PRAYER LETTER NO.9

Tuesday, 05 September 2000 00:00

New Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it BP6300, Bujumbura, Burundi "Men who want no mists must be content with the plains. But give me the mountain! It will be but a little while, and, the mists evaporated, the mountain will stand out in all its grandeur." (Anon) Dear Tigers, PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THIS NATION!  Hi guys! I hope this finds you experiencing 'life to the full'- whatever Jesus meant by that- with its highs and lows, joys and sadness, peaks and troughs- for what it's worth, I think that He meant at least two things: a) life was never meant to be dull, because we have the bigger picture; and b) it's not meant to be easy, but the end result is worth everything. So we aren't, we surely can't, we simply mustn't, be content with the plains. It's been over five months since my last prayer letter, so this is long overdue, and in the meantime a lot has happened. I wanted to write now because, as always with this precious country, these are key times. Apparently we even made the news in the West, at least for a minute or two! On 28th August, 14 out of the 19 factions at the Arusha peace talks signed a provisional accord (it's now 16), with Mandela, Clinton, and others, in attendance. But people have low expectations of peace holding out. The main areas of disagreement concern the leadership of the transitional government, the composition of the National Assembly, the electoral system, and the date of the negotiated cease-fire. There have been high profile political and military assassinations, riots, ambushes, arson, and grenade attacks. My family was here for a visit two weeks ago. One morning, a grenade exploded a couple of hundred yards away- far more effective than my alarm clock at getting me out of bed! We wanted to go up-country, but it simply wasn't safe enough. As I write, there is a strange peace. It just doesn't make sense. Everything is so very normal. Events of 1993 in Burundi, and 1994 in Rwanda, are being compared to what's going on right now- it could so easily be the same all over again. So please pray! Today has already been eventful, and produced a whole range of emotions. I was praying on the veranda when Abraham, who works here at the guesthouse, arrived. Yesterday, the baddies (can't say who) came yet again and took everything. They also burnt his clothes and other possessions, or threw them in the river. The only things he has left in the world are the clothes on his back. The injustice and senselessness of it all make me mad. But, far worse than that even, his five-year-old boy fled during all the shooting. The little nipper was probably dead, and we didn't hold out much hope. So when Abraham arrived, my heart started thumping. "Did you find him?" I blurted. He showed me a huge cheesy grin: "Yes!" he exclaimed. "Praise the Lord!" Evariste, my colleague at SU, had a very close shave a few days ago. He was caught in crossfire, and had to just dive into the drainage ditch and crawl for a kilometre in the filth, getting cut up in the process, whilst bullets pinged overhead between both sides. He lost all his papers on the way, and got accused of being on the wrong side as he reached the end of the danger zone, but someone went back and found them all. So praise the Lord that he is still alive and well. He and Abraham are two of the people I see every day and care for deeply. It is very close to home. Over the last few months, I had some very exciting times- in Burundi, South Africa and England. I preached about a hundred times, and drove thousands of miles. It was tiring, but God blessed me hugely in it, and it was a joy to see people converted, get challenged and excited about their faith, or catch a burden to pray and get involved in gospel work in Burundi. Due to the currently poor security situation restricting us to the capital, I have been able to take it a bit easier now I am back in Burundi. Enforced rest! But there is so much happening! We have a large evangelistic crusade towards the end of this month, with a speaker coming over from the Canada. I have many reservations about mass-evangelism, and had no part in getting him over, but at least we will train sixty pastors from the fifteen biggest denominations in follow-up, so we pray that there will be a lasting impact. The AIDS project is having a progressively bigger impact. When Nathan did some seminars in Gitega, word got around about what was taking place, and so a couple of hundred came, mostly uninvited. Among them were many prostitutes, of which twenty-eight chose to renounce their profession and make a fresh start; and of these, fifteen made commitments! Cossette's children's ministry is taking off, as she gets around churches, training up Sunday-school teachers. There is the usual race against time to get the coming year's Bible-reading notes written, typed up, and printed, ready for distribution before the end of the year. We are opening up our first regional office, in Gitega, to co-ordinate activities outside the capital more effectively. Basically, we are pushing to the limits. Satan has not sat idly by all this time. An SU volunteer was shot dead in an ambush. Jerome's little boy, Simon, died recently. The team had a serious car crash, in which mercifully nobody was badly injured. There have been tensions in the office. Personality clashes, rumours, lies and miscommunications led on occasion to distrust and misunderstandings. Freddy and Joram have left, and need to be replaced urgently. Safari, my boss, has a huge load on his shoulders, and needs a lot of wisdom. Our relationship is absolutely key, because he is in charge, whilst I am the source of finance. I have been slandered as pro-(one tribe), which is the easiest way for anyone to try to undermine my work. I miss Freddy and several other key people close to me, who have now left, so things are a bit tougher. For the first time, I am lonely out here quite often. But that's not a bad thing at all, because it means I am more reliant on God and spend more time with Him- it's pathetic how fickle my allegiance to Christ is. But I mustn't give you a wrong picture of how tough it is. What does my head in most out here is how poverty and opulence sit side-by-side. I have several friends with swimming pools, so at any time I can take it easy and cool off- whilst a mile up the hill, people like Abraham live in fear of not waking up in the morning. I hate that. I hate, too, the way I drive past beggars and into the tennis club. Would Jesus have played tennis? Where would he have lived? I struggle with these issues every day. And, in this surreal world, as soon as I got back from England, I was selected to play for the Burundian national tennis team against Rwanda! It doesn't make sense... Can anybody help me out with the answers? On a lighter note, I had a funny incident after one game of tennis last week: something jammed in the engine and the bike conked out. About forty times I tried re-kick-starting, but no joy. I fiddled with the clutch and the petrol tank- still no joy. I was sweating like a pig by this stage. Three boys were talking to me and laughing. It was dusk, and so I was getting concerned about being stranded out late. So, almost in despair, I slapped the bike, and shouted: "In Jesus' name, I command you to start!" Straightaway it roared to life. They gasped, I tried to look like nothing strange had happened, and then we all laughed our heads off! "That's my Jesus! Do you know him? He's powerful." I'll call it a day there. God bless you all. Thanks so much for your prayers, support, emails, money- couldn't do it without you- I can feel and see the effects of your prayers all the time. Please keep praying, caring, writing, giving. And keep offering yourself as a living sacrifices- living urgently, giving unreservedly, and being transformed radically. AMEN! So, as I said at the start, life to the full- not dull, and not easy, but worth everything! Content with the plains? No way! Life to the full? But give me the mountain! It will be but a little while..." Lossa luv, Simon Guillebaud PS Do take a look at our web-site: www.su-burundi.org. We'll try to update it every month.