By Ann Dunsire.Â
It’s now a week or so on from being back from the most amazing trip to Africa that I thought I would never be brave enough to go on! It’s one of the best things I’ve ever been part of in my whole life, and opened my eyes in new ways, to so many things. Â
My anxiety levels before going on this trip were huge and I came to be part of it very late on in the process, only attending the very last of the team’s on-line planning meetings, after which I had to decide whether I was going or not. My son-in-law Chris Hoskins, works for Comfort International as its Creative Manager and had let me know that someone had dropped out of this year’s trip, and asked whether I’d consider going in their place. This was around six weeks before the trip was due to take place. My husband and myself were due to go off on holiday to Italy for ten days at the start of June, so I really needed to make my decision before that. After lots of questions to Chris(!) and attending the meeting, even although I felt completely inadequate for the trip and that there were so many experienced people going, there was something in me that just kept telling me I needed to go, so I said ‘yes’ and everything then just went from there!
Really, from the moment that Chris asked me if I’d go, I received confirmations from God pretty much every single day, in the form of Bible verses, encouraging words, posters, texts and songs. There are too many to list here but it was as though God was shouting at me to go! I’ll just mention three:-
I shared some words from Bear Grylls, Soul Food book on Overcoming Fear and Anxiety at Devotions on Friday 11th July, a part of which I’ll share here:-
‘If we ask, God will supply us with the courage we need. Fear and anxiety might shout louder, but isn’t it just like God to answer in the still, small voice of calm. When we ask, Christ will always be beside us, with His angels, if necessary.’
(This is exactly what happened at the on-line planning meeting as even though I was really emotional and upset at it, everyone just calmly reassured me and carried on with the planning arrangements of the meeting, no-one made any fuss).
Going on the trip with Chris was hugely reassuring for me, since he is so well travelled and knew the answers to any questions or concerns I had. He had also been out to Rwanda and DRC himself last year, so had been able to share many of his experiences and show me photographs. The travel all went smoothly, and we arrived at the Good News Guesthouse in Kigali at around 3.30 am on Tuesday 8th July. Â
The intense and busy programme started from 9am that morning, with team devotions and ran until we left on Monday 21st July. Every single day brought new experiences, heart-breaking testimonies, joy-filled welcomes at every project we arrived to, with amazing worship, wonderful Rwandan dancing, powerful prayer, heartfelt hugs and greetings and lots of physically demanding work. I loved every single part of it and it was so rewarding being able to help with practical tasks, such as helping making the mud bricks. It was so lovely to be part of the community that came together to work hard and make this happen. The day we worked in the pineapple fields was one of my absolute favourite days, and it was such a joy to join in with the community after our work to listen to them share their stories and be part of their worship, before being treated to the best tasting pineapple in the whole world!
The team consisted of 14 of us, all bringing very different gifts and skills, and aged between 14-78. Everyone got on well right from the start, all contributing in so many ways. It was such a delight to work in a close-knit team, all there for the same reason. Â
Travelling to DRC on Wednesday 16th July, anxiety again started to grip me as we approached the Border. I’d felt fairly calm on the drive there but definitely started to feel panic as we got out of the bus to approach the building at the Border. However, once inside, Fiona told me that we’d passed the checkpoint outside and no-one stopped us from going on, so all was fine and we went ahead to be stamped out of Rwanda and into DRC. Incredible! So many people had been praying for me and I definitely felt surrounded by angels. Â
There were many heart-breaking stories and situations we found ourselves in, the hardest being the day we went to Sake in DRC where over 400 children had gathered to receive their twice weekly meal. Such overwhelming need, so much hunger and poverty, but we did the best we could, even though there was nowhere near enough food to go round. It felt so inadequate that day and I wished we could just give these children everything they could possibly ever need. Â
Two of the more personal moments that stand out for me are the day that Callum asked me to share my testimony at Jari (Solace). Standing in front of a large group of genocide survivors, after sharing a little of how I came to faith, I just knew from God that I needed to share something of deep, deep pain, since all of these people had come through such horrific experiences. Through many tears, I shared about the death of my first grandchild (Iona) at the age of 7 weeks and the immense pain and suffering that had brought. At the end of our time there, Billy felt led to pray for anyone who’d like to come forward, and many, many people did at that point. However, there was one lady sitting in the crowd weeping who our interpreter spotted, so she’d asked her if she would like to come for more private prayer. She did that and was being prayed for by Billy, Izzy and our translator, when Izzy asked me to come over to join them. Such an incredibly moving time as this lady shared her deep pain but also how God had reached into her heart, triggering memories, and showing her how others have also experienced deep pain and sadness. As we all prayed for her and shared words of scripture with her, she visibly changed and was able to say that she felt ‘happy’, all her emotions having been locked inside her since the genocide and her never being able to share anything of her pain with anyone. Such a precious time.
My other personal moment was when we were at Kisima secondary school, listening to the Director of the school speak about his situation. We had just come from hearing an interview of a teacher who was sponsored but the Director (Espoir) didn’t have a sponsor. As he spoke, again God just touched my heart and I knew for sure that I was to be his sponsor. I’ll never forget the moment of pure joy when I was introduced to him as his sponsor and him jumping up and down with joy, knowing that he and his family could now be helped through sponsorship. It was like a heaven touching earth moment that I’ll always, always treasure.
This two week trip for me was definitely one of the most challenging but most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my life. I’m not sure if I’ll be going back again or not but plan to share the experience whenever I get the opportunity and pass on to encourage others to get involved, go on a trip, and don’t let fear and anxiety hold them back. If I can do it, then anyone who has those same fears definitely can, without doubt!