Patrick’s Story

A gospel radio broadcast brought courage and healing to an injured Christian in Bujumburu, Burundi. And 13 years later he’s still talking about it.
Since 2003, Patrick Ndayishimiye had been listening to Ivyizigiro Radio, a station run by World Outreach Initiatives with mast rental funded by Blythswood. “It helped me in my spiritual life,” he says. “I really grew up in my walk with God.”

In 2012, I was hit by a Dyna truck and was severely injured. I spent almost two months in hospital. My foot was in such a bad state that I needed surgery to reconstruct it. While hospitalised, I used to listen to the radio on my phone. In my suffering I was looking for the word of God. Ivyizigiro Radio was the only place I could find it. I would listen to different pastors and songs that helped me in that bad period.

One evening the evangelist Chris Ndikumana was preaching. He said: ‘If you are in the hospital and you have an injured leg, but also have a well-functioning one, thank the Lord for the good leg. If you are hospitalised, but have at least one body part working well, thank God for that one body part. If you are hurt but have something else going well, thank the Lord.’
“That night I couldn’t sleep. I thought about what I had heard. It made me realise that when the truck hit me, it didn’t hit my back, nor my head, it didn’t break me, even though it’s a big vehicle. I saw how it hit my ankle and foot only, and I said to the Lord: ‘God, you are amazing!’ I sang, praised and thanked the Lord that whole night. I thanked God by touching my hands and saying they are fine, my back is fine, my head is fine. I said to God, ‘Lord, I am doing so well!’

“Friends who had spent the day with me had left me walking with crutches. But a miracle occurred: in the morning, they found me walking without them! This is what happened. I took to heart the words the preacher said, ‘If you are sick but one body part is doing well, be thankful for that part.’
“In the morning I decided to walk without my crutches. I tried a first step and made it – a second one, too, until I was able to go outside. Since that day, I never used crutches again. My life changed that night thanks to Ivyizigiro Radio. Today, I want to thank the Lord. That message filled me with hope and healed me. Praise the Lord!”

Jeremie’s story

Jeremie who was raised in a community which practised witchcraft, grew up traumatised and angry. As a young adult he moved from rural Burundi to the capital city Bujumbura, and then to neighbouring Tanzania, hoping to make a better life for himself. But nothing worked out. He consulted charm makers who sold him objects with which to protect himself and still his life did not improve. And so, like unhappy people from cultures all around the world, he turned to alcohol for that temporary illusion of escape. It was a gospel message on the radio which arrested his slide into despair. In the Rwandan dialect, ISHIMWE means “thanks be to God”. It’s also the name of a programme broadcast by Radio Ivyizigiro which aims to help listeners understand the Christian concept of salvation. After listening to several programmes, Jeremie, now 32 years old, travelled to meet the producer. “He received Jesus as his Saviour”, says Chadric Ndayirorere. “We prayed with him and he was delivered from the evil spirits which had oppressed him for so long. Today he is committed to the Lord and gives thanks to God. To God be the glory!”

Toussaint’s story

Christian radio broadcasts have helped a young man in Burundi to overcome the damage caused by childhood rejection.

Toussaint was still a baby when he was rejected by his father. He grew up believing nobody loved him. This conviction resulted in explosive anger and aggressive behaviour. His only refuge was in drunkenness but that didn’t help: when he became angry he would break everything and fight. In this disturbed frame of mind, he started to think about putting an end to his life. Why go on? Nobody loved him.

But Toussaint had a sister who is a Christian, and a regular listener to Radio Ivyizigiro, a radio station supported by Blythswood Care. She told Toussaint what God had done in her life through listening to gospel broadcasts and she persuaded him to listen, too.

“The result was that Toussaint came into our office in Bujumbura,” says station manager Onesime Harubuntu. “He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. We prayed for him and he was delivered from the evil spirits of drunkenness and suicide.
“He has really found peace in Jesus Christ, so much so that he has been able to forgive his father. He has changed completely. He is clinging to God and thanking the Lord for his salvation.”