The Red-Robed Strangers

Ten years later, the dream still plagued her. Passie knew that it was from God but, try as she might, she had yet to understand the dream’s meaning. All she could do was wait and pray. 

Pascasie Nicayenzi had been a follower of Jesus almost her whole life, with a passion for reaching the lost. While still finishing her degree in linguistics and language teaching in Bujumbura, Burundi, she asked God for an opportunity to explore mission work. Waiting and praying eventually led her to work with the Batwa Pygmy people in her homeland. 

“I believed God was calling me into ministry,” she related, “and that this would be one step of many.” 

While in university, she met and fell in love with Hermes, another linguistics student. Although she felt confident that God intended for them to be married, Passie waited for him to initiate. “He was shy,” she remembered, “and took a long time to propose! When he finally did, he asked me if I would pray and seek God about whether we were supposed to be married.” 

Passie told Hermes, “No, I do not have to pray more. I already know the answer!’” 

The married couple were well suited to one another, but Passie worried that her husband might not share her strong sense of calling into mission work. Rather than try to persuade him, she chose again to wait and pray. 

Finally, a day came when she approached her husband, almost tentatively, to confess that God had been speaking to her about global mission. “Would you please take time to pray,” she said, “and ask God if this is his will for us?”

“No,” he told her, grinning. “I do not have to pray more. I already know the answer!” 

Despite their shared sense of calling, it seemed presumptuous to imagine that their small church in Africa would alone be able to mobilize them as missionaries. Passie and her husband brought their impossible dream to God, and then waited and prayed. 

They also strategized, just in case.

“My husband and I knew that even if we were somehow able to raise funds to launch into global mission, we needed to do all we could to be self-sustaining,” Passie explained. For this reason, the couple went on to found Rundi Language Hub, a translation service that now provides them with a small but steady income. 

“Most of our work is done virtually,” she explained, “which means that we could operate from anywhere in the world. But where, in the world, did God want us to go?”

One night, Passie had a vivid dream in which she saw a line of strange men, all with shaved heads and in red robes. They seemed to be passing something around. Passie had never seen such people before, but their faces looked Asian. They were definitely not from Africa!

Somehow, she knew that she and her husband were being called by God to bring the Gospel to this people group. But who were they? Where were they?

Puzzled, Passie asked her husband, friends, and colleagues about what she had dreamed. Where could such men be found? But no one was able to answer her question. 

She searched online but found nothing that brought any clarity. “We had no way forward,” she said. “All we could do was wait and pray.” 

The couple waited and prayed for almost ten years, during which time three beautiful children were born to them. Although Passie and her husband began to feel settled in their family life and professional life, her dream was never resolved. 

Then, one day, a missionary friend was sharing some photographs with her. In one photo was a line of strange men, all with shaved heads and red robes! 

“Who are these people?” Passie asked excitedly. 

“These are monks,” her friend replied. 

“Monks?” Passie asked. “What is a monk?” 

Her friend went on to explain that these were Buddhist devotees in Asia. What a discovery! Passie ran to tell her husband, “I’ve seen our land! I know where it is!” But how would they ever get there?

Inspired anew, they prayed earnestly for God to connect them with those who could help them with next steps. Then, Passie’s work as a translator brought her into contact with a global worker from Multiply, and she heard about ministry in Southeast Asia. “Are there Buddhist monks there?” she asked. There were indeed.

Not long after, they received a request to provide translation services at a gathering of the International Community of Mennonite Brethren in Malawi. Passie was more than happy to serve in this capacity, and it was there, during the gathering, that she met the Multiply team from Thailand. Team members listened in amazement to her dream and, praying together, discerned that Passie and her husband should plan to come to Thailand to explore possible future ministry there. 

“We can hardly believe it!” Passie exclaimed. “After so many years, we can finally take the next step, and see where the dream leads us.” 

Both she and her husband know that nothing is certain, but they are resolved to do their part. “We will wait,” she affirmed, “and we will continue to pray.”

PRAY

Join Passie and Hermes as they wait on God and pray for discernment. Pray also for this possible partnership with Multiply workers and national partners in Southeast Asia.

To receive our Daily Prayer Guide and keep up with prayer requests from our global workers and national partners, go to multiply.net/dpg