Participants:
Series Code: GYC
Program Code: GYC180011A
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00:01 Music...
00:37 In my darkness Jesus found me 00:44 Touched my eyes and made me see; 00:49 Broke sin's chains that long had bound me; 00:57 Gave me life and liberty! 01:05 Oh, glorious love of Christ my Lord divine, 01:11 That made Him stoop to save a soul like mine. 01:17 Through all my days, and then in heaven above, 01:24 My song will silence never, 01:27 I'll worship Him forever, 01:31 And praise Him for His glorious love. 01:37 Oh, amazing truth to ponder, 01:43 He whom angel hosts attend, 01:50 Lord of Heaven, God's Son, what wonder; 01:56 He became the sinner's friend! 02:04 Oh, glorious love of Christ my Lord divine, 02:10 That made Him stoop to save a soul like mine. 02:16 Through all my days, and then in heaven above, 02:23 My song will silence never, 02:26 I'll worship Him forever, 02:29 And praise Him for His glorious love. 02:34 My song will silence never, 02:39 I'll worship Him forever, 02:43 And praise Him for His glorious love, 02:49 and praise Him for His glorious love... 02:56 and praise Him for 03:00 His glorious 03:04 love. 03:11 Audience: Amen. 03:15 Pause... 03:17 My name is Phodidas Ndamyumugabe 03:22 and I don't expect you people to know the name 03:26 because it's a long one 03:29 but you'll probably come to know it later on. 03:32 As they told you, I come from Weimar in California 03:38 where I teach in the Department of Theology 03:41 but originally, I come from Rwanda... 03:44 a very small country in East-Central Africa. 03:49 Ahh... 03:51 I'm married, I have three boys and one wife, of course, 03:55 there's no reason to say that 03:58 and this afternoon, I feel the most privileged 04:03 and I mean exactly what I say. 04:08 I feel the most privileged for two reasons, 04:12 it's not anyone who stands here 04:16 and speaks to such large congregation, 04:20 but in a special way, I feel privileged 04:24 because I wouldn't be speaking right now. 04:28 I've a testimony to share with you 04:31 and the testimony is entitled, "Preaching from the Grave. " 04:37 So, and it is exactly what I said, 04:41 you know, sometimes we have titles which are beautiful 04:44 or, you know, thought provoking 04:46 or sometimes, just to draw the attention of the people, 04:50 but this is not the case, 04:52 it is exactly what I mean, 04:54 "Preaching from the grave. " 04:56 So, if that is the case, 04:58 that means, if I happened to be in my grave one day, 05:02 then, I wouldn't be preaching at all. 05:04 I would be in my grave. 05:06 Ah... 05:08 it is a story of what happened in Rwanda 05:12 and it is a story about my own experience 05:15 during the genocide in 1994, about 24 years ago, 05:20 but it is actually not my story, 05:23 it is a story about Jesus, can you say, "Amen. " 05:26 Audience: Amen. 05:28 Oftentimes, we have stories in the Bible 05:30 and we read them, 05:32 but we probably need stories even today, isn't it? 05:36 Ah... 05:39 pause... 05:41 the situation is not the same today 05:45 because today, Rwanda is very peaceful, 05:48 it's probably one of the most peaceful countries in the world, 05:51 you can go there, you have no problem 05:54 and it is a lovely country... a beautiful country... 05:57 and in fact, some of you might have heard of 06:00 what happened recently, 06:02 the gospel is being preached, 06:03 1,000s and 1,000s of people are giving their lives to Jesus, 06:08 as you might have heard the TMI, just recently, 06:13 we baptized only within two weeks... 06:15 about 100,000 souls. 06:21 Audience: Amen. 06:22 Just two weeks... 100,000... 06:24 and I happened to be part of the organization 06:26 and I was very happy 06:28 and I was also coordinating two at the same time, 06:31 I was preaching in the morning 06:33 and I was preaching in the afternoon for another... 06:35 and... so, today, it's peaceful 06:39 but 24 years ago, it was not the situation 06:42 because of politicians who fueled hatred and enmity, 06:50 they told people in Rwanda that they have to hate one another, 06:54 there were two main tribes, Hutus and Tutsis, 06:57 and told the Hutus that Tutsis were their enemies 07:00 and so, they had, actually to kill them all 07:04 and within only three months, 07:07 more than a million of people were killed. 07:11 Three months... and 100 days... 07:13 more than a million of people were killed 07:15 and I was there, personally, 07:18 I didn't have a place to hide 07:20 I just witnessed what actually happened, as I said, 07:25 now, I was a Preacher, I was still young 07:28 but I was a Preacher, I was, in fact, an Elder, 07:30 I became an Elder at the age of 22, 07:33 and when I was an Elder, I preached all over the country. 07:38 I was invited to speak 07:40 and I conducted several Evangelistic Campaigns, 07:43 I was excited... but at the same time, 07:47 the devil was preparing something terrible, 07:49 now, let me tell you... who are listening to me, 07:52 this afternoon, 07:53 be careful what you pray for, 07:56 pause... 07:58 you know, sometimes we pray 08:00 and we don't even think about what we are talking about, 08:03 if you are a man of God, be careful what you pray for 08:06 because it can happen, amen. 08:09 Pause... 08:10 Well, I... oftentimes when I read the Bible 08:13 the Old Testament... 08:15 I remember praying about the story of Elijah 08:20 and I wanted to be like Elijah, 08:22 I said, "Lord, I want to be like Elijah" 08:24 but I didn't think much about what I was saying, 08:27 What does it... what did it mean to me? 08:30 I just thought of Elijah on Mount Carmel 08:33 praying for a miracle and the fire came from heaven, 08:36 it destroyed the sacrifice and that was all 08:39 but I didn't think about the life of Elijah. 08:42 I prayed for being like David, Daniel and others... 08:48 every time I read my Bible 08:50 and it actually happened 08:52 that God took me through an experience 08:55 that was the most terrible one 08:57 but I praise God because I am standing here right now, amen, 09:00 and now, the testimony I'm about to share with you 09:04 ah... ah... ah... it's not about just my life 09:08 that God saved my life 09:09 because, I can actually still die even today, right? 09:15 And those who are dying are not special, 09:18 I'm just like any one of them. 09:20 I believe God saved my life for a purpose 09:22 it just for me to be able to talk to you this afternoon 09:26 and tell you that God is still in charge. 09:30 He is in control, amen. 09:33 Audience: Amen. 09:34 And I'm a... I'm a witness... 09:35 it's not just a testimony, it's about God I have seen. 09:38 Now, I will humble myself 09:41 before I start the very story I want to share with you 09:44 and then say a word of prayer, let's pray together. 09:46 "Heavenly Father, this is a great time, 09:50 I'm just ready to witness about You and tell these people 09:55 how good You are 09:57 and how much You are still in control 10:00 even over our lives today 10:02 and that You are in charge 10:04 and that nothing can just happen to us 10:06 without You being aware or without You allowing it. 10:10 So, please Father, I pray that You will stand by my side, 10:14 You will speak just for Yourself 10:16 so that all of us... at the end of this testimony 10:19 will have learned that You are a God Who is in charge 10:22 in Jesus' name I pray, amen. " 10:25 Now, in 1994, when this... 10:29 I'm not going to tell the whole story 10:31 but actually, there is a good news, 10:33 I'm just going to give you, maybe, one-tenth 10:35 or one out of twenty 10:37 of the testimony 10:38 and the good news is, I'm writing a book, 10:41 it is entitled, "Preaching From The Grave. " 10:44 I'm done with it, it's going to come out very soon 10:48 and somebody offered a gift... 10:51 one of my Leaders at Weimar College... 10:54 he told me that I will let you know 10:57 that if 50 people... 10:59 who will actually come and sign for it at Weimar Booth... 11:02 the first 50... because you may be more than... 11:04 at the end... in the evening... you will get a free book... 11:08 at least 50 of you... 11:09 so, you can come right in the evening at that Booth 11:13 and you can sign for it 11:14 and we will send the book to you. 11:16 Ah... so, in 1994, when the genocide started in Rwanda, 11:22 many people were being killed, 11:24 it was on Thursday morning when they started killing people 11:28 and... because Rwanda is a hilly country, 11:32 it is called a country of 1,000 hills 11:35 so everywhere you see, you see mountains, 11:38 so, I can see on the other side of the... the... the... 11:42 the mountain where I was, 11:44 I could see people being taken out of their houses 11:47 put in front of their house... just lining up 11:50 and then, shot at once, the whole family... children 11:55 and people were wailing... they were just... 11:58 they were just... it was beyond what you could think about, 12:02 and when I realized that it was a terrible... 12:07 I decided to pray together with my friends. 12:10 I had learned to pray and now something was interesting, 12:14 I don't know why it happened to me because it is not usual, 12:19 even some Christians will tell me, 12:20 saying, "No, why did you do that?" 12:22 But I decided... because they were Tutsis and Hutus 12:25 and they were looking for Tutsis to kill 12:28 so, they entered every house 12:31 and every Rwandan had been given an ID. 12:35 In the Identification Card, 12:38 it indicated the ethnic belonging... 12:40 your ethnic belonging 12:42 so, if you are a Tutsi, you've got to produce your ID, 12:46 you show them and if they read "Tutsi" 12:48 then they slaughter... they kill you immediately... 12:52 and I had an idea as well, some of my friends said, 12:56 "No, we will just destroy the IDs and hide them 13:00 so that when they come, they won't know who we are. " 13:03 And I said, "I'm not going to lie. " 13:06 I had learned from the Word of God 13:08 that actually... lying is a sin, 13:11 and when you go to the book of Revelation 13:14 chapter 14 verse 4 and 5, the Bible says, 13:17 "Those who will be victorious 13:20 are those who have had no lie found in their mouth. " 13:24 In the book of Psalm 15, from verse 1 to 3, 13:29 the Bible says, "Lord, who may dwell in Your sacred tent? 13:33 Who may live on Your holy mountain? 13:36 The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, 13:40 who speaks the truth from their heart; 13:43 Whose tongue has no slander. " 13:46 And I had resolved in my heart, I said, 13:48 "I'm not going to lie, even if it means death. " 13:52 And so, I kept my ID 13:54 and I prayed, my friends, and I prayed... 13:57 I remember actually, it was a terrible situation 14:00 because one Saturday morning, the militia... 14:03 as we were praying... 14:04 I invited people around my home 14:07 and they came to my house and I took the Bible 14:10 and I took the book of Ellen G. White... 14:12 The Great Controversy 14:14 and I was reading the chapter entitled, "The Time of Trouble" 14:18 and I was telling the people that in such a time of trouble, 14:23 God is still in control and He can protect their lives 14:27 and He still loves us no matter what happens 14:30 and as I preached, I told them right at the door 14:34 I saw the militia knocking and they were coming in, 14:37 they were armed with swords... with knives... with guns... 14:41 and they knocked... they forced us to open 14:45 and as they came inside, they said, 14:47 "Your IDs up... put your ID up... " 14:48 and everyone raised their ID except those... 14:52 some did not have... and I put mine up, 14:54 and as I put mine up, they looked at it, 14:57 they said, "You are Tutsi" 14:59 and he called another group of militia 15:02 and he said, "Get ready to kill... " 15:04 now, they were ready to kill, 15:06 now, I had prayed and I believed God was going to protect my life 15:11 as soon as I said that, I took my Bible... 15:14 I was sitting and I pointed it into his face, 15:18 I said, "In that ID it is written Tutsi 15:21 but my heart... I am a citizen of heaven. " 15:24 And when he saw that, he was like... he was angry... 15:29 he took my Bible... he threw it down... 15:31 he trampled on it... 15:33 now, that wasn't a good thing to me, 15:36 because, initially when I had prayed, 15:39 I thought... God was going to fight for me 15:41 and now God was becoming weak... 15:43 I had waited for God to do something to this man... 15:46 He did do nothing... 15:47 I said, "God, now You're being despising 15:51 in front of these killers, 15:52 You're doing nothing to defend Your honor... " 15:55 but praise God, God is not like Phodidas, amen, 15:58 He doesn't fight the way I fight, 16:01 and so, I kept praying and the guy... 16:04 but God was in-charge, 16:06 even though he told them to get ready to kill me, 16:09 they just raised their knives on top of my head 16:12 but no one dared to kill me, 16:14 and they kept shouting and shouting and shouting, 16:17 until finally, he actually said... 16:19 pause... 16:21 until finally, he actually said, 16:23 he said, "No... we are not going to kill you, 16:26 we will call the policeman to come 16:29 and be the ones to kill you. " 16:30 Now, he was able to kill me 16:32 and the militia were there with their knives, 16:34 why did he not kill me? 16:36 so, but when they decided to leave, 16:38 one of the militia men got angry 16:41 with his knife, he struck me on my head twice... very sharp one 16:48 and I praise God, 16:49 it exactly happened in such a way 16:52 that afterward, I touched my head... 16:55 my head... to just check to see if there was even blood, 16:58 there was nothing... 16:59 God was in charge... and they went away 17:04 but it didn't take long, 17:06 I'm trying to go through it very quickly, 17:08 they left the home 17:09 but very soon, they were going to come again 17:12 because they resolved, "Now, why did we not kill him? 17:14 We have to go and kill him, 17:16 after all, we have killed so many people. " 17:19 They came back to the house, and right... 17:21 I saw them coming from the fence I saw them coming to the house, 17:27 and I tried to escape backward, I jumped the fence from behind 17:32 and when I jumped, they had actually surrounded, 17:35 other militia had surrounded the house with their knives 17:38 and when they saw me, they said, 17:40 "You lie down and we are going to kill you. " 17:42 So I lay down right there in front of them 17:45 as they were waiting for the chief militia 17:47 to come and kill me 17:49 and he came with his gun... with a knife... 17:51 and he lowered it on my throat, 17:54 he said, "I'm going to kill you right away... " 17:56 as soon as he lowered the blade of his knife, 17:59 and he was going to touch my throat, 18:02 I still had my Bible and I raised it again 18:04 and then I pointed it to him, I said, 18:07 "Don't shed innocent blood. " 18:08 Brethren, you might not know... if you have the Word of God, 18:14 you are more powerful than 18:16 1,000s and 1,000s of soldiers, amen, 18:19 and this is a powerful weapon and when I pointed to him, 18:23 he became like mad... 18:25 he didn't know what was happening, 18:27 he raised... he rose it again, 18:29 he said, "So you're bragging of praying. " 18:31 I said, "No, I don't brag of praying... " 18:33 but he kept shouting and couldn't dare kill me 18:36 and he said, "Why are you running away, by the way, 18:37 you go back to your house. " 18:39 And I went back... 18:40 I walked back to the house amen... 18:42 as soon as I... 18:43 now, it wasn't easy because that was just the beginning, 18:49 one of my church members... 18:51 I told you... I was a church Elder... 18:52 he came to me having heard what happened to me 18:56 and he said, "Why are you still here? 18:58 Let's run away... go to another province, 19:00 let's try to save... to run for our lives... " 19:03 and I told him, I said... his name was Vincent, 19:05 I said, "Vincent, how can I run?" 19:08 And he suggested that I tear my ID 19:10 so that we can lie that I am Hutu, 19:13 I said, "No, I can't lie. " 19:16 He said, "No, what do you... what are you saying? 19:19 You have to lie so that you can live. " 19:21 I said, "My life is in the hands of God, 19:23 I'm not going to lie. " 19:24 Then he said, "If you can't lie, then let's pray and go, amen. " 19:28 And we prayed, right after we said the prayer, 19:32 pause... 19:35 we embarked... but Vincent was smart, 19:37 he actually took my ID... 19:38 he took it... he put it behind his 19:41 because he was a Hutu, so, he was a good person 19:44 he said, "No, if this man is not willing to hide himself, 19:47 I will try to cover him. " 19:49 He took his ID, put it under his 19:51 and we went through roadblocks, 19:53 now, roadblocks were everywhere... 19:55 trying to stop people... who ran to kill them 19:57 and as I moved through them, Vincent was ahead of me 20:00 and every roadblock, he showed the ID 20:03 they said, "Where is your ID?" 20:05 He showed his and then they said, 20:07 when I reached the roadblock, he said, "Where is your ID?" 20:09 I said, "That man has it... " 20:10 and he came back... he showed his ID again, 20:13 which was Hutu... 20:14 so... and that saved me just once... but very soon, 20:22 there was another Tutsi boy who was with us, 20:24 and he was stopped... he was not... he had torn his ID 20:28 but he was arrested... 20:29 they said, "No, you must be a Tutsi" 20:31 they decided to kill him 20:32 but Vincent was such a wonderful person, 20:34 he said, "I'm not going to leave him, you try to go" 20:37 now, I was going to go without Vincent 20:39 but I was with Jesus. 20:41 So, I decided to move, I said a prayer 20:44 but ahead of us, there were so many killings, 20:47 people were being slaughtered, 20:49 every time people tried to run away 20:51 the whole city of Kigali... 20:53 and what happened actually, I went... 20:56 I decided to say a prayer, 20:57 I said, "Lord, now I have this ID... it is written Tutsi, 21:00 I'm going to ask you to close their eyes 21:03 in the name of Jesus... " 21:04 every time I came across a roadblock, 21:06 I said, "In the name of Jesus, close their eyes. " 21:09 And interestingly, it happened so... 21:12 but for a number of times 21:14 the first roadblock I came across to, 21:16 I said, "In the name of Jesus, close their eyes. " 21:19 then one guy said, "Where is your ID?" 21:21 I gave it to him, 21:23 and he was just holding it in his hands, 21:25 he said, "Don't... Don't you write to these people 21:28 who are fighting us?" 21:29 There was another fighting to come inside the country, 21:31 I said, "I don't. " 21:32 He said, "You get your ID and leave. " 21:34 And I went to another roadblock, 21:35 I said, "Close their eyes in Jesus' name. " 21:37 and they could not read, 21:40 I went to another one and the third and the fourth... 21:42 until, finally, God... 21:46 it's as if God said, 21:49 "No, how long are you going to be saying this prayer?" 21:52 it's as if you are saying that because they haven't seen, 21:55 then, they won't kill you but even if they see, 21:58 as long as God is God, you can still live. " 22:00 Now, the next roadblock, I showed... 22:03 I had my ID in hand, 22:05 I said, "In the name of Jesus, close their eyes. " 22:07 But the guy who was right there, 22:10 he said, "Where's your ID?" He got it... 22:11 I said, "In the name of Jesus, close his eyes. " 22:14 But he read and he said, 22:15 but amazingly, he said, "Are you Tutsi?" 22:18 He said, "You disappear from here, 22:21 you move from here quickly" 22:23 now, he became friendly and he said, "You go away... " 22:27 and as I started going away, just a few minutes... 22:30 he said, "By-the-way, come back here, 22:32 I will show you how to help you. " 22:34 And there was another car coming just across, 22:37 it was full of militia... killers... with their knives, 22:40 and he said, "These people are going to give you a ride. " 22:42 Audience: Laughter... 22:45 Now, he told me 22:47 and I wasn't happy to get a ride with the killers, 22:51 because they could kill me after all, 22:53 and so, he said, "You come inside here" 22:55 and the militia... when they looked at me, 22:57 there's a way... you know, 22:58 sometimes they try to identify people by their faces, 23:01 they looked at me, 23:02 they said, "No, this man must be a Tutsi. " 23:05 And they told him, "You are fighting yourself, 23:08 why are you telling us to take him?" 23:10 He said, "If you don't take him, you cannot leave this place, 23:13 you take him or you stay here also. " 23:16 and he took me with my... the bag I had 23:18 and he took... I had a big radio... 23:20 it was a big radio... big one... 23:22 with two speakers, right, those years... 23:25 and I had put it on my head 23:28 and the books of prophecy of Ellen G. White 23:31 so, I had tried to put it... just... just to cover myself up 23:34 so that I don't attract the attention of the people, 23:37 and now, I went into the cars of the militia 23:42 but it's a long story, 23:44 I just want to tell you that very soon, 23:46 I went across road blocks again 23:49 and so many dead people are all over, 23:51 I could see some of them were half killed 23:53 and I came across a place 23:55 where God was going to show me another miracle, 23:58 it was around about right in the city of Kigali 24:01 and I said the same prayer again, I said, 24:04 "Lord, in the name of Jesus, close their eyes. " 24:07 But this prayer was no longer working. 24:09 God had changed... 24:10 I said, "In the name of Jesus, close their eyes. " 24:13 but as soon as I said that prayer, 24:15 the militia looked at my ID, 24:18 and I expected... 24:19 maybe if he reads, he's going to behave like the former one 24:22 and God is just going to make him kind to me, 24:24 but he was not kind, as soon as he read, he shouted, 24:28 he said, "We found one... we found one, 24:30 come and kill him. " 24:32 And every militia... the whole group came to me 24:34 they were now ready to kill me, 24:36 And as soon as they came to me, I kept praying, 24:39 I said, "Lord, you do something about this situation. " 24:41 God showed me that He is still God 24:43 even when they are not friendly to me 24:45 because there was a man who was just killed, 24:49 so many people were there, 24:51 but there was someone they had just killed, 24:54 they said, "You go and lie beside that dead person 24:56 and we will come and kill you... " 24:59 so, I moved with my bag and I went 25:01 but I didn't lie down, I stood beside the dead person 25:05 and as I was standing beside him, 25:07 I kept praying, 25:09 I said, "Lord, in the name of Jesus, 25:11 I believe you can do something. " 25:12 I said, "I preached about you, 25:14 I know You are a God who is able to do something 25:16 about this situation. " 25:18 Now, so many people are dead 25:20 and they are busy killing other people... 25:23 they are stopping other people.. killing them, 25:24 somehow, they forgot my presence 25:27 and they are busy 25:28 and then, when one of them noticed 25:30 I was still standing there and said, 25:33 "You know what? That man is still alive, 25:35 we have not killed him. " 25:37 And another one said, "Okay, let me go and finish him" 25:40 and he came running to me with his knife, 25:42 as soon as he approached me, 25:44 as soon as I saw him coming, I said a prayer, 25:47 I said, "Lord, stop him in Jesus' name" 25:50 and as soon as I closed my eyes to say a prayer, 25:54 and after I said the prayer, I opened my eyes 25:57 the man was taking the opposite direction... 26:00 he was going the opposite direction... 26:04 and some five to ten minutes passed again, 26:09 and another person noticed I was still alive and he said, 26:12 "You know what? that boy is still alive, 26:14 we have not killed him. " 26:15 They were killing others but they had forgotten... 26:18 and he said, "Oh no, what is happening? 26:20 Let me go and finish him" and he came running 26:22 and I said, "In the name of Jesus, stop him. " 26:25 Right after I said the prayer, 26:27 the guy was taking the opposite direction, 26:30 and it happened a third time, 26:32 I said the same prayer 26:35 but it looks like, God said, 26:37 "No, boy, how many times they're going to... 26:40 are they going to go back? 26:41 This is... is it going to be an endless game?" 26:44 The fourth time... 26:46 the fourth time God did not stop him, 26:51 even though I said the same prayer, 26:53 I said, "In the name of Jesus, stop him. " 26:56 He was very angry, 26:58 charged... he was coming towards me, 26:59 and I opened my eyes, 27:02 he was just still coming running, 27:03 I prayed, "Lord, stop him in Jesus' name. " 27:06 And right here he was now with his knife, right before me, 27:10 but he could not stab me, he was just looking at my face, 27:13 he said, "By-the-way, what kind of person are you?" 27:16 Audience: Laughter. 27:19 Now, I understood that God had clothed me 27:24 with a different image and I was totally different, 27:28 because I... I... I just gave him a very stupid answer, 27:32 I said, "I am a man of God. " 27:33 But what could that mean? 27:35 Because they were killing people, 27:36 even though they knew they were Christians... 27:38 they were being killed, 27:39 but I told him, I said, "I'm a man of God. " 27:41 But when I said that, he probably got a different answer 27:44 and he said, "Are you a man of God?" 27:46 I said, "Yes. " 27:47 "If you are a man of God, 27:49 let me go and ask your ID and give it to you 27:52 so that you will leave. " 27:53 I didn't need that ID, of course, 27:55 and the man went back... 27:59 he was negotiating with the killers, 28:01 and he was asking them... 28:03 I saw him trying to bargain but they actually refused 28:06 and then he came back he said, 28:07 "No, they can't give me the ID, 28:09 they are determined to kill you. " 28:10 and he said, do you have some money so that we can bribe them, 28:14 I said, "I don't have any money. " 28:15 In fact, one of my friends had tried to bribe them, 28:18 but they refused, they were about to kill him, 28:20 he was a Hutu... and he ran away... 28:22 so, he came back later on, 28:26 he said, "Nothing? You have nothing?" 28:27 I said, "I have only this radio. " 28:29 He said, "They can take it. " 28:31 And I kept praying and as soon as I... 28:33 I... I finished another prayer, 28:36 there was a Chief Militia who was just standing somewhere 28:39 sitting across the road... 28:41 and he shouted... 28:42 he said, "Tell that boy to come to me. " 28:44 And I went there... he was as if he was going to kill me 28:49 so, when I saw him with a knife, 28:51 I just stood at a distance and he just looked at me, 28:55 he was talking to another person, 28:56 and the Chief... 28:58 the militia who was telling me to negotiate my ID 29:01 came back to me, he said... he was very angry at me, 29:04 he said, "Did you say you are a man of God?" 29:06 I said, "Yes. " 29:07 "If you are a man of God, why don't you claim your ID 29:11 and go?" 29:12 Then I said, "This is unusual, how can a killer know that 29:16 you have authority if you are a man of God?" 29:18 I said, "This must be an angel from heaven. " 29:21 So, I decided to go... I moved... I made some steps... 29:24 I said, "In Jesus' name I am going to claim my ID." 29:28 Right, like, three, four steps... 29:30 the militia who had called me, he shouted, 29:32 he said, "Give him his ID and let him go. " 29:35 He had not even heard the conversation that was going on 29:39 between me and the killer, 29:40 and they gave me the ID, 29:42 they were saying, "What did you give him? 29:44 what happened? How can he let you go?" 29:46 And they were all amazed 29:48 and I went down the road praising the Lord, amen. 29:51 And, as I went down, Ladies and Gentlemen, 29:55 I don't have time right now but allow me to tell you 29:58 that actually, ahead of me, 30:00 you know, there were so many... maybe hundreds of instances 30:03 where God showed Himself as a God 30:05 because there was a man just across 30:08 down... who was the most terrible person, 30:12 this wasn't a movie... 30:14 he was a man full of blood, half naked, 30:17 the upper part was... he had no clothes on him, 30:20 and he had a hammer 30:22 and on the other side of the hammer, was actually an axe, 30:25 he was... now the road had been blocked. 30:28 Militia people were stopping everyone. 30:31 They were directing them to the killer 30:34 and by-the-way, Hutus and Tutsis alike... 30:37 all of them were stopped towards that man... 30:39 he was the one to judge if you had to die or to live 30:43 and interestingly, he could not even read, 30:46 sometimes, he just looked at you and then he struck 30:48 and with a hammer or the... the... the axe 30:52 and I was held by the... the collar of my shirt 30:55 and I was directed to the man... 30:57 now, he was in a confusion... so many people were being killed 31:00 I saw the truck full of dead people... 31:02 they were... prisoner had been had been released 31:06 and they were being put into the truck 31:08 and when I saw this militia man striking people, 31:12 people were queueing before me 31:14 and I was just moving a few meters towards him, 31:18 I realized that he had no mercy. 31:20 Now, this time I changed the prayer, 31:22 I said, "Lord, this man has no mercy in him, 31:25 if he gets angry... get angry on my behalf... " 31:29 and as soon as I said that prayer, 31:31 right after I said the prayer, 31:33 I felt... remember there was a hand pulling me 31:36 towards the killer, 31:38 and I felt another hand behind me pulling me back. 31:40 Now, I was between two hands... 31:43 one of the militia pulling me towards the killer, 31:47 other people were over passing me now, 31:50 and I was just standing, I tried to turn, 31:53 and the man behind me said, "Where are you going?" 31:56 I said, "I'm going to show my ID to the killer. " 31:59 He said, "Don't go... you go back. " 32:02 And the militia was pulling me, 32:05 he said, "No, let him go and show the ID." 32:07 Now there was a battle between them. 32:09 One... trying to save me... 32:11 the other one... 32:13 our God is amazing... 32:15 Audience: Amen. 32:16 Finally, the one behind me convinced him, 32:19 he said, "No, there is a... a... a car here 32:21 which is going to give him a ride to another province, 32:24 let him go back and he will still come back this way anyway, 32:28 and finally he said, "Okay, let him go back. " 32:30 And I was saved that way 32:32 but just the last part of my testimony... 32:34 just I'm trying to... to go through it... 32:36 I finally managed to cross the city 32:39 but I had to stay in the bush for about 34 days... 32:43 34 days... 32:45 but allow me Brethren to assure you that 32:48 whether you're in the bush or in the dungeon 32:51 or in a grave... wherever you are... 32:53 if you're with God, that can be a palace for you 32:57 and you will have no problem, amen. 32:59 I was in the bush... it was a terrible situation 33:02 and for several days, there was a family of my friend, 33:06 another friend who was very faithful to God. 33:09 He tried to save my life several times. 33:12 One time, he even gave me some money, 33:16 he said, "You take this money, you will go hiding, 33:18 I can't hide you in my house, 33:20 if I try, they will discover you, 33:22 if I put you in the ceiling, 33:23 they will destroy the ceiling and find you, 33:26 they will kill you and they will kill my family, 33:28 so, you go and die. " 33:29 He sent me to a place where he knew, killers had guns 33:33 and they were going to shout at me... to shoot at me... 33:36 they said, "You will die a better death. " 33:39 And so, he prayed for me and he sent me away 33:41 but it was not possible. 33:43 After trying to run away again, I came back to his house 33:47 and then, he finally said, 33:49 he said, "I know only one bush where I can take you, 33:51 and maybe God is going to protect you. " 33:53 He was desperate... this gentleman... 33:55 he took me to a bush 33:56 and I was in a bush... I prayed the whole night. 33:59 I said, "Lord, surround this bush with your holy angels" 34:04 and God is able... why did He do that to me? 34:05 He only did this so that I can assure you 34:09 that God still answers prayers 34:11 and I said, "Lord, surround this bush with your angels" 34:14 and God did... because the next morning, 34:16 I had entered the bush nighttime, 34:18 I thought it was very thick and no one was going to see me 34:22 and when the morning came, oh, it was very clear... 34:25 anyone could see me... 34:27 so, finally, I heard the noise of a dog... 34:32 hunting dogs... with the bells... 34:35 and people behind the dog shouting, 34:38 they were hunting for Tutsis to kill, 34:40 and when I removed the... the... the... the... 34:42 the... the thing I was covering myself with, 34:45 I saw a dog coming, it was barking... 34:48 I tried to chase... to threaten the dog 34:51 but the dog was not threatened at all, 34:53 it kept barking... 34:54 and it came back to me, 34:56 and the killer said, "Oh, we found one, we found one, 34:59 come out of the bush. " 35:00 So, they asked me to come out of the bush 35:02 and I came out of the bush, I was holding my Bible... amen 35:06 and as I went to them, God gave me the courage... 35:09 because I knew my life was in the hands of God, 35:11 I went ahead to shake the hand of the killers, 35:14 I went to shake the hand of one of the killers... 35:17 but he was scared... 35:18 he tried to run... 35:19 and I went to the other one, he shook my hand... 35:22 but very quickly he withdrew his hand 35:25 and then he... they said, "No, you look strong, 35:27 so, we are not going to kill you, 35:30 we will let you dig your grave before we kill you, 35:33 we can get tired just because of you, 35:36 you come and dig your grave. " 35:37 That was a rural area, they took me to a place 35:40 and when I arrived to that... to that place, 35:43 they said, "This is the place, you dig the grave. " 35:46 So, I took the hoe, I started digging 35:50 but I knew God was in charge. 35:53 Now, I told God, 35:55 I said, "Lord, here I am digging my grave, 35:59 I know You are in control, 36:01 if You are the God I talked about, 36:04 if You are the Creator of the universe... 36:07 I had started preaching when I was young, 36:11 I told people about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 36:15 I told them about Daniel in the Lions' Den, 36:18 did I lie to people? 36:20 If I have told them the truth, 36:22 show me that You are still the same God, 36:24 show me that You have not changed. " 36:27 and God proved to me that He is still in charge. 36:31 now, just as we do, I was praying... 36:34 but I'm digging at the same time 36:37 and militia men have surrounded me 36:40 and as I dug, I prayed, 36:43 and I said, "Lord, the grave is going to finish, 36:45 You're doing nothing, why? You're knowing that... " 36:48 and I said, "Maybe God... " I suggested what God could do, 36:52 I said, "God, you can give me wings and I will fly away. " 36:55 Audience: Laughing... 36:57 But there were no wings... 37:00 I waited for wings for a while, I kept... 37:02 I said, "Lord, if there are no wings, You can give me... 37:05 You can bring about fire, 37:07 and all of us are going to be scattered and run" 37:09 but there was no fire, 37:11 at the time I prayed, 37:12 "Maybe You can bring about thunder" 37:14 it was as if I was thinking God had no means 37:18 but God has a thousands of ways to protect our lives 37:21 and to intervene when this becomes necessary. 37:24 So, I kept praying 37:25 but God had already answered my prayer, 37:28 because my Bible... as you can see, 37:32 it's actually highlighted with colors 37:35 so, I've always... sometimes I had bought a Bible, 37:38 every time I buy a new one, 37:39 I will sit down and highlight the old verses again... 37:42 those ones I've read before, 37:44 so my Bible is entirely highlighted... 37:47 all my favorite verses... 37:49 and one of the killers was just sitting on the top of the grave 37:53 and he was just opening the book just for fun 37:57 and as he opened, he could see some colors 38:00 and then he said... he said, "Hey, 38:01 why are these colors in this book?" 38:03 And I said, "These are my favorite verses" 38:07 he said, "Really?" and he kept opening 38:10 and he said, "Oh, you mean you have read all this?" 38:14 I said, "Yes. " 38:16 Now, interestingly he started now reading every... 38:19 he... he... he paused... 38:20 every time he came across a color... color... he read, 38:24 and as he was reading 38:26 the Holy Spirit of God was working, amen, 38:28 and as he kept reading, 38:30 he read and read and then later on, he said, 38:32 "I want to beg your pardon, please, 38:35 would you like to give me this book before you die?" 38:38 Audience: Laughter. 38:39 Now, the Holy Spirit... 38:41 he said, "Would you like to give me this book before you die?" 38:44 I said, "Yes, go ahead and get it. " 38:47 I reasoned that after all, there was not going to be a time 38:50 for me to claim the book because I was going to fly 38:52 and so... 38:54 Audience: Clapping and laughing. 38:57 And so, right after... after he said... I said that... 39:02 the other militia shouted, 39:04 they said, "No, we can't give you the book, 39:06 it doesn't belong to him anymore, 39:08 because we are going to kill him, 39:09 It is our book, if you need it, you'll pay money. " 39:12 And he said, "No matter how much you need, 39:15 I will pay that money but I will take this book. " 39:18 Ladies and Gentlemen, 39:20 that told me that actually the Holy Spirit can touch anybody. 39:24 Maybe there is somebody you consider... 39:26 maybe in your family or elsewhere you think, 39:28 "He can never be touched" 39:30 but God is so powerful, amen, 39:32 He can convert everybody's heart... 39:35 this is one of the killers 39:36 and finally, I kept digging but the man was converted, 39:40 he was now on my side, 39:41 he said, "Hey, listen to me" 39:42 he said... he talked to the militia, 39:45 he said, "I know we'll kill this boy 39:47 but please allow me to help him, 39:49 I know we will kill him, allow me to dig his grave. " 39:52 And he was now offering to dig my grave 39:54 that wasn't a favor to me 39:56 because he was going to finish the grave very soon, 39:59 Audience: Laughter. 40:01 So, he jumped into the... 40:03 he said, "Go ahead, he is delaying us anyway" 40:05 he said, "Go ahead" 40:06 and he jumped into the grave, he started... he was very strong 40:09 and I kept, I said, "Lord, the grave is finishing, 40:12 what are you doing about this? this man is so strong. " 40:15 And God was still in charge 40:17 because He knew that even if the grave is finished, 40:20 it means nothing to God, amen... 40:23 Even if the Red Sea is right there, 40:26 it can become just a dry path, amen. 40:28 Even if the fire is there, 40:30 God is not threatened by the fire, 40:32 but I was threatened and I kept praying 40:34 and immediately, as soon as the grave finished, 40:37 God had changed the mind of their leader. 40:41 Their leader shouted, he said, 40:43 "Hey, why are we burying this person into our field, 40:46 this is a personal... this is our property... 40:49 why are we burying him here? 40:50 Let him go and dig another grave in the other highway... 40:54 Audience: Laughter. 40:55 and he suggested and said, "No" he said, 40:58 "After all, there is somebody else we have just killed... " 41:02 and that somebody was the brother-in-law 41:05 of one of the killers... 41:06 so, they were very bad... 41:08 even their own brothers-in-law... 41:10 even their own spouses... they were killing them 41:12 and so he said, "We will bury the brother-in-law 41:15 in this grave, 41:16 let this boy go and dig another grave" 41:18 and so, he sent me... 41:19 they said... the grave was refused to me 41:21 but God was giving me a chance to do something 41:25 you know, what happened changed the whole story 41:28 because as soon as they were about to bury him, 41:32 one of them ironically said, 41:34 "Why don't we pray for these people we are killing. " 41:37 Obviously, they were Roman Catholics 41:39 and I heard that 41:42 I said, "Praying for the people you have killed... " 41:45 and one of them said, "Yeah, go ahead and pray. " 41:48 And one of them said, 41:49 "Mary, mother of Jesus, receive him. " 41:52 I felt like I was troubled, 41:55 I told... I forgot about my agony 41:58 and my fear just... 42:00 I said, "Lord, maybe these people are killing others 42:05 because they have not known You" 42:08 and I felt that I was partly responsible for their evil, 42:14 I said, "Had Adventists done their job, 42:18 God would have been glorified 42:21 and maybe there are people who have not given their lives 42:25 to Jesus, 42:27 who are involved in drugs... 42:29 who are even killers out there 42:31 because you have done nothing so far, 42:34 had you done something, 42:36 maybe there would have been conversion 42:40 and I said, "Lord, I was praying for wings 42:43 now I pray that you don't allow me to go from this place 42:49 until I have told them Who You are... " 42:51 and when we reached the highway, 42:54 I was determined to preach but I didn't know how 42:58 and so, I was going to dig another grave, 43:02 so, one of the killers who had my Bible, 43:04 I came to him, I said, 43:06 "Can you give me this book so that I can say a word 43:09 before I dig another grave?" 43:10 And the killer, he was now on my side, 43:13 he said, "Yes, go ahead" 43:14 and he gave me the book. 43:16 Now, there was another militia who was just closer to him, 43:18 he said, "No, he can't talk to us, 43:20 what is he going to share with us, 43:22 he's our enemy, we will kill him. " 43:24 And the militia who was on my side said, 43:27 "No, we can kill him 43:28 but we have no right to refuse him to talk. " 43:33 And I wondered what kind of "right" 43:35 he was talking about anyway... 43:36 Audience: Laughter. 43:38 They have the "right" to kill me but no "right... " 43:40 that was the Holy Spirit, amen 43:43 because, "he can talk," in other words, 43:45 "we can't hinder the Word of God," amen. 43:47 Audience: Amen. 43:48 So, finally, there was an argument... 43:50 then they were angry and as other militias saw that, 43:53 they also came and said, "What are you shouting about?" 43:56 They said, "He wants him to speak to us, with the Bible. " 44:00 And another one said, "I don't want... " 44:02 and now they were divided into two. 44:04 One group saying, "Let him talk, we want to hear" 44:07 and another group saying, 44:09 "He has nothing to share with us" 44:10 and another group saying, 44:12 "No, after all, we don't know what he's going to say, 44:14 let him talk. " 44:16 And now they were about to fight with their knives 44:18 saying, "He cannot talk, He cannot... " 44:20 and finally, one of the militia who seemed to be their leader 44:24 came over, he said, "Heeeey... stop it, 44:26 why are you going to kill each other because of this stranger? 44:29 Let me advice you now, 44:30 those of you who don't want him to talk, 44:33 you sit down and shut your ears. " 44:37 Audience: Laughter. 44:39 "And those of you who want to talk, 44:41 you sit there... far... 44:43 and you open your ears and listen 44:45 and after that, we'll kill him. " 44:46 Now, it was interesting 44:48 that no one actually closed their ears, amen. 44:52 All of them listened intently, 44:55 even the very killers who did not want me to talk, 44:58 they sat down... there were about 40 of them 45:00 and I opened the Bible and I preached... 45:02 I can't repeat the sermon I preached 45:05 but you can go ahead and read 1st Peter chapter 2 from verse 9 45:09 which says that we are a chosen generation, amen, 45:15 a people belonging to God... to God 45:17 and I was there... and I told them, 45:19 "No, I'm not begging for you to let me go, 45:21 because I believe even if you kill me, 45:23 a time is going to come when I will come back to life 45:25 and Jesus is coming soon" 45:27 and I told them, "There are people you are killing... 45:29 you think they're Tutsis 45:31 but there are people who are no longer Tutsis... 45:33 no longer Hutus 45:34 because they are the children of God" 45:36 and I told them... now, after I preached, 45:39 I finished to preach... 45:41 I talked about Ecclesiastes chapter 9, 45:43 where I said, "The living know that we'll die, 45:47 but the dead know nothing, 45:48 so, let the people pray for themselves before you kill them" 45:51 and as I was preaching... I came to preach in the same power 45:54 it wasn't me speaking, it was God 45:56 at that critical moment, 45:58 but as I spoke, I saw some of them, 46:00 they were weeping... wiping out their tears 46:03 and I saw some of them standing up, 46:05 they were dragging each other trying to talk to each other 46:08 as if they were convincing one another 46:10 and when I finished to preach, 46:12 I was convinced that God was going to work out a miracle, 46:15 I said, "God... " 46:16 I said, "Now, I'm going to say the closing prayer, 46:18 after I finish another grave... " 46:21 but they didn't allow me to finish even that sentence 46:24 when they heard me, one of them said, 46:26 "Hey, we can't kill this person, 46:28 I was thinking we will kill him in a very bad way 46:31 but I'm no longer with you, if you kill him, 46:34 let his blood be upon you... " 46:36 and everybody in that group shouted... 46:38 now the village... the whole village had gathered 46:40 everybody said, "No, no, no, no, no, no, 46:42 let that person go, we can't kill him... " 46:44 everybody shouted 46:46 and children and women and elderly people... 46:49 all of them were shouting and... 46:52 and then their Chief said, "See, you want us to let him go, 46:56 are you sure you want us to let him go?" 46:58 They said, "Yes, let him go... " 47:00 and finally, he said, "Now, if you tell anybody 47:03 that we have released the Tutsi, they will come and kill us" 47:07 now, it was risky for them. 47:08 "The Government will come and kill us, 47:12 but we will kill you before they kill us... if you tell anyone" 47:15 everybody shouted and said, 47:17 "No, we won't tell anyone, please let him go. " 47:19 And I said, 47:21 "Are you willing to allow me to say a prayer for you?" 47:24 They said, "Go ahead and pray for us" 47:26 and I said a prayer, I said, "Lord, 47:29 I know you are so merciful... gracious... 47:33 there's no sin you can't forgive, 47:36 please help these people understand 47:39 that the battle they are fighting... is not theirs 47:41 it has nothing to do with ethnic belonging, 47:44 it is the devil's battle, 47:45 help them to understand 47:47 that this is the great controversy going on... " 47:49 and as I prayed, "Lord, forgive their sins, 47:52 please allow them to... to repent fully... " 47:55 and as I finished to... to... to... to say that prayer, 47:58 they gave me two militia men, 48:00 they said, "Now, we don't want you to go back to the bush, 48:02 you go to our house, we will hide you, 48:05 we will go out to kill other people, but we can hide you... " 48:08 Audience: Laughter. 48:10 They gave me two militia men, 48:12 the militia men took me to their house 48:14 and they brought some food 48:16 but interestingly, they brought some meat for me to eat, 48:20 now I was vegetarian, I had decided... 48:22 I had decided that I was not going to change 48:28 any of my principles just because it was war time 48:31 and so, I said, "I am vegetarian 48:34 and I don't eat meat. " 48:35 And the killer said, "So, Adventists don't eat meat?" 48:39 I said, "Some do, but I don't. " 48:41 He said, "Don't worry, 48:43 I am going to get some vegetables for you. " 48:44 Amen... Audience: Laughter. 48:46 And he went to his garden, he brought some beans... 48:49 fresh beans and he cooked for me 48:51 and he brought some... 48:53 there is a food we call "Galli" back in Africa, 48:55 so he gave me some galli... 48:58 and I ate and he was saying, "Don't worry, you just stay here 49:01 we'll go and hunt others but we're not going to kill you 49:04 even if it means digging a hole and hiding you there, 49:08 we'll do that. " 49:09 Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a God in heaven. 49:11 Audience: Amen. 49:13 God is in charge... 49:15 I have just... I'm just going to take like five minutes, 49:18 let me tell you, it was not over 49:20 it was not over and I cannot finish the story, 49:23 but I was... after just two days, 49:26 I had to go back to the bush 49:28 because the story spread all over 49:32 unfortunately, some of the militia men told... 49:35 there was no way to hide that, 49:37 so they talked about it 49:39 and other killers knew I was hiding there, 49:42 and around 11 a. m., the killer who was hiding me came running, 49:46 he said, "You go out of my house. " 49:48 I said, "Why?" 49:49 "They are coming to kill me. " 49:51 I said, "No, please let me stay here 49:52 because if I go out, they will find me and kill me. " 49:55 He said, "No, you go out, they are killing... 49:57 they are coming to kill me because I'm hiding you. " 49:59 And I said, "Why don't you let me go out 50:01 when it's dark in the night?" 50:02 He said, "No, listen, you... you have a God, I have no God, 50:06 please go out of my house, 50:08 your God is going to protect you. " 50:10 Hallelujah... our God is great 50:13 and he recognized that I have a God. 50:15 If you have given your life to Jesus, 50:18 you are not "anybody" 50:21 and Ladies and Gentlemen, I went back to the bush 50:23 and I went back to the house of my friend. 50:27 When they saw me, they took me to the bush again, 50:30 and in the bush... now a time came when... 50:32 when I had... 50:34 I was sure that God was going to protect my life, 50:36 but I was tired... exhausted... after I... 50:39 two... three... actually three weeks... 50:42 and my skin was like dry leaf, 50:45 and I was wondering, I said, "Lord, what is happening? 50:49 Why? If I believe in you and if you protected my life, 50:53 why should I suffer this much? 50:54 I'm dying... just... I can feel it... I'm dying... 50:58 why am I in this bush? It is raining... " 51:00 it was very cold weather 51:02 and even when it is not raining, I stay in the bush... 51:05 it keeps dripping as if it is raining, 51:07 so, I prayed, I said, "Lord, 51:09 let me go out of this bush" 51:11 and when I realized that nothing was happening, 51:13 I was discouraged until my friend who was actually... 51:17 who knew where I was... he came and encouraged me. 51:20 You need to encourage those who are in trouble, 51:23 maybe you have people who are suffering around you, 51:26 I needed just him... because I was desperate 51:29 even though God had worked out a miracle, 51:31 I was like, "I'm going to face the killers again, 51:34 because it's too much on me, I'm dying... " 51:36 and my friend came in the night time 51:38 but there was another story because he was very scared 51:42 when I saw him, 51:45 there was something that was going on in his family. 51:47 Now the Chief... the militia in the area had said 51:50 "No, we're not going to hunt for people anymore, 51:53 we have killed everyone, 1,000s have been killed, 51:56 if there is anyone hiding, 51:58 that means there is somebody hiding him, 52:00 if we find him, that means we will know who is hiding him 52:05 and we will kill the entire family... 52:06 it was a terrible trying moment, 52:08 and so, my friend... 52:10 his family told him to take me out of that bush 52:13 because it was their property 52:15 and he begged with them and said, "No, let him be there, 52:18 God is going to protect him. " 52:19 but the mother said, "No... 52:21 they are going to kill my entire family... 52:22 my children are going to die, 52:24 after all he is going to die, 52:25 until then is he going to hide, anyway, 52:27 so, please take him out of this... our property. " 52:31 And the mother... I could understand... 52:33 she was agonizing... 52:34 and finally, they had a family meeting, 52:37 and they convinced the boy that he had to take me away, 52:40 out of the bush... 52:42 he begged... that they gave him one week 52:44 to find another place to hide me, 52:45 and my friend... that evening when he came to me, 52:49 I was discouraged... but again, I was even more discouraged 52:53 because he told me, he said, "You know what?" 52:55 I saw him very sad, I said... his name was Celestine, 53:00 I said, "Celestine, why are you sad?" 53:02 He could not talk. 53:04 "Why?" when I looked into his eyes, 53:06 something terrible was about to happen 53:08 and he said, "This bush is not yours anymore" 53:11 I said, "What do you mean, it's not mine?" 53:13 He said, "It's not yours... 53:15 because my family is saying, 'you go out of this bush' 53:19 and I don't know where I have to put you. " 53:21 Now, I felt like it was over 53:24 and I looked into his eyes and said, 53:27 "Celestine, are you also ready to abandon me?" 53:30 And he said something you will probably not hear 53:33 from many Christians, 53:35 and I will always recognize 53:37 that even though there were atrocities in Rwanda, 53:40 people of God were there as well 53:43 because Celestine... he told me, 53:46 "Even if it means to die, I will die with you. 53:51 I will never give up on you, 53:54 I will be with you, I will find another place 53:56 and I'm not going to let you go. " 53:59 And I told him, I said, "Celestine, 54:01 now that they have given you one week, 54:04 let's kneel down and give this week to God 54:08 because God has a solution" 54:10 and we knelt down, 54:12 I told him, "I'm going to fast for a week, 54:14 and in fact, I don't need to fast 54:16 because I have no food in the bush, 54:18 you also go home and fast and pray for the entire week 54:24 and let us ask God to give us a solution, 54:27 now, Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a power in prayer, 54:32 I decided to pray and before I prayed 54:35 and before I read the Bible in that bush, 54:39 I was reading the Bible... a chapter in the Bible 54:42 and as soon as I finished the chapter, 54:44 I knelt down to pray again, amen, 54:47 and after I finished to pray, I read the Bible again... 54:51 for the whole week, I was just doing that 54:53 until darkness in the bush came, 54:56 and a time came... I even forgot about my tiredness, amen, 55:00 I felt I was not even mindful about my death 55:05 and I was only worried about my sins and I repented 55:08 and I... but I asked God, 55:10 I said, "Lord, at the end of this week, 55:11 show me that you are God, 55:13 maybe I don't have the faith I need, 55:15 You can give me that faith and show me You are a God... 55:18 the God I preached about. " 55:20 Now, it was on Friday evening 55:22 after we started to pray on Saturday 55:24 so I expected God to answer by Saturday evening 55:27 but Friday evening, I thought it was the end 55:29 when my friend came, he said... no it was not the end 55:32 I kept praying... 55:33 Friday evening... exactly the time I started praying, 55:37 I told God, I said, 55:40 "I don't see anything in the sky, 55:42 I didn't hear anything happening, 55:45 but I believe You have answered the prayer 55:48 because I prayed that You will answer 55:50 and I asked You to give me faith as well. " 55:52 And so, I said, "Lord, this is enough, 55:55 I'm no longer going to stay in the bush, 55:58 I'm going out of the bush... " 55:59 and I hold my Bible 56:01 and I went towards the nearest home 56:03 and as soon as I arrived, I could not go into the house 56:07 but I saw somebody coming, just... 56:08 he had an umbrella, it was raining, 56:10 and as he knocked at the door, 56:12 they opened the door for him 56:14 and immediately, I recognized him, 56:17 he was the father of my friend 56:19 and the father of my friend... when he looked... 56:22 I ran to him and then I said, "Father, are you there?" 56:26 He said, "Son, are you still alive? 56:29 your God has answered your prayer. " 56:32 He knew my friend was praying, 56:34 he said, "You know what? 56:36 None of us, in this entire village 56:38 is in this place, we have all ran away 56:40 only your friend is at home, 56:43 he decided not to run away with the killers, 56:46 you go and join him and continue your prayer" 56:49 and I said, "I praise the Lord" amen 56:52 and I went towards my friend, 56:54 how I wish I had time... I think I have to end 56:57 because the story is long... anyway, you will read the book, 57:01 I have to finish... 57:03 or you will invite me in your churches if you want, 57:07 but Ladies and Gentlemen, there's a God in heaven. 57:11 Audience: Amen. 57:12 It was not the end because God had protected my life 57:17 now, a time was coming when He had to protect my heart, 57:21 because I was saved from the bush 57:25 but my entire family had been killed... 57:28 we were like 34... my siblings... 57:35 my nieces... my nephews... they had all been killed 57:39 apart from a sister who was in another country 57:41 and I had to struggle now when I heard about this, 57:45 and to make it worse, 57:47 I had to continue preaching or get discouraged 57:51 but God was still in charge. |
Revised 2019-05-28