On leaving for Kigali

Thu, 22 Nov 2007

Hi everybody!

So this is the deal my friends and family; in less than 24 hours I am getting on a plane and going to Kigali, Rwanda. I will be there for 6 months attending a Discipleship Training School with Youth With A Mission. This will be fulfilling a deep longing of my heart...

Most of you know that in the beginning of 2006 I spent 6 months in West Africa with Mercy Ships. It was, as expected, a life-changing experience for me. What is more surprising is that the 16 months since I have been back have been equally life-changing. The Lord planted in me at a young age a compassion for the lost and hopeless of the world. My experiences in Liberia and Ghana caused that seed to take root and it has continued to grow since then. You know, I think compassion is often described inaccurately. It is perceived as sort of this nice feeling that makes you do good things and feel sorry for people. In reality, it is more like a tightly coiled spring deep inside that makes it uncomfortable to sit still. It drives you to action when you see injustice or need and makes words tumble out of your mouth when sharing it with others. It is after all a type of passion. At least that's what compassion feels like to me.

I came back last year with this feeling growing inside me and Africa on my mind. Any of you who have spent time overseas and particularly in missions understand that often coming back home is harder than going in the first place. It was hard for me. More so because well over half the people I talked to had no idea about any of the issues facing the countries I spent time in. Many had never even heard of them. But my God is patient and wise. He has used the time back home, back in my old job, back living with my family to accomplish more than I ever would have expected. I decided to ground my feelings in facts. I started researching Africa. Not a small undertaking! I read books, watched movies, kept up with the news, and
probably the most helpful of all I talked with Africans living here in my community. After all this studying I have learned a lot and come to one definite conclusion. Africa is a dying continent and God is absolutely able
to save it.

This brings me to Rwanda. Rwanda began to emerge for me as a picture of Africa's wrongs and possibilities. In 1994, through a culmination of events, Rwanda endured a genocide where over 1,000,000 men, women, and children were slaughtered in a span of about 100 days. That is a killing rate 3 times faster than the Nazis at the peak of the Holocaust. The real numbers will never be known because even today, almost 14 years later, bodies are still being discovered. Rwanda hit the lowest point a country can come to. It was hardly a country anymore. It was a graveyard. I have no clue how God runs this universe. I do, however, utterly trust and know that He in all His power and overwhelming love for us can take our lowest most depraved choices
and the consequences of them and turn them around for great good. Today, Rwanda is one of the safest African countries to visit. It has a steadily improving economy and, in a continent starved of true leadership, a remarkable president and government. Rwanda is making unbelievably huge steps towards forgiveness and reconciliation. They are determined not to be dependent on international aid and churches across the country are training and discipling young people to go out as missionaries to other countries. Naturally, after learning of this place I just had to go and see it!

So I am going; with great anticipation and thanking God for this chance to meet Him up close and personal where He is working. Some of you have asked about ways of supporting me. Well there are 2 ways you can. The first is prayer. I have been shown anew this year the power of prayer over an individual's life. Please pray for safe travels, good health, and strong relationships (actual showers with running water would be really nice too:). The second way is a bit unconventional but very dear to my heart. It would be an enormous support for me and, trust me, a blessing to you if you would learn something more than you know about Africa. If you have never heard of the genocide in Rwanda look it up. If you know the basics then find out the details. Pick a country that interests you for whatever reason and study it. Telling people I had been to Africa revealed very interesting levels of knowledge about what goes on beyond the borders of America. The people who died in the spring of 1994 are so much closer to you than you might think. I was 7 years old at the time and those children would have been my playmates. In large part I am going because of them; my potential friends that I never got the chance to know and whose deaths went unnoticed for so long.

I will be using this e-mail address [below] while I am gone. I would enjoy hearing from you and will send out news as often as I can. Talk to you later!

Love,
Johanna Beachy

jobeedoc@tds.net (or post a comment here!)