One of my final days in Nairobi I met a pastor from a Christian church in Texas. He was a really nice guy that was leading a missions trip to do work in Kenyan villages. Eventually our conversation turned to Keza and I relayed the shortened version of our adoption story. After he heard that she was from Rwanda, he immediately responded by asking, "So, is she Hutu or Tutsi?" I answered him by saying that in Rwanda people are trying to move past those labels and don't refer to themselves that way anymore. In fact, it's illegal. He thought about this one moment and said, "Well, OK, but I can tell just by looking at her face what she is."
Anger. Frustration. Annoyance. Rage. Disappointment. Just a few of the emotions that washed over me as I heard this man speak. He was careless with his thoughts, with his words, and it showed.
I expect people to be naive and ignorant about this. Even just a few years ago I was next to clueless about what happened in 1994 to a small country called Rwanda. I get that people have a hard time understanding genocide and the horror it holds. What I don't understand is how a pastor, a man that has given his life to sharing the freeing love of Christ, a man who is familiar and well acquainted with the Rwanda genocide, could be so narrow minded and wrong.
Those labels, Hutu and Tutsi, defined a genocide that caused almost a million people to die bloody, horrible, unimaginable deaths. Those names caused evil and division and nothing profitable. And this child, this sweet little baby girl that is sitting on my lap, is neither Hutu nor Tutsi. The lines of her face, the color of her skin, the build of her bones do not reveal what she is and who she is.
I've thought about that conversation daily since having it and many times I have wandered to a verse in Galatians that says: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, ( no Hutu or Tutsi), for you are all one in Christ Jesus. The whole point of Christ coming and dieing was for us to be free, to love God and to be loved by Him and that love is what defines us.
Who is Keza? She is loved. That's who she is.
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This is a great, very well-written post.
ReplyDeleteAmen Hanna. Absolute truth.
ReplyDeleteSomeone said the same thing about Charlie, AFTER I said that I didn't want to know, didn't want him to be defined by those words. "I can tell you just by looking at him what he is."
ReplyDeleteIt was awkward because it was someone I like, someone who I KNOW loves the people of Rwanda. If I hadn't been so flustered, I might have figured out why in the world she thought that would be a good idea. But, I was flustered, and annoyed, so I reiterated my position and let it drop. Probably won't be the last time for either of us. I think it's one way that people show they're "in the know" of what happened in Rwanda... It'll be a slow change.
Incredible scripture that defines this perfectly! She is a child of the Lord made in His perfect image, rescued by Him and placed into the arms of a loving family!
ReplyDeleteBlessings! Glad you are finally home!
We have been asked that and we haven't even been referred yet! I think you are right Susie, it is one way of people showing that they know something of Rwanda-but we know if they really did they wouldn't ask that question. I can't believe, after you explained your position on it Hannah, that he continued with such a thoughtless line. I can tell you 'what' she is too- she is a beautiful child!!!
ReplyDeleteHanna,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your honest and beautifully written blog. We are nearing the end of our homestudy work and praying for our son-to-be in Rwanda. I find a lot of encouragement from blogs like yours. I was totally floored by this entry, but thankful for your scripture reference. I just finished reading, Left To Tell, a book written by a woman who survived the genocide by hiding in a bathroom for three months. It is very powerful. I am continually in awe of the country's forgiveness and steps to healing. Julie Thompson, Ohio
Thank you for your blog and congratulations on being home at the end of one adventure and the beginning of a new one.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across your blog and it has been inspiring to read.
Your story and the way you tell it stirs my heart and I promise that I will do something for Africa and her children to honor that.
Amen, sister. Amen. Its surprising how even family who love our daughter will say, "but don't you still want to know?"
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