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First Person is produced in cooperation with the Far East Broadcasting Company, who rejoice in the stories of changed lives through the power of Jesus Christ. Learn more at febc.org. We are living in a hopeless world. So the only person who can give me hope is Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ is my life. Jesus Christ is my hope. And it's not only the hope I have for today, but also for the hope after this life that we live in this earth.
His name is Emmanuel Kuzira. He's from Rwanda, and you'll meet this young leader coming up on this edition of First Person. Welcome, I'm Wayne Shepard.
Before we get to our guest story, please make note of our website for a couple of reasons. First, you can see the schedule of what's coming up in the weeks ahead on First Person. And secondly, you'll be able to listen to this interview and hundreds of others which are listed online for on-demand listening. Go to firstpersoninterview.com and explore the Listen Now file for any past program. Also, look for us at facebook.com slash firstpersoninterview.
Emmanuel Kwisera is in the U.S. working on advanced biblical studies even while he serves in some key African leadership positions. Following his studies, he will return to his homeland to carry on as an evangelist and missions leader.
Growing up in a very troubled time in Rwanda, which deeply affected his family, you can imagine that Emmanuel has a story to tell. So let's get right to it here on this edition of First Person. Here's Emmanuel. My role with African Enterprise, I work as an international missions director overseeing our 12 offices in Africa.
And that covers a large part of Africa, right? Twelve offices from one end of the continent to the other? Yes, we have offices in South Africa, in Zimbabwe, in Malawi.
In Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, DRC Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana. Now we have a new office in South Sudan. We have an office in Rwanda and Uganda. Mainly we are in the southern part of Africa, East Africa, and West Africa. And the church, you've told me, is growing in South Sudan. Yeah, it's very interesting that South Sudan as a country has passed through a lot of suffering.
but the church is growing. There are big churches in Juba, but also church plantings in different parts of South Sudan. So, International Missions Director, what does that mean? What do you do, Emmanuel? As I said, we have offices in 12 countries.
Our mission is to evangelize the cities of Africa in the word and deed in partnership with the church. So my responsibility, one, is to mobilize the church for evangelism and the discipleship. So I do more trainings and developing curriculum on evangelism and discipleship.
But also, I'm in charge of new initiatives in Africa. When I say new initiatives, it means like where, for example, where we need to take the gospel, especially where there's no gospel. So my role is creating a strategic partnership with the local churches, with the local pastors in Africa, and see how we can advance the gospel to many countries, but also to among and reachable groups in West Africa and North Africa.
You're in the States to study. You've actually completed one degree. Tell me about coming to the States and what were the circumstances? Yeah, I mean, it's a great story. I was born and grew up in a Christian family. My dad was an evangelist, but I came to know the Lord after genocide. That's when I became a Christian. This is in Rwanda. That's in Rwanda, after 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
And then after, I started serving and doing the ministry of an evangelist, doing evangelism, training the church on evangelism. But I was not academically trained. I didn't have any theological training, which is a big problem in Africa. I mean, it's a global issue. So we do ministry, but not really trained or educated. And then somehow I started feeling like I have some gaps. I want to learn more, to study more.
And then I was looking to do a master's in evangelism.
But I couldn't get it in Africa. And then somehow because of the influence of Billy Graham in our ministry, I came to know Witten College. So that's how I came to the U.S. to do my master's in evangelism and leadership. So you received the Billy Graham scholarship. Yes, I'm a Billy Graham scholar. All right, that's wonderful. And that program's finished now? Yes, I graduated last year, but now I'm doing my Ph.D. at Trinity, at TEDS, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Deerfield. I'm doing intercultural studies, which is more evangelism and mission. But your intent is to return to your country and really all of Africa, right? Yes, because the vision I have is to go back to Africa to keep training the church in Africa for the global mission. I see Christianity is growing in Africa. I see the
I see the potential of Christians in Africa to be a blessing to many countries. But also, I see so many challenges. And whatever I'm studying, I'm learning from my experience here, I think I have to use them back home in Africa. Sum up your time, your experiences in America during these years of study. What's just one of the impressions that you have about living here for these years?
Of course, the climate, weather. Especially when you live here in Midwest, in Chicago, it's really cold. It's freezing. But our experience, yes, the weather is very different. I was born and grew up in Rwanda.
And then I lived in Kenya for eight years. So I've been living in East Africa. The weather is so beautiful. It's warm. I never check the temperature on my phone. But also I enjoy to be here. I'm learning a lot. Different culture, different people.
It's a blessing to be here in the United States. Well, it's a test of your commitment to come to Chicago from places like Kenya and other places in warm Africa. That's amazing. You came here with your family. Tell me about your family. Yeah, I'm married.
My wife is Coco, C-O-C-O, and we have three children, Ella, Kefa, and Tessa. So we live just here in Wheaton. And your daughter, was she diagnosed with a heart issue after you came here? Tell me what happened there. Yeah, that's another miracle because when I came here, I came to study. I didn't have an idea about what happened to my daughter. But it happened that my daughter was born with a major, major heart condition. Hmm.
In fact, back home in Rwanda, when she was three years old, at the age of three, that's when they realized that she has a heart problem. She has a heart condition. In fact, they said that she would die at the age of five. But by God's grace, she's now 15. So what happened when I came here to study, some of my friends said that, oh, we have a very nice, good family.
cardiologists. Why not just go and then meet with them? So do much more, another opinion. Because in Africa, we tried in Kenya, we tried in Rwanda, and many doctors say, no, this is a major heart condition. We don't even know how she's surviving. So we started a process here in Chicago two years ago, and then last year in September, she had a heart transplant. So she has a new heart. It's a long story, but now...
Now, as you can imagine, she's now having a new heart and she's doing well. You must be very grateful. And you call it a miracle, huh? Yeah, it's a miracle. Sometimes I say, maybe God brought me here for my daughter to get a new heart. But also with the ministry I'm doing with the William Bible Church and also the ministry I do with other friends like you. Right, right.
Yeah, yeah. Sometimes you don't understand what God is doing, but we are very grateful for what God has done in my family. And obviously it was God's purpose for more than one reason why you came here. Of course. Yeah. Well, let's talk about your own testimony and story. It's a remarkable one. You said you were born in Rwanda.
You survived the genocide of what, 1994, I think that was? Yeah, 1994. Seems so recent, but that's been many, many years. How old were you at the time, and what is your tribal background? Just tell me your story. Yeah, okay. Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda happened 1994. It's almost now 30 years. I was 17 by that time. Okay.
I was born and grew up in a Christian family. My dad was a pastor in a Presbyterian church in Rwanda, but we had a big family. So, because, I mean, it's a long story, but my family, we used to live, my personal family, like my dad and my mom and my siblings, we were living in the southern part of Rwanda. It's called Butare. But our extended family were living in
western part of Rwanda in a place called Kibuye. Now it's called Karonji. So when the genocide started in Rwanda, I mean, first of all, the genocide, the idea of, the ideology of hatred in Rwanda was there even before the genocide. But 1994 genocide, the genocide started in April, 7th of April up to July. So it's almost 100 days. The whole country, we lost over 1 million people to this, killed
At that time, in my family, which is more extended family, we lost over 100 people. My uncles, my grandfather, my aunties, my cousins, most of them who were living in Eda, Nichigari, in the capital city, and also in Chibuye, which is more Karonji. I have so many different stories. Like, for example, my grandfather, who was a pastor, he's called Oscar.
Yeah, he was kid with my grandmother together. They were together. They were kid by one of the associate pastor back home in the rural area. Because they're Tutsi. Yes, that's our tribe. That's our ethnic tribe. That's our ethnic group.
And then also he was killed in the church because when the genocide started, he decided, he started by going hidden in the bush, a forest. And then he said, no,
I can't die like that. Better way, I have to go back to a church and then die there. So he willingly went back to his church, even though he knew he was putting his life in danger. Yes, because since 1959, many, many times, people tried to kill him. Because the tribalism in Rwanda was there even before the genocide. The genocide was actually at the climax of the hatred movement.
But that's also another challenge that we have in Rwanda because Rwanda was a Christian nation. By 90, 80% were Christians. But all of us were wondering how come the genocide happened in Rwanda where it was a Christian country. Yeah, how could it happen? Yeah, it was a mixture of many things. But one of the things that I keep saying is that we were a Christian nation.
but not really disciples of Christ. I think one of the biggest problems we had in Rwanda is the misunderstanding of the Great Commission.
Some of the missionaries who came to Africa, what they did, it's only turning our countries into Christian nations, but not really making disciples. The issue of the identity in Rwanda, I think, was not addressed. So the gospel really in Rwanda, the way it was presented, it didn't really change our issues, which was more the hatred. Because people could go in the same church, but
with a lot of hatred between them. So that's one of the stories I can share. But by God's grace, my mom and my dad survived genocide. But for example, another example, like my wife, she lost her dad, her mom, and her siblings. They were killed in a place called Jisenyi.
So in a very bad way, even up to now, we don't know where they were buried or where they threw them because some people in Rwanda during the genocide were killed and then thrown in the toilet, like many, many different ways. So in total, we lost over 100 people in my family, my cousins, my grandmothers, my uncles,
And then after genocide, I became completely confused about God. And we'll pick up with Emmanuel's story right there, coming up in just a moment, this week on First Person. Stay with us.
Here's Ed Cannon on a vision for FEBC's weekly podcast. The primary purpose of Until All Have Heard, of course, is to share the experience that FEBC has because we have staff on the ground in so many oppressive places. But in addition to that, we're trying to speak to you in a way that only the kind of testimonies you'll hear from around the globe
Discover how the gospel is making a difference around the world. Search for Until All Have Heard on your favorite podcast platform or hear it online at febc.org. ♪
My guest is a young man named Emmanuel from Rwanda and has such a dramatic story of surviving the genocide in Rwanda back in the 90s as families suffered so much. Your own grandparents were killed in a church. A pastor and his wife killed in a church is one example, but so many family members, so much loss. Your wife Coco, so many.
So many family members lost to genocide. What was going on in your spirit after all this happened? Yeah, first of all, my spirit was that I had this biggest question, where was God during the genocide? So if God is a God of love, why God allowed genocide to happen in Rwanda? But also because I was born, as I told you, I was born in a church.
Another question I had, where was the church during the genocide? But later, the more I keep thinking and reflecting on a genocide, these questions came to my mind. Actually, the problem was not where was the church during the genocide, where was the church before genocide? Because genocide, it was an ideology which was there before genocide. And then I had those questions about God's love, peace.
And you're about, what, you said 17 years old? Yes. You're wrestling with this issue. Yes, but mainly after genocide, that's when I started thinking, going deep in terms of thinking about genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the role of the church during the genocide, but also generally with the politics that we had by that time. So, and then after genocide, I was completely confused.
I was very, very confused about God. And then four years later, my sister, one of my sister, invited me to a local church. And then I gave my life to Jesus Christ four years after genocide. Yes, of course, I had a confusion about God, but I could see that me and my family, we survived because of God.
In all this confusion, I could see the hand of God. I could feel the grace of God upon my life. And then my sister invited me again to a local church. And then I heard the gospel. I gave my life to Jesus Christ. And then somehow I started getting a clear understanding about the evil in this world. And then that's 1998. And then 2000.
I joined a college. I did my first degree in political history. Because again, my question was, I wanted to understand why genocide happened in Rwanda, in a Christian country.
And then I started serving with InterVarsity IV here in the U.S., but back home it's called a GBU. And then I started ministry as an evangelist, proclaiming the good news. And then I joined African Enterprise. And then from there, that's how I started growing my ministry, focusing on evangelism, but also on the issues of reconciliation and trauma healing. How about the other people around you, your peers, your age group? I would imagine that some people grew very bitter about,
after the genocide. How do you explain your turn to God when not everybody made that turn? Yes. Again, this is the point. Many people are hearing that reconciliation is happening in Rwanda, but reconciliation is a process. So the same thing with trauma. So we still see so many cases of trauma among many people. 30 years later? Yeah, 30 years later. Even like the post-genocide generation.
Those generations, you know, Rwanda, over 50% of our population are under 25 years old. So they did not live during that time. But it's very sad that actually people who were born after genocide, they have much more questions now.
compared to us. Because at least for me, I can understand what happened because I was there, I could see everything. Of course, I was a little bit young, but people who were born after genocide, they have so many questions about what happened to our country. Of course, they see hope, they see signs of hope, but they have much more questions. For example, my children, it's really very hard to explain to them about
why genocide happened in Rwanda, even what is genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda. But also, we thank God because the country is changing. There is a new hope. Churches are growing. Evangelical churches in Rwanda are growing. I think before the genocide, evangelical churches, the percentage was 15%, but now it's over 40%. That's exciting to hear. Yeah, it's very exciting. Maybe the question is just to see what kind of Christianity
we offer to the rest of the world. But otherwise, in general, we see hope and also we see signs of
new generation people have a heart and passion for the transformation of the country. So let's focus on Rwanda here. When you evangelize, when you share Christ with people, how do you approach them, particularly if they lived through that time of genocide? How do you preach to them? How do you reach them for Christ? That's a very good question because one of the challenges, especially when you're addressing the gospel,
In a country or in a community that has been suffering a lot, you need to make sure that you present the cross of Jesus Christ as also dealing with the issue of pain and suffering. Because many times when you are preaching the cross or the gospel, we only focus on sin. So, in Rwanda, we focus on sin and suffering. Because through Christ Jesus, that's where we can get inner healing.
So in Rwanda, the best way we present the gospel is first to address the issue of inner healing. That through Jesus Christ, we are healed. And then we also present the gospel as also good news for the forgiveness of our sins. Of course, you cannot separate the two. But if you read Isaiah, you can see that the cross of Jesus Christ...
brings healing and also brings forgiveness of our sins. So that's the approach that we use in Rwanda when you're doing evangelism. We say, hey, friends, also Jesus takes care of your sins, but also he takes care of your pain and suffering and what you have passed through. Very interesting.
All right, let me come back to you personally. You've been studying, reading, and studying God's Word, even in your master's program and now your PhD program. But what is the Word? What does Jesus mean to you? Talk to me about the Lord. I can just say briefly that Jesus is my life. Without Him, I don't have life. Life doesn't have a meaning because it's the life we live now, but also the life we live after this life.
So the hope I have in Jesus Christ is that first of all, I grew up in a Christian family, but I could feel my spirit that I'm a sinner. So the issue of sin, only Jesus is the only one who can remove, who can take away that thing called sin.
I've never seen anyone, I've never seen either a bank or a school which can really address the issue of sin except Jesus Christ. But also the sense of hope. We are living in a hopeless world. So the only person who can give me hope is Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ is my life, Jesus Christ is my hope, and it's not only the hope I have for today, but also for the hope after this life that we live in this earth. Yeah.
And what scripture is the Lord using in your life right now? Something fresh, something that you've been studying. You're smiling, so I know there's something on your lips. Yeah, I think it's John 3.16. Many people have been hearing about John 3.16, but I keep saying that, I mean, when you love, you give.
So the sign of love is to give. God loves the world. And then he gave his one and only son, Jesus Christ. So for me, my life is driven by love. We need to love people. We need to love nations. We need to love people who are suffering. You can't pray for people if you don't love them. And also when you love, you give.
So we give our life to Jesus Christ because we love God. We also, we leave our life to nations because we love missions. We love God's missions. So for me, John 3, 16, it's a summer of my life.
Emmanuel, God bless you as you continue your studies, complete that PhD, and then go back to your home and back to the continent of Africa, which includes so many different countries, so many different cultures. And yet that's where God has called you. And I'm so grateful that you're willing to follow that call. Thank you so much for giving me this time to share my story. How can we pray for you?
Yeah. Pray for my studies to finish my PhD at Trinity, but also pray for my family and my daughter. Of course, we thank God for the heart transplant. Of course. But we keep praying for Ella to continue growing and also...
celebrating what God has done in her life. We are thankful for how the Lord has provided for Emmanuel's daughter and his whole family as he spends this time as a student here in the U.S. Once again, his name is Emmanuel Kwisera, and he serves as the International Missions Director for African Enterprise. We'll place a link for more information about Emmanuel and his ministry at FirstPersonInterview.com.
Did you know that the Far East Broadcasting Company now has radio stations on the continent of Africa? Malawi is one such country served by FEBC, and you can learn more about this by visiting febc.org. We are grateful to FEBC for helping make these weekly first-person programs available to you and urge you to say thank you by visiting febc.org.
You can also listen for the podcast Until All Have Heard with FEBC President Ed Cannon when you visit that same website or any podcast platform. Until All Have Heard from the Far East Broadcasting Company. Now, with thanks to my friend and producer Joe Carlson, I'm Wayne Shepherd. Join us next time for First Person.