The call of God soon led Peter and his young family to Bible college in England where they took up residence in a converted stable with Vangi’s brother Oliver. They did not have much; the accommodations were meager, and the studies intense, but they loved to gather around the piano as a family and sing. Little did they know that this form of recreation would eventually turn into a viable ministry vocation! As invitations from churches began to arrive to minister through music, the “Rufaro” singing group was born.
Peter remembers, “We certainly hadn’t planned on starting a Gospel music ministry, and could not have imagined it as a potential solution to our study money running out, or as a stepping stone to further ministry in the distant future. It was an accident, an accident of faith. We were already in the right place, having followed God’s calling to Bible school. Sometimes, His leading is by the ‘squeezing’ of our circumstances, pushing us in one direction or another. There’s nothing to fear about that, because when we’re already headed in the direction He wants us to go, it’s an easy matter for Him to nudge us to wherever else He wants us to be. I think this is also a classic example of how God uses our passions and interests to further His kingdom.
We didn’t start Rufaro because we needed an income. We started Rufaro because we loved singing, and couldn’t help doing it... Our passions, our interests, the things we’re good at, the things we love doing and can’t stop telling people about – these are almost always good indicators of how God wants to use us. There’s no great mystery to it. God made us in the first place, and He knows the desires of our hearts, and longs to bring us into excellence.”
Questions
- Ephesians 2:8-10 speaks of God’s grace and purpose at work in our lives. Based on what you know of God, and the content of these verses, what would you say is the quality of His “workmanship” or “handiwork”?
- Peter said, “God made us in the first place, and he knows the desires of our hearts...” Based on your own story and Ephesians 2:10, in what kind of ways do you believe God has specially crafted you for good works?
- Psalm 37:4 talks about God fulfilling our heart’s desires. Peter, his wife and brother-in-law, loved to sing and “...were already in the right place, having followed God’s calling to Bible school.” How might their story have been different had they not been in “the right place”?
- In your own story, how have you found Psalm 37:4 to be true? In what ways has God used your “...passions and interests to further His kingdom”? If you aren’t sure, then how could you envision this happening in your life?
Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Psalms 37:4 KJV
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
