Jeanne sent me the book "Left to Tell", the story of Immaculee Ilibagiza who was a survivor of the Rwandan Holocaust. For 91 days she and seven other women lived in a cramped bathroom of a Pastor's home while hundreds of machete-wielding killers looked for them.
She asked the Pastor for a Bible and discovered the power of prayer through her many hours of meditation. She came to have complete trust in God and his promise of "Ask and ye shall receive". Immaculee went from 105 lbs to 65 lbs and had two severe illnesses while in those horrible conditions but learned how to cast out doubt and negative thoughts Satan was feeding her and give herself totally to God. She also determinedly learned the English language on her own while in that tiny place with just a French/English dictionary and two English books, because she felt inspired that she would need to know English to tell her story. In the end she was amazingly able to forgive her family's killers and came to know the meaning of unconditional love.
She says, "When I meditated, I touched the source of my faith and strengthened the core of my soul. While horror swirled around me, I found refuge in a world that became more welcoming and wonderful with each visit. Even as my body shriveled, my soul was nourished through my deepening relationship with God."
Several times she was able to look her killer's in the eye and they walked away without harming her. It is really an inspirational story.
The amazing thing to me is that that type of geneocide can still happen in our world in 1994. Over one million Tutsis were slaughtered.
We have so much to be grateful for here in America, so much we take for granted.
1 comment:
I was thinking as I read the book that my mother would enjoy, but from your post it sounds like she already has.
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