Church Elder - Rwanda

My name is Ugiriwabo Célestin and I was born in 1982. I am married and I have 5 children and am the animator of the base community of "Byahi". I am also an elder of the church in my parish and president of the choir.

After more than 5 years without any training on the Bible or on the animation of groups, I thank God who used TEN in collaboration with the leaders of my church, so that this training could happen. Before this training on Discipleship 1 and 2 and on the Servant 1 and 2, I did not yet master the concept of discipleship and I did not yet understand the greatness of the role of the woman in the life of the family and in the life of the Church of Christ.

During this training, I learned many things like:

• What is a disciple and his responsibilities within and outside the church.

• The steps that a disciple must take.

• The rights and responsibilities of the servant of the Lord at home and in their community.

• The importance of the complementarity between the man and the woman for their family and church.

This training has erased the spirit of pride that I used to display towards women and changed the mentality on the superiority of the man over the woman that I previously had. Now I understand that men and women are both created by God, and that they have the same rights, and that each one has duties to assume for the good of the family and for the glory of God. I return convinced that the values of love, service, humility and mutual respect are expected from men and women and that they constitute a good heritage to be transmitted to children from generation to generation.

I will confess my shortcomings before God and before my wife and I will not hesitate to contribute as much as possible to the change of behavior and mentality of the members of my choir and of my base community. 

- Ugiriwabo