Rwanda

Rwanda is one of Africa’s smallest countries. With mountainous elevations exceeding 8,000 feet, the climate is pleasant year round. Every inch of its landscape is farmed; vegetables, coffee and tea. French is the official language of the country, but there are large numbers that speak English in the urban areas. The people of Rwanda speak one tribal tongue, Kinyarwanda. In fact, there are over 20,000,000 people that speak this language extending into Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Congo.

God has opened our eyes and hearts to the spiritual needs of Africa through our experiences there. This vast continent contains over 2,000 people groups in 52 countries, all in need of the Good News. Right now Africa is extremely receptive to the Gospel.

Eighty million people live in French Africa. The majority still follow their traditional religions. In the past ten years we have researched numerous tribal groups in Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudani and Rwanda. Their research revealed many ethnic groups receptive to the Good News of Jesus.

The majority of mission efforts in Africa up until the early 90's were mainly focused on English speaking countries. The double language barrier (French plus tribal language) makes working there challenging.

Knowing this, our hearts continued to be burdened for these neglected countries. Rwanda and Burundi, for example, have never had a presence of church of Christ missionaries! God is changing this.

Beginning in the early 90's until now, seven mission teams from the churches of Christ have targeted and begun Christ-ward movements among people groups living in French speaking countries.

More recently, Christ's Church Rwanda was granted registration in Rwanda, an exciting development which will lay a foundation for the churches of Christ among the Banyarwanda people in the coming century.

God has called us to minister in the Musanze valley. This valley is the most densely populated area in Rwanda with more than 1,000,000 people. After our time in Kigali and the arrival of the Reeves and Millers, we will move as a group to Musanze (previously known as Ruhengeri) to begin our ministry. We will begin with providing homes for our teams and a stable educational environment for our children (there will be 19 children on our team). We will continue to build relationships that God had forged during our previous visits to this area.

Despite their single ethnic heritage the early Rwandans were known as Tutsi and Hutu based on how many cows one owned. If you owned 10 or more cows, you were Tutsi and Hutu if 10 or less. A Rwandan could move between groups simply by gaining or losing cows. When the European colonists arrived they solidified this separation by issuing “ethnic” identification cards and thus began what became a restricted class system. Rwandans forever became Hutu or Tutsi. Over the ensuing 80 years these classes came to be seen as ethnically different. With the rise of the Tutsi ruling class (the minority) and the suppression of the majority class (Hutu) tensions rose and finally culminated in Civil War.

In April of 1994, the government of Rwanda called on everyone in the Hutu majority to kill everyone in the Tutsi minority. Over the next three months 800,000 Tutsis, along with moderate Hutus, were murdered in the most unambiguous case of genocide since Hitler's war against the Jews.

Now, 14 years later, the roads, hospitals and schools have been rebuilt. But the rift between the two major ethnic groups remains. Rwanda, now a peaceful land with a stable government, is still hurting and in need of spiritual cleansing. These questions are on the minds of all Rwandans: What is justice? What is reconciliation? Can the two co-exist?

Our message to them: Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ went to the cross to bring unity between men and reconciliation between God and man. The word reconciliation literally means the setting free of a slave. Our message to the Rwandan people is that Jesus died to set you free. In this freedom alone can there be reconciliation and healing between the two peoples of Rwanda.

The Roman Catholic Church, before the 1994 genocide, claimed two-thirds of the population of Rwanda among its faithful. Rwanda was quickly becoming one of the most Christian nations in Africa. Rwandans today are leery of organized religion due to the documented involvement of the catholic church in the massacre of 1994.

Thousands of Rwandans have turned away from Catholicism, angered and saddened by the complicity of church officials in the 100-day genocide. Priests, nuns and followers were implicated in the killings, and some churches became sites of notorious massacres.

At this very moment 2 Catholic leaders are on trial for War Crimes and Genocide against the Rwandan people. This connection between organized religion and the abuse of the Rwandan people is a barrier that only the Cross can tear down.

“For He Himself is our peace…and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.” Ephesians 2:14.

Until the late 1990s the country of Rwanda has never had a presence of the Churches of Christ. More recently, Christ’s Church was granted registration in Rwanda. This registration has laid the foundation for the churches of Christ among the Rwandan people.

CCR is being led by the Jenkins, Hixons, Uganda missionary Moses Mbabaabali, plus lay leaders from Rwanda and other nationalities. CCR is growing and beginning to thrive with an average of 200 in attendance.

Explanation coming soon!

Kigali International Community School is a Christian/ non-profit, co-educational day school founded in 2006, which offers an educational program from pre-school through grade 12. KICS is designed to afford children of all nationalities an education similar to that offered by school in the USA. KICS is a member school in the Association of Christian Schools International. For more information visit http://kicsrw.org

Xtra Mile Ministries is an organization devoted to fulfilling the call set forth in James 1:27 based in Kigali, Rwanda. God has called his people to care for those who are in need. There are many people in need of food, clothing, support and supplies, but most importantly they are in need of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Learn more @ http://xtramiles.org