From Genocide to Gratitude

As we approach the Christmas season, we can consider the love of God that motivated Him to send
His Son to earth so that we might come to know Him; the greatest gift of all. James 1 says:
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Because He gave, we can think about how we can give to others.  There are numerous opportunities during this special season to get involved - Operation Christmas Child is one that comes to mind, and National Collection Week begins today and continues through next Monday.  We can be aware of the needs all around us and consider how God can use us to show love to the people who need to experience the love of God firsthand.

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In the first chapter of the book of Acts, after Jesus resurrected and just before He ascended into
heaven, we can read these words:
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

We have now entered that season in which we can become more aware of how God is working around the world.  The Faith Radio Advent Guide for this year is entitled, Around the World in 25 Days! and features the traditions of a number of different countries, along with a Scripture verse for each day in December.  You can download it for free from our website; it's also found in the latest Faith Radio Ministry Magazine.

This marks the beginning of National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child, a worldwide outreach of Samaritan's Purse, in which shoebox gifts are distributed all around the world.  Children receive these gifts in the name of the Lord, as an expression of the gift God has given to them through Jesus Christ.

Throughout the years, I have had the opportunity to interview spokespersons for the ministry whose lives were impacted by receiving a shoebox gift when they were children.  I came across an instance in Texas recently in which one of those interviewees spoke to a church group.  According to KLVT Television:

Alex Nsengimana drew a crowd of caring East Texans when he went to speak at Calvary Baptist Church in North Longview to promote “Operation Christmas Child”. In 1994 he and his family were on the run and he was nearly killed.

Alex, you see, is from Rwanda, and he was there during the Rwandan Genocide that year.  The story quotes from Alex:

“Both my grandmother and my uncle, the people who were taking care of me were killed during that war, and I would run from family to family. By the end of the genocide I was put in an orphanage. And while I was in this orphanage, that’s when Samaritan’s Purse, the mother organization of Operation Christmas Child brought shoe boxes to us,” Alex recalled.

The Samaritan's Purse website contains Alex's story and documents his return to Rwanda to distribute shoebox gifts.  That article says:

Alex held onto the hope that his shoebox gift provided for the next several years, until in 1997 he was chosen to tour the United States and Canada with the African Children’s Choir.

Alex, his brother, Fils, and 10 other children from the orphanage were selected.  The article states that they...

...went to Uganda to learn English before the tour began. They also learned Bible stories, and Alex read Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

He is quoted as saying, “I started to see that God had to have a plan for my life too, that He had been there all the time...I started to see all the things that He used to save my life not as a coincidence, but as part of His bigger plan.” The article relates, "Soon, while touring with the choir, he trusted in Jesus Christ as his Savior."

Just a few years ago, Alex returned to Rwanda, according to the Samaritan's Purse article, which says:

“I want to be back in Rwanda so I can share the ministry of forgiveness, because that’s the only thing that has continued to heal me,” said Alex, who left his homeland in 2003 to attend school in the United States.

The article continues...

...he visited the village where he grew up. Alex delivered shoebox gifts to children unaware of past distinctions between Hutu and Tutsi, and who do not feel the same hatred toward their neighbors as the generations who came before them.

And, we are told:

With God’s grace and Christ’s example of forgiveness, Alex believes that his nation can be reconciled. During his visit, Alex reinforced his words with actions by offering forgiveness, in person, to the man who killed his uncle.

After days of distributing shoeboxes, Alex went to the largest prison in Rwanda to talk with the perpetrator.  The story goes on:

“I am Alex Nsengimana,” he explained in Kinyarwanda. “My uncle was Karara. Would you please tell me how my uncle was killed?”

The prisoner reached up, his scrawny arm swimming in short-sleeves that extended far past his elbows. He grabbed a red-and-white-checkered satin cap off his head and spoke, acknowledging that he remembered that fateful spring morning.

“It was around 9:00 a.m. A group of militia came. I was nearby. The group was looking for Karara. I went with them. We went to his house, and found him. We killed him and looted the house. After, we didn’t bother to bury him; we left him outside his house. We went to look for two others, who we also killed.”

Alex took a deep breath and began again.“I’m not here to accuse you, though you wronged me, but I’m here to do something else,” Alex said, the next words catching in his throat as he began to cry. “I am here because I saw how God’s power works in forgiveness. I received that power. I really want to forgive you so you have peace and you also repent of everything. I want you to know that even after all the things you did, all the people you killed and hurt, God wants you to come back to Him.”

He prayed for the man, who said after the prayer: “I don’t know what came over us...We killed everybody. Please forgive us. When I think of what I did, I always get sick.” Alex then said, "What brought me here was to tell you I have forgiven you because of the grace of God. I don’t have any hate in my heart toward you. You should also ask God’s forgiveness.”

The shoebox gift through Operation Christmas Child was a critical piece in Alex's spiritual journey. And, through participation in this outreach, Christians have the opportunity to make an impact in a child's life that God can use in profound ways.  When the shoeboxes are distributed through local contacts partnering with Samaritan's Purse, they are directed to discover how God sent His Son as a special gift for them.

This is the beginning of National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child, which continues through next Monday.  You can go to SamaritansPurse.org for more information and click on the Operation Christmas Child link.  The Christmas season is a great time to focus in on how God sent His Son to die for the whole world and how He is working all around the world.  Our new Faith Radio Advent Guide is focused in on 25 different countries and their Christmas traditions - you can download yours through FaithRadio.org.

Participation in the work of missions is part of fulfilling the Great Commission.  We are certainly called to go - that begins, as Acts 1 suggests, close to home, our "Jerusalem," if you will, and also entails allowing God to use us to share His truth.  Perhaps there will come a time when you are called to go on a mission trip or even serve in a foreign land.   We can consider how the Lord is using His people to share His message.

Someone shared God's message with Alex Nsengimana, who lost his family during a tragic and brutal genocide in his home country of Rwanda.  He spent time in an orphanage, which is where he received the Operation Christmas Child gift, a gift that symbolized God's gift of salvation to Him.  He gave His life to Christ and experienced the power of God's forgiveness for him and he was able to extend forgiveness to the man who had killed his uncle.  Our story is a story of God's love for us and our ability to receive what He has done and demonstrate it to other people.