By Philippe Prosper

Rwanda was an amazing experience for a plethora of reasons but one of the most impactful aspects of the trip was the encouraging relationship I developed with my “buddy” from the World Relief staff, Charles. He is gentle French-speaking Rwandan man in his late 30s/early 40s with three children and a beautiful wife. While we were there, he took the time to truly get to know me and invest in me. We shared some of our favorite scriptures, we prayed together, and he even invited me to preach at his church one Sunday. It was wild because I was one of three guest speakers that morning along with him and a traveling evangelist during a five-hour service. The Rwandan Church is incredibly vibrant and it was a great opportunity to connect with my African brothers and sisters in Christ.

Charles had me preach in French (my first language). He had great confidence in my teaching ability. I was honored to speak in their rural church where I was one of the very few Americans they had ever truly interacted with. Afterwards, he welcomed me and my mother, who was visiting from Kenya, into his modest home, next door to the church, for a hefty lunch. He made it a point to make sure we were comfortable and to take care of us. Later we exchanged gifts and promised to pray for each other. I am still praying for him now, and I know he continues to pray for me and my parents also. I thank God for His Church in Rwanda and for Charles, our Rwandan brother.