A Sending and Receiving Congregation

A Letter from Kay Day, serving in Rwanda

October 2018

Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings from Rwanda. I arrived safely on Sept. 25 and have been immersed in the life I left behind three months ago. An international conference that began the day after I arrived plunged me back into the academic life. Students have stopped in to ask advice on their dissertation presentations, which begin this month. I have papers I need to read and mark to finish the last term. But the deepest delight of my returning was preaching at the English chapel on Sunday.

Me and Migume – returning and sending.

The joy of the worship service and the welcome back enlivened my spirit and reminded me of the great privilege God has given me to pastor this small congregation. With a majority of the students having gone home since the term has officially ended, I expected a small gathering, but I was delighted when 29 folks were present, including some students finishing requirements, four new students from Japan arriving to be acclimated before the new term begins, faculty and folks from the neighborhood. The greatest delight was the reminder of the spirit of mission of this small congregation.

I was welcomed back from my “mission trip” to the US after sharing the hope in Rwanda. Then, it was announced that Migume Sasaki, wife of one of our professors sent by the Baptist Church of Japan, was going back to Japan this week for two months to do as I had just done, to share with their church what God is doing in Rwanda. Then several of the theology students finishing their degrees were going home this week to prepare for their new church assignments. In addition, we welcomed the four new Japanese students who will be studying here for a year. Two of them are not Christians but are eager to experience the fellowship of the church while they are here. We are a sending and receiving congregation. That is the heart of mission and the delight of this group of worshipers. The elders had planned a surprise welcome reception for me at the end of the service, but it was broadened to celebrate all of those coming and going in the congregation. Praise and prayers were offered and food was shared as we rejoiced that we are truly a missional congregation.

Reception, Rwandan style.

One of the activities scheduled this week is a special prayer service for the natural and man-made disasters of the last few weeks that have claimed many lives and have left many more searching for survival. This includes the ferry that capsized in Tanzania last week, the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, and war victims and refugees in this region of Africa, especially in Congo and South Sudan. This is another expression of the outreach and caring of this congregation. They are enacting the gospel in practical ways.

Please continue to pray for these activities and the opening of the new school year for the Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (PIASS), which is scheduled for mid-October. Thank you for making it possible for me to be a participant in all of this, by your support. I ask, please, that you continue to partner with me in prayer and financial support, as together we reach out in mission – you, me, the English chapel of Butare and PIASS. Without you, I could not be here. Together we are part of God’s kingdom building.

Yours in Christ,
Kay (Cathie to family)

Please read this important message from José Luis Casal, Director, Presbyterian World Mission

Dear partners in God’s mission,

We near the close of 2018 inspired by the hope of Christ. God is transforming the world, and you are helping to make it happen.

Thank you very much for your support of our mission co-workers. The prayers and financial gifts of people like you enable them to work alongside global partners to address poverty, hopelessness, violence and other pressing problems in the name of Jesus Christ.

Every day, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers are blessed to be able to walk alongside their brothers and sisters across the globe. Listening to each other in faith and in friendship, they learn from each other how to work towards a world in which everyone flourishes. Acting upon what they discover together, PC(USA) mission co-workers and our global partners strengthen the body of Christ.

Because you are an integral part of God’s mission, I invite you to become more deeply committed to Presbyterian World Mission. First, would you make a year-end gift for the sending and support of our mission co-workers? The needs in the world are great, and World Mission is poised to answer God’s call to serve others.

I also invite you to ask your session to add our mission co-workers to your congregation’s prayer list and mission budget for 2019 and beyond. Your multi-year commitment will make a great difference in our involvement with our partners. The majority of our mission co-workers’ funding comes from the special gifts of individuals and congregations like yours, for God’s mission is a responsibility of the whole church, not a particular area of the church. Now more than ever, we need your financial support!

In faith, our mission co-workers accept a call to mission service. In faith, World Mission, representing the whole church and you, sends them to work with our global partners. In faith, will you also commit to support this work with your prayers and financial gifts? With hope and faith, I await your positive response!

At God’s service and at your service!

José Luis Casal
Director

P.S. Your gift will help meet critical needs of our global partners. Thank you!