Reflections on World Christian Week

By CIU Professor, Dr. Shirl Schiffman

Picture this: A woman in a poor, animistic village in Rwanda tries for nine humiliating years to have a child. Never having heard of the God of the Bible, she repeatedly offers animal sacrifices to curry favor with the spirits. To her great joy, she finally bears a baby boy – Musekura. He is still a child when his mother entrusts him with the responsibility of offering sacrifices for her continued fertility and protection from evil spirits. One day an American missionary walks into the village. In God’s mercy, adolescent Celestin Musekura is saved, but expelled from his home for fear of spirit reprisal. He struggles on his own, frequently in rags, until an elderly lady in the missionary’s home church in America hears of the young man’s plight and begins to send a small amount of money each month for his education.

Now picture this: Dr. Celestin Musekura stands on the platform of Shortess Chapel at Columbia International University. He is the keynote speaker for World Christian Week 2008. The power of his testimony during the first session was unmistakable: Someone went; someone stayed home, but played an equally strategic part in fulfilling the Great Commission. And today? Dr. Musekura is mightily used by God as a pastor, outstanding Bible teacher, and leader in the reconciliation movement in Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Sudan and other parts of the world. It was an incredible privilege to have him at CIU during the conference. No one will easily forget his teaching on Nehemiah: Are we aware of what God is doing around the world? Do we care? Do we pray? Do we have compassion? Do we have God’s vision for what we are supposed to do?

Dr. Musekura’s messages and another incredibly moving story of God’s work through American missionary Dave Ray are available at http://www.ciu.edu/rss/podcast.html. If you were unable to attend the conference, listen to these messages. Reaffirm your own determination to be vitally involved in God’s global mission. The time is short. The fields are white unto harvest. CIU’s World Christian Week 2008 was a reminder: Every moment counts.