You see, although born in the same year, just a few months apart, Yves (pronounced Eve) and I grew up very differently. While I was born safely in the Navy hospital in SC, Yves was born in a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The reason he was there? Because his parents, along with many other Rwandans had run (and when I say run I literally mean that they ran) for their lives out of Rwanda to escape the mass genocide that was happening. For the next I months while I slept soundly in my mothers arms inside of my house, Yves grew and slept in the midst of the chaos, fear, and hunger that one finds in a refugee camp.
Flash forward 8 months and you find the new government set up in Rwanda began to come over to the Congo and kill the refugees there. Yves family had to get out, but having left absolutely everything behind except for a bag of clothes, they didn’t have many options. Thankful we serve a God who intervenes and looks out for his children. Yves father (who was a pastor in Rwanda) had a contact with some missionaries from Norway. By the grace of God and the help of those missionaries, it worked out for Yves and his family to be relocated to Kenya.
There in Kenya, Yves, his siblings and his parents were able to get some schooling; far away from the death and fear of Rwanda and the Congo. However, Kenya was not to be their safe haven. At two years old, I was toddling around and learning to talk, safely at my house while Yves and his family were informed that all Rwandans must be out of the country of Kenya within two weeks or they would be jailed, or worse, killed.
Here again, Yves’ family had to uproot from where they were and find some other country to live and hopefully finally be safe. Though more prayer, the goodness of the Lord and other missionary contacts, Yves and his family were relocated to Togo which is in West Africa. There his father began working at a church and the Lord began to do tremendous things in their community through a little shoebox that was packed by kids like me in the U.S. with toys, and love, and most importantly the message of the gospel. (click here if you would like to learn more about that program)
I got the privilege of meeting Yves today and hearing his story. As I was listening, I could help but think about how different our lives were, born in the same year but experiencing life in a much different way. That is not to bring about guilt that I grew up safely while he had to fight to survive, but to show the glory of God in that while our lives were so different, the Lord as called each of us to Him and has a purpose for us both.
One of the most powerful things that Yves said today while he was sharing was this, “Had those missionaries from Norway, or the ones later on who helped us out of Kenya, had they not been in the will of God, my family and I would not have survived.”
Now this is not to say that everyone should pack up their houses and move across and ocean. That is not what the Lord has called us all to do.
So the question is: What has he called you to do? What is his will for you?
A lot of people have the idea that God’s will is one specific thing that eventually if we pray hard enough he will write it in the clouds or whisper it in our ear and then we can start doing exactly, in detail what he want for our lives.
If that’s you and thinking about God’s will for your life stresses you out, let me let you in on a little secret: The Lord as already written down what his will for your life is, and we can find it in his word!
In the days of Micah, the Israelites were separated from God because of their sin. They were trying to give every material thing could to him, to restore this separating but they were missing the thing that mattered most. They were not truly giving God their hearts and lives. You see, God didn’t want the blood of sacrificed animals, He wanted their hearts and lives so that he could free them from their bondage of sin and they could live their lives close to him and in his will. That is why Micah wrote these popular words: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8 ESV)
And that my friends is what He desires for you to do, too. Over and over in the bible he give us this same message. Give your heart and your life over to him completely.
Love God and love people, that is his will. Are you doing that the best that you can?
If not, start praying and start to make some changes in your life. If so keep on pushing forward friend! Even when it is hard, God – El Roi, he sees you. But please, don’t sit and live a comfortable life, blind to what is going on in the world and those around you, and ignoring how the Lord can use you (yes you!) to change it and spread his gift of grace.
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If you’ve actually read this whole thing and are still reading, thank you! I really appreciate it. I hope I made sense and I pray that the Lord speaks to you through it. It is for his glory and praise that I am sharing and living my life the way that I do.
And thank you Yves for letting me share you story, for it is a powerful one.
