Kagadi; A Testimony; June 8

Last night I sat and listened to the testimony of a man named Francis, who had traveled with us from Kampala to help with the effort in Kagadi. Frances is from Rwanda. In 1994 he was in seminary studying to be a priest when the Rwandan genocide broke out. He is Tutsi - this is the tribe which was massacred by the Huttus. Francis escaped death by hiding at the seminary, which was protected because the bishop was favored, although he was Tutsi. When the violence subsided, Francis returned to his village to find everyone he was close to - family and clan - dead. People who had been his neighbors and friends were the ones responsible for the murder. There is no need to write the grisly ways in which his family members were killed. Suffice it to say, such evils are almost unthinkable.
With his family dead and only enemies remaining, Francis would have committed suicide, had not the Great Shepherd of the Sheep taken ahold of this lost lamb. A pastor shared the gospel with him, and Francis recieved a new family - God's. The amazing thing which happened next was that Francis forgave the Huttus. What's more, he decided to marry a Huttu - an act which was totally inconceivable to the village and everyone involved. It was assumed that Francis had a plot for revenge through this, but thirteen years of marriage with children, and living out the love of Christ, has convinced many people that he is sincere. If this is not evidence of the power of Christ, I am at a loss to come to any other explanation. Humanly, I don't think such forgiveness is possible. As I sat in our little bungalow listening to Francis' story, I put myself in his shoes - imagining such atrocities committed against my family by my neighbors. I am very aware that in myself, there would be nothing but hatred and bitterness. And yet Francis was not consumed by hatred. He was given grace to love. Instead of being bent towards revenge, he is driven by a desire of love to reach Huttus and Tutsis with the gospel of peace.
An amazing characteristic of Francis is that he looks like he is 22. In reality he is 37. He has said that the Lord gave him a new lease on life when he met Christ, in order that he could serve the Lord for many years with youthful zeal - and I believe him. Praise the Lord for a man who has been forgiven much and so is able to forgive.