Miracle Mutesa

Now John is the next person to be blighted by Garlic's obsession to get revenge by giving people nicknames.

This is Miracle John Mutesa.

John is our can do/will do guy. He greets you with a wild swing of the arm, which seeks out your hand to give it a firm welcoming shake, and then either slaps you on the back, or gives you a big hug.

It was he who came to collect us at Kigali Airport; he who delivers a printer to my room when I desperately need one; he who plays the piano, guitar and leads the singing at church, fantastically well; he who is our material negotiator and sorter of deed plans; he who stands beside the Ugandan preacher on Sunday and interprets a twenty minute sermon with brilliant vitality.

John does things, does them very well, he anticipates your needs, and wants to make sure that everything is ok for you. He will even phone you up while you are in a taxi and advise us of what fare to pay - so that we do not get done.

But there is more to John. He has very little family - no-one close. I suspect the genocide is the cause of this. I think about asking why no parents or brothers and sisters, as we walk along the road, but I bottled it - probably to protect both of us from the answer I suspected.

Instead he tells me of hard work at school, scholarships to Bible Training College in South Africa, and when I ask him his plans he says he is content to just continue the work that God has given him here in Kigali.

John is a pastor in L'Eglise Vivante Church. His main role, is to support the work with the orphans, street children, and homeless. He spends lots of time with individuals teaching about the Gospel. This week he is deep in translation and organising a course for an invasion of Rwandan and international ministers.

He is so busy that we have not really had long enough to find out what he is thinking, except I know that he likes preachers who teach from the bible verses, and make Christ relevant to ordinary people like you and me. Rog and I were just saying today that we need to sit down for a couple of hours with this 24 year old, and get to know him even better.

John Mutesa, we hope, is coming to Scotland next June. Roger and I are going to take him sailing and kayaking at Arisaig. He is going to 'love it'(!) and we are going to love having him over, as are all his many friends in Scotland.

So given all of the above - its Miracle Mutesa from now on. I would like to say that he is one in a million, but I am increasingly finding here that there are loads of great people to meet and chat to out here. But John is really fantastic and a great blessing to his church, and all the visitors who come out here

Interesting - me and you are learning more from them, than they from us!