Why go?

On April 15, 1994, a man named Manase made a dangerous journey across a short distance that separated the house where he was working to a church hospital complex where his wife and children were sequestered. What made this journey so dangerous was that 9 days before, the president of his country had been assassinated, and that killing had been the final straw. Waves of mounting hatred toward an ethnic minority group (the Tutsis) in Rwanda had been festering, already spilling over at times in smaller acts of violence towards this group over the last few years. Tutsis watched as their jobs were taken away from them, chances of education were denied, and acts of murder, rape, and theft towards Tutsis went unpunished by a government that apparently delighted in fanning the flames of an impending genocide.

When, on April 6, 1994, the president of Rwanda was assassinated, the radio station began calling for - no, that's not right - fanatically SCREAMING for the murder of all Tutsis.

And let's be clear about two things:
1) This was not a civil war in which the minority Tutsis and the majority (Hutus) fought each other. Civil war implies two sides pretty equally matched, both fighting against each other. However, through a well-laid multi-year plan, the Tutsis in 1994 had no access to weapons. Further, they were forced to register and be on a target list, and by the time April's showers had come, the country had been subjected to ever-increasing, hate-filled propaganda insulting the Tutsis (the nickname for a Tutsi was a cockroach) and calling all normal civilians to bide their time until they could once and for all rid the earth of every single Tutsi. Genocide was the goal, and at no time was it a "civil war."
2) This was genocide. The term itself implies the goal of completely wiping out an entire ethnic population, top to bottom, elderly to infant, having no mercy. 100% erasure. This was not persecution, hazing, beating up, intolerance, or prejudice. This was murder in its most hateful, premeditated form. Death on purpose.

So back to Manase. The day that the president of Rwanda was killed, an immediate curfew against all Tutsis went into effect. 24-7, they were not allowed to leave their house or their place of employment, wherever they were supposed to be at the time. This was, of course, for the main purpose of making them easier targets. Bands of Hutus (and these were not some rebel African tribal guerrilas, these were normal citizens that were teachers, salesmen, farmers, pastors) roamed the neighborhoods and villages, looking for Tutsis, and, upon finding one, would kill them. Their weapon of choice was a "panga," a macheti-style weapon used in farming. A favorite trick would be to cut off a limb or slice the achilles tendon, leave for a while, come back and cut off another limb, etc., until the Tutsi either bled to death or finally was cut in half or decapitated. Knowing all this was going on, Manase had a decision to make. He was currently in the home of a doctor who employed him, but Manase wanted desperately to die with his wife and children. So he chose to leave the doctor's home to try to make it to the hospital, a place housing hundreds of Tutsi refugees who had banded together. It was a church and hospital complex, and it was normal for the Tutsis to flee to a church, a place that in years past had provided sanctuary against violence.

Manase made it. From the hospital, he, his family, and the hundreds of others listened for news. It came quickly. That particular address was on schedule to be visited the next morning by a band of Hutus. There was nowhere the refugees could go; they had no weapons, and the water lines had been cut. Out of desperation, some of the community leaders that were among the Tutsis sat down and wrote letters to the pastor of the church where they were sequestered, as well as to some other church leaders:

"Our dear leader...how are you! We wish you to be strong in all these problems we are facing. We wish to inform you that we have heard that tomorrow we will be killed with our familes. We therefore request you to intervene on our behalf and talk with the Mayor. We believe that, with the help of God who entrusted you the leadership of this flock, which is going to be destroyed, your intervention will be highly appreciated, the same way as the Jews were saved by Esther. We give honor to you."

The request was answered swiftly by a letter which soon arrived from their pastor:

"Saturday, the sixteenth, at exactly nine o'clock in the morning, you will be attacked...Your problem has already found a solution. You must die...You must be eliminated. God no longer wants you."

And at 9:00 the next morning, the mob came. They advanced on the church first, then killed all those in the school, and then moved to the hospital. The Tutsis threw stones because they had nothing else. Weak and starving, those at the complex had been without food and water, and many had already been sick or had their arms cut off before making it to the hospital. They were easy targets.

The Hutu attackers shot into the crowded hospital first, advanced next with machetes and killed all they could, and then threw in tear gas so that they could tell who was still alive (those still living cried tears and were then killed). The attack lasted until midnight. Somehow, Manase survived. His wife and children did not. The next 3 months Manase ran, hid, ran, and hid. He survived the genocide. Technically. But his spirit will never be the same. And neither will his view of pastors, church leaders, the church itself, or Christianity.

***above story about Manase comes from the book We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families by Philip Gourevitch (1998).***

That is what is the saddest thing, above all else, about the genocide in Rwanda. The priests, the pastors, the Sunday school teachers, the fellow church-goer...they all said the right words about Christ, then turned around and perpretrated a killing spree with determination and downright delight. 94% of Rwanda is "Christianized." But hardly a Rwandan alive today actually believes in a substantive, valid, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ and what that means. They agree that the rituals of Christianity, the morals and ethics that come from living according to the Biblical code, are wonderful guides to living a good life. But almost all of them can remember back to a neighbor, a trusted pastor, a revered Christian elder, that took up a machete and went to hacking.

Words mean nothing. Showing the love of Jesus means everything. It must be proven. Not just once, but repeatedly!!! That's why Kris and I are going to Rwanda...we feel called to GO...called to help undo the damage done by the hundreds of thousands of false Christians. To prove the love of Jesus. And we hope to get to go...and go...and go...and go...because before we can explain that a relationship with Jesus is a real, true, living, breathing reality, we have to earn the right to be heard.