Jean, Was Missing in Rwanda 20 Years Ago.

Rwanda suffered genocide in April of 1994, which saw people killed at a speed and on a scale not seen since WWIII. It remains one of the 20th century’s bloodiest chapters. The global community acknowledges their lack of response over the course of the 100 days during which up to one million people were killed in Rwanda.

During that time, I do not recall being attentive to the scale of violence. My wife and I were aware of and praying for one young boy and his family who were missing. Thousands of people were displaced and were desperately trying to escape with their families to safer places.

Our prayers for Jean, the young boy we had been sponsoring and exchanging letters with over the past year ended with the arrival of a letter saying that Jean’s body was identified. Jean and his family were faces and names that we knew.

We still have a picture of Jean. We still have the letters we exchanged with him. Later, we sponsored another child after peace and stability returned to Rwanda. We supported and exchanged letters with Hishamunda from the end of 1994 until 2006. Hishamunda graduated from school, received job skills and was living independently in a country healing from deep wounds.

 Josephine is our new sponsor child. I had the opportunity of visiting her in Rwanda in 2009 with a group of four men who began a community-wide movement of sponsorship in our county. There are more than 500 children sponsored through Our Response working through World Vision. It is a significant way to make a difference one person at a time. Go to Our-Response.org if you wish to touch child’s life that also benefits their family and community.

The people of Rwanda gathered to mourn those who were missing 20 years ago. Most had been killed, some were identified and others buried in mass graves. We mourn with them and pray for them to look to the LORD for their healing.

Psalms 147:1,3
Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
    how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!
3 He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.

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