"The One with the Reconciliation and the TShirts"

Bethany & I in front of the real Hotel Rwanda

My Siblings and I :)

Currently, I am sitting in Starbuck’s writing this blog during an 8 hour layover in Amsterdam.  My first thought that goes through my head is “I am in Amsterdam!” How did this possibly happen so quickly. Where did the past four months go? Will I be able to apply anything I have learned from my time in Uganda? Or will I just feel super overwhelmed as I do now watching Mzungu after Mzungu, with the occasional ‘minorities’, walk by looking like the don’t have a care in the world as they get the privilege to probably go anywhere in the world?  Amsterdam…the land where every girl is wearing skinny jeans, high heeled boots, scarves, make up, and holding a designer bag. Well not everyone…there are a few and some of those few include our USP group…my tight knit community for the past four months, my friends, my support, and a unique family compiling of 28 Christian college students from across the country.  Amsterdam the land where thighs are seen, people walk really fast and are in a hurry, and where the only person who said “hi” to me in the airport was one of the airport janitors. Well, this is my last blog about actual events that happened in Africa and I want to tell you about a very different land a unique, beautiful, and forgiving land.

At the end of April we had the amazing opportunity to travel to Rwanda, “The Land of  A Thousand Hills,” for ten days.  We went to Rwanda to learn, to be inspired, and to hear what God is doing in a country that was literally divided, wrecked, and butchered 17 years ago.  On April 6, 1994 the President of Rwanda’s plane was shot down and so began the 100 day genocide where about 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus were murdered. Church members turned against one another, neighbor killed neighbor, family friends hacked each other to death.  17 years ago, on the Thursday before Easter, in a country that boasted of the title of the “Most Christian” country in Africa Rwanda forgot how to love its neighbor. 

Though the history is gruesome there were definitely triumphant pockets of hope like the story of Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager of Hotel des Mille Collines (the movie Hotel Rwanda is based off this true story).  As the UN and the West turned its back on Rwanda and pulled out expats, some heroes stood up and made a difference.  One quote in the Kigali Genocide Museum said, “Saving one life is like saving the world.”  The past is the past, but it does not have to determine Rwanda’s future and it is certainly not.

We had the chance to visit the Kigali Genocide Museum and mass graves which was very difficult. We visited Nyamata where 10,000 people were murdered while taking refuge in a church. We saw the blood stains, bullet holes, and the skulls, bones, and body parts of these people neatly aligned in lines on shelves.  This was the first few days of our Rwanda trip…depressing, hopeless, overwhelming. In the Kigali Museum there were thousands of real photos of people who had been murdered-they were not copied off computers or “googled” but were family photos.  They were in a huge room..faces staring at me, people my age, the back ground of one looked just like my Ugandan family’s home, but luckily, one stood out to me and I do not know how I spotted it. Praise be to God that I did, because at that point I was done with the museum..mentally, emotionally, spiritually, done I had seen enough pictures of butchered bodies and raped women infect with HIV. But one photo had a picture of a woman then underneath it said Job 19:26. I happened to have my Bible in my purse from our Church service before and I read it right there, while looking at the photo of this murdered woman, “Though my skin is destroyed, my flesh will see God.”  That stuck with me the whole week and was so helpful to somewhat process this.

The best part of the whole trip was when we visited the organization called CARSA Christian Action for Reconciliation and Social Action. This is when we saw how Rwanda is truly reconciling and in the process of forgiveness.  As we watched a tremendously moving documentary “As We Forgive” with two main characters being John and Chantale (John murdered Chantale’s father and it goes through the process of forgiveness for each of them) John and Chantale and another “perpetrator  & victim” pair walked in. We got to actually meet people who participated in the genocide and who had received forgiveness and affected victims of that individual. It was so powerful to hear their journey, their testimonies, and their honesty about the process and where they are today…friends. We ate lunch with these amazing people and watched them interact, joke around, and be civil toward each other. Forgiveness, reconciliation, and growth are happening in Rwanda and if they can forgive, truly forgive, we should be able too.

When we left Rwanda we left with hope and happiness, not despair. Because it is the season of mourning in Rwanda there are purple banners everywhere that read, “Upholding Truth, Preserving Dignity.” This is true as there are no longer Hutu or Tutsi but Rwandans, living together in love, piece, and hope.

After Rwanda I spent my last night at home which was so sad, but a complete blessing. My brother Gerald made me a t-shirt with a picture of myself on it. He also made our whole USP program t-shirts. My mama also got one with me on it and it is TOO  precious. I love them dearly and it was aweful to say bye, but I know they are family. The last few days we were in Entebbe for debrief. I think it is going to be a lot harder to come back than I originally thought…so just a little hint please be patient with me, but know I that I am truly excited to see all of you and share our experiences!