UNITED STATES
Huffington Post
David Briggs
Writer, Association of Religion Data Archives
The women came seeking healing. Many of these survivors of the Rwandan genocide had lost family members and some had been raped and infected with HIV. More than a few were struggling just it to make it to another day before they found Solace Ministries.
Sometimes it took a month, or a full year before they spoke about their experiences with other survivors. When they did, even if it was only to say a few words before they broke down in tears, other survivors gathered around, embracing one another.
The passage from the Book of Isaiah — “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” — was the mantra for this ministry, which helped women take the first steps to escape from the depths of horror.
Envisioning a future with a sense of hope was nurtured among a loving community that reinforced their belief in a God who had not abandoned them.
One sermon topic was off limits, however, for the Solace ministers.
“They never, ever, ever preached forgiveness,” said University of Southern California sociologist Donald Miller, who has visited Rwanda 16 times and conducted more than 260 interviews with widows and orphans of the 1994 genocide.
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