Testimony from Burundi

People of God praise the Lord, my name is Eugene Barutwanayo, I am a Burundian by nationality. I want to share my testimony with you. It tells you how God have been so good to me during the time of my troubles and tells you of the goodness of God to his people during the hard times.

Brothers and sisters in the LORD, the Love of God is above all, indeed God has been so good to me during the time I was facing challenges in the foreign land (Thailand) where I faced hard times. The challenge I have never seen since I was born but because of His grace and his mercy to me I became a champion in the Lord. In this testimony I am giving you today, I want to let you know that in the time of trouble God will never leave or forsake you. I have seen it with my eyes, surely He is a good God who provides to the needy where there is no way, He made it.

People of God during the times I was in this foreign land, one day I went to the agent who used to give others visa. The agent gave the visa and I used it but I never knew that the visa he gave me was fake till the day they I went to renew my visa at the border between Thai-Laos. They checked and they saw that the visa I was using almost a year was fake.

People of God I want to tell you since that very day, they put me in Nongkhai prison far from my place where I was living but God has never left or forsake me, I want to ask you one question “IF GOD IS WITH YOU WHO CAN BE AGAINST YOU?  I lost my heart and felt that it was the end of my life but where there is no way God is there to make it for you. I have seen this even though I have little Faith.

Imagine thinking how you can die because of many problems but God has never allowed me to leave this world before the time himself has set. What I want to declare today is; His love endures forever.

As a believer, never give up instead, pray till something happen.

The first day I entered the prison God gave me the strength I cannot imagine. That strength brought into me peace of heart because where they put me in jail I was one and only black man amongst more than 2000 people.

Can you imagine that? I was so afraid because all of them came to touch me and talked in their own languages (Thai and Isaan) In that event, our God showed me his mercy, favour and grace as he has done it to Joseph in Egypt, indeed his love endures forever.

In that night I took time and prayed because my heart remembered that God is the answer of all my problems even though I have little faith.

That very night the Holy Spirit visited me in the dream and told me that I should not worry because God is with me in all circumstances. I awoke and started meditating and praying, seeking God’s intervention.

 

BROTHERS AND SISTERS in Christ Jesus, God’s love is above all. I got a Holy Bible from the leader of the prison; this is another testimony because the one who gave me the BIBLE is not a Christian. I was so surprised that he knew that I am a Christian since I have never talked to him about that but God used him and brought a Bible to me, See how God can use anybody to rescue his beloved people?

All the people in the prison could not believe that the leader has been so good to me because everybody feared him but how he was so kind to me. He was so good to me till I leave the prison. For that love God showed I give glory to his Holy Name.

Day and night I was meditating on the word of God. The Bible became my companion, more than ever before, these words written in Jeremiah that says “call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know”(“Jer33;3) helped till this hour.

I was having stomach and kidney problems. In my life I have never tasted Thai food because those food too much chilli but I  had no choice. I started eating it and behold stomach problems disappeared, Hallelujah. God is so good even they have tried to put chilli inside that food nothing happened to me. I thank God for that.

Since I had  kidney problems they gave me blankets like a bed and pillow. In all this God protected me, God is so wonderful, before I went to prison I had to see a doctor once a week, Brothers and sisters, see how the love of God was on me.

Another miracle God did for me. Three months later they called me and they told me that I should present myself before the judge, When I reached that place, I saw a man I don’t know where he came from or worked. He told me that I have no right to sign any documents the judge give unless they brought someone who can interpret what is written in the documents. They were written in the Thai language and I didn’t know how to read it, I didn’t trust them.

People of God, if I had signed that document I don’t know where I will be till to day. Glory to God, He was with me in all circumstances. They called the man who can explain everything written inside the documents. After the explanation, I respected the law and went to present myself before the judge. I thank God for He was with me in all those circumstances.

It seemed that the agent sold me a fake visa because I am a foreigner but in all hard times I continue to call our father in heaven to intervene in my affairs and behold he has answered me.

It  was not easy for me in that prison because there were all kinds of sickness and diseases. I saw many people die. The leaders of that prison seemed to not care about it , it was a game and did not concern them. These actions made me afraid and draw me near to God. Behold all the times I spent there I have never took any medicine. Jesus was my healer according to Matthew 8;17 (He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases),behold My Saviour has carried all diseases from me and made me free, glory be to his Holy Name.

God continued to send helpers to me in my hard times and those helpers were all foreigners. When I had 14 days to be free, March 21st– April 4th ,2016,these events happened. After spending 2 years and 8 months without seeing such event in that prison, I was so happy to see such good moments with you people of God because you have brought good news of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Once again God showed me this wonderful love through his servants( Hope Behind Bars group) where they helped me to buy ticket from Thailand to Burundi. I also thank him for using you to such marvellous work to me. May He continue to bless you in Jesus name.

I was not able to buy a ticket, I had no power to buy ticket by myself in order to leave Thailand to my home land where am living today. Glory be to God, He used you his people to rescue me from IDC.

I thank him once again on your behalf because he has never left me as a sinner as I am. I promise you that I will continue to declare before you how God’s love is above all even if my heart at times has never finished. My daily prayer is; “let His will be done in my life because God promised his people in Jeremiah 29;11 an expected end(to give his people a hope and a better future) and I believe in Him.

One thing I ask you his people is to continue praying for me and pray also for Thai government to give you freedom in order to announce the good news in all Thai prisons because there are many souls looking for salvation, I saw it by myself.

The last and not the least, want to thank you once giving you a million of thanks for what you have done, you are doing and you are about to do, Praying God he should give you energy, power and grace to continue his work peacefully in Jesus Christ’s name. I will never forget you and in my daily life I continue to pray for you and tell our God your love and kindness all the days OF MY LIFE.

Thanks. Finally, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all.

Remain under his eyes and be blessed

Your brother in the Lord

EUGENE.

July 2016