AMAZING STORY OF HEALING/RECONCILIATION

A Blackheath church has given a survivor of the Rwandan genocide a heart-warming sendoff in appreciation of her challenging and inspiring story of forgiveness. Pastor Mrs Frida Umuhoza Gashumba was rescued from a mass grave after being buried alive for 14 hours in 1994, and then forgave the killers who massacred 13 members of her family . For several weeks, she has been part of the congregation at The Flame Community Church in Cardale Street, while staying in Halesowen, and Pastor Alan Silver, minister, says she has brought "a tremendous lesson of the forgiveness of Christ to the church." "All of us have been impacted and inspired by Frida's amazing ability to forgive the Hutu neighbours who killed her entire family. Her actions shows for nothing the petty grievances people hold onto as they are unwilling to forgive," said Pastor Silver.

Frida has just returned (22 March) to her family in Kigali. She is due to take part in Hope Rwanda - a national stadium event starting on April 7th aimed at bringing healing, forgiveness and restoration to her country through acts of worship over 100 days, the same period of the genocide. "We asked our young people to come and gather around Frida and pray for her bearing in mind that she was only 14 years old when the genocide occurred. It was a moving time as my wife Ruth led the prayers," added Pastor Silver. Frida miraculously survived 14 hours buried in a grave and trapped under the dead bodies of her family members.

Rescued by a farmhand who located her cries for help, she then avoided re-capture and certain death by hiding in a pile of dry beans and, later, by squeezing into a hole located in the middle of a banana plantation. She says: "In my own natural strength, I could not forgive the people who massacred my family. After everything that happened to me, I could not see the value of loving - that was until Jesus Christ came into my life and then I was able to forgive others."

Today, Frida (26) is a co-pastor with her husband, Steven, of Rwanda for Jesus Ministries, and gives God overall credit for not just saving her life but also turning her into a new person. "I keep telling everyone - including my fellow Rwandese - that they too can enjoy hope and new life, by accepting God's underserved love and forgiveness through the death of Jesus on the cross." During the genocide, a group of 16 people including Frida, her mum (39), her twin sister and brother (16), two brothers aged 12 and nine, two cousins aged 5 and 4, four aunties and her grandad and grandmother were led outside a house where they had been seeking refuge from the Hutus. They were made to kneel lined up in a pit before being killed systematically by having their skulls smashed in with a a long club or being decapitated with a machete. Each person could choose their method of being killed but none could afford a bullet costing the equivalent of £5.

When Frida was hit at the back of the head by a young man she knew, her tongue shot out of her mouth with great force as she lurched forward and lost consciousness - presumed dead by her captors. And then death slowly moved down the line of family members. Two children belonging to a neighbour were also killed. Her father, meanwhile, had been hiding on the roof of a nearby house where, under the scorching, dehydrating blaze of the African sun, as he watched all the unfolding horror. Then with his natural desire to live drained from his heart, he came down to his family's murderers, saying: "You may as well kill me. You've killed my wife and family already." So they did.

Frida returns to the UK in early May to attend a concentrated 9-week course on healing, deliverance and discipleship as a step to gaining more counselling skills to take back to the people of Rwanda to help them overcome unforgiveness, shock and trauma. She is no stranger to the area as she lived in Gilbert Road, Smethwick during the time she gave birth to her son Maxwell at Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham nearly two years ago.