Last month in Rwanda my team had the honor of living with Mama Silvia, the most inspirational woman I've met. Mama doesn't speak English, but her sons told us bits and pieces of her story. It is a story worth telling, so I thought I'd share with you what I have been told and I hope you are blessed by it.
In 1994 when the genocide occurred, Mama was newly-married and pregnant with their first child. Her husband and herentire family, except for one sister, were killed in the genocide. Mama hid in the forest during this time. She was caught and beaten, but she escaped before being killed. A month after the genocide ended, she had her son. Sometime after the genocide, Mama went to prison to personally tell the man who killed her parents that she forgave him.
Two years later she remarried. They had 4 more kids and Mama took in 2 orphans from the genocide and raised them. She prays that her husband would become a Christian. He is an alcoholic. 4 years ago, things got really bad. He works in Burundi (the country south of Rwanda) and he rarely comes home. We were told that he never loved Patrick, Mama's first son, and that he doesn't love the rest of them anymore. He no longer supports their family because he spends all of his money buying alcohol and prostitutes. When he does come home, he beats Mama and sometimes the kids. Once, his sons traveled to Burundi to surprise his dad and he yelled at them and told them that he didn't want to see them. For a year after Mama's husband stopped supporting their family, they had a very difficult life and were hungry all the time, but Mama still continued to care for the orphans she took in and she trusted God to provide for them. Mama became a business woman and she now supports the family.
She is SO full of joy. She loves people and she loves to joke. She told us that she is so happy that we are staying with her because we pray and prayer is so good. She is an incredible mother, bestowing wisdom on her children. Her 14 yr old son is the most mature, smart, and thoughtful 14 yr old I've ever met. Mama was SO good to us. She only knew Pastor for a month before he asked her if we could live with her and she immediately agreed. She helps out whoever she can. She still prays for her husband. Mama has a hard time walking. She is in a lot of pain (but never complains; she is always smiling) and needs back surgery because of an injury she got when she was beaten during the genocide.
Please pray that God would provide the money she needs for this surgery. Please pray that her husband would come to know Jesus and turn his life around. Pray that God would continue to strengthen Mama and provide for her family. Pray for Rwanda, that peace, forgiveness, and unity would dwell in this place as people really fall in love with the Lord and follow Him.
