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1. R W A N D A :
WIDOW'S FORGIVENESS HELPS HEAL WOUNDS OF GENOCIDE
A PRISON ENCOUNTER brought a widow face-to-face with the man who killed her husband and children - and saw lasting peace in the country move two hearts closer.
The dramatic meeting in which the woman forgave the murderer for his part in the genocide that swept the country in 1994 came about through the efforts of a couple quietly working to bring reconciliation between the rival tribal groups.
Along with four Youth With A Mission co-workers, the pair have been counseling and caring for those traumatized by the violence - which claimed up to one million lives - since they arrived in the capital, Kigali, two years ago. In addition, they offer vocational training to orphans and stage reconciliation seminars for local churches.
While visiting a jail holding many of those accused of killings during the bloodshed, when he preached about forgiveness, the husband was approached by a prisoner who had become a Christian during an earlier visit.
"He confessed that he had killed his neighbor and three children, but the wife had escaped," said Arne Petersen, YWAM's East Africa acting regional director. "Now he wanted to know how he could contact the widow to ask for her forgiveness for what he had done."
The YWAM worker suggested he write a letter and promised to try to find the person concerned and hand deliver the note - which he was able to do later that same week. When the woman received the letter she began to weep, explaining that she had become a Christian after the murders and had been praying for the man who had killed her family.
Later the YWAM worker was able to arrange a prison meeting between the killer and the widow, where they embraced as he asked for and received forgiveness. Since then the woman has returned to the prison to take more food to supplement the man's meager diet.
"This is what Christianity is all about - God's forgiveness, and us forgiving even our enemies," commented Petersen. "There are people in Rwanda who have forgiven and are forgiving their enemies. They are the ones that are going to bring God's forgiveness into the country to cleanse it and bring last peace."
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