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"God is with them and telling them: I'm still here. I'm not dead. I haven't abandoned you."

Rwanda by 1994 was 90 percent Christian and had a rich history of renewal, dating from the famous East Africa Revival in 1929. "They were babies like the church in Corinth," Kolini said. "That's how I look at the church of Rwanda before genocide."

Since the genocide, the religious demographics have been changing, with Protestants surging nearly 20 percent in half a decade. Though Catholics have declined (by 7.6%), they still make up 49.6 percent of the population. Protestants now account for 43.9 percent (and Muslims, 4.6 percent). But Christian tradition and ethnic background have not been as crucial as simple acts of courage.

A Tutsi, Kolini took office as archbishop in 1998, and soon after, he experienced a defining moment over a simple, midday meal. He had traveled to Rwandan's southeastern border for a confirmation service. Thousands of Hutu refugees were encamped in the vicinity.

It was a dangerous situation to step into, with many genocidaires hiding in the camp. But "as the archbishop, I had to go," Kolini said.

After the service, they all gathered to eat. One Rwandan came up to Kolini, urgently asking him, "Aren't you afraid of being poisoned? Are you going to eat?"

Shocked, Kolini thought to himself: If I don't eat, then I have spoiled my gospel. He carefully replied, "I have to sit down. These are my friends in the Lord and the gospel."

Breaking bread, Kolini said, has become one tangible step toward reconciliation. During my interview, Kolini asked, "Did Jesus ask his Father whether it was safe to come into the world? He had to obey. If the Lord is calling you, nobody should ask you a question about coming to Rwanda, even if there is no security."

I asked him where he thought God was during the genocide.

"It's not an easy question. To me, God was there: Invisible, but visible. Not to people who organized and executed the genocide, but visible to the victims. It was not God's will for genocide. At the same time, he was welcoming his people home. God is mysterious. I grow when God reveals his mystery."

Kolini believes that not just the Hutu militants are on the hook for what happened during the genocide. One analyst has said that other than the government, churches bear the heaviest responsibility for not stopping the genocide. Three Rwandan Christian leaders await a U.N. trial in Tanzania. A leading Adventist pastor and his son were convicted. (A Catholic bishop has been acquitted and an indicted Anglican bishop died in U.N. custody.)

"When Rwandans were crying out for help, the world was silent. Quiet!" Kolini said in anguish. At the same time, he wants to point out, "We forgive the genocidaire. We also forgive the U.N. and the rest of the world."

Among Rwandans, then, honest storytelling has become a strong catalyst for reconciliation and remembrance. Missionary Guillebaud shared with me Deborah Niyakabirika's story, chronicled in a World Vision Australia video. Her son was murdered, in an isolated act of ethnic vengeance, three years after the genocide.

Months after the killing, a young man visited Deborah. "I killed your son," he said. "Take me to the authorities and let them deal with me as they will. I have not slept since I shot him. Every time I lie down I see you praying, and I know you are praying for me."

Deborah answered, "You are no longer an animal but a man taking responsibility for your actions. I do not want to add death to death."

Then Deborah did the extraordinary. "But I want you to restore justice by replacing the son you killed," she continued. "I am asking you to become my son. When you visit me, I will care for you."

Today, that young man is an adopted member of her household.

Timothy C. Morgan is deputy managing editor of Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today.Click here for reprint information.

See also today's sidebar on restorative justice.

Author Timothy Morgan discusses the article in his Inside CT.

More on Rwanda includes:

Influence of Roman Catholic Church in Acquittal of Rwandan Bishop Debated | Augustin Misago cleared of 1994 genocide charges. (June 20, 2000)

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April 2004, Vol. 48, No. 4