Rwanda, land of a thousand hills, fertile and colourful, a country we all remember for the heart-rending stories and pictures of the thousands upon thousands of refugees fleeing murder and rape, broadcast during the genocide of 1994. This is a country profoundly affected by internal war and also by HIV/AIDS.

Flame International held a trauma conference at the Anglican centre in Byumba, about an hour’s drive north of Kigali. This area witnessed fighting long before it became known to the wider community, as the Rwandan Patriotic Front came into Rwanda over the northern border.

Here too there is much poverty, evident in the threadbare clothing worn by the children on their way to school. High up on the outskirts of this small town, overlooking the area, there is a displaced people’s camp of Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese. They are still too frightened to return to their homes for fear of reprisals from rebels hiding in the jungle.

This five day conference was laid on at the request of the Archbishop of Rwanda. The first day started with only eleven people there. The decision was made to hold back the teaching and to spend time praying for more delegates to come.

The next hour will be forever etched in my memory as the pastors from various churches and denominations prayed with an overwhelming intensity for their country; they know the depth of sorrow and hurt still to be dealt with. Amazingly, by the next morning over sixty more people had arrived from across the country.

Each of those attending gave their full attention to the teaching. There was gravity in every conversation, and a general air of seriousness, hardly surprising in a nation that went through so much in such a short time, and that is still counting the cost daily.

People gave their rapt attention to the testimony of Frida Gashumba, (see book review on general updates) who spoke of the atrocities inflicted on her family during the genocide. She then spoke at length, on the profound effect that coming to faith had had upon her, and how she has been able to forgive those murderers, make friends with them and visit them in prison initially and now even help them.

After the teaching on forgiveness the delegates were given the opportunity to nail red discs to a cross, symbolic of someone needing their forgiveness. As they came to the front one by one, many sobbing, a lament was sung softly adding considerably to our understanding that God was bringing significant healing to many.

Later on a time of repentance was begun by fellow team member, Mark, who stood and repented of the many things that ‘white men’ (muzungus) had been responsible for in Rwanda since the first missionaries came, including the slow reaction to the genocide by the UN.

An immediate response came from a pastor from the south, who demonstrated his forgiveness with a bear hug. This opened the heart of one of the delegates who knelt before the conference and repented as a member of the line of kings for their handing over of Rwanda to the spirit-world long ago. It was so clear that Jesus was working in the depth of the hearts of those present.

Repeatedly I heard people say how much God was challenging them through this fresh teaching of Flame International, how they were seeing that God needed to heal them deep in their spirit, so that they in turn could go on to minister to their congregations. During the time of ministry over the last two days, it was evident that changes were taking place, faces became less tense and times of worship were liberated by joy.

Becca Benfield

By the time the Flame International workshop team arrived at the partially built St. Augustine Church in Lira, the first phase of a week’s teaching on forgiveness and healing had taken place with many people finding release from bondage in their lives – a demonstration that Jesus Christ came to set the captives free.

Lira is in northern Uganda. It is an area which, over the past twenty years, has lived in fear of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which has abducted men, raped women and captured children to use them as soldiers. It is also an area steeped in traditional witchcraft and idol worship.

The countryside is not hilly, but dry, dusty and undulating. Roads are dirt tracks, apart from major routes which are better tarmaced but frequently seriously potholed, making travel perilous; overturned lorries are a part of everyday life. People live very much at a subsistence level, fetching their water in yellow plastic oil containers from wells and carrying it on their heads or on bicycles, cooking over charcoal fires, sweeping their compounds with reed brushes, surrounded by rickety tin huts or round mud houses. Yet, despite the desperate poverty, everyone appears with dignity in clean pressed clothes.

The rainy season no doubt brings radical changes to the landscape but at the beginning of February the red dust rises from the ground and coats everything. The street and waste areas are strewn with half-buried plastic bags, abandoned by the occupants of the surrounding houses, all adding to the general feeling of neglect.

The shops are brightly coloured concrete buildings with their wares spilling out of the front and down the steps, piles of coloured trays filled with eggs, neat stacks of foam mattresses, wooden furniture or coffins, exuberantly coloured clothing modelled on dummies, plates piled neatly with vegetables and fruit; and amongst all this roam the chickens, goats and the cattle.

In the classroom we are using at the back of the scaffolding-filled church the morning praise starts with much merriment, Ugandan and European voices singing together. Some songs we recognise and join in with confidence, others we clap heartily and listen, enjoying the combination of locally made instruments being played to accompany the harmonising voices.

Laughter is a crucial part of our relationship. It joins us together with exchanged looks and actions when words cannot be found, but beneath the smiles there is often a submission to fear and the power of the spirit world. The role of the witchdoctor is significant in the community, as is the worship of local spirits that expect children to be offered to them or regular libations given. This is deeply intertwined with daily life.

The Bible-based teaching of Flame International takes the delegates (a mixture of clergy, full-time lay-readers and youth workers) through an understanding of how we are made in the image of God. We are triune beings too: body, soul and spirit. It’s easy to see and understand that life damages our body and soul, but rarely do we consider the damage done to our spirits through events such as rejection, grief, trauma and also through sins inherited from our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. For in the same way that we can inherit physical traits and characteristics our spirits have their own relationship with our forebears. Jesus brings healing and release from our past and our families’ past. Forgiveness plays a crucial part in this liberation.

The trauma school finishes with two days of prayer ministry during which time each delegate receives an hour and a half of prayer into a particular trauma in their lives. This is done in small groups so that everyone has the opportunity to practise leading the ministry, as the point of the school is to take this healing back to their parishes.

The physical changes in the faces of those delegates prayed for on the first day show us that God has worked deeply, bringing comfort to the broken-hearted.

Becca Benfield

In June, Jan Ransom led a small party to Rwanda to reinforce links, enhance networks and to build confidence, as part of preparations for a possible future healing conference.

We had a truly wonderful week in Rwanda, the beautiful country of a thousand hills. We were met by a Pastor who runs a Christian radio station, perched high above the city of Kigali. It was there that Jan had a clear sense that God was saying that the land needed to be spiritually cleansed and that we needed to encourage Rwandan leaders along this road. This developed into the central theme of our short stay.

We visited ‘Solace Ministries’, where we had the opportunity to speak to over 100 genocide widows. Later, Jan spoke at ‘Rwanda for Jesus Ministries’.

Then we met the Archbishop. He is enthusiastic about the idea of ‘cleansing the land’. About a month later, when the Archbishop visited the UK, Jan was able to link him with international experts in the area.

We spent our final day in the north west of Rwanda. We drove up to the Shyira mission station, passing a village ‘Gacaca’ court in session and witnessing at first hand the poverty of life in the ‘rugos’ (or homesteads) perched precariously on the steep hillsides.

Back in Kigali we had an hour with a senior MOD minister and were able to share with him about the UK’s chaplaincies and Military Christian Fellowships – Rwandan forces have neither.

It was truly a wonderful week, full of Godly encounters and renewed friendships.

This was the reality of the recent Flame Conference in Moldova. For these women domestic violence, drunken husbands, wayward children and poverty were the norms. One, Tanya, had been trafficked through Turkey, sold on from one ‘owner’ to another. The change came about as the message of healing, based on forgiveness, was taught and put into practice.

This was my first Flame trip, and Flame’s first involvement in Eastern Europe. I went as an observer, though I had the privilege of teaching on forgiveness, taking part in dramas and, above all, apologising to Tanya on behalf of men. This was part of her healing.

My lasting impression of the conference was seeing the team ministering Jesus to the women, being His hands and His mouth to them.

We need to continue praying for the ladies. We could not completely change their situations in 36 hours. Pray that their healing will really make a lasting difference and that God will start to change their circumstances.

Where’s Moldova? Oh, head east, turn left at Romania and go up a bit!

Imagine a sprawling city on the banks of the White Nile. A city that has long been abandoned by the international community. A city that has been at the very forefront of the conflict between Christianity and Islam for 50 years. A city cut off from the outside world by minefields. This is Malakal, in Southern Sudan. Late in November, the Flame team of nine flew in from Nairobi.

Initial impressions were stark. The infrastructure of the city lay in ruins. There was only occasional electricity and no running water or sanitation. Rubbish was everywhere. The primary means of getting about was by donkey. The mud-and-wattle church still sported bullet holes from recent fighting. There was little indication of NGO activity.

The Bishop had kindly made his new office available for us, along with part of a dispensary. We appreciated some brand new ‘long drops’. Showers involved a bucket of Nile water taken in a ramshackle structure made of bamboo. There was little sleep to be had at night until we got used to the heat and the noise of braying donkeys and wailing imams in the nearby mosque.

There were about 80 delegates on the Healing Conference, mainly church leaders from a wide variety of denominations and ethnic backgrounds. In the middle of the extreme deprivation, a verse of hope recurred on several occasions:

‘They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.’ (Isaiah 61:4)

We became aware of many ‘spiritual land mines’ that God wanted to deal with in the delegates’ lives. The themes of forgiveness and reconciliation came to the fore. The Bishop led the response to the teaching from the front. He boldly proclaimed reconciliation with leaders from other tribes and churches – and even spoke out forgiveness towards the government which had so recently threatened the south with more attacks.

On the middle Sunday, Jan had a God-given opportunity to speak at a police change-of-command ceremony; the incoming and outgoing generals listened for 30 minutes from the front row – along with a Minister of State – as she delivered an impassioned talk on ‘Cleansing the Land’.

The second week began with Trauma Workshops. The stories were heart-breaking. But later on the testimonies spoke of healing, forgiveness and reconciliation. David had spent most of his life in the misery of a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Following the peace agreement, he returned to Malakal with his sick wife. His children remained in the camp because he could not find work. He was desperate; thoughts of suicide had crossed his mind. We talked and prayed and battled with spirits of despair. The very next day he came with a broad smile on his face: he had just been offered a job as a primary school teacher. Miraculous? David certainly thought so!

The final two days were spent in the local Sudan People’s Liberation Army barracks. There was a positive response to the gospel – a good number accepted Jesus as Saviour. Several spoke of healing in their lives.

The trip was environmentally and financially challenging. But spiritually it was hugely rewarding to have played a part in the process of rebuilding, restoring and renewing Malakal in Southern Sudan.

Following the visit to Southern Sudan in September 2005, Flame International was asked to return to run a further three trauma and healing conferences. We had the wonderful privilege of building on the work that we did last year. From Sudan the team traveled into Uganda. Since the late 1980s Uganda has rebounded from the abyss of civil war and economic catastrophe to become relatively peaceful, stable and prosperous. However, military action and tentative peace talks have not halted the massacres and violence perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army against civilians in the north. The violence has displaced more than 1.6 million people and tens of thousands have been killed or kidnapped in the course of nearly two decades. Flame International was invited to run a Healing Conference and Trauma Workshop in Lira for Pastors and Leaders. Finally we travelled into Rwanda. A small recce team investigated whether Flame International might have something to offer this hurting country and discern what the Lord would have them do there in the future.

One of the team shares her experiences of Sudan….

‘One year ago we were invited to speak at the local army garrison, and, having expected a couple of hundred soldiers, ended up with nearly 2500 on the first day.  What a blessing and encouragement that was to us and later to hear that over 200 men were baptised subsequently!

This year, quite unexpectedly, as well as leading a trauma workshop for pastors,  we were invited to visit another camp.  Many of the men there have been totally isolated from the world for twenty years. It was indeed a great privilege for us to visit these men and as we travelled up the rough track to the camp, we knew that we were breaking new ground. On arrival at the camp we were immediately struck by the order and smartness of the area in contrast to the local area.  We were greeted by two chaplain friends, dressed in smart camouflage with badges on the left arm proclaiming the words from Esther 4:14, “Maybe God has called you for such a time as this.” All the men greeted us dressed in clean, new-looking camouflage uniform, shiny boots and neat commando style green caps, but with no weapons in view.

We gathered in a clearing under a large baobab tree. Once a group of about sixty men were assembled, the Commander welcomed us and told us that he was a Christian and a lay reader in the church. He asked us to pray for the soldiers, “Let God forgive them. Pray for us and for God to bring peace.”  We were there to teach about the healing and forgiveness that is available freely for ALL who ask of the One who died for our sins.

Jan started the teaching and shared how God had humbled her and how He had had to remove her pride in the rank of Lt Colonel in the army in order to use her – you could see amazement on the faces of the men.  We all introduced ourselves, many of the group having held military ranks, from Captain to Brigadier, and all women, which also amazed the men and appeared to give us extra credibility in their sight.  It seemed inconceivable to me that those men who for the last quarter century have only received instructions and orders from their superiors were now prepared to sit and hear words of compassion from us. The simple large cross we carried with us became the focus of an act of forgiveness as, after the teaching and lively drama of the “Unmerciful Servant” (Luke 18 :21 – 35) the men were invited to hammer red paper discs into the wood of those they needed to forgive – the key to spiritual healing. This is always a poignant and precious moment and never more so at this time.

We spent two full days with the men, and also some women and children who joined us at intervals.  On many occasions we prayed for individuals, for healing, for forgiveness and for deliverance and were rewarded by some powerful testimonies of God at work.  One soldier shared how he had had words ringing in his ears day and night: “you killed me, you killed me” and after prayer this accusation had left him and he felt deep peace for the first time in years.  Another said: “because you have come, you have lit the fire of faith again. You came to help those suffering in our hearts and I give thanks for you in Christ Jesus.”

As we concluded our time with the group, Jan felt compelled to pray for wives for those who were not married.  About three quarters of the group came forward, much to our surprise and with this phalanx of lonely hearts before us, we understood that due to their lifestyles and lack of civilian exposure, these men had sacrificed any chance of normal family life.  As peace returns to this troubled, devastated land, may the Lord restore all “the years which the locusts have eaten” (Joel 2:25) to the men, women and children of Southern Sudan.  We left our new friends feeling so privileged for the time with the elite of their military and overwhelmed by this door which had opened to us.’

Flame International last went to Sierra Leone in May 2004, when we had the privilege of running a Healing Conference predominantly for war widows. The conference was attended by over 200 delegates from all the provinces and also included representatives from the army, police, prison and fire service as well as a number of pastors. Flame has continued its commitment to this region of Africa, sponsoring two Sierra Leonean Pastors to train with Ellel Ministries in the UK, and also launching a highly successful appeal for sewing machines for war-widows to help communities back to independence.

We were invited back in June 2006 to hold a trauma workshop in the capital Freetown for Pastors and Leaders who attended the previous conferences and then to travel inland to Kenema and Tombo where we would hold seminars for pastors and leaders, military personnel and GIM church members.

There were over 30 delegates at the trauma workshop in Freetown and many were set free from pain which had held them in bondage for many years. During the conference we became aware of the story of a commander in the Nigerian Peace-keeping force, who, in 1999 initially helped rescue the Sierra Leoneans from the rebels. However, he then began to systematically kill Sierra Leoneans in the Murraytown Barracks area. Some people were killed on the road and the rest were marched down to the bridge where they were slaughtered and thrown over the parapet into the water below. We decided to pray at the site where the slaughter had taken place. This was one of the most significant things which occurred in the heavenly realms in that area for many years. There was a Nigerian delegate at the conference and he apologised for the atrocities committed and repented on behalf of the Nigerian Peace-keeping force. Delegates came up and embraced him, forgiving him. Sierra Leoneions were able to break the curse of bloodshed on their own land. We believe this could lead to transformation of the land. Please continue to pray.

The team then journeyed inland to Kenema, a town in the south eastern part of the country. The Pastor in Kenema, an heir apparent to the Mendes tribe, has declined headship because of the ungodly initiation ceremonies. His local influence cannot be underestimated and leaders such as these continue to need our prayers. Despite time being short the Seminar for over 100 Pastors and Leaders had great impact. The team were once again astounded at the level of bloodshed the town had endured and the scale of atrocities witnessed by the population. The pastors of this town broke a covenant which their ancestors had made covenanting the land to the powers of darkness. They forgave, repented on behalf of their ancestors and then took Holy Communion on the land as a symbol of the New Covenant and God’s everlasting promises to His people.

Tombo is a small fishing village with a majority Moslem population. The Seminar was attended by over 140 pastors and leaders, all with a spiritual hunger despite the hardships they had suffered. The team were greatly encouraged, especially as a number were converted. We heard extraordinary testimonies of forgiveness; one lady who had been at the Widows Conference in 2003 said she had forgiven and her heart condition had been healed ever since.

This trip ministered healing to a deeper lever than previous visits, to both the people and to the land. We have invested in Sierra Leone and the Lord has honoured this. We know the Lord has challenged all of us, used all of us and in His grace and mercy poured out his Spirit on people. We just give Him all the Praise and all the glory!

There has been a 20 year conflict between the Ugandan Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a brutal terrorist organization that is lead by the self-styled military and spiritual leader Joseph Kony. Since 1994, the principal victims of the LRA have been civilians living in simple rural communities throughout Northern Uganda and also Southern Sudan. Using an unholy mix of Christianity, Islam and African witchcraft, Kony and his henchmen rule by fear, forcing abducted children to commit unspeakable atrocities against other children, babies and close family members, in order to desensitise and dehumanise them to the extent that they will do whatever is ordered of them. Not only has the conflict caused tremendous suffering, it also has no clear purpose or benefit other than the establishment of Joseph Kony’s own brand of theocracy.  It is estimated that almost two million people have been displaced by the conflict and that more than 25000 children have been abducted and thousands more traumatised through mutilation, abuse, rape and the witnessing of atrocities. In the face of such evil in the land, Flame International knew that they needed God’s clear call to minister in such an area. One of the team members writes:

I am so grateful that the time before our departure was spent setting up solid prayer cover as Northern Uganda is probably the most dangerous place that Flame has visited to date. Arriving in Kampala, Uganda, we were warmly welcomed at our guesthouse by a number of visitors already waiting for us. The tone of the trip was set by a South Sudanese Christian whose two brothers and one sister had recently been abducted by the LRA in Southern Sudan.  Although his sister and one brother had escaped, after the most awful and abusive treatment, one brother remains abducted and we pray for his safe return.  Often children are abducted to assist the LRA in carrying equipment, with many carrying in excess of 50 kilograms on their heads, and older children being made to fight for the LRA.  If there is any indication of being tired or not fully committed following capture the fellow abductees are forced to brutally kill the child and often carry their body as a punishment.

During our first three days we were most privileged to be able to meet with the Ugandan Prime Minister, Mr Apolo Nsibambi. It was a great honour to meet him and have a brief opportunity to outline the work of Flame International. We left a copy of the spring edition of the Newsletter with him and we pray that he will be guided in all wisdom and truth whilst in office.  We then journeyed North to Acholiland to the districts of Lira, Pader, Kitgum and Gulu. As we travelled several hundreds of miles overland on metalled roads and dust tracks under armed military escort, the beauty of Northern Uganda stood in stark contrast to the destroyed settlements, abandoned agricultural land and many IDP camps. This also served as a constant reminder of the level of threat and it was most reassuring to reflect on the picture the Lord had given one of our intercessors of us travelling through a tunnel of angels!

In Lira, which is classed as a post-conflict zone after a particularly violent three years of LRA attacks from 2003 to 2005, we were able to visit the Rachelle Rehabilitation Centre for child abductees and former LRA child soldiers.  While we were there nine children, who looked no older than about 12 years of age, arrived to start the rehabilitation process.  They were clearly very fearful about what would happen to them and deeply traumatized.  There were also a number of girls with babies who were probably born as a result of rape following LRA abduction.  We also heard the heart-breaking stories of two boys, a fifteen year old who had been with the LRA for 7 years and had been abandoned in the bush for two and a half weeks with 13 rounds of ammunition in his leg after an unsuccessful ambush.  He eventually surrendered and following partial amputation of one of his legs is currently undergoing the rehabilitation programme.  The other boy, Lawrence who looked about 10 years of age, had been forced by the LRA to kill his 16 year old brother whilst both were in LRA captivity. Such evil is widespread and yet the Lord cares for each one of these children whose lives have been shattered. We know that only His touch can reverse the damage that has been done by man’s inhumanity and we hope that the Lord might open the door during a future visit to minister to such children. We were also able to link up with the Bishop of the Diocese of Lango, who has invited us to run conferences and workshops for pastors and leaders within his diocese.

During the following two days, in Pader then Kitgum, we unexpectedly bumped into officials from the North Ugandan Social Action Fund (NUSAF) Committee, who were also visiting the area.  The objectives of the NUSAF visit were not dissimilar to that of a Parliamentary Select Committee in seeking to assess the issues of rehabilitation on the ground whilst also seeking to empower the people in rebuilding their lives and communities.  On the second day, the EU Ambassador for Uganda also joined the proceedings to open EU funded rehabilitation projects.  Not only were we introduced to all of these people but we were also affirmed, both personally and in our mission, in the strongest possible terms.  We pray that there will be much fruit from such introductions and insights.  Outside of such formal meetings, there were also opportunities to meet local people and to hear some of their stories.  The level of trauma and fear that they have experienced is beyond my human understanding.  However, I rejoice that as team members, we are only asked to offer our ‘five loaves and two fish’ (Matt 14 v13-21), namely to be willing and available.  It is the power of the Holy Spirit moving in and through us that can change these lives.

It was an enormous privilege to have been part of such a team and the Lord has certainly challenged us all and sown the seed of several ideas as to how the work of Flame might be strategically multiplied.  Please pray for the trustees’ discernment and wisdom and for opportunities as we explore the fruit of this trip in the coming weeks and months.