Say Goodbye to the Computer!

Well first off, let me inform those of you who don't know about my current computer status. My lovely MacBook Pro decided to break. I was in the middle of checking my Facebook when all of a sudden the screen went tan. I was like, "Okay, that's weird." So I turned the computer off and it started to make weird beeping noises. I quickly ran out to Kevin, our techy here on the trip, and he attempted to fix it. He opened it to see if there was a battery problem, but he couldn't find anything. I called Apple to try and get some over the phone help, and our conversation went like this. The apple woman on the phone asked me, "Can you give me your zip code so we can locate the closest store to you?" I said, "There are no stores here..." she replied, "I am sure I can find one." I said, "I'm in Rwanda." She replied, "oh..." That means, no laptop until May unless I decide to bye a small one here. I will try to keep my blog and Facebook up to date using different friends computers, but no promises. 


Now for the update on life...


For my peace and reconciliation class we had a guest speaker come in and speak on the topic of forgiveness. As he spoke, he suggested that forgiveness stands on three legs; love, repentance, and beliefs. In that, we must remember that God is love. That love then gives us the courage to repent. When we repent, we open our hearts to freedom. Lastly, every person is to be kept accountable for what they believe. Take those thoughts and apply them to his testimony...


In 1994m Protais Nshogoze was married with 3 children in Kigali. When the genocide began, they were told to leave their house and go to the mountains. When they were hiding in the trees, 40+ militia came and spotted them. The militia called them from the bush calling them "cockroaches," and telling them their time on earth was finished. They were going to kill them. Protais and his family stood begging for forgiveness, pleading, "We are just people like you are." In that moment, he was separated from his children and his wife. His wife and two boys were killed. He on the other hand, was taken to the main street with his uncle and his neighbor. He watched as the militia sliced his uncles neck. His neighbor offered them a large sum of money as a bribe, but the militia took the money and then sliced his next. Protais was beaten with a stick so severely that they left him lay in the middle of the street. As the militia left the area, some of his fellow Tutsi's came and took him to the Catholic Church near by to care for him. Soon after they washed all the blood off of him, a group of militia came and began to shoot everyone. Everyone scattered and he went to the swamp where he would hide for 41 long days. He and the others hiding in the swamp were convinced life was over when militia came through in helicopters shooting down and dropping grenades to clear out the people hiding in the swamps. Protais survived. The RPF eventually came in and removed the survivors from the swamps and took them to the hills. They spent 2 weeks there. As Protais and the other survivors began to recover from their 41 days without food in the swamps, the RPF fed them porridge. Protais was only able to eat 1 spoonful of porridge during his first week of recovery. Within a week, he could eat one serving. 


When the war came to an end, Protais and the other survivors returned to the villages to burry bodies and figure out where they would live. During this time, he and some other meditated on Matthew 6. He was trying to find good in his life. Reaching verse 12 ("Forgive us our sins as we forgive others."), he asked himself, "How can i forgive my offenders?" In verse 19, he found, "If you forgive others, your father in heaven will forgive you. If you will not forgive others, your father in heaven will nor forgive you." After 9 months, Protais went to the prison where the three men were that killed his family.  When he got to the prison, he asked to see the men. When they came out, they asked why he came to see them. He replied, "I have come to ask you for forgiveness because with my anger and hatred, I have killed you and your family with my mind." As they spoke, they all knelt down and cried together. It was in that moment that Protais was released of his sins; it was through forgiveness. From that day on, Protais would visit those men once a week, taking them food. In 2003, those who were in the prisons from the genocide and repented, would then go to be tried in the Gacaca Courts. The men that Protais visited were the first to repent. He continued to visit these men because he wanted reconciliation between survivors and offenders. How is that for a story about forgiveness? 


If that story isn't crazy enough, listen to this story about his faith. Protais was born in 1964 to a Catholic family; however, he spent much of his time with his Aunt who was a Muslim. He felt as though  the Muslim faith was where his heart was, so he converted.  As he grew up with the Islamic Church he went to the Muslim Institute for higher education and he became a leader in the Muslim Church. In 1982, he was the leader in a mosque. In 1983, he went back to his village to be a leader in a mosque for 2 years. While he was there, he was part of a group that preached to Christians with the hopes of converting them. In the Koran, it states that someone who kills a non-believer will have many blessings in heaven. As Protais preached with this group, they took this statement very literally. Protais beat many men who would not believe what he was preaching to them. 


1986 was Protais's year of salvation. One night, he had a vision. He says, "This vision saved me."In his vision, he saw someone standing in the light, but he could not see the face. The person called to him and said, "From now on, change your direction. Go teach my people." When Protais woke from his vision, he was scared. He explained his vision to  his wife and she replied, "Demons have attacked you." The couple spent the next several hours praying, but Protais still had a feeling of fear in his heart. To try and seek clarity, he went to his church to seek advise from his counselors. His counselors also replied saying, "Demons have attacked you." They prayed, but fear still filled his heart. One Sunday, Protais decided not to wake with his wife for 4am prayer. Instead of praying that day, he attended a Christian church. It was in the house of God that he confessed his sin. He came out of the church saying, "God has saved me!" After his salvation, the Muslims were angry with him, so he moved away from his village for 6 months. Strong in his new faith, he began preaching to Muslims. When he converted, his wife saw the new joy inside of him and she too converted. Protais is a Muslim leader who has converted to Christianity and is now a Pastor of the Christian Church. By God, he has been saved. God was watching over him in 1994 and continues to work in his life.


On Friday, Februray 11, we paid a visit to the PHARP organization before heading out for a relaxing weekend at Lake Kivu in Kabuye. PHARP was started by Pastor Anastase, the professor of my Peace Building and Reconciliation class. It is a program that teaches Rwandan women how to sew. By teaching them how to sew, there women then have the skills to obtain jobs. Part of the daily routine for these women is a group bible study and we had the opportunity to join them. After praying and reading the bible in Kinyarwanda, they sang for us and we sang for us and then we sang "Amazing Grace" for them. When we finished, they joined in, singing, "Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Amen" to the same tune. Again, this song was a unifying moment. We were able to lift up our voices as the children of Christ.  To finish off our time with them, they sang a very upbeat song in Kinyarwanda. As they sang, the woman leading the song came over to me, took my hands, and began dancing with me in the circle. Everyone was celebrating the faith we have through Jesus Christ. Worship may vary across cultures, but it is such an incredible thing to worship with my sisters in Christ. 


To finish off the week, we went on a relaxing trip to Kabuye. There, we stayed in the Golf Hotel which overlooked Lake Kivu and the beautiful mountains of western Rwanda. On Saturday morning, we went for a 30 minute swim out to the end of the peninsula and then we swam 30 minutes back. As we swam back to shore, we met a group of 8 or so Rwandan boys playing around in the water. We entertained them, and every Rwandan that stopped to stare at us, with games of chicken and launching the kids off of our shoulders into the lake.


Later in the day, we got on a boat and went 30 minutes to an island where we would go hiking. The island was very, very steep so we rode around tryingg to find the best place to get out and go up. The steep walk up the mountain was absolutely breath taking. There were mountains beyond mountains an the sun was just beginning to set as we made it to the top. I found myself singing, "How great is our God? Sing with me, how great is our God?" His creation never ceases to amaze me! We spent some time at the summit, and it reminded me so much of Ireland. As we began the hike down the mountain, Ryan, Julie, Kimmie and I led the group. At one point, we were scaling on the side of the mountain because there was no other way to go. As we walked along, you had to group bushes and grass to keep yourself from sliding down the mountain. One bushel of grass I grabbed wripped out of the ground and I began to slide on my stomach down the mountain. Whoops! The rest of the group took a different route. Probably a good idea :)


The next day, we went to a church that Pastor Anastase has supervision over. As we sat through the service, I found myself thinking about the ability that we have in the United States to pick what church we want to attend. Most of these villages have one church and they have no transportation. That being said, the church in their village is the church they attend. It made me think about how church is about worshiping God and being in His presence. Church is not a shopping spree to pick what is best for us. It made me realize that when I attend church, I am there to worship God with a body of believers. I am in God's house and that is good enough for me!


Another thinkI have been working through since being here in Rwanda is, that God will continue to teach me about what it means to love. This past week, God led me to 1 John. In 1 John 4:18, it states, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts over fear." When I read this verse thinking about God's love, it makes perfect sense. We do not need to fear the love that God has for us, but in the times that we do find ourselves in fear, He is fighting for us and He will never leave us. What I am still working through is how and if this applies to human love. We say, "I love cookies: or "I love my mom," but can we apply this love to how God describes it in 1 John? We are never perfect, so how can our love for others be seen in this way? 


Also during this week, a few of us had the opportunity to go to lunch with several Rwandan students who have applied to University in the United States. These students are applying to highly prestigious schools including, Harvard, Cornell, Duke, Northwestern, and several other incredible schools. It was enjoyable to talk with these students and not only learn more about Rwanda from them, but also get them excited to travel to the US. They are in my prayers as they await acceptance letters in March.


Two last things...


We began our development research today. What does that mean? We are working with Procom, to seek information on households in Muhazi. Procom is looking to work with this village to improve their agriculture. In order for them to continue on with their plan, we must travel around with translators to fill out a 7 page questionnaire regarding several different aspects of the families. At the end of the week, we will compile our research as a group and present it to the city counsel. Procom will then take this information and continue their research so that they can help to promote agricultural development in this area of Rwanda.


We have applied for our Practicum Internships that will being next week. My first choice is to head to Kayonza with Africa New Life (you can look it up online) to work in Rwanda's Best School. The village is much more rural, and I would be living the "African Life" much more than I am now. Meaning, no internet with rice and beans (most likely). I would live with the "mother" of the school on a compound that has 6 living quarters for orphaned children. My job description would include:

• Teaching English
• Assisting with writing Sponsorship letters
• Visiting Children's homes who are part of the Sponsor Program
• Counseling
• Working with Sunday School

If I do not get my first choice, I have applied work with Africa New Life here in Kigali working with the feeding program for infants and other sponsorship administration. 

I am sorry that just got extremely long! I am also sorry that there are not any pictures up. Due to my computer being broken, I am at the mercy of those around me and I don't want to flood their computers with my hundreds of pictures. I will try to get some up in the near future. 

Much love! Happy Valentine's Day :)

Ali