In September, the sisters of the Kigali church in Rwanda decided to organize a women's prayer devotional, under the title of "Yesterday I Cried," as a sort of mini-women's day. Janet Waweru (standing, extreme right in photo), who leads the Kigali women's ministry, shares , "I thought it was a great idea to have this meeting mainly because the only women's event we have is women's day, once a year, and a lot of the visitors and sisters long to have more such days. I also believed that it was a great opportunity to reach women."

The brothers and the sisters of the Kigali congregation worked tirelessly to invite ladies for the event and the sisters had a fasting chain going the entire month of September. On Sunday the 21st, God blessed the disciples' faith and hard work as the 17 sisters had 47 of their friends in attendance.

The audience was moved by many of the presentations. Two sisters, Francoise Bitondo, a single mother of 3, and Francoise Murekatete, married with 4 children, memorized and performed Psalms 120 and 100 respectively. A choir of 6 sisters presented "Jesus is Lord," and one of the visitors later commented that she was moved to tears by the song. Danielle Mbesherubusa shared from her life, for the communion message, about how she had watched helplessly as her brother suffered when he was sick, relating it to how much more Jesus had to suffer for our sin as God watched his baby put to death.

The message, "Yesterday I Cried" was based on the biblical account of Lot's wife. It addressed how, like Lot's wife, we easily get caught up in the comfort or style of the life we live. We may live our lives in a certain way for so long that when the opportunity comes for change, peace and freedom from hurtful relationships, we are reluctant to reach out for it. The women were encouraged to let go of the past and set their sights on the hope that we have today through God.

Half the women who came to church that day are now studying the Bible. "It was great to see God 's blessings on this day," says Janet. "We were all so inspired and encouraged by the devotional and also by the friends who came. It was wonderful to have this great opportunity to impact the hearts of women. The devo was incredible and we plan to have more in future. God is faithful and he wants us to live devoted lives."

One of the sisters, Abandiwakobwa, commented "the devo inspired me greatly since this was the first women's event that I have attended as a disciple. It was a a good opportunity for women to be addressed about issues concerning them and solutions for our lives that lie in the Bible." Sophie, who was also at a women's event for the first time, was inspired and grateful because in the past, due to what she had seen and experienced as a non-Christian, she had a view that women cannot successfully hold such events because of rivalry and jealousy. Daniele says, "I am grateful for the brothers. The women's devo helped me appreciate all the effort the brothers put in to make Sunday services great."

The theme was particularly relevant to Rwandan women, who still live with the legacy of the civil war and genocide that took place in the country in the 90's, resulting in rape on a massive scale, thousands of women being widowed (many witnessing the execution of their husbands, fathers and brothers), and hundreds of thousands being forced to live in refugee camps for many years. In many cases, life is still very uncertain in different ways. Yesterday we may have cried in helplessness and despair, but today, because of the hope that we have through God, ours can be tears of joy, victory and celebration. To God be the glory and honour!