At the Core of My Being

For Africa to me... is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place. ~ Maya Angelou

Two years ago I was in Kenya, beginning my African Adventure with Change Agents for Peace International. I had no idea what those three months would bring or how they would change me in inexplicable ways. Oddly enough, I don’t think people really notice the changes. Life has returned to “normal” for me and everyone else’s routine was never really affected by my absence. It was only two years ago though that I was crouched in a corner of my hotel room as the noise of rocket launchers and semi-automatic weapons shattered the stillness. Thus began 20 hours of self-imposed captivity in my colleague’s hotel room. A riot broke out in that little village in DR Congo right in front of our window. I was the only white ex-pat left in town. The Blue Helmets or the UN troops who were supposed to have protected the villagers and me fled the scene. The villagers attacked the police station next to the hotel as the incident turned out to be a robbery by the army who tried to trick the people into believing it was the rebels. Long story short, the crowd grew into an angry mob, setting fire to items from the police station and nearby shops. I was not sure how this insanity was going to end. As my colleague Elizabeth and I sat there in silence, I heard soft rain. Then I did an odd thing. I bent my head and prayed—just as I had done in the secure corner of my room when the shots rang out. I say an odd thing because Elizabeth did not get it right away when I asked God to open the heavens and let the rain pour down. When she did comprehend my mission, she joined me in a powerful prayer session and the rains became torrential in nature. The mob dispersed. When I related this story to a well-known peacemaker after returning to Canada, he articulated something I had not yet integrated. I was not traumatized too much because of my unshakeable faith in God. He noted my faith seemed to be rooted deeply within me and that was evident to him. I guess I knew where to go because I knew where I came from.

Peace,

Suzanne