Forgiveness in Rwanda

A letter from Nancy Collins serving as Regional Liaison for East Central Africa, based in Zambia

September 2015

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.   —Matthew 5:9

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.  —Matthew 5:23-24

Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”  —Matthew 18:21-22

Dear Family and Friends,

Forgiveness is hard. There is often part of me that wants to hang on to the righteous anger and indignation of injustice and perhaps disdain and dislike of the neighbor. I find it takes spiritual discipline to forgive. I don’t always manage. The fruits are great, but getting started—making the initial effort—is difficult. And yet, from the passages above, we know God calls us in a special way to be peacemakers, to build unity, to forgive.

Pastor Jerome

Before I went in February of this year to visit our partner in Rwanda—the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda—I let the church leaders know I wanted to visit the parish of Remera and the presbytery exec there, Pastor Jerome Bizimana. I helped facilitate the selection of Pastor Jerome as one of the 2015 PC(USA) International Peacemakers, and I wanted to ensure that he understood what would be involved as he came to the U.S.A. to speak in presbyteries. I also wanted to ensure that folks at the PC(USA) had the information they needed to best convey the work that Pastor Jerome does. I thought I understood Pastor Jerome’s work, but during my visit I learned that what he had accomplished through Jesus Christ was something I could not even imagine: forgiveness and reconciliation that was clearly the work of the Holy Spirit.

Nancy and Pastor Jerome with members of the Peacemakers and Light groups

During my visit Pastor Jerome shared that he attended a program in peace-building and conflict resolution at Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation in Kitwe, Zambia. Pastor Jerome told me that after the peace-building training, he saw all of his work through the lens of reconciliation. When he returned to Rwanda in 2009 Pastor Jerome took to heart what trainers told him—“Don’t keep quiet. Use what you have learned.” He conducted multiple workshops and seminars—with church leaders, deacons, secondary school students, university students, and with survivors of the 1994 genocide and genocide perpetrators who in 2008-9 were being released from prison. At Remera, Pastor Jerome invited many people to come together for a series of workshops to address the experience of the genocide and how it impacted Rwandan citizens, Rwandan Christians. Out of the many who attended, 15 people formed a group to continue sharing among themselves and outside themselves. That group grew, and a second group was formed.

Members of the Remera groups

Sitting in the room with me that day in February were approximately 25 Rwandans—genocide survivors and genocide perpetrators. One of the men identified himself as a perpetrator, and he said, “The woman whose family members I killed is the woman sitting there,” and he pointed to a woman sitting on a nearby bench.

Judith Mukagatari, one of the Rwandans present, spoke about her hard, long journey of forgiveness. She shared that she spent 15 years in deep anger and suffering, grieving for the loss of her family members. According to Judith: “I thank God and I thank Jerome for giving us the medicine that allowed us to move forward. Life had no sense; there was no meaning to living without family.”

Jean Bosco, a genocide perpetrator, explained that prisoners were encouraged to ask for forgiveness as a condition of release. He said: “Returning home was like coming from another country. I was full of shame. People I encountered on the road would turn their faces or run away from me.”

Members of the Remera groups

By some miracle of the grace of God, the two groups of genocide survivors and genocide perpetrators at Remera have now become family to each other. All attend weddings and celebrations as one family, they are godparents to each other’s children, they meet each other’s needs. For example, when the wall around a widow’s house is damaged, the men come to repair it. The perpetrators and the survivors are at peace with each other—they have truly forgiven and found acceptance.

According to Pastor Jerome: “I have no strength of my own for this work. We are the arm of God, the voice of God. Thanks to the two groups, work is a joy.…Some people go to the government to try to resolve problems, but it is wonderful when problem resolution can be done within the church.”

Let us pray for Pastor Jerome, for Judith and Jean and all the members of the Peacemaker and Light groups at Remera. Let us pray for the impact of the International Peacemakers from around the world who are now visiting PC(USA) presbyteries and congregations. Let us pray for ourselves that we may have the discipline to move toward our neighbors and ask their forgiveness—even when we think the fault is theirs.

I ask you to continue walking with me in faith through your prayers, interest in learning more about this area of the world, correspondence, advocacy, and sharing the gifts of God. We can magnify the Lord by promoting human and spiritual development and growth and reconciliation, knowing that great things will happen. I ask you to continue to support my ministry which is such a blessing to me. Thank you for your perseverance in prayer and ministry, your generosity, your curiosity, and your love.

In Christ,
Nancy

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 154
Read more about Nancy Collins’ ministry