» The Mission Trip Team is Home
Well we are back from Rwanda. I would love to say that I hit the ground running but I think it would be better to say I hit the ground and then the wall. Trying to digest my life changing, spirit filled, awe inspiring experiences while interfacing with the reality of the life I have at home has been interesting to say the least. Everywhere I go whether it is home, church, or work I continually get asked questions about my trip. I am not saying there is anything wrong with the questions, I know I would be asking them myself if roles were reversed, but I could never have imagined how hard it would be to express my thoughts and feelings to my loved ones and friends. I feel like no matter what I say I can’t ever do it justice. I feel like my words, my descriptions are empty in comparison to the richness of my thoughts and memories. I share tidbits here and there and pray regularly that God will speak through me to the ears that need to hear. With all of these thoughts continually running through my head I find myself jumping from point to point, experience to experience and a quick five minutes story turns into an hour or more. One of my first responses to the questions about my trip is always how much time do you have because I know that when the spirit gets going it is hard for me to stop my mouth from moving.
On one such occasion I was able to have dinner with a close friend recently and of course we were discussing the mission trip to Rwanda. I was showing him pictures because as you know pictures say a thousand words. I was doing my best to not get in the way of the words God had desired to speak. When we were finishing up my friend asked me one last question. He asked “If Tim Kimble could say one thing that he brought back from his Rwanda experience what would it be?” I instantly thought that there was NO WAY I could sum up everything I had gone through, everything I had seen, heard, experienced in one short statement. I thought dude you must be crazy to think I can sum everything up without any time to think about a response. SUDDENLY it hit me, or I should say the spirit moved. I said, “I saw a little bit of what heaven will be like”. I told him that I met people that within two minutes I was willing to die for. Not because of anything they had done or who they were, and not because anything I had done or who I am but because the SPIRIT of God was in us both. I explained that you know how when a person is incredibly negative and depressing they have the ability to darken any room they are in. You can feel the heaviness in the air when certain people are around. Now imagine that reversed and multiplied seven times seven. I was with people that even though they couldn’t speak my language very well and I can’t speak theirs worth anything, it didn’t matter. God was there in that room. A room full of fourteen or so people from different sides of this huge planet, who loved and worshiped God the father. I was born here to do God’s will, to follow his plan. They were born in Rwanda to do God’s will and follow his plan. Thousands and thousands of miles separate us currently but in heaven nothing will separate us from God and each other. I EXPERIENCED a small part of HEAVEN and let me tell you it is better than I could ever of imagined.
Imanaishimwe means Praise the Lord in Kinyarwandan, and let me tell you he is worth praising.
God is good all the time and all the time God is good
Tim Kimble
Posted on Thursday, July 8th, 2010