rwanda: part two

I returned to school in January 2012 with a fresh heart.  I was still praying for Rwanda on a consistent basis but had no idea why God had put that place on my heart. 

During on of the first few Convocations of the year, they played a video about a new project that Liberty was starting.  The name of the project? Restore Rwanda.

I absolutely lost it.  I realized now why God had me praying for this country.

I learned that Rwanda has experienced an abundance of tragedies in the early 90s that left it completely shattered.  A rebel group called the Rwanda Patriotic Front started a civil war in 1990, which led to a state-orchestrated genocide in April 1994.  In 100 days, Rwandan rebels had killed one million of their own citizens.   

If you do the math, that's 6 men, women, and children being murdered every minute of every hour of every day for 100 days.

50,000 women became widows. And one million children became orphans.

Although the war and genocide are long over, Rwanda is still facing repercussions of the tragedy today.  The country is still in desperate need of healing, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.  

My heart was absolutely broken for Rwanda. My eyes had been opened, and I had a burning desire to do something about this.  I knew in my heart that I wanted to go to Rwanda to help with the healing in that broken nation.  So, I did what I had already been doing for a month - prayed and prayed and prayed for a chance to go to Rwanda. 

Fast forward 7 months to August. I had been consistently praying for the widows and orphans of Rwanda. I had also been praying for an opportunity to go to Rwanda so that I could help heal the hearts of the broken widows and orphans.

To keep this from dragging on, I went to Light Ministries meeting for the missions trips they would be having this year.   When I saw Rwanda on that list, I lost it. God had answered my prayers! I have never been so sure about anything in my life than that God wants me to go to Rwanda.  

To top it off, at the meeting, all they shared for the description for the trip to Rwanda was James 1:27, the verse that inspired this whole experience. 

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

I didn't realize how God had been preparing my heart for the plan He had for me in Rwanda and I am beyond thankful, excited, and humbled.