The Miracles of God and the Power of Forgiveness

Alex was born and raised in a small village in Rwanda, East Africa. His mother passed away when he was a baby, and he and his siblings were raised by his grandmother. Alex was only 6 years old when the Rwandan genocide began, and he remembers the very day it started. His family, who was part of the Tutsi tribe, was turned on by those of the Hutu tribe, and he witnessed the killing of his grandmother and uncle.

Living on the run became the new normal for Alex and his siblings. There was so much uncertainty in Alex's life during the genocide, but God continued to work incredible miracles, showing him that the Lord saw him.

Before the genocide, Alex’s faith was based solely on his grandmother’s faith. He didn’t know God for himself. Then, when Alex saw her being killed, that faith shattered. Alex began to blame God for everything that had happened in Rwanda. This was difficult for him to process for a long time, and it drove him away from the Lord. But the more Alex read the Bible, the more he desired a relationship with God. Jeremiah 29:11-13 is a passage that opened Alex’s eyes.

“I can come and pray to Him. That helped me realize I don't have to have everything or these rituals memorized or these prayers because I was just saying them in my head, but it wasn't with my heart. And I could ask Him specifically, I could pray anytime, anywhere, and I would ask Him for Him to forgive me.”—Alex Nsengimana

When Alex received a shoebox gift as a 7-year-old living in an orphanage, it began to open his heart to one day receive the Gospel. Alex had a gift for the first time in his life, and one of the items in particular—a hair comb—was so meaningful that he would keep it for the next three years.

“So, the shoebox gift that I received was probably packed in 1994 while I was running during the genocide. That was so special when I look back on the timeline and how God used Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child at a time when I was going through this turmoil of genocide. God was starting to prepare the seed that He would use to plant His Gospel in my life, that would propel me to where I am today.”—Alex Nsengimana

Alex attempted multiple times to get a chance to talk with the man who killed his uncle, but each time, the Lord knew Alex wasn't ready. God was still refining him, preparing and gently softening his heart, so the doors kept closing. But in 2013, the Lord made a way for this encounter while Alex was on an Operation Christmas Child trip to Rwanda. Alex found out that the man who killed his uncle was still in prison. Getting to speak with this inmate made all of Alex’s years of anger and bitterness fall away—a weight lifted. Alex even got to pray with him and, in turn, plant seeds of the Gospel in his life.

“It was a difficult moment, but it was also the most powerful moment of my life, realizing that what Jesus Christ did on the cross, He did that not only for me, and I think that's what took 12 years--over 12 years—for me to accept that He did that for me, and He did that for that person as well.”

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