“I am a human being. Nothing human can be alien to me.”
As we walked through several genocide memorials, the aforementioned quote haunted me. I always understood it to mean that as humans we each possess the same qualities/capabilities; therefore, if another human being did it there is no way it could be foreign to me. However, the events that transpired over the course of 100 days in 1994 challenged my thinking. How could anyone murder innocent men, women, and children? Subsequently, how could the surviving victims forgive and not only live amongst the convicted and released criminals, but sing songs of praise AND worship God in church together? God forbid if my family was murdered. Do I have it in me to raise their killers’ children? These stories are all too real and familiar to Rwandans as they live out true forgiveness and love on each other through the pain of the past.
As I recall the many reasons I’ve ended some relationships, I am embarrassed as they seem foolish. As a CHRISTian, where was the grace that God shows me continuously?
A trip to Africa forever changed Danyel’s life. It gave him an unshakeable desire to live a life of service in communities around the world. Danyel looks forward to sharing experiences of past and future mission trips, with the hopes of helping other to see the beauty in our differences and encourage them to take their journey locally as well as abroad.
