Their stories of courage, perserverance, joy, forgiveness and faith have the power to inspire and challenge us to live a more authentic and faithful Christian walk.
The vision of GLO is centred around the transformation of Burundi through our magnificent network of partners there. But it doesn’t stop at that point. Our mission is also to bring fresh inspiration to Western Christians to lead a more authentic Christian lifestyle. By connecting our community with our partners in Burundi we aim to share stories, faith and passion with people all over the world who choose to engage with GLO. Their resilient faith gives us courage to face our own adversities more boldly.
The aim is not to send Western Christians on a guilt trip but to inform and inspire them, to give them a heartfelt new perspective on ‘first world problems’ and for our Burundian brothers and sisters to share how they approach the challenges of life in one of the world’s very poorest nations. Simon Guillebaud, MBE, International Director of GLO, urges us in his bestselling devotional ‘Choose Life – 365 Readings for Radical Disciples’: “May we all, wherever we find ourselves, choose to love God and love people with all that we’ve got, living life to the full as we follow unashamedly in the footsteps of the risen Jesus Christ.”
Engaging with Burundian issues and culture can help enlarge our perspective so that our problems shrink in comparison. Rather than our prayer lives focussing on our own lives so much, we can meaningfully connect with God with bigger issues of injustice and poverty in an accessible way.
Simon Guillebaud has pioneered the raw engagement of prayers of faith for his frontline ministry over his twenty years of residency in the heart of Burundi. GLO often receives appreciative emails from supporters who mention what a privilege it is to be able to pray so meaningfully with those he has met along his journey. Simon’s work in communications in Burundi is now wonderfully consolidated by the GLO Burundi team there.
Take for example the GLO Zoom Prayer Meetings. Since Covid-19 hit, GLO has been gathering weekly on Saturdays to connect directly with project leaders in Burundi – both GLO partners and occasionally, fellow travellers from other projects with whom GLO is connected. We have journeyed with partners and friends undergoing various challenges and seen some wonderful answers to prayer. Furthermore, a unique community has emerged amongst the regulars as we have got to know each other through the screen week after week.
So you, too are invited to join us on Saturdays and meet face-to-face some of the most inspirational leaders in Burundi.
For those of us who heard it as he prayed, we were all left stunned.
In our weekly Zoom prayer meetings, various Burundian brothers and sisters leading different ministries have shared inspiring or gut-wrenching stories, and then we’ve unmuted and all prayed together. One week, this is what happened…
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