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Former Councillor of Opaskwayak
Cree Nation (OCN) Maureen Brown
Reports on her Spirit Journey
into Rwanda September 2007
When the call came to go to Rwanda
I knew I had to listen. It
 was
July and we spent the whole weekend meeting with
Melanie, Joel and Lance. It was a precious time of
sharing, praying, and refocusing (on my part anyway.)
Joel and Mel had just arrived from Beijing a couple of
weeks prior, and after their report, I was challenged to
the core. That weekend, I made the decision to make the
trip and to meet these people who Mel and Joel spoke so
highly of, after all we all belong to the same family,
God's family. This would be their third trip to Rwanda
this year. My husband Don is very supportive and
although he can't be traveling with us (he teaches) when
we know I should be going, everything else just takes a
back seat.
Once the decision was made all the
plans were fast in finalizing. The logistics of the trip
was up in the air but all of the priorities of travel
were looked after within days. It would prove to be an
extremely crucial time for me as I was on Council (Chief
and Council) and it was election year. The day I
received a call from Joel informing me that the
itinerary was en route I knew instinctively the dates
would fall on Election day. Sure enough I opened up the
mail to find out I would be away during the elections.
As far as I was concerned this was a test. Was I
committed to follow through with what I believed I
should be doing at this time in my life. It was a
sinking feeling knowing that I was well on my way onto
another path, and I knew this term would not see me
serving another term.
After many hours of Joel
finalizing all the details we were on our way. Our first
 stop
was in Germany. It was a long trip over and very tiring
once we arrived. The four of us knew that there was a
greater purpose of our trip than what we could not see
in the physical realm, we are after all spiritual beings
existing on a physical plane. Joel and Melanie, Keith
Matthews and I were embarking on a trip that would
change us forever. Even though this was Joel and Mel's
third trip to Kigali they were struck by the
faithfulness of God. We had many special times with
Pastor Rugari and his friends.
Our first lay over was in Addis
Ababa Ethiopia. We stayed at the Hilton and enjoyed a
relaxing dinner, the ambiance was wonderful. We were
treated to a show by some local talent. They had 3 sets
of traditional dances. The dances are incredible. After
retiring to our rooms (Melanie and I had the bigger
room, Executive suite, sorry guys!) we woke up to a
majestic view and enjoyed our continental breakfast just
across the hall from where our room was. The exotic
birds were out chirping. After breakfast we were finally
on our way to Kigali, our point of destination.
 Once
we arrived in Kigali, we were greeted by Pastor Rugari
Osee, his co workers, an official from the government
Albert Gahanuzi. I could not believe I was in Rwanda. It
was surreal, I became acutely aware of the privilege of
being in this part of the world and the opportunity to
work with brothers and sisters in a far away land. My
only regret is that my husband could not be with me
(us). I believe he will be with us more often than not
in the near future.
After checking into the Novotel,
we were taken to Pastor Rugari's home for a meal and a
welcoming. It was a bit of a hike to get to his place
but once there it was settled nicely in the
neighbourhood. I was overwhelmed by what I was
experiencing and was not sure how Mel and Joel were
handling my silence. The streets en route were very
crowded and being night time I was a bit apprehensive
but strangely at peace as I looked around at my company
and witnessing their total comfort in the situation. It
would take me a couple of days before I could be at that
level of comfort.
Our first visit was to an
orphanage school that Pastor had opened in February 2007 .
He had no choice but to step forward and meet the need
that was before. He trusted that God would send someone
to come along and assist him in this but had no idea who
that would be. It is quite amazing that a reserve in
Northern Manitoba (Joe A Ross School OCN) would step up
to the plate, (with the help of Northern Connections
connecting them as partners) The school was in a very
poor part of the city and as we approached the school,
the children were on the road and path that led to the
school eagerly awaiting our arrival. The air was filled
with such anticipation; my quick assessment of the
situation brought such gratitude to witness a people
who, in spite of what they just faced, were being led by
energetic children. God is good. His promises are
forever, and when He says in His word that your mourning
will turn to joy, I believe Him. I saw the reality of
this scripture come to life as I walk the meandering
path to the school.
Pastor Rugari Osee,
Keith Matthew, two of the teachers of Hope for Tomorrow
school between myself and Melanie Molin
The children were very attentive and so grateful for the
support Northern Connections and Joe A. Ross School
brought them. I can't imagine working for no wages,
which is what the teachers and principal have been doing
since its inception. Pastor Rugari's faith was
unwavering, he was persistent in his resolve to trust
and believe that someone would come along and help in
the work he felt God leading him to. He'd been praying
for 10 years for partners and when he found our site on
line he began emailing seeking assistance. Joel did not
answer his email right away, as you can never know for
sure whether stories are legitimate. I believe it was 5
months before made contact first by phone and then by
taking a trip to Kigali.
The rest is history, we now have a
new family of believers we assist in the Africa. We were
scheduled to host 2 seminars while in Gikongoro, Rwanda
and Bujumbura, Burundi. There were over 300 pastors who
attended these 2 day seminars. What was deposited in
each community was more than what we had expected God to
do. In all there were more than 79,000 people who
benefited from our seminars, as the pastors themselves
were going to share all that transpired during our days
together.
As you may have read on line, we
are a group of followers of Jesus who share His love
through
cultural expressions. The history of the Indigenous
people has been met with such pain and loss. We as
aboriginal people were made to feel like we worshiped
the devil. If the missionaries had taken the time to
really understand our people, they would have realized
that underneath all of the symbolism is the picture of
Jesus, His sacrifice, and His provision.
The message of hope, of reconciliation was presented to
the seminars and accepted with such joy. The whole
purpose of life is reconciliation, between us and God,
and then with one another. It is God's love that compels
us to reach out. It is a good thing to assess life
throughout our sojourn here and realize what is
important, what is eternal. The bible says that “things”
will pass away but if we build for eternity, it will
last forever. Love lasts forever. We are to be His hand
extended to a dying world.
Our trip over to Gikongoro was an
eye opener as we traveled the mountainous range,
approximately 3.5 hours from Kigali. It was amazing to
see so many people walking. It would be like walking
from Vancouver to Penticton. Not a minute went that we
didn't see people walking. I couldn't help but imagining
the horror that took place in those valleys. There were
many swamps along the way, and found out later, many of
the people hid in those swamps for up to 3 weeks.
Once in Gikongoro we made a stop
at one of the biggest memorial sites in Rwanda. This
experience was very difficult. The people have kept the
bones of those massacred at this particular site. We
were escorted by a man who survived but unfortunately he
lost his whole family. His story is miraculous, he was
shot in the head and buried alive with the thousands and
made his way out of the pit and into the mountains by
night. Many of the people found refuge in the mountain
tops. We were able to pray with him at the end of the
tour.
The students at the orphanage
school in Gikongoro had been waiting for most of the
afternoon and as soon as we arrived the introductions
began and they gave a performance of their traditional
dance. This is where I met “Remember” a little boy who
came to me while I was speaking. He clung to my leg the
whole time and would not leave my side. He sat on my lap
most of the time we were there. When it was time to
leave, I asked what his name was and when they told me
“Remember” I took it as a sign as to never forget the
plight of the people in Rwanda.
 Bujumbura,
Burundi was to greet us by landing at the airport but
because of flight changes we had to drive. My heart sunk
when I realized this, as I knew there was a civil war
taking place in the north of that country. Joel knew I
was afraid so he chose not to share much of the
information with me. We had to drive 3 hours past
Gikongoro through mountainous roads with police check
points (they toted machine guns) about every 50 miles.
They would stop the vehicle ahead of us or behind but
never us. During my times of questioning my sanity, and
noticing my fear, a vehicle would pass us and it would
have a sign on the back window, it read “God is with
you” or “God is strength” these signs alleviated my
anxiety. It was like we were on a national geographic
assignment. A remote setting with the border of
Rwanda/Burundi being the height of the adventure.
We were privileged to meet Pastor
Rugari's father and his life long friend, Zephaniah.
They are
in their late 70's I would guess. They are from Rwanda
but fled to the Congo in the 70's. They are both
prophetic and had prophesied our visit back in 1953! How
incredibly awesome is that? God is faithful. It was an
honour to be there to witness their unwavering faith and
satisfaction of knowing God is true to His word. They
had many words, many stories of war, we will see them
again. It is difficult to describe the honour I felt
during our visit. It was such a divine time of
fellowship and confirmation.
There is so much that took place
on this trip but to sum it up would have me say God is
faithful to those who love and serve Him. He alone is
worthy of our praise, He alone deposits love in our
hearts. It is an honour to work with Melanie and Joel.
They have challenged me like no other people have. They
have given their lives to further the share God's love.
Even though Joel doesn't share everything about our
trips (his motto is “need to know basis) I appreciate
all he does to promote God's love for the nations.
I will end with one funny story.
Joel did not tell me we would be exchanging vehicles at
the border (you know the border that books have
questioned anyone's sanity for travel) and I'm grateful
because it would have been 3 hours of added worry! We
shared a relaxing meal with Pastor at a resort by
Lake Tanganyika in Bujumbura. When we arrived there were
about 5 soldiers by the entrance with their machine
guns, I was getting use to this by then and was not too
worried. After lunch we came out and I glanced to my
right and was horrified to see two steel doors that were
probably 7 feet tall riddled with holes, I immediately
thought gun shots. I quickly motioned to Joel to look
and his response was “oh ventilation” the fear that had
gripped my heart left as quickly as it came. It was only
that night at dinner that he told me, “those were bullet
holes!”
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