By Immaculee Ilibagiza with Steve Erwin
DISCOVERING GOD AMIDST THE RWANDAN HOLOCAUST
Lessons from the book:1. The genocidal murder that took place in the Book of Mormon never seemed real to me until after reading this book. A cultural tradition of hate and superiority fosters a situation where neighbors and friends can turn and kill you in a tribal frenzy. The Book of Mormon teaches that when societies begin to seperate into tribes humanity and order falls apart. The visual image and the smell of rotting bodies stacked up in heaps and laying along the road with flies and dogs eating their flesh reminded me of some scenes in the Book of Mormon.
2. Immaculee hid from the Hutus with 6-7 other women in a very small bathroom for 3 months. She weighed 115 lbs. when she went in and 65 when she came out. Satan will scream negative self-defeating thoughts in our heads if we let him, especially when we are in emotional and physical crisis. The negative head talk includes self pity, hate, anger and vengeance. If Satan can get us so discouraged that we lose hope he has won. The only way out is positive head talk associated with prayer—deep, soul wrenching, pleading prayer. I saw God rescue Immaculee in this way. Her prayers were amazing to me. They included her seeking scriptural promises and her core religious teachings. Only when the negative self-talk was controlled by prayers was the spirit able to teach her—then the ideas began to flow through her. Her ideas included ways to keep them safe as putting the wardrobe in front of the bathroom door and her inspiration to begin learning English. She was able to get some books from the Minister in whose bathroom they were staying. God helped her to learn quickly. Her ability to be taught and inspired continued through the entire ordeal as she was an instrument to help many people.
3. Imaculee began to understand that God was there for her and she started to lay out her righteous needs and wants and then go forward working hard as if they were already a reality. She imagined herself with a job at the UN, going every day, filling out the same forms and never giving up until she finally ran into the right person. When she decided she wanted to get married she made a list of characteristics she wanted, even drawing a picture and finally said, "by the way could you make him Catholic."
DISCOVERING GOD AMIDST THE RWANDAN HOLOCAUST
Lessons from the book:1. The genocidal murder that took place in the Book of Mormon never seemed real to me until after reading this book. A cultural tradition of hate and superiority fosters a situation where neighbors and friends can turn and kill you in a tribal frenzy. The Book of Mormon teaches that when societies begin to seperate into tribes humanity and order falls apart. The visual image and the smell of rotting bodies stacked up in heaps and laying along the road with flies and dogs eating their flesh reminded me of some scenes in the Book of Mormon.
2. Immaculee hid from the Hutus with 6-7 other women in a very small bathroom for 3 months. She weighed 115 lbs. when she went in and 65 when she came out. Satan will scream negative self-defeating thoughts in our heads if we let him, especially when we are in emotional and physical crisis. The negative head talk includes self pity, hate, anger and vengeance. If Satan can get us so discouraged that we lose hope he has won. The only way out is positive head talk associated with prayer—deep, soul wrenching, pleading prayer. I saw God rescue Immaculee in this way. Her prayers were amazing to me. They included her seeking scriptural promises and her core religious teachings. Only when the negative self-talk was controlled by prayers was the spirit able to teach her—then the ideas began to flow through her. Her ideas included ways to keep them safe as putting the wardrobe in front of the bathroom door and her inspiration to begin learning English. She was able to get some books from the Minister in whose bathroom they were staying. God helped her to learn quickly. Her ability to be taught and inspired continued through the entire ordeal as she was an instrument to help many people.
3. Imaculee began to understand that God was there for her and she started to lay out her righteous needs and wants and then go forward working hard as if they were already a reality. She imagined herself with a job at the UN, going every day, filling out the same forms and never giving up until she finally ran into the right person. When she decided she wanted to get married she made a list of characteristics she wanted, even drawing a picture and finally said, "by the way could you make him Catholic."
4. Nothing is more healing than forgiveness.
