Who Will Go?

In 1994, the world watched in horror as the Hutu-led government in Rwanda launched a 100-day ethnic cleansing campaign resulting in the death of nearly 1,000,000 Tutsis. That number includes some moderate Hutus. Across the country, neighbors turned on neighbors, using machetes, clubs, spears, rape, drowning and being burned alive as instruments of death to maximize suffering and terror. This was carried out in response to generations of tension between the two people.

Today, every Rwandan in their late 30’s bears the unforgettable scars of witnessing the torture and murder of loved ones. Some of the hardest-hit communities and villages, enduring the deepest trauma, were provided with special government housing and now live in isolation, haunted by memories of the killings, rape, and pain of being orphaned.

One such community exists on the southernmost edge of Kigali, in the District of Mageragere. Rev. Lee Shelnutt, Rev. Sam Cotten, and I visited there this past February. As we drove up, we noticed the beauty of the green, Rwandan hills and the unusual quiet of the streets. Our guide, Benjamin Musuhukye, explained that people often stay indoors, their genocide trauma making them suspicious of outsiders. He relayed that their poverty and lack of medical care often caused people to pass away anonymously. Their bodies stayed in the small home for long periods of time, unnoticed. Ben himself had walked into homes to visit and found a dead body having been there for some time. This place is where death and trauma are not memories but rather, are daily relived in their minds.

In addition, there is no church in this community to give the light of hope to a people trapped in darkness. To be clear, this community also has a significant number of Muslims who are trapped in the same memories as their neighbors. If there was ever a place the light of the Gospel was needed, it is here.

Amid the scars of war and the weight of spiritual oppression, this small community stands as one of the greatest opportunities for World Witness to partner with local Rwandan pastors in bringing the light of Christ to a place in desperate need of hope. We believe God is calling us to plant a church here – and we need faithful workers to help us answer that call. Will you join us in fervent prayer, asking the Lord to raise up two ARP families to serve as church planters, with World Witness, in East Africa? The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Let’s pray for those who will go!