This past Friday marked a historic day in the Living Bricks Village. Without a doubt, any day where a disadvantaged person becomes a person with economic capacity overnight will always be a monumental day in that person's life and in the lives of their family.

 Forgive Us Our . . . Debts?

Theologically speaking, we “owe” forgiveness to one another, much like a financial transaction.

By Mark Moring

I’m in quite a bit of credit card debt, very little of which can be chalked up to what I’d call “reckless spending.” Most of it is has been accumulated through unplanned real-life incidents – car repairs, home repairs, medical bills. Basically, just fixing broken things. 

Jesus pretty much has a Master’s degree in fixing broken things, made abundantly clear in those three decades he walked among us. Healing the sick, the blind, the mute, the lame. Casting out demons. Even raising the dead.

He also taught us how to live, forgive, confess, repent, and pray—much of which is summed up in The Lord’s Prayer. Most of us can recite it by memory, but when we do so in a new environment, we inevitably reach that line where we’re not sure what to say: “And forgive us our . . .”

 Our what?

Trespasses? Sins? Debts? When it comes right down to it, it doesn’t really matter which of the three options we choose.

Let’s look at each, starting with that last option. And let’s start with my credit card debt. I’d love pick up the phone, call the bank, and say, “Hey, remember what Jesus said about forgiving our debts? I’ll forgive yours if you’ll forgive mine!” I don’t think that request would go very far. 

But is that what Jesus means by our “debts”? That’s the way it’s literally translated Matthew; Luke’s version is typically translated “sins” or “trespasses.” In Aramaic, the word for debt can also mean sin, and in both cases, Jesus clearly means that we should forgive another’s sins in the same way we’d forgive another’s debt. Theologically and practically, it’s the same type of “transaction.” One person owes another – whether it’s money (a fiscal debt) or restitution (righting a wrong).

Scripture also says that we essentially owe one another forgiveness. Matthew’s version of The Lord’s Prayer includes this little PS that we don’t say aloud: “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). 

I don’t like that part very much. Seems too hard, doesn’t it? We’re only human; how can we be expected to forgive as God forgives? He’s perfect; we’re not. It’s part of his nature, not ours. It certainly doesn’t feel like it’s part of mine. 

And yet there it is, in black-and-white: A command. Not a negotiation. Not a suggestion.

Consequently, I try to live it as best as I can, forgiving those who’ve “trespassed against me.” Maybe I snap back first, or hold a grudge, or give them the temporary cold shoulder. But eventually, sometimes more quickly than others, I usually get around to forgiveness.

But some wounds go so deep that forgiveness seems impossible. It’s much easier to hold on to anger/hatred/hurt than it is to forgive. We deserve to feel this way! Aren’t some transgressions simply unforgivable from our human perspective?

In my mind, I know it’s possible to forgive even the worst of sins, but my heart and my gut didn’t always believe it. But now that I’ve seen such “impossible forgiveness,” I am beginning to understand that it can be done. 

When I visited Rwanda in early 2009, I met a few people who have demonstrated what such forgiveness looks like – as the givers of such incredible mercy, and as recipients. It’s an astonishing, beautiful, life-changing thing to see.

I met people who lost loved ones – spouses, parents, children – in the 1994 genocide, people who had seen their kin hacked to death, right before their eyes. People who had been maimed and raped and tortured. People who had lost everything.

And somehow, many of these people – victims of heinous crimes – had forgiven the killers. Not just in the privacy of their hearts or homes, but face-to-face. And many of the killers, crippled by remorse for their sins, had not only graciously accepted forgiveness, but were now providing restitution to their victims.

I’ll never forget meeting Marc Sahabo, who had killed 15 people in the genocide – including many members of Felicita Mukabakunda’s family. Felicita and Marc had been neighbors and friends before the genocide, before ethnic tensions rose to the point where all hell broke loose, Hutu killing Tutsi, neighbor killing neighbor, brother killing brother.

“I had so much hatred,” Felicita told me. “I wanted Marc to die a slow, painful death. I would have killed him if I could.” But Marc, fearing for his life, had fled Rwanda. When he later returned, he was arrested and spent seven years in prison before his 2003 release.

A few years later, a reconciliation ministry called Rwanda Partners encouraged Marc and Felicita to reconcile – he to confess his sins, and she to forgive. Marc, saddled by guilt, was anxious to take the step, but Felicita, clinging to hate and paralyzed by fear, wasn’t so ready. But through patient counseling, reading God’s Word, and Spirit-led conviction, she eventually agreed.

 Marc and Felicita sat side-by-side as they told me the story. Then Marc got out of his chair, demonstrating how he got down on his knees before Felicita, folded his hands, confessed his crimes, and begged for mercy. She put her hand on his shoulder, looked him in the eyes, and said simply and quietly, “I forgive you.”

Marc says that at that moment, he felt like he “just came out of a shower, a clean man, except it was like a holy shower, because I felt clean on the inside.” Felicita’s heavy burden was lifted, and the migraine headaches and nightmares she had suffered for ten years immediately disappeared. 

Today, Marc and Felicita are best friends. When I visited, they shared a beer and many laughs. Their children play together, and their families regularly share meals. The two of them ride a bike from village to village, telling their story.

 “I’m not scared of him anymore,” says Felicita. “Without Jesus, I’d go back to hating Marc. But because of Jesus, I have forgiven Marc, and I love him now.”

It’s true, then. Such forgiveness is possible. It’s not just theoretical theology. It actually can happen.

Since hearing their story, I’ve been more apt to forgive, to grant more grace, to extend the mercy that I, a sinner myself, so do not deserve. But I forgive because I am forgiven.

I don’t expect my creditors to feel the same way. But being in debt also helps me to understand the gravity of my own debt to God – for his grace – and to others.

Mark Moring is senior associate editor of Christianity Today, where he covers social justice, pop culture, and other issues. He has written about reconciliation in Rwanda, and is a big fan of Laura Waters Hinson, As We Forgive, and the Living Bricks project.

Yesterday morning I walked into the Prison Fellowship Rwanda office where I work part-time and saw a familiar face sitting at my colleagues desk. It was Mattias, a repentent genocide perpetrator who killed countless people in the 1994 genocide. His story of transformation is told in Catherine Larson's book As We Forgive. Mattias was also counseled and led to repentence by Pastor Gahigi,  featured in the AWF film.

Muraho from Rwanda! My name is Rachel Weber, a recent addition to the Living Bricks team. I will be working as the Communications Coordinator from Rwanda through June 2010. I have the unique opportunity to track stories of radical reconciliation, repentance, and forgiveness throughout Rwanda and share them with our faithful supporters in the U.S. I will also be offering organizational support and communications assistance to the As We Forgive: Rwanda Initiative, which uses the film As We Forgive as an educational tool to create public dialogue about the process of reconciliation, repentance, and forgiveness throughout Rwanda.

Director Laura Waters Hinson was featured on MovieMaker Magazine on October 1, 2009.

Head on over there and check it out!

Check out the article here!

http://www.worldvisionreport.org/Stories/Week-of-May-16-2009/As-We-Forgive

PBS World Premiere Tomorrow
Join us as we celebrate the 100th Day of Hope

 Tomorrow, July 15, 'As We Forgive' will premiere on PBS WORLD stations across the nation. Take advantage of this national broadcast and celebrate the 100th Day of Hope commemorating the end of the Rwandan genocide by inviting friends over to share the message of reconciliation in Rwanda and spark discussion on radical reconciliation in our own lives. AWF will be airing in more than 25 states over the next few weeks, so check out our website  to find out when it is programmed in your area!

 We have a lot of exciting new from the road in Rwanda! Everything has come together for our VIP screening tonight at the Serena Hotel in Kigali. Co-sponsored by the Ministry of Sports and Culture and the U.S. Embassy, the event will bring together some of the most influential people in Rwanda, including Rwandan ministers, foreign ambassadors, and leaders of key organizations, to share with them our vision in the launch of a nation-wide initiative using the power of film to engage Rwandan youth and leaders in the process of reconciliation. 

The As We Forgive Rwanda Initiative will present the movie in all of Rwanda’s thirty districts in schools, prisons, churches and villages, followed by a complete discussion program.  This initiative is supported at the highest levels of the Rwandan government and brings together government ministries as well as groups in the private sector.  These organizations are working together to integrate the As We Forgive program into existing reconciliation projects. We hope to see visible and measureable results in the country. It is also our hope for reconciliation activities to assist survivors and released prisoners in participating in economic development and other projects of unity that will move Rwandan communities forward.  

We had the pleasure of holding a pilot screening of the initiatve here at a school in Kigali this past Saturday night.  We expected 300-500 students to come and were overjoyed when over 700 students showed up to pack the auditorium!  Our great friend Emmanuel Kwizera helped lead the students in discussion of what they had seen immediately following the film. The students broke into 7 different discussion groups each with a different topic in a session that lasted two hours.  It was absolutely wonderful to see the excitement of these future leaders of Rwanda as they discussion reconciliation. 

Andrea McDaniel, our Managing Director of the Rwandan Initiative, has been working tirelessly for the past month to secure sponsors, press, musicians, and nation-wide support for our big premiere of the film Friday evening, July 3, in Amahoro Stadium.  She has been absolutely essential to making this event a success. 

There is much more we could share, but for now, look forward to an update on the VIP evening and final details for Friday night!

This is such a huge and exciting moment for Rwanda, and we are thrilled to be sharing it with you all as well. 

Best,

The AWF Team

 Check out the article by clicking on the link below:

http://craig.purplestateofmind.com/?p=782

Groundbreaking News...

Rosaria and Saveri talk outside her home in the Umuvumu Tree Village in early April '09

 Dear Friends,

I had an incredible experience while on my recent trip to Rwanda.  I showed the film for the first time to Rosaria, Saveri, John and Chantale—the subjects of the documentary.  I was a little nervous, wondering what they would think about seeing their own very personal stories of reconciliation on the screen of my laptop.  These are people who have rarely—if ever–watched a TV show!

As we viewed As We Forgive together, Rosaria sat side-by-side with Saveri, the man who brutally murdered her sister.  Today, they live as neighbors once again after deciding to reconcile. When the film was over, Rosaria looked up and said, “I am happy that so many people will hear our story through the film, and hopefully it will help others to reconcile as well.”  Next, Saveri offered his thoughts: “All that you have shown here is true.  This is really how it happened.”

We talked at length about their thoughts, and needless to say, I was overjoyed at their encouragement and excitement about us showing the film to people across the world.  Both of them appeared to be happy and healthy, and they talked together about how their friendship had deepened as they continued to live as neighbors in the new village.

As many of you know, Rwanda is in the midst of the 100-day commemoration period of the 1994 genocide.  During this time, we want to introduce you further to the Living Bricks Campaign, our viewer action initiative.  We’ll be sending out regular updates on the village we’re building through the support of our viewers.  It’s a place where killers and survivors live side-by-side as neighbors through reconciliation.  We’ll also update you on our plans to take As We Forgive on a nationwide screening tour throughout Rwanda, showing the film in villages, schools, universities, prisons and churches.  We hope you’ll get involved in Rwanda’s incredible reconciliation movement by joining the Living Bricks Campaign.  Click on the link below to “give a brick” which will help build a home within the Living Bricks Village.

Stay tuned for our next update about John and Chantale’s response to seeing themselves in the movie!

Sincerely,

Laura

 Rosaria and Saveri show their proximity of living side-by-side in the village

Laura had the honor of sharing the film with Rosaria and Saveri for the first time
during her trip in early April.

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that AS WE FORGIVE has been awarded a $262,000 grant from the John Templeton Foundation for a one-year international outreach campaign.

The grant will provide for a US outreach and screening campaign, which will include a PBS premiere of AWF during the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. It also provides funding for a full-time Screening Tour Director position, which will be held by my esteemed colleague Genevieve Ebel. We will be developing educational resources to accompany the DVD and will continue to screen the film across the country in universities, churches, and schools.

The other exciting news is that the grant will allow us to plan a national premiere of AWF in Rwanda's capitol in late spring. We'll be working with the Rwanda Unity and Reconciliation Commission as well as the Ministry of Culture to plan a premiere in the national basketball stadium, which can hold up to 3,000 people. Our job will be to put together a Rwandan team to plan the logistics and fill all the seats!

After the premiere, a newly appointed Rwandan Screening Tour Director will set off on a cross-country tour, showing the film in villages, schools, churches and government programs that are engaging people in the work of reconciliation. Our hope is that the film will inspire further dialogue and hope among Rwandans walking the difficult road towards reconciliation.

More about Templeton:

The mission of the John Templeton Foundation is to serve as a philanthropic catalyst for discovery in areas engaging life's biggest questions. These questions range from explorations into the laws of nature and the universe to questions on the nature of love, gratitude, forgiveness, and creativity. To learn more, visit www.templeton.org.