Genocide and Generations
Today we made the rather obligatory visit to a Rwandan genocide memorial. We wanted to go. I believe it is absolutely necessary in order to provide context and the backdrop to realities of life in Rwanda today.
It was a Polish lawyer who first coined the word genocide in 1943 from the Greek ‘geno’ (family, tribe or race) and the Latin ‘cide’ (killing).
If you have been to Auschwitz or one of the several concentration camps in Europe you would know what to expect. What I was not prepared for was realizing how similar the pattern of genocide was between Germany and Rwanda. There is no question that in Rwanda it was not a riot gone bad but rather a highly planned an orchestrated intent to destroy a group of people by killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately imposing conditions where life was impossible.
In 1994, twenty percent of Rwanda’s population were murdered leaving tens of thousands of children as orphans, between 250,000 and 500,000 women raped, and many men and women maimed for life with missing limbs, eyes and fingers.
Genocide Mass Grave Kigali
As I looked over a mass grave where 259,000 Rwandan’s are buried I was caught up in my mind with the theological doctrine that derives from the Augustinian concept of original sin. Simply stated it is a doctrine that asserts we as people are by our very nature hard wired to reject the love and rule of God in our lives. It is illustrated by a glass a wine with a few drops of poison in it. Even though it could be a glass of very good wine, the few drops poison all of it. So while not all of our nature as a human is depraved; our nature is totally affected by depravity.
There were good people, neighbors, and friends who suddenly over a very short period of time became killers and it has left behind a generation of damaged people in a nation trying to rebuild itself.
The Next Generation
Just two hours after reflecting on the Memorial I was escorted to the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology to speak to a classroom of students – mostly engineering students. It is a significant university here that was started with the determination to encourage the zeal for modern technology and science among the Rwandan youth so that they would be able to compete with students from other parts of the world.
Most students in the room would have been between one and five years of age when the genocide of 1994 took place here. Some of these young adults were raised by others – their own family dead. Everyone in the room knew of family or friends who lost their lives in 1994 under the planning of the group called Akazu.
Yet what I experienced with the students was a hope for the future of Rwanda. They desire to be educated and a part of the future in this aesthetically beautiful land. They are Rwandans and no reference is made in this country now of tribal differences. Do they still exist? I suspect so, but the people are trying to focus on the future more than the past.
I am now back on the campus of the Wellspring Academy feeling convinced of their focus on improving education. They are not only developing top-notch schools and using these as models for the government, but they are also building up the caliber and capacity of teachers who are the heart and soul of an education system. Their laser like focus is a key to their success, and evidenced by the sense of God’s favor they have here in Kigali.
Bob and I are doing a day of leader development tomorrow, pouring into the team here at the campus to encourage and equip. Wellspring was birthed right in our neighbourhood back home, so I guess we are just trying to be good neighbors.
Learning from today:
- You and I are capable of doing unimaginable things given circumstances that nurture that. There were men and women who claimed to be Christians who participated in, or did nothing to prevent the bloodshed.
- I think about the children – those who were massacred and those who have had to live with the consequences of what they saw during that 100 day killing spree. It inspires me to continue giving time to the work of protecting and caring for children as a board member of World Vision Canada.
- There is hope, and it is just one generation away. This inspires me to continue mentoring and building into the next generation of leaders.
Rwandan Work Prayer
While in Butare we visited the National Museum of Rwandan in order to get a pre 1994 historical background view of the culture in this beautiful country. Imagine my surprise when I found this prayer in the lobby there – very appropriate for all of us as we go into our workplace. – Carson
Work Prayer
My Heavenly God,
As I enter this workplace I bring Your presence with me.
I speak Your peace, grace, mercy and perfect order into this place.
I acknowledge Your power over all that will be spoken, thought, decided and done within this place God.
I thank You for the gifts you have blessed me with.
I commit to using them responsibly in Your honor.
Give me a fresh supply of strength and knowledge to my job today.
Anoint my works, ideas and energy so that all my accomplishments may bring You glory, and my works bring faith, joy and smiles to those I come in contact with.
God, I pray that when I leave this place give me traveling mercy.
Bless my family and home.
In Jesus name, Amen
Rwanda: One thousand hills, a thousand stories.
It is very hard not to like Rwanda.
Rwanda is a thriving, safe country with one of the lowest crime rates in Africa. It is also a small country – in area the size of Vancouver Island, or Belgium. So from Kigali, the capital, you can drive in any direction in a day to see other parts of this beautiful land.
When I held up my iPhone using FaceTime to talk with Brenda she commented on how green it was. So true, on our drive today I was impressed by the green undulating landscape of hills, gardens and plantations.
It is also a remarkable country from the standpoint of how the people are overcoming Rwanda’s genocide, three months of brutality in which an estimated 1,000,000 people were killed.
This country’s comeback has exceeded what even the most optimistic observers would have predicted. Jeff from the Wellspring Foundation has lived here since immediately following this tragic part of Rwandan history. He commented that the government has remained focused on the delivery of basic services like access to electricity and running water to all of it’s people equally. This has brought a stability and economic growth to the nation and mitigates genocide ideology.
We drove today to speak with a group of students at the national university. It was a special acknowledgement and prayer time for ‘finishers’ – those students about to graduate the end of June.
As I looked into their eyes from the podium, they looked just like students you would see at any university. The lecture theatre looked different from what you might be used to – but it works.
Bob and I spoke to them about our trip around the world and what we are learning about the places and leaders through who God is at work. We encouraged them to finish well and then to plant themselves where God leads and serve him there.
As we were leaving, our host thanked us. He was a third year student himself and he shared how he has always wanted to visit Canada.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you see, I have no parents, and some Canadians – people I have never met or seen, are paying so that I can attend university. That is why I want to visit your country.”
This young leader probably lost both parents during the genocide, I did not want to ask. But his response made me feel sad for him, and thrilled to know that some Canadian family are making it possible for his life to be different – very different.
Now, as I finish with the Internet, and get my other net set up – I’ll be thinking about him for quite a while.
Tweeter and the Monkey Man
Elvis – The Hotel Monkey Man
Bob Dylan
All day long I have been hearing Bob Dylan’s voice from the Travelling Wilburys singing, “. .
“To an undercover cop who had a sister named jan
For reasons unexplained she loved the monkey man”
Now let me try to explain.
Breakfast with Elvis
Bob and I were having breakfast at the Protea Hotel right at the entrance gate to Kruger national park. The gate itself reminds me of Jurrasic Park – because once you pass through it, you are the minority. We are in animal territory and Bob and Carson seem more like “Kibbles and Bits” once you enter the park.
Back to breakfast. So from where I am sitting I am watching one of the staff at the hotel positioned on the outside deck standing very alert yet sublte. The entire breakfast time he did not move but was holding something in his hands.
Curiosity has taught me a lot and occasionally gotten me into trouble. So I approached him and found out his name was Elvis. I also saw that what was in his hand was a homemade sling shot with 18 inches bands of red surgical tubing coming back to the leather patch for holding the round stones he had in a pouch.
“What are you doing?” I asked politely.
Elvis replied, “Watching for monkeys.” He then showed me how he fits the stones into the sling shot.
“So you are the Monkey Man here at the hotel?”
“Yes, yes . . the Monkey Man” he laughed with his beautiful white teeth showing from ear to ear. “The Monkey Man” he repeated with laughter.
“I haven’t seen any monkey’s this morning.”
“No,” Elvis said seriously, “it is because I am here. No monkeys today,”
Now Bob and I have seen these masked robbers on the property, but I still got the giggles as I thought about a hotel that has a monkey man on staff.
The leadership developer in me then started imagining the interview process for the job. I was now laughing out loud at just the prospect. Bob kept asking, “What are you laughing about?”
“The monkey man interview process.”
I was barely able to get that out without crying I was laughing so hard. My friend smiled with me, and my bizarre, warped sense of humour.
The Interview
Inside my head I picture the manager of the hotel coming out of his office with papers in his hand calling out, “Elvis?”
Elvis stands and walks towards the manager with his slingshot in his hand. Shakes hands with the manager and then enters his office.
Elvis has no papers with him and is dressed in a very casual manner as the manager asks him to sit down.
“So Mr. Elvis, you are here to apply for the Monkey Man position?”
“Yes sir,” he says shyly.
“Let me ask you a few questions, Do you like monkeys?”
“No sir.”
“Do you like eating Monkey glands?”
“Yes sir.”
“What do you think is the most effective way for our hotel to get rid of monkeys?”
“Sir I would go into the park and follow some lions and collect big bags of lion manure and spread it around the hotel.”
“Wouldn’t that smell and bother our guests?”
“Yes but it would get rid of the monkeys.”
“Would you be opposed to using a..” the manager gets up and closes the office door and looks into Elvis’ eyes, “. . a more lethal method?”
Elvis smiled, and holds up his slingshot.
“You any good with that?”
Elvis stares at him and with pride and repeats, “I never miss.”
“Even in a crowded dining room with dozens of guest in it?”
“I never miss” Elvis said more seriously.
The manager then stands up and walks towards Elvis, extends his hand saying, “You’re hired. You are hotel’s monkey man. Can you start tomorrow?”
Well I am going to sleep tonight still smiling about the Monkey Man. Hope to say goodbye to Elvis before we leave tomorrow.
What questions would you ask if you were interviewing someone for the monkey man position?
Buenos Aires: Driving, Arsenic and Electricians
Driving in Buenos Aires
The ninety-minute drive from where we were staying to Máximo Paz (Maximum Peace) was made on of a variety of roads. Modern freeways, toll roads, beautiful boulevards, cobblestones and finally dirt roads. Driving in Buenos Aires is very good for your prayer life and that is not in any way a comment on Catherine – our most excellent driver.
It has to do with how they drive here in BA. Here is what I have learned:
- Lanes – merely suggestions.
- Horns are to be used liberally (although not near to the extent of Lima).
- Right of way? Not so much – Most smaller intersections here, do not have lights or stop signs. So, when you have two cars approaching from opposite directions, the general rule is that the car to the right has the right-of-way. However, what is actually the case is that whatever way traffic is flowing has the right of way, and the other person has to wait for their chance to dart across.
- Stop signs are really just yield signs.
- Red lights usually mean stop. Late at night, people tend to run red lights. Catherine explained that this is a security precaution as people do not want to be held-up while stopped alone at a dark intersection.
- Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way.
- To drive downtown you are certain to encounter traffic and protests. They love to protest down here and a favorite tactic of the protestors is to block lanes of traffic to make their point. The police will never disperse them either. They simply wait for them to leave on their own.
Máximo Paz
Máximo Paz has a population of 3500 and is located in a largely agricultural area. It is a city that has struggled with poverty as well as high arsenic levels in the water supply. Cancer is one of the risks associated with chronic consumption of high arsenic contained drinking water.
Christian Church of the Family
We travelled here to see another community center initiative by Fortelecer. It has been started with a church and the pastor explained to us, “There are two doors. One to the church, the other to the community center and they are joined by a passage. They are joined so those in the church can go to the community center and those in the community center can go to the church.”
Pastor talking to Bob about the community center.
As you enter the town, the church greets you at the corner in a prominent location. Their pastor shared with Bob how their greatest job as a church is to show God’s love to those who are frustrated and not doing very well. They opened a community center to focus on the actually needs of those in the community utilizing professionals in different fields to do training and family work.
The night we visited there was a class training young adults to become electricians. The center offers dozens of classes and programs for children to adults on vocational training, health and physical education. Everyone knows it is associated with the church.
Getting out of the Office
One of my observations from Máximo Paz was caught in a short interchange with the pastor in his office.
His office was very sparse. A desk and chair, an old desktop computer still using 3 ¼ inch discs, and a few books on a shelf three of which were Bibles. As he saw me looking around the office he said, “I don’t spend much time in here. My office is out there,” motioning outside the window at the community.
As he looked out the window he was smiling with a smile that said, “These are my people and I love them.”
When we look out our office window, what do we see? Does it make us smile?
Maybe we need to get out more.
Electrical Class
Buenos Aires: Trusting the GPS
Have you ever been to an area where your GPS warns you that you are in a BAD part of town?
Catherine our host, driver, and translator, was driving us to meet the leaders at a community work that started as a church and now works directly with families in the community through centers that they have developed.
The pastor who started the work from the church was Gerardo Kopf who now serves as the General Director of Fortalecer: Recursos Para Familias Y Comunidades. Lucio Andrés from his board of directors also agreed to meet us at one of their centers. Gerardo explained that although they started as a church, they realized the people needed more. They needed more professional help – beyond what pastors are trained to do.
As Catherine drove us to the neighborhood in Buenos Aires she announced that her GPS issued a warning that we were entering into a dangerous neighborhood.
I have seen worse actually, but it did have all the traditional signs of a bad neighborhood. Graffiti, burned out cars left out on the streets, heavy bars on all the windows in sight. This is where the church has placed it’s self.
The issues for families in this community are very challenging and there is a great deal of abusive violence. The community center itself is heavily barred because the husbands of abused wives want to get back at those who help their wives.
Fortelecer’s principles are clear:
- All people are created in the image of God and are to be valued and respected.
- The gospel of Jesus offers hope.
- Hope that produces change is possible.
With these principles they provide resources to help families become healthy and create safety, love, equity, peace and solidarity. Wow.
I notice that whenever I ask South American leaders about ministry, they respond talking about people – fruit of their work. Most pastors here are engaged in active counter cultural activity within their community as part of their regular work week.
Volunteers power Fortalecer. I met Aldo, a psychologist, who gives one day a week to do counseling at the center. He sees eighteen people a day from 7:30am – 9:30pm. It is his volunteer service for the Lord and he is just one of forty “permanent’ volunteers. There are also over 100 additional volunteers for special programs The counselors here see 1500 people per year in this manner and in addition hold five workshops per week.
I was deeply touched by three things today. The commitment of lay people from the church to working in the community. The philosophy that if we bring people together with a common problem, they can become a community helping one another.
When we left the center, I was stuck for words. Not because of my lack of Spanish, but because of the love of their neighbors and their volunteer commitment to this calling.
Lima, Peru: A church in the city
Samuel has been a pastor for twenty-five years. He serves the Baptist church in Lince, a district in Lima we might refer to as a “middle class” neighborhood, but please put that in a Lima context. Lince is an area between the very rich, and the very poor. It is a community wrought with violence, and robberies. There are many street youth and a culture of begging.
Lince
My new friend is a ball of energy and very inspiring to be with. Impressive in that this is not an easy ministry setting. The church is in a walled compound that deters robbery and also offers protection for children and families when they attend community programs.
After hearing Jim Cymbala speak, Samuel told me that he came to the place where he said, “Lord, do your work.”
“A turning point in my life was prayer. I was a preacher, teacher – but I didn’t believe in prayer.”
View of Lince from our hotel room.
Since then his ministry has been renewed and the church has tripled in size. His counsel to those of us in ministry, “The first thing you must learn to do is pray.”
Realizing that Samuel cannot ‘do it all’ for his church or his community, he decided to start an independent seminary at his church. He is building into twenty-five future pastors who are attending two-hour classes every day.
The premise of the strategy is captured in the word ABLE. It stands for Administration, Bible and Theology, Leadership and Evangelism and mission today. Samuel wants workers and has a vision for planting churches in the poorer barrios.
Barrios
“My mind is filled with evangelism and mission,” he said. “In the north pastors are mostly scholars. The Kingdom does not need more scholars – we need workers.”
Samuel invites in the form of a challenge to leaders in the north, “The fishing is very good in South America. You need to experience it.”
Samuel has an infectious presence, and I look forward to staying in touch with this local hero and his family.
What I take away from my time with Samuel is the supernatural way that two people can meet for the first time and yet be brothers for life. His focus on prayer is convicting. I want to introduce him to others and would love to see some teacher friends offer to come teach at this seminary for a week. Hmmmm.
