What will remain with me:Time for people – the Rwandese always have time for people, no matter what the schedule says. There is time to talk to you and have a proper in depth conversation, and the rest can wait.
Inclusion – everyone is welcome in every event. You can attend anyone’s wedding, you can attend a meeting even if it doesn’t pertain to you, and as a stranger you will be asked to give a speech at a gathering (informal or formal) as a token that they want you to feel included.
Appreciation – everyone shows sincere appreciation for every little thing you help with, no matter how small or simple it might seem, and to me that’s what makes it worth doing. When going to say bye to children I taught during the first few weeks, I was bowled over by their appreciation for what I did. And then I realised how something so basic (which I actually dreaded doing) was a top privilege to them, something they’ll never forget.
Forgiveness & Reconciliation – Picture this: your next door neighbour, someone you’ve known for ages and shared meals with, one day turns against you (un-understandably) and kills your family members. This is the reality that so many Rwandese now live with after the Genocide. How do they do it? Three words: forgiveness, reconciliation and God. Those very neighbours have been brought to repentance, they have been forgiven by the survivors of those very people they killed, reconciliation has united both sides, and all made possible only through their surrender to God. This is the true story of lives of many – an amazing inspiration to all of us – but unfortunately not the story of still many more. And therefore we need to pray for them as living with such fear and un-forgiveness is destroying their lives and keeping them in poverty.
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