A Rwandan adage says “God roams the world during the day, but returns to Rwanda at night to sleep” suggesting that Rwanda is His favourite place, and He goes home to Rwanda at night. Considering that many of the huge massacres took place in churches(and many of the small ones too, if there can be such a thing as a small massacre), I think He was away, night and day, for four months in 1994.
I am a person of faith. I was Confirmed in my faith on June 21, less than a month before I went to Rwanda.
I am also a church lady, that strangest of creatures, and I am fairly active in my congregation. I am on the Altar Guild and I arrange flowers in the sanctuary on the fifth Sunday of any month (if there is one), I am a member of the Sunshine Group, which is a fantastic group of women whom I have come to love, and I participate in a regular Sunday coffee hour, and I am currently the Rector’s Warden, but the jury is out on how I am doing there.
Rwanda has changed things for me a bit. I tend to look for God in my day to day life, and generally I can find Him, but I have to ask myself where God was in April, May, June and July of 1994.
Luckily for God, Rwandans have not lost their faith since the genocide, and church attendance is not down too much. Had I lived there, I might not have been so generous with Him.
I have seen the evidence of genocide in Rwanda, the extent of the killing. When I think of what I saw, I am consumed by rage.
By the way, the jury is in and you are doing a most fantastic job as rector's warden!!
ReplyDeleteSo sayeth the priest!
Thank you Erin. That was very kind.
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