The gift of life

Honestly, if I could stop the spinning wheels of this chaotic world for one second to ask, what does the title of this blog mean to you? More importantly what should it mean to each and every one of us?

I’ll tell you a valuable lesson that God taught me in Rwanda and that is “our life is His gift to us”. There are countless gifts He showers over us but no other gift is more precious than this gift of life. I often wonder if *we* realize the cost of this gift?

There’s not a single ounce of doubt in my mind that the people of Rwanda let their heart beat to a song of thankgiving as they celebrate this gift anew each morning; awaking with child-like excitement to set eyes upon the largest present they’ve ever seen perfectly wrapped with the shiniest gold paper and a stunning sparkling bow. They soon give-way to the enthusiasm to dive into this present, yet honor this gift so deeply they meticulously unwrap this personal package with the delicacy and patience of surgeon’s hands in an effort not to waste one moment of the experience. Inside they find they most precious treasure ~ another day to live ~ the gift of life. And just as any parent has experienced the reaction of their own child opening a surprise gift, they turn to our God with their puppy dog eyes, swollen hearts and grateful souls and they weep with blissful appreciation so intense that God can’t help but smile knowing it cost Him everything to give this gift and it was worth the price.

I didn’t go looking for this lesson, I didn’t even know I needed this lesson, but I found this lesson shining brightly through the lives of three of the most amazing people I’ve had the privilege of meeting. God taught me this lesson in living color in Rwanda; the grace, humility, praise, gratitude and honorable awe of God that my eyes seen, my heart felt and my soul danced to inspired me to realize the beautiful simplicity that I too share their same gift yet have failed to celebrate with the same intensity.

All that is an introduction to present to you three of the most inspiring lives I have ever known: Samuel, Nyanja and Josephine (with Nyanja's baby Solomon for extra smiles & giggles). The most beautiful family ever created by God.

These three people are so ordinary they’ve become extraordinary in God’s eyes! They are life teachers, yet they know nothing of this identity they share. God’s miraculous chosen saved by His hand alone and sent to teach the unteachable (like you & I). They live their lives in such a way that I struggle to find words to explain it. I know that is becoming a broken-record motto for me, but simply it’s a fact that witnessing miracles leaves you speechless and every word you try to muster in description seems so minuscule in proportion to the grand emotion and colossal impact of what you encountered. God’s touch will do that to ya time & again.

It’s my honor to share with you the tiniest of details that I know about Sam, Nyanja & Josephine’s lives so that they may touch and inspire you as they did me. It will be an unjust summary as I was not fortunate enough to hear their entire life’s journey ~ God only revealed enough details to inspire me and change me, I hope it’s enough to inspire some of you to recognize the gift of your life.

Josephine is Nyanja’s biological mother. They lived as close friendly neighbors to Sam and his family. Nyanja explained to us time and again how Sam was her very best childhood friend. Pretty common story, nothing out of the ordinary and it’s a story we can easily relate to as we reminisce about our own childhood, neighborhood and life growing up living as a carefree kid. We fast forward now to 1994, Sam and Nyanja were somewhere around the age of 9-10yrs old. I’m wondering if you remember WHY 1994 would be a pivotal turning point in their story? Yes, it was when the genocide occurred. Nyanja’s family and Samuel’s family were both in danger as they were of the cultural background of the Tutsi tribe, the race of people who were the focal point of elimination during this genocide. The story of their innocent childhood turns tragic at this point as they become victims of this evil. I will share each miracle as I know it:

(my absolute favorite photo of Sam as he was lost in another place & time listening to the harmony of worship music rising through the air waves from the revival taking place off in the distance)

Samuel; precious Sam was forced to watch his entire family be brutally, savagely, horribly tortured and murdered. I was told he even witnessed his two sisters being viciously raped and I think I remember that one of his sisters was younger than him…so imagine for a moment what it would be like to be behind the eyes of a 9yr old watching your YOUNGER sister being raped and then your entire family murdered. Absolutely unfathomable. He was saved by the hand of God and although I do not know the specifics, I do know he escaped and ran for refuge to Nyanja’s house. There he was met by Josephine who was also escaping as she had just witnessed the murder of her only son. Together the two of them ran for their life and hid in the forest. To have survived this is a miracle alone as we were informed many people who fled to the forest were met by the terrorists and murdered. The forest was in all essence a trap and inevitably a death sentence. But God had other plans for Josephine and Samuel and somehow he saved the two of them. They survived many weeks, possibly even months hiding in the forest with the looming possibility of their capture or death every minute of every day. No food, no shelter, absolutely nothing to survive on and absolutely no ounce of security but God’s miracle alone saved these two and kept them alive for all those hours, days, weeks and months and they emerged from the forest as survivors.

Nyanja was at her grandmother’s house spending her summer vacation from school with grandma when the genocide began. Nyanja remembers the next door neighbor coming over to her grandma’s house, who was a close friend of theirs and informing Nyanja’s grandma & uncle (whom also lived there) that he seen the mob coming down the street. Knowing that they were of different ethnic backgrounds he feared for their safety and warned them: “When the mob gets to my house, they will force me to participate or they will kill my family ~ I have no choice we will be back to kill you all within minutes” and he left them with that warning. I find this portion of their story to be a great insight into the depths of the evil that was reeking havoc throughout Rwanda. Many people didn’t want to participate in this terror but because of ethnicity you had to join one side or the other, kill or be killed. Immediately Nyanja, her grandmother and her uncle fled for their lives. They were in reasonable proximity of the airport and they knew the UN had taken the airport over so it was a place they could seek refuge. So they ran and cut through the fence of the airport and their lives were saved. They were told their entire families were murdered and they were the only survivors. They eventually were sent to a refugee camp in Kenya where the conditions were apparently quite horrible. Nyanja was abused regularly and her grandmother eventually died in that camp from the harsh conditions they were trying to survive in. Nyanja’s uncle then somehow managed to get her to the United States after living in the putrid camp for a couple years. Eventually Nyanja was taken in by an American family and I believe adopted. This family began the long painful process of trying to heal her wounds and they helped Nyanja blossom into a beautiful strong young woman.

After the genocide was over and Rwanda was in ruins. It was obvious many lives were devastated and people were left with no where to go. Samuel had nothing to come home to, his family was gone, his world completely destroyed and he was an orphan. He spent some time on the streets and was later taken in by his extended relatives, an aunt & uncle to whom I believe moved into his family’s home. Josephine came home with the knowledge that all her family had been murdered as well, except her husband (who had been out of the country for work). She witnessed the murder of her own son, she was told her mother and daughter and brother were also among the countless victims of this tragedy. So a broken mother & father who lost their children tried to begin to put their life back together and within time became pregnant again. One would think this is where the story makes a turn and ends in some happy hallmark moment but it doesn’t it takes another turn for the worse. Samuel’s aunt & uncle become jealous of Josephine & her husband, their belongings and apparent wealth and they falsely accuse them both of participating in the genocide so they could take over their amenities. The authority’s policy at that point in the country was to incarcerate all who were accused and each person would have to wait for a trial to prove their innocence. Josephine and her husband would have to wait 13 YEARS for that opportunity to arise. God had not turned his back on his faithful children, his plans were still at work in their lives although many years had passed with them again suffering immensely and facing impossible odds a miracle unfolds.

Ten years after Nyanja had been gone from Rwanda an opportunity arose that she would return to her country of origin, her beautiful home land and see it for the first time after all the torture, blood, murder and mayhem that she left behind was long over. After spending many years of her life despising Rwanda she was now at a place of healing where she had gained the courage to embrace this opportunity. While in Rwanda she caught a glimpse of a young boy walking on the sidewalk and demanded the child looked exactly like her. It was absolutely eerie and haunting to Nyanja to see with her own eyes the similarities between the boy’s face and her own features so she persisted in taking a picture of him as their car zoomed by ~ essentially a face in the crowd. I’m missing some amazing pieces of this puzzle but we’ll fast forward to the details I do have. The miracle that began to unfold through this single photograph was that Nyanja learned she had a younger brother, and thus learned her parents were ALIVE. (could you imagine the surreal nature of shock after 10 years of mourning the loss of your parents you learn they are alive and you have a sibling!!) She eventually seeks her parents out while they are imprisoned and their first reunion occurs. What a bittersweet and simultaneously hard experience to be gifted. Prison in Rwanda is not an easy place to survive and although Nyanja was seeing her parents for the first time in 10 years they were almost unrecognizable because of how hard their life of incarceration had been on them. Nyanja struggled quite a bit at this point in her journey. Her parents were alive (barely) and living a tortured life in prison unjustly accused. During this time of reunion for Nyanja something else miraculous was unfolding; Samuel had also sought out a reunion with Nyanja’s parents. He reconciled with them begging for forgiveness for the actions of his aunt & uncle and graciously Josephine and her husband assured him they held no ill feelings towards Sam at all. After 13 years of imprisonment they had their day in court, Samuel testified on their behalf exposing the dirty secrets of his “family’s” actions and Josephine and her husband were set FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Samuel’s family immediately disowned him and Josephine welcomed him to became a part of their family. So he was Nyanja's best friend and now is her brother. How beautiful is that! Only God can do that!

We were gifted an opportunity to meet these amazing lives within the first year of their freedom and reunion ~ how miraculous is that for each of us to experience! I remember Nyanja sharing with us they would be celebrating her mother’s FIRST birthday (of her new life) soon. May GOD BLESS her new life and may we all celebrate the gift of life He has given us, I couldn’t imagine a more precious present for her to receive.

Our last evening spent with this family is one I’ll never forget for multiple reasons. God always seems to have ways of demolishing my little mind and exploding my heart in grand proportion! I sat next to Samuel as we ate dinner and when we finished he passed around a small notebook in which he wanted all of us to share our contact information. As I wrote our names into his book he immediately glanced at me in a way that pierced my soul asking me to say my name. So I did, and he shared with me Maria was his mother’s name and he opened up to me sharing that he had two sisters too. This was the very first time I had ever heard Sam speak of his family or his private life, and the smile on his face and the joy in his eyes could have blinded me. To have the opportunity to be present in this moment with him as he reminisced in fond memory of his family, because my name struck a chord in his heart, gifted me a beautiful moment in time where I seen a young man drift back to the innocence of his childhood before it was stolen from him. What an incredible gift the Lord granted me, how could I have been so blessed to simply be me at that moment. Nyanja even approached a group of us quite a few minutes later asking whose name was “Maria”, I confessed it was me and she pulled me aside to share Sam just could not get over the phenomenon that “Maria” was sent here to meet him. She said he felt it was a message for him from God. How could I not be humbled to tears in this moment? We prayed for their family and prepared to part ways. We said our final goodbyes to Nyanja, Samuel & Josephine and in this moment is when I actually learned of Josephine’s name for the first time as I had only known her these 3 days as “Nyanja’s mom”…as I was nearly one of the last to hug Josephine and she learned my name was Maria, she embraced me and whispered in my ear “my name is Josephine, please don’t forget me.”………..this is where I have to end…….


........because there are just no words ~ only tears.

Thank you God for this gift of life, mine is forever changed and truly cherished. Thank you for the valuable lesson ~ I couldn't possibly EVER forget.