As I stood up to preach, I burst into tears in the pulpit. It was July 2003 and I had flown back from Burundi and on to the USA for my first preaching tour there. I was with a wonderful church called St Andrew’s in Mt Pleasant, South Carolina. Memories of this moment came flooding back a few days ago when I visited my old office on the outskirts of Bujumbura. It was a time of reminiscing and rejoicing. Back in 2003, I was distraught because at the very moment I was preaching at the midweek service, in Burundi rebels had attacked […]
Category: General
All Good Things Come to An End…
Or Do they? Nothing has brought me more joy and pain in 25 years of ministry in Burundi. Maybe that’s a little overstated, but building what is considered the best dedicated conference centre in the country certainly caused many sleepless nights, stressful days, frustrating weeks and more. Phase 1 launched in 2009, Phase 2 in 2021. It’s been a looooong journey, through the upheaval of renewed violence in 2015 when the country imploded, through Covid shutdown… but King’s Conference Centre as a social enterprise has more than survived… it has thrived! And the key person coordinating and leading several dozen […]
“I used my sweater to cover the stain…”
“One day, while sitting in class, my makeshift pad leaked. When I stood up, I realized that I had stained my school uniform. I asked a classmate if she could spare a pad, but she too was in need. I wrapped my jumper around my waist and requested permission to leave.” For Exaveline, what should be a typical day turns into a recurring nightmare when her monthly period arrives. At just 16 years old, she cannot afford sanitary pads, and she has exhausted all possible methods to prevent staining her school uniform. Unfortunately, her attempts often fail, leaving her feeling […]
Happy Halloween?
What do you make of Halloween? I’m conflicted. On one level, it’s just an excuse for a good time, and I love the chance to engage with the community and be out and about. But on another level, I’m uncomfortable with the sinister underbelly and know that as a follower of Jesus, I need to be awake to those darker realities. So I thought I’d share with you two of my friends’ stories, who were witches themselves. I think their opinions and experiences are more important and authoritative than mine, and what happened in their lives is frankly mind-blowing. Well […]
Pursuing His Power
WARNING: This blog contains two prayers which could radically alter your life. If you’d rather things stay as they are, then please stop here. This is the fourth talk in the ‘Hot Pursuit’ series, delivered at Lee Abbey in August. Pursuing His Presence Pursuing His Peace Pursuing His Purpose Pursuing His Power You can listen here: Some notes/quotes/illustrations from the talk: Some years ago a young man looking for work approached a foreman of a logging crew and asked him for a job. “It depends,” replied the foreman “lets see you take this one down”. The young man stepped forward, and skillfully felled a […]
Stunning Modern-Day Miracles!
You might struggle to believe some of the following stories from last month’s outreach. I hope not though. ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever’ (Hebrew 13:8). So here are some feedback highlights, having asked folks to pray last month as we sent out 1,439 young evangelists from 88 churches for two weeks all around Burundi. The top-line summary is that they saw over 23,000 people come to faith! It’s the modern-day Acts of the Apostles! Here goes: An Urge for Healing In the small village of Bwambarangwe in Kirundo province, 41-year-old Diomede had lain paralysed from the waist down and […]
Crazy Wild Workings in Burundi!
Earlier this summer, I asked for prayers for our huge team of evangelists during their two-week summer outreach campaign, and the results and stories are in. As promised, here’s what happened. First, the stats: We sent out 850 evangelists across the country for two weeks.They worked alongside 47 churches in their respective areas. 13,831 people chose to give their lives to Christ.16,474 people who had drifted in their faith renewed their commitment. Amazing! And there were other stories of marriages being restored, suicidal attempts thwarted or abandoned, community reconciliation and more. So here are a few of the many stories – all I can say is ‘Wow!’ […]
Preparing for Dark Times – FearLESS and HopeFUL Resilience…
We are entering a dark period of history, and we need to be ready for it. I fear we are far from ready. Are you ready? Am I? “God did not give us a spirit of fear.” (2 Timothy 1:7) I believe it is absolutely critical for believers in the risen Jesus Christ to embrace and live out this verse. We live by faith, not fear. Or at least that is how we are meant to live. But my observation in lockdown was that many believers were as susceptible to fear as anyone else, absorbing endless fear-inducing messages and being […]
Worthy or Unworthy? Dog or Heir?
Do you feel worthy of God’s love, or unworthy? It’s an important question. Lots of people live under guilt and shame, which is no way to do life. You see, we may be undeserving of God’s grace but we are certainly not unworthy. Because our worth is defined or measured by what Someone is willing to pay for us. And Jesus showed us just how valuable we are on the cross, didn’t he? He settled the matter there. Below is the second in a series of talks given a few weeks ago at Lee Abbey. The first was ‘Come to […]
Jesus at the Door!
I’ve had a fun day so far, and yet it’s been such a normal day. Let me explain: Our church was serving the local community at the weekend by providing four skips for people to bring their stuff and save them a trip to the tip (many locals don’t have a car, so it’s very much appreciated). There was one last skip that needed filling, so a couple of us did that this morning. As the skip was loaded onto the truck and about to be driven away, I showed the driver a picture on my phone, and asked him […]
Book Recommendations…
Hi folks, In case you wanted some book recommendations, I thought I’d send a few your way: A House Built on Love tells the stunning story of Founder Ed Walker’s journey in setting up Hope into Action, which has won secular awards as the nation’s best homelessness charity. I did a podcast with Ed which is also well worth listening to, click here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Eugene Peterson was a legend. A Burning in my Bones is his authorised biography, and is well worth reading to glean many gems from this remarkable man. Guvna B and Michael Emmett’s stories […]
From Beggars to Entrepreneurs in Burundi!
This is a guest blog by my Norwegian friend Arne. It’s something we’re looking to get involved in. It is so strategic, so empowering, so beautiful. This short film (under 4mins) explains the concept: Over to Arne: Hello folks! Why do we think that the solutions for those who are poor in Africa are different from the solutions in the UK, USA and Norway? Every human throughout the world has God-given talents, as well as needs. The need for a job, to feel wanted and valued, to provide for the family, and to have a relatively predictable and secure future […]
You did it and they’ve got it now!
Do give yourself 57 secs of joy by watching this! This is just the briefest of messages feeding back on your beautiful response to our Christmas appeal to provide health cards to several thousand desperately needy folks. £2.50/$3 was what it cost to provide them and their immediate families three years of access to medical care. We filmed this at one of the handout events where a thousand people received their card.So we say A MASSIVE THANK YOU on their behalf. Oof, there will be fewer senseless deaths! With guaranteed healthcare provision, they’ll have deep peace rather than crippling anxiety! […]
The Satisfying Death of CIP… or the RIP of CIP!
Last Friday in Bujumbura, CIP was shut down, wound up, put to bed. Let me explain why that is probably GLO’s greatest satisfaction to date in our involvement in Burundi: In April 2015, a political (and therefore national) crisis came to a head as the sitting President announced he would indeed stand for a third 5-year term in office. The constitution stipulated a maximum of two 5-year terms elected ‘by the people’. His first term had been elected by parliament as Burundi ended its 13-year war. So can you see how both sides would interpret the situation differently? His side […]
The Death of a Friend in Burundi
I’m gutted to say my old friend John Riches passed away this morning. I first met John 24 years ago. I was living in the North of Rwanda doing language study, and he swung by to greet my Aunt and Granny for ten minutes on his way back to Burundi from Uganda. Off the cuff, I jokingly asked if I could hitch a ride with him to visit Burundi. He gave me three minutes to pack my bag, and we were off! So began a great friendship. The war in Burundi was ongoing, and there was an international embargo as […]
Building Now to the Glory of God!
I’m seriously excited, because this last week has been almost 12 years in the making. Check out this 1-minute clip with photos… But honestly, there were times when I doubted we would we ever get to this point. Let me explain: We helped Scripture Union launch the King’s Conference Centre in 2009 (See this video). It’s a sustainable success story and a hit with locals and international guests alike. Not only do several dozen staff receive a good salary to provide for their families, but profits are ploughed back into Kingdom projects like pastor-training, youth camps, and Bible distribution, etc. Beautiful! But then to our horror, the neighbouring […]
Declared Dead but now About to Give Birth!
Providence died in 2012, but will be giving birth this coming Monday… Say that again? On 13th September 2012, Provi plunged over a cliff at Butomangwa with her three RTNB colleagues (Burundi’s national Radio/TV) after a day’s news-reporting on a UNICEF project. All four were declared dead on the spot. Their bodies were taken to the morgue at Rutana hospital. The accident made national news headlines, and the Minister of Information announced on air each of the names of the dead, including hers. The first three bodies filled up the morgue, so Provi’s corpse was laid outside on the ground […]
Encourage One Another!
Lizzie and I are doing the Navigators’ Topical Memory System scripture memorisation thingy (check it out here) with a few friends, which involves learning two new verses each week. This week’s ones included Hebrews 10:25, which speaks of ‘encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the day approaching.’ Mark Twain said: “I can live for two months on a good compliment.” Well, a compliment or a word of encouragement certainly goes a long way, particularly during these challenging times. So here’s an idea which isn’t too difficult to implement but which will bring a lot of […]
Amused to Death, or Staying Sharp in Lockdown?
George Orwell wrote about the time a wasp “was sucking jam on my plate and I cut him in half. He paid no attention, merely went on with his meal, while a tiny stream of jam trickled out of his severed oesophagus. Only when he tried to fly away did he grasp the dreadful thing that had happened to him.” Back in 1985, Neil Postman wrote ‘Amusing Ourselves to Death’. The book is obviously dated, but whatever warnings he flagged up back then concerning the dangers of being conditioned and shaped by vapid television content – well, they need to be […]
(Not) Shouting at Ants This Christmas!
On the back of last week’s blog, here’s some feedback from our adventures on the streets of Bath: We were out three times this week. We set up our busker’s sound system wherever there was space and plenty of people walking past, and sang carols accompanied by guitar, followed by a quick Christmas message of hope after each song. Most people are on a mission with their shopping, but plenty smile as they walk past; and some linger, listen, or want to engage in conversation. Being a team is crucial because the spin-off conversations are where beautiful things happen. For […]