended our CR training in January 2009 and has started the very first Celebrate Recovery in Rwanda! We are anxious to visit and encourage them.
Praise God for Jean Baptiste and his church! Lord take us safely there and protect us all with Your hope and perseverance.
May 24-25 Meeting with our original trainees to determine how best to serve them, answer questions, determine the challenges unique to Rwanda in implementing Celebrate Recovery and encourage them.
Lord, give us ears to listen and the ability to discern what is needed for this special group of men and women. Help us to understand their needs to be more effective in future trainings.
May 26 Travel to Karongi
Help us be Your ambassadors in everything we say and do. These bumpy roads are where our work is today. Help us be accepting and loving everywhere we go.
May 27-28 Senior Pastor Introduction. In Karongi we are meeting about 80 Senior Pastor’s to cast the vision of CR and explain some of the basic concepts. Your donations are helping get them to the training as transportation cost is beyond their means.
Thank God for these men and bless their efforts to help and love their church families even if it means a radical change! Help us communicate clearly with them.
May 29-30 We head south to Nyungwe National Park for down time to process what we have learned and experienced and begin thinking about returning for the next training.
Lord, be with us as we digest all that You have shown us. Help us rest for the way home. Show us Your next steps.
May 31 Travel to Kigali/visit with Pastor Hesbey our friend and head of the Inkuru Nizeza Church Group.
Thank you, Lord, for friends in far places. We are blessed to be Your blessing. Keep them healthy and protected as they work in Your purposes. Protect and prosper our time with them.
June 1 Debrief at the P.E.A.C.E. office in the morning and depart in the afternoon
Lord protect our hearts, Give us insight, Show us how to love others as You do. Make our meeting productive and full of hope.
June 2 Arrive LAX 12:40 pm.
Keep our flights on time, Lord. Give us peace instead of sadness at leaving. Help us understand Your next steps.
Thank you for being a part of our prayer team.
The Rwanda CR Team
Muraho (Hello,Good-bye,Thank you)
Jana & team:
ReplyDeleteI am so proud of you all for taking this trip and for letting God use you in ways that will be guided by the Holy Spirit. God bless you and your travel that all departures are on time and luggage arrives with you.
Heavenly Father, You are the God of all things great and small, You are the provider of all things and the protector for all who do You work.
Father God, I lift this team to You and ask that as You use them for Your purposes, that You would guide them and direct every step along thier path, that You would keep them safe on their travel to Rwanda and that while there, they would be messengers of "The Good News".
Father I pray that they will be surprised to see how much You have done in Rwanda with Celebrate Recovery and how You will teach them that there is more to do. Father I pray for a humble spirit and a willingness to be "the muppet" as they speak to those who are hurting and troubled. Father I pray that You will "open the eyes of their hearts" to see thru compassion, the need for this program and for the healing that can take place.
Father I pray that their "Armor" fits perfectly and that You would be the reminder of Your willingness to be thier trusting partner on this mission trip.
Lastly Father, I pray that their journey would be safe, that their connections would be appointed by You and that You would provide safe travel back home! We love You, and ask all these requests in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, and all for Your glory, Amen.