Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana was killed in a plane crash on April 6, 1994. Almost instantly, Hutu tribal leaders blamed their rivals, the Tutsi, for his death.
Hutu militants called Interahamwe had planned to wrest control of the tiny East African nation from the Tutsi. They saw the president’s alleged assassination as a golden opportunity. On Hutu RTLM radio, news of the president’s death spread, along with a call for the Interahamwe to begin a systematic extermination of the Tutsi people.
Paul Gasigi, a Rwandan manager for a British petroleum company in Kigali, the capital, remembers what he heard on the radio that night:
"The Hutu announcer said to us, ‘Now our president, our father is dead. He is killed by the Tutsi. And if he is the first to be killed . . . then you are the next to be killed. So kill every Tutsi, even a neighbor, even a child. Don’t forgive even the women because they are the ones who counsel them. Don’t forgive them; kill all of them."
Roadblocks went up everywhere. The police ordered everyone to stay in their homes. Immediately the killing started. Interahamwe went from house to house murdering Tutsi families.
Paul Gasigi and his wife, Christine, were Tutsi and had to act quickly. They had two small sons, a baby and a two-year-old. Paul’s family hid with a sympathetic Hutu woman in their neighborhood while Paul fled into the bush.
Paul experienced the miraculous protection of God during this time as he evaded roving bands of Interahamwe. He witnessed many atrocities including entire families being hacked to death with machetes.
On one occasion a group of Interahamwe brought Tutsi prisoners into the building in which he was hiding. He climbed out a window and buried himself in a rubbish heap in the back. He could hear the Interahamwe murdering their prisoners as he hid. Ants and other insects bit him all over his body, but he dared not move from his hiding place.
As soon as it was dark, he left the rubbish heap and hid in the forest. In the morning he snuck back into town and went to check on his family.
He was shocked to discover that the Interahamwe had come into the house the night before and murdered his wife. His boys were spared because the neighbor convinced the killers that the children were hers. But she insisted that Paul take his boys back because she could not care for them anymore. Heartbroken for his wife, Paul took his two boys home and waited to die.
"I had just lost my wife," Paul remembers. "I had a broken heart and I did not want to live any longer. So I took my babies back home and waited to die with them."
But God kept his hand on Paul and the children. For several more days they survived on what food and water was left. When the food supply ran out, Paul risked leaving his house.
However, the Interahamwe captured Paul and took him into the woods to kill him. The leader was slowly and deliberately sharpening his machete in front of Paul. All Paul could do was silently pray.
"I begged God, ‘Lord, I know I have not been the best of your followers. But if You will deliver us from this war, I will serve You as a pastor and spread Your gospel to my people.’"
Then something incredible happened. An argument broke out among Paul’s captors. Some wanted to kill him later. Others wanted to kill him right there. The argument became violent, and the captors turned on each other. In the confusion, Paul freed himself and ran away.
"I really believe God heard my prayer and sent an angel to cause confusion among them. I came home and thanked God for saving me."
During the last days of the genocide, the Rwandan army recaptured Kigali and destroyed the Interahamwe. Paul’s home was caught in the middle of the crossfire for three days and nights. Miraculously soldiers never entered his home, and he and his sons were not injured.
When international help finally arrived, it was estimated that about 25 percent of Rwanda’s population was dead or had left the country.
U.S. Assemblies of God missionaries entered Rwanda and found a few Pentecostal believers who had survived. Entire congregations had been wiped out.
The missionaries asked how they could help. The leadership of the decimated Rwanda Assemblies of God replied, "We need a Bible school so we can train pastors to raise this church and this country back up on their feet again!"
An Assemblies of God Bible School was founded in Kigali, and Paul Gasigi was among the first pastors to be trained there. After graduating, he went to Butare in southern Rwanda and planted a church.
His first converts were a gang of thugs who lived in the forest near the town. He built a modest church building and held regular services. The Lord brought many hurting people to the church, and a large number received salvation.
Today, Pastor Paul Gasigi leads a healthy Assemblies of God church in Butare with more than 200 believers.
The place where Pastor Paul’s church stands was once called "a place of rubbish." It’s where the town’s garbage was dumped. After the genocide, many victims’ bodies were piled there also. People were hesitant to go to the new church because of this.
But Pastor Paul illustrates what a Spirit-filled, biblically-trained leader is capable of doing for the Lord when he is properly trained and equipped for ministry.
Today, a thriving Assemblies of God church stands on ground that was once a place of rubbish and slaughter. And a Bible school-trained leader is responsible for planting it.
If you or your church would like to help Africa’s Hope train more leaders like Pastor Paul Gasigi in Rwanda and other nations across Africa, please e-mail or call us.
