Crossing Into the Pain of Others

The route to recovery in Rwanda led Bishop John first into the chasm of his own pain, then across borders into the pain of others.

Joined by Deo Gashagaza, who lost more than a dozen members of his family in the genocide, Bishop John and the other Prison Fellowship Rwanda volunteers use a restorative justice program called the Umuvumu Tree Project to prepare prisoners to repent and prepare surviving victims and their families to forgive.

Deo, now the executive director of Prison Fellowship Rwanda, “prayed and fasted for three days, asking God for the strength to overcome [his] anger and depression,” before hearing God tell him he was “being called to a ministry of reconciliation.”

Through the Umuvumu Tree Project, offenders openly confess their horrendous crimes; survivors and family members of the dead extend forgiveness. Former enemies (above) become brothers in Christ.

From their personal experiences with genocide’s pain and Christ’s power, he and John now engage victims, their families, and offenders in this long process of reconciliation.

In the prisons, Bishop John makes clear that he is not coming on behalf of prosecutors, who have a file against them. “That is not my area,” explains the Anglican bishop. “That is the area of the government. There is another file I am dealing with, the divine file down there, underneath the government file, the conscience file. The conscience has written a record of what you have done. You cannot hide from your conscience. The conscience does the secretarial work for God. So whatever the conscience is telling you to put right today, God appeals you to put right.”

Recently, after preaching that message in a prison in Ruhengeri, a prisoner came forward in tears.

“Bishop,” said the prisoner, “the file from the government prosecutors accuses me of having looted, having destroyed property, having killed people’s cows, but the divine file, the conscience file, has a file much heavier than the prosecutors’. “ “Why? What is that file?” John asked him.

“Five of us killed and attacked a family. We killed all of them. None of them survived, and nobody saw us. Nobody accused any of us, but the file you are talking about has brought me to justice. I’m sorry.”

Overcome by tears, the man could not continue. Later, he went back and “upgraded” the prosecutor’s file to reflect God’s file.

Although those who confess to crimes committed during the genocide receive lighter sentences, in mid-2002 only 5,000 had done so. Less than six months after the Umuvumu Tree Project began, the number who confessed increased to more than 32,000.

Outside the prison gates, Prison Fellowship is also entering into the pain of victims and their families. The government of Rwanda passed a release of those who confess the truth. “To successfully reintegrate these offenders, we need to help the victims and survivors prepare their souls,” says Deo.