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The Power of Forgiveness

The Power of Forgiveness

How far are you willing to go to forgive someone who has really hurt you so bad, physically and emotionally??

Kigali, Rwanda 1994

It was early morning on Sunday, April 15. My husband and I had just woke up sharing the word of God on our bed. Suddenly we heard a big knock on our door. It sounded like the person wanted to break the door down and just enter our house straight away.
Where are you, ? you  Hutu devils, we will show you today. Open this door, open it. Come on, we know you can hear us. The person said with loud voices of men cheering.
So my husband finally got downstairs and opened the door. We saw soldiers, most of them teenagers, who followed the man as he entered our house.
Shaking with fear, my husband asked; Good morning gentlemen, please can I offer you some water to drink??
No cockroach, we didn't come for water, we came for blood. I rushed to hide my two little teenage daughters in the bathroom, told them not to make a  noise and not to come out either and I locked them out from the outside. I ran downstairs to stand with my husband who was still talking to them kneeling on the floor. What a beautiful wife you have. Do you mind if we take a good look at her..?? I promise you, this won't take long. We will just be quick with her,  me and my men. One of the soldiers said.
No please you can't do that if it is money that you want, I will give you and your men a lot of it but please don't touch or harm my wife in any way I beg you. My husband said.
I felt a sharp big cutlass on my husband's neck as he was about to speak again. Jesus!!!! I shouted loudly as he dropped to the floor and died instantly.
Their commander came towards me tore my night gown into pieces and pushed me down the floor and started raping me hard, putting his big hands across my mouth while his other men who were about 5 stood there happily and watched. After a few minutes, he placed his shotgun in my mouth and asked, are you the only woman here, my men want to taste  other Hutu women cocroaches before we kill you. I said yes I am. But before he could finish with me, his other boys brought before him my two daughters. I guess they had found them in the bathroom when they went searching.
Boys, deal with them quickly and let's get out of here then. It will soon be morning. Like me,  my daughters were also ganged raped by all his boys one after the other. As soon as they were about to shoot us, we heard a loud siren announcing the arrival of the Belgian soldiers and soldiers from the United Nations. They ran and kept us there miraculously alive.
A few years passed and I was ordained as a Reverend Minister of my church in the company of my daughters who were now mothers and women of God serving the childrens ministry in the church. One afternoon, I decided to go visit the inmates at the Kigali Maximum Prison to share the word of God with them, teach them about the Bible and the love that God bears for the world through the gift of salvation of his son Jesus Christ to the world.
The warden (head of the prison) led me to the biggest front yard of the male prison to preach to them all and his men too. So they called out everyone and arranged the place with a pulpit to use and preach to them all.
I came in and saw hundreds of men  standing on their feet and clapping for me as I entered with joy.
I shouted out loud; Boys, do you know how much Jesus loves you? He loves you and me so much and he is patiently waiting for us to come to him to wash our sins with his blood and bring us back to God, our father in heaven. Are you willing to forgive your past and repent towards the future in Christ Jesus?
As soon as  I said that I saw one of the men who looked just like one of the soldiers who had visited my house that horrible Sunday morning many years ago. But I just focused and kept on preaching. When it was time for altar call, many men came forward with their hands in the air to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ.
And there, was this boy again I saw and recognised earlier.
Jesus, you know what, you really are a smart man, you intentionally brought me here to talk about you and forgiveness to these people only to bring this devil to test my mood.??? Nooo, this, I cannot forgive. I have not even forgotten after so many years. Wait wait here Jesus, I couldn't remarry any other man when he killed my husband. I remained a  widow. Sorry Jesus, but I can't. You and your daddy up there in heaven have to consider me on this one. I know you can do me that bigger favour and cancel out forgiveness for me. It's just me, only one woman in Rwanda ooo, not all the women, I beg you sir. You and daddy get together real quick and get me an answer real fast before I leave this prison today.
I asked.

To Be Continued.......

Kwame Sarpong

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