"You Can't Do That"

We had a VBS preparation meeting on Saturday morning. After the meeting several of us distributed flyers to advertise the event. Linda, Edith, and I were a team, and went to Bayfair Farmer’s Market to pass out flyers. I saw three kids with two women in the parking lot and I offered a flyer while telling them about our church VBS. The younger woman said “No.” While walking away I overheard the older woman saying, “VBS is fun.” When we arrived at the entrance of the outdoor market, a lady came out of nowhere and shouted at us “YOU CAN’T DO THAT! You know the rules for free speech right?”

When I am in Rwanda I don’t need to pass out any flyers to invite kids to VBS. They come joyfully. When I go for a walk, kids join me on my walk. We hold hands and walk down a dirt road, communicating with smiles, giggles and laughs. Pretty soon we start singing “Jesus loves me”. Adults smile at us. I don’t have to prepare a VBS program as we do here in order to entertain kids. Just simple songs and hugs are sufficient for them.



Linda, Edith, and I found few people to invite to VBS at the farmer’s market. I felt like I had committed a crime when we were stopped and told “YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” I can see why so many Christians here are discouraged to reveal their identity, let alone mentioning of the name of Jesus. If we stop telling others about Jesus because the world says “YOU CAN’T DO THAT”, indeed we are committing a crime to our faith.