As We Forgive - Rwanda

I'm not sure how many of my peers were aware that the genocide was happening in Rwanda at the time in 1994. I was only 10 years old when it happened and due to my dad's incredible perceptiveness we were aware that the genocide was happening throughout. My dad tried to keep us informed and also did his best to help us make sense of what was happening there. We also, in response to the awful reality of what was happening there, tried to do whatever we could to help.

Since then, I have repeatedly (along with many of my peers) been gripped with the awfulness of what happened there. During college, I studied modern African history and have read several books about the genocide (i.e. Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza; Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda by Roméo Dallaire) and have thought about this event a lot.

Right now, I am reading "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda" by Philip Gourevitch and have been blessed getting to know Laura Waters Hinson who recently won the gold medal for the best documentary at the student academy awards with "As We Forgive". Laura and Philip were both recently interviewed on NPR and it would be great if you would listen to the interview.

Rwanda's attempt to forgive thousands of people who committed brutal murder is unheard of. I guess true forgiveness really is supernatural, a gift, and a mystery.