PASTORAL REFLECTIONS ON THE PASSING OF MINISTER ALOYSIA INYUMBA

I woke this morning to startling news from a friend in Rwanda.   Honorable Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Aloysia Inyumba has passed from this life to another.    She leaves behind a husband and two children.    Our region’s newspapers quickly began coverage of a remarkable woman.     Social media told the more personal details.   It is astounding to quickly observe on Twitter and Facebook how the titles we gave her moved from “Honorable Minister” to “Mother,”  “Auntie,” “Mentor,” and “Friend.”     She was a woman who quickly could bring us into places of great warmth and hospitality.     In the end she believed in many of us more than we believed in ourselves.     I wonder if there are any in Rwanda who have not in some way been touched by Minister Inyumba.    Many of our best efforts and accomplishments were nurtured by her faith in God moving through the people of Rwanda.

As with the transitions that come to those who in the eyes of humanity seem “too young” our hearts grief.    How does one explain the loss of a mother to children?   And who amongst us does not consider her to be one of our aunties?

We return to the oldest stories of mankind’s sojourn with God.   Israel’s Shepherd King, David wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Psalm 23 (New King James Version):

“The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.”

As David reflected on the loss of his own son, he said, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me (2 Samuel 12:23, New International Version.)”

By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Job 19:25, 26 tells us, 

“I know that my redeemer lives,
    and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
    yet in my flesh I will see God.”

Jesus Christ was God in the flesh among men.   He showed us the heart of the Father.   When His friend Lazarus had passed from this life two simple words tell us all, “Jesus wept (John 11:35.)”   In the midst of our overwhelming loss God himself is in our midst providing hope and comfort.   Then Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.    

Within a week of Lazarus resurrection, Jesus himself is brutally killed and then rises from the dead.

Our grief and loss is real.   Yet, our hope in a final Resurrection where all will return to God’s intent is the final reality for which we hunger.

As we grief in hope it is appropriate to remember the enduring characteristics of Minister Inyumba.    

We quickly remember her humility.   As she rose to places of influence she still listened.   She had time to ask questions.   In between hurried meetings she was available.    

In those humble meetings her questions moved to wise guidance.   She could master complexities with grace.  Then find a way forward.   

We know her tireless work ethics.   This was driven by her deep compassion for women and children.    Her compassion spurred on her incredible courage.   

The place Minister Inyumba occupies in our hearts can never be replaced.   Yet by the grace of our Lord the loss and grief we now feel will heal.     After all, Minister Inyumba believed in the hope of our common future.   This hope cannot be contained by a created body of flesh and blood.

The dialogue I read and heard today was one of memories.  I noticed three enduring legacies of Minister Inyumba.

The first was her faithfulness.    Her name follows the history of her people.   She is found in a multiple of historic roles.   In each role that was given her she was faithful.   We were blessed.    I can say with great confidence yesterday, she was met by the Lord with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21, 23; Luke 19:17.)”

The second enduring legacy was her advocacy for women.   She healed our wounds.   She served widows.   She mentored ceaselessly.    She elevated the status of women by her profound moral authority.    I observed that her very presence caused us to stop, reflect, and change.   Her voice spoke with consistent faithfulness.    Her belief in women’s dignity reflected her faith in God who made all humanity in God’s image.   She saw that God had created women with unique gifts that must be nurtured.   Her advocacy brought us peace and healing.

The last legacy was her compassion for Rwanda’s children.   Her compassion was the authentic compassion of the Lord.   It moved from deep within her being.  It was full of the passion of humanity.   Then it sprang forth in behavior that simply got things done.    

One her most enduring quotes is "We're committed to seeing all Rwanda's children grow up in loving, caring families and not in institutions"

A friend today called her a champion of Rwanda’s children.

Many of us have personal stories to tell of Minister Inyumba.

My family shared a similar conviction with Minister Inyumba that every child has a right to a family.    I once had a 10 minute conversation with Minister Inyumba that I could never forget.   She made time for me in busy day in which she was meeting many important people.   We spoke of the de-institutionalization of orphans and vulnerable children in Rwanda.  She let me see a bit of her humanity.   Why was she facing so much opposition?   Why were there so many untruthful and unjust accusations?    

I shared the nature of institutions.   They are self-protective.   It is their nature.   Governments protect their tax payers.   Churches protect their members.   Schools protect their students.   Businesses protect their customers.    This is good.   In fact such institutions will endure with generations of good fruit.   

However, sometimes an institution arises that in its self-protection loses sight of the common good.   Orphanages easily become these types of institutions.   In order to appeal to donors they must have children.  Keeping children in institutions is necessary for their survival.

I apologized.   My race, nation, and Balokole clan mates have been some of the worst offenders in institutionalizing vulnerable children.

I shared a conviction that took the Lord working on me for 18 years.   The most Biblical way to approach the care of vulnerable children is adoption.   In fact, adoption is a metaphor of the Gospel.  Churches that don’t teach and live adoption are negotiating the Good News of Jesus.

I shared a hope that Rwanda’s churches and families would arise to meet the challenge.   It was my hope that whenever a child fell into a vulnerable situation a network of families would be prepared by churches to immediately take that child into their home as a foster child.   Hopefully, the child would be reunited with his extended family.   However, if that did not happen then that child should be adopted and have the full legal and relationship rights of a biological child.

Minister Inyumba looked directly into my eyes, accepted my apologies, and then said, “Pastor that is exactly what I hope also.”

Gabriel Mugisha Jacobs with the nurses who cared for him in Rwamagana

God never allows leaders to simply make proposals and write policy.   We must practice what we preach.   A few months later, my foster son Gabriel Mugisha Jacobs was having 3 clusters of seizures per day.   We had spent 2 weeks at King Faisal Hospital.  It was time to go to Nairobi.   MIGEPROF and emigration quickly got us the required travel documents.    Our family was broke.   Then God’s providence happened.  Friends in Kenya, Uganda, America, and Rwanda rallied.   Minister Inyumba was one of the friends who placed a little money in our pockets for Mugisha.   Her contribution was one of those first fruits from which God begin doing the astounding.     Mugisha has now not had a seizure in 11 months and is loved by a forever family.   I’m confident Minister Inyumba’s acts of faith are one of the reasons Mugisha is well.

A year ago a friend of mine, Major Eustache Nsinga passed from this life.    I had the profound responsibility to perform his funeral.   In it I summarized his life as being irreplaceable.   I believe all of us are created in God’s image and with God’s eternal purpose given unique gifts.   Thus each of us is irreplaceable.   

My sermon was followed by a speech by Rwanda’s Minister of Defense James Kabarebe who had the courage to point out a hole in my sermon.   We are all in an army for God.   When a soldier falls he must be replaced.  Without replacements our endeavors on this earth are doomed.   He was right.

God’s Word fills us with the wisdom of paradox.  Each of us is irreplaceable.   Yet, each of us must eventually be replaced.

As Minister Inyumba is now resting as a rewarded faithful servant it is our task to continue her legacy.

Who will be faithful in whatever roles one is given?

Who will advance the dignity of women?

Who will take vulnerable children into their families to adopt and raise with the full legal and relationship rights as biological children?

Minister Inyumba’s passing should cause us to like the men and women of old raise our hands and say, “Lord, here am I.  Send me.”

MEMORIAL FOR MAJOR EUSTACHE NSINGA

The word of God in James 4:14 proclaims, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears a little while and then vanishes.” Eustache Nsinga has passed from this life to another far too quickly. Most of us are still in shock. This seems unbelievable.

Eustache Nsinga was born on 4 August 1973 to Emmanuel Basomingera and Marianne Mukasarambuye in Bujumbura, Burundi. He passed from this life to another on Christmas Eve, 24 December 2011 in Kigali. That day will remain unforgettable in all of our lives.
On Christmas Eve 2011 I was performing the Christmas Eve Service at Christ’s Church in Rwanda (CCR) when I was asked to step outside of the assembly for an urgent matter. Gatete, Eustache’s housekeeper came with the news that Eustache Nsinga had passed from this life to another. I thought, “Surely not. This must be an ugly rumor or a big misunderstanding.” I returned to the assembly and sat with my wife, Jana; and told her, “There is an awful rumor going around that Eustache Nsinga has died.”

Then my phone rang. I rarely pick up a phone call during church, but as I looked down I saw it was from Eustache. I stepped out and answered the phone expecting to hear Eustache’s voice. Instead it was his brother, Innocent confirming the news. Eustache has passed from this life to another.

I imagine I am not the only one who has felt shock over this Christmas season.

This morning as I checked emails I received one from a relative of Eustache in Canada. She had seen the dialogue on Facebook and thought this was just a really bad joke. She wrote asking, “Pastor, tell me what is true.”

It is true. Eustache Nsinga has passed from this life to another.

Another word besides unforgettable fills our discussion of Eustache’s passing. That word is irreplaceable. How can we face life without Eustache? A man’s days on this earth are fleeting. We are all just a mist. Yet, the principles of a man’s life endure. There are principles those of us a bit older teach to younger generations.

Many of you are fortunate to have known Eustache longer than the 5 years I knew Eustache. In my interactions with Eustache there were 4 principles in his life that are enduring characteristics. These 4 principles are the substance which makes the memories of Eustache irreplaceable.

The first principle I remember from Eustache’s life is justice and equality. Eustache befriended me in the early days as we started CCR a little over 4 years ago. From the beginning he never treated me different from others due to the color of my skin. He made me feel as at home in Rwanda as I would feel in the village in the United States where my parents live.

God’s word proclaims in Leviticus 19:33-35, "When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don't take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am God, your God”. Eustache lived this principle.

When I asked him why he was so kind and treated people with equality he told stories. One was of his early years as a refugee in Burundi. Another was his early days as a student at La Roche University in America. I remember him telling me of traveling to the United States when French and Kinyarwanda were his preferred languages and his English skills were just beginning. He told me of going to the university cafeteria, looking at food, and struggling to explain what he wanted to eat. Those memories stayed with Eustache and empowered him to treat others with kindness and equality.

The second enduring principle of Eustache Nsinga’s life was his faithfulness to his covenants. God’s word proclaims, “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. (Deuteronomy 7:9.) …. If you listen to these regulations and faithfully obey them, the Lord your God will keep his covenant of unfailing love with you, as he promised with an oath to your ancestors. (Deuteronomy 7:12.)”

In my early years in Rwanda I was fortunate to be part of a small project called the Presidential Scholars that helped some of Rwanda’s best young academic minds study in the USA. The program has grown to over 300 students and Eustache was one of our key early advisors. He shared with me his story of attending La Roche College and upon graduation being one of the few to return to Rwanda while others just disappeared in America. Eustache was faithful to his covenants. He loved Rwanda and could not imagine breaking faith with his covenant to return. As years passed he pointed out that those who thought they had found a better path through broken covenants had become irrelevant while his faithfulness was rewarded.

What gave Eustache the ability to persevere and keep his covenants?

Two more enduring principles of Eustache’s life stand out. The third enduring principle of Eustache’s life is joy. God’s word proclaims, “So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. (John 16:22.)” This is the joy we speak of today. Loss of life on this earth does not endure. Another day is coming. On that day we will rejoice. Our joy cannot be contained by the circumstances of today.

That joy is given by the fourth enduring principle of Eustache’s life, hope. “And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. (Romans 5:4.)” Eustache’s character was one that could endure great difficulties confident in eternal hope.

As we say goodbye to Eustache from this earth some questions come to mind. His death was far too early. He had given much and still had much to give. He was young. He was talented. His dreams for Rwanda had not yet come to pass.

Why this tragic and sudden loss? Death is not God’s intention. His intent is to bring us full and abundant life (John 1:4; 3:15-17; 6:40; 10:10). In the beginning as God created the earth everything He created was good (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). Sickness, death, and suffering were not God’s intent. Death entered into the world as a consequence of sin (Romans 5:12-20). With the entrance of sin into our world everything changed. Yet, God knew this would be the story. He knew that the world and people He created would betray Him. The only way to restore creation to God’s intent was for Him to offer His son to die in our place. God made this choose before the beginning of time. He was a Redeemer before He was a Creator (Ephesians 1:4, 5). The illustration of God’s love is one of an Adoptive Father rescuing an abandoned child (Ezekiel 16:4-6). This is what God has done for all of us.

Where is this going? We will go to Eustache (2 Samuel 12:23). He will not return to us. King David as he grieved for his sick son stopped his grief when the son died. He recognized in the passing of life that now the season had come in which he would go to his passed son. We are now in that season. We will go to Eustache.

Some may ask, “Where is God when we suffer? He is not distant. He sees our grief and is filled with compassion (John 11:33-35). The stories of Jesus in the New Testament use an English word that is translated compassion. Those of us that speak several languages know that sometimes there is a word in one language that cannot be adequately translated to another. Splaxna is the Greek word usually translated “compassion” in English bibles. It literally means that when Jesus sees another suffering it made him hurt inside. Jesus literally felt “shaky guts.” This is part of being human created in the image of God. We feel one another’s pain. Then as we go to them and physically touch them we are physically healed.

We experienced that the last few days. The news of Eustache’s death was shocking. It left us confused and disorientated. It made us physically in pain. Then as we met and embraced we were comforted and healed.

I have a small genetic misfortune. My dad, brothers, and uncles all have portions of the cartilage in our spines that will deteriorate. As the cartilage collapses it causes severe pain that radiates down our legs and arms. I have had 4 seasons in which this pain came to my life. During the first season I was very angry with God. Yet, a friend told me is it ok to be angry with God. He is a big enough God to receive the anger. In the midst of the anger God healed my spirit.

The last time I experienced this pain just before I went into surgery I saw a phone call coming into my mobile phone. It was Eustache Nsinga calling to encourage me. He was like Jesus to me. He had lived through pain. He knew what it was like to suffer. He came close to encourage and suffered with me. In the process I found courage and hope.

Ultimately, Jesus answers the question of where is God when we suffer by his death upon the cross. Our sin has caused great suffering. On the cross the consequences of sin are taken away (Hebrews 2:17-18).

What can we expect? The Resurrection is coming. Let me close by reading God’s word.

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die (John 11:25).”

“For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him (1 Thessalonians 4:14).”

“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever (John 14:16).”