by Jason Benedict, RCE Strategist
27 March 2011
I made it to Kigali, Rwanda safe and sound – I am so thankful that Ethiopian Air now has a 777: we no longer need to stop in Rome and refuel, so the flight is direct from Washington DC to Addis Ababa – this makes the trip over much less arduous. At baggage claim I discovered that the handle had been ripped off my large suitcase, but everything else was intact. It was great to be greeted at the Airport by familiar and smiling faces, and cool weather (in the mid 60’s). It is much too cool for Rwandan taste, but suits me just fine.
I had dinner tonight with Gary Dutlow an ICCC member and visiting executive from South Africa. Gary has been running an engineering firm near Durban for the last 23 years. I am looking forward to a good week with our entrepreneurs. The BDC creates so many great opportunities for us to leverage the impact of Kingdom business professionals like Gary. I wonder how many Christian business people are longing for opportunities to use their skills and knowledge to make a significant impact in places like Rwanda – each BDC we start will create opportunities galore.
One of the greatest opportunities we have here is to forge long term relationships. We know that transformation is happening through our programs: training, seminars, peer groups, mentoring sessions, etc., but a lot of transformation happens organically through relationships. For example, I remember spending a couple of hours last fall with Olivier – he poured out his heart and vision – I shared mine. He had deep questions about doing business in a way that pleased God – we spent time in the Word together. Next weekend I will be attending Olivier’s wedding here in Kigali.
27 March 2011
I made it to Kigali, Rwanda safe and sound – I am so thankful that Ethiopian Air now has a 777: we no longer need to stop in Rome and refuel, so the flight is direct from Washington DC to Addis Ababa – this makes the trip over much less arduous. At baggage claim I discovered that the handle had been ripped off my large suitcase, but everything else was intact. It was great to be greeted at the Airport by familiar and smiling faces, and cool weather (in the mid 60’s). It is much too cool for Rwandan taste, but suits me just fine.
I had dinner tonight with Gary Dutlow an ICCC member and visiting executive from South Africa. Gary has been running an engineering firm near Durban for the last 23 years. I am looking forward to a good week with our entrepreneurs. The BDC creates so many great opportunities for us to leverage the impact of Kingdom business professionals like Gary. I wonder how many Christian business people are longing for opportunities to use their skills and knowledge to make a significant impact in places like Rwanda – each BDC we start will create opportunities galore.
One of the greatest opportunities we have here is to forge long term relationships. We know that transformation is happening through our programs: training, seminars, peer groups, mentoring sessions, etc., but a lot of transformation happens organically through relationships. For example, I remember spending a couple of hours last fall with Olivier – he poured out his heart and vision – I shared mine. He had deep questions about doing business in a way that pleased God – we spent time in the Word together. Next weekend I will be attending Olivier’s wedding here in Kigali.
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