Byumba, Rwanda - Feb 2008
Conference for Pastors & Leaders in Rwanda
Rwanda, land of a thousand hills, fertile and colourful, a country we all remember for the heart-rending stories and pictures of the thousands upon thousands of refugees fleeing murder and rape, broadcast during the genocide of 1994. This is a country profoundly affected by internal war and also by HIV/AIDS.
Flame International held a trauma conference at the Anglican centre in Byumba, about an hour’s drive north of Kigali. This area witnessed fighting long before it became known to the wider community, as the Rwandan Patriotic Front came into Rwanda over the northern border.
Here too there is much poverty, evident in the threadbare clothing worn by the children on their way to school. High up on the outskirts of this small town, overlooking the area, there is a displaced people’s camp of Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese. They are still too frightened to return to their homes for fear of reprisals from rebels hiding in the jungle.
This five day conference was laid on at the request of the Archbishop of Rwanda. The first day started with only eleven people there. The decision was made to hold back the teaching and to spend time praying for more delegates to come.
The next hour will be forever etched in my memory as the pastors from various churches and denominations prayed with an overwhelming intensity for their country; they know the depth of sorrow and hurt still to be dealt with. Amazingly, by the next morning over sixty more people had arrived from across the country.
Each of those attending gave their full attention to the teaching. There was gravity in every conversation, and a general air of seriousness, hardly surprising in a nation that went through so much in such a short time, and that is still counting the cost daily.
People gave their rapt attention to the testimony of Frida Gashumba, (see book review on general updates) who spoke of the atrocities inflicted on her family during the genocide. She then spoke at length, on the profound effect that coming to faith had had upon her, and how she has been able to forgive those murderers, make friends with them and visit them in prison initially and now even help them.
After the teaching on forgiveness the delegates were given the opportunity to nail red discs to a cross, symbolic of someone needing their forgiveness. As they came to the front one by one, many sobbing, a lament was sung softly adding considerably to our understanding that God was bringing significant healing to many.
Later on a time of repentance was begun by fellow team member, Mark, who stood and repented of the many things that ‘white men’ (muzungus) had been responsible for in Rwanda since the first missionaries came, including the slow reaction to the genocide by the UN.
An immediate response came from a pastor from the south, who demonstrated his forgiveness with a bear hug. This opened the heart of one of the delegates who knelt before the conference and repented as a member of the line of kings for their handing over of Rwanda to the spirit-world long ago. It was so clear that Jesus was working in the depth of the hearts of those present.
Repeatedly I heard people say how much God was challenging them through this fresh teaching of Flame International, how they were seeing that God needed to heal them deep in their spirit, so that they in turn could go on to minister to their congregations. During the time of ministry over the last two days, it was evident that changes were taking place, faces became less tense and times of worship were liberated by joy.
Becca Benfield