Mission Rwanda: November 14

"The genocide killed over a million of our people, but it gave all of us a disease. We all have fear in our hearts now" ~Mathieu

Monday was an incredibly full day. We started out by stopping at a church which  is now a genocide memorial. Within the actual sanctuary over 1,000 people were killed. Within the church grounds the total was over 5,000 people killed who went to the church seeking shelter. And they are still finding bodies almost 20 years later. Inside the memorial we saw the skulls and bones of those killed in the church. The clothing that they wore when they were killed was hung along the walls and from the rafters. There are holes in the walls and there were still some blood stains on the walls. Even typing this brings back some of the horrible details that we were told and some of the images that we saw. It turns my stomach to think that those things happened inside the church, which was supposed to be God's house.

After the memorial we went to the Village of Reconciliation-a place where victims and perpetrators live together and have chosen to seek forgiveness and forgive one another. It is a place unlike any other. Pastor Steven Gahigi spoke to us about what has happened to create such a village. We heard the stories of Rosaria and Janet, who lost family members and were injured during the genocide and then chose to forgive those who committed those crimes against them. And we heard the stories of perpetrators like Sevari and Frederick who have found freedom in forgiveness. Our team sang a few songs and then the people of the village sang a few songs for us as well. They were singing songs about the grace of God and broke out in dancing. They pulled a number of us up to dance with them. The man who pulled me up to dance was one who was a perpetrator during the genocide. I danced alongside he and other killers and victims alike realizing that the only way that this scene was possible was by the sheer grace of God. It was amazing. 

Sevari sharing his story

Pastor Steven Gahigi and I

My new friend

We ate lunch at the village and then spent time visiting with the people. I held a baby for some time and talked with the father (who spoke English) and some of his friends. Some of us painted the nails of the ladies in the village. We played with the kids. I met a young man named Mathieu who was 3 years old when he lost his father and his aunts, uncles, and grandparents. He told me about the genocide from his perspective and shared that he believes that Rwanda's way forward is through forgiveness first, and then business second. He asked that I pray that he can finish going to college for business. 

Mathieu and I

After our time at the village we stopped at Hotel Des Mille Collines-better known as Hotel Rwanda. It was cool to see the hotel since I saw the movie several years ago. It was much larger than I thought it would be. At the end of the night we stopped at a restaurant and got pizza-it was sooo good. The second best pizza I have ever had (Morocco still holds #1).