Nations - BURUNDI / CONGO – 2007
I flew to Washington D.C. where I linked up with Pastor Akilimali Balagizi. I met Pastor Balagizi a couple of years ago at a ministry conference in 
Maryland. He and I then flew from Dulles to Bujumbura on Ethiopian Airlines with brief stopovers in Rome and Kigali. It was my first time to fly Ethiopian and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of service and overall quality of the flying experience. Their aircraft are modern and clean. It was a very nice experience.
During this trip, I must say that for the first time, I experienced a sharp cultural contrast in Africa. The culture of Burundi is different than 
that of other places I have visited in Africa. Also, I learned that, in Burundi, the English language gives way to Kirundi and French.
The churches in Burundi are somewhat reserved when compared to other places in Africa. There is a formality that that you don’t see elsewhere. I had many discussions with the pastors there, about this contrast. It was determined that the churches there could be a little more expressive. None-the-less, the Christians there are very serious about their service to God and about living a life pleasing unto Him.
We held three days of crusade meetings in Bujumbura. There were several thousand in attendance each day with the Sunday crowd being around 20,000. There were many choirs that performed and many churches from throughout Burundi were represented at the meetings.
While in Burundi, Pastor Balagizi and I were invited to a State Dinner at the home of President Pierre Nkurunziza. There was a choir singing when we arrived and they were quite expressive and fervent in their worship to the Lord. At one point, there was even spontaneous singing in the spirit. The President himself got up and spoke about being a Christian, serving the Lord and how he is committed to 
seeing that Burundi will be a nation that worships God. He asked that we pray for peace and prosperity in the nation of Burundi. I was impressed with this man’s dedication to the Lord.
From Bujumbura, we traveled to Bukavu, Congo. The Africans refer to The Democratic Republic of the Congo as simply “the Congo”. Upon entering the city of Bukavu you cannot help 
but notice the many United Nations vehicles traveling on the streets. Some were for food relief, some for medical services and some were full of fully uniformed and armed U.N. soldiers.
There are many ways to describe Bukavu. Let me start by attempting to do so from a geographic perspective. Bukavu is a city built on hills which have a spectacular view overlooking Lake Kivu. The streets are crowded with many people walking to and fro among the various street vendors. I can still hear the sound of metal tapping and raking on the bottles of 
soda as young men walk about, carrying on their heads buckets full of Coke and Fanta for sale. A very distinct impression indeed.
The churches in the Congo are fervent, vibrant and very expressive in their worship of the Lord. The Congolese Christians know how to pray and are not shy about doing so. They are also very good musicians. They are sound in their doctrine and they know the scriptures. The church in the Congo is strong. I preached at a church there for three days and I can report that there is a passion for the Lord that is genuine and strong. Perhaps, some of the churches in the U.S. could “take a page out of the church in the Congo”.
While in the Congo, we experienced a brief but strong challenge from Satan against our work there. I received a strong impression from the Holy Spirit, before leavingBurundi, that we were going to face opposition. But, having said that, I can tell you that God is faithful and the powers of darkness are no match for the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. Satan is defeated and Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God the Father. Yesu ni mfalme wa wafalme, Yesu ni Bwana wa maBwana. Yesu ni Bwana, hakuna mwingine, kama Yeye.
