Unity and Partnership

 I (Darrell) recently had the opportunity to be part of a Partnership Roundtable.  Through the initiative of the Baptist Union of Denmark (BUD), this conference was held involving our Rwandan Baptist partner (AEBR), BUD and CBM.  As three organizations committed to working together, the Roundtable provided an opportunity to get to know one another better.  BUD and CBM do not have a formal agreement between them, but they are both partnered with AEBR.  So the time together gave us the chance for some good, honest, at times even difficult, conversations, as we seek to be united in heart and mind for our common goals. 

Before we could begin, we all had to get a negative COVID-19 test.  Sound familiar?

I led the opening Bible study which focused on the difference between UNIFORMITY (wanting everyone to look and think the same) and UNITY (wanting everyone to use their uniqueness to accomplish the same purpose).

Each of the organizations had opportunities to share and answer questions.

Rev. Emmanuel speaking for AEBR

Morten presenting on behalf of BUD

Andre Sibomana and I representing CBM

Beyond the main sessions, we naturally had times of eating together…

There were tasks that we worked on as small groups…

We even had a day when we travelled to three different areas to visit some projects happening through AEBR’s partnerships.  One of the visits was connected to the Peace & Reconciliation Project which is funded by Canadian Baptists.   The members of the Peace Club (which is a ministry of the local Baptist church) were repairing and enlarging the dilapidated house of a genocide survivor.  She was simply overwhelmed with gratitude!

Members of the Peace Club hard at work

The owner of the house with two of her children
standing with Jean Edouard (Project Manager)

One of the powerful moments was the spontaneous re-enactment of Exodus 17:10-12 when Aaron and Hur helped Moses continue to hold his tired arms up in the air so that the Israelites could achieve victory.

Demonstrating Exodus 17:10-12 with Rev. Emmanuel
and Jonas (BUD)

Finally, I want to share with you about what I nicknamed the “Unity Tree”.  On the grounds where we were having the Partnership Roundtable I found this very unique tree.

The Unity Tree

To me, it illustrates perfectly the unity we are striving for.  It is not one tree, but several trees coming together.  Each tree doesn’t look exactly alike, but rather interacts closely with the others.  While each tree is unique, they all are growing in the same direction.  And when woven together in this way, they are all stronger.  What a great picture of unity!