Indescribable Joy

Where would you look to find people filled with the “inexpressible and glorious joy” described in 1 Peter 1:8?  The bustling church of a metropolitan city? A country chapel in a small town? Surprisingly, PFI President Ron Nikkel and his traveling associates saw such joy on the faces of prisoners condemned to death in Uganda and amongst survivors and perpetrators of Rwanda‘s barbaric genocide.  Ron Nikkel, PFI President; Jack Kiervin, PFI Board Vice Chairperson and Treasurer; Mike Wilson, PF Canada Board Member; and Vern Isaak, physician and PF supporter, recently traveled to six countries in Africa, where they experienced the unshakable spirit of joy in some very unlikely places.

Their visit to Uganda took them to the “condemned” section of the Upper Prison in Kampala. As they approached the tall stone walls of the prison they heard the inmates singing. Music on hand-made instruments of wood and tin mixed harmoniously with enthusiastic voices shouting praises to the Lord. The prisoners, though sentenced to death and living in cramped, austere conditions, conveyed a joy that transcended their surroundings. “They are building a Christian community inside the prison,” Jack Kiervin observed. “It was very humbling that they were so alive spiritually yet were ready to die,” added Mike Wilson. One prisoner told the men that he had experienced more freedom inside the prison walls than he ever had before as a “free man.”

And in Rwanda - what joy could there possibly be amongst people who witnessed the  unspeakable genocide that saw more than 800,000 people brutally massacred? The group met with surviving victims who had lost family members in the massacre but were learning to forgive the perpetrators - thus freeing themselves from the destructive effects of bitter anger and resentment. They saw the profound reality of reconciliation up close through PF Rwanda‘s Umuvuma Tree Project, which brings together victims and offenders for biblically based discussions on responsibility, repentance and forgiveness.  There they witnessed a woman expressing her forgiveness as she hugged the man who had killed one of her relatives. And among those who had participated in the genocide, they saw the joy of men who are voluntarily engaged in restitution, symbolically paying back their victims by building houses for survivors.

Despite many hardships, the believers whom Ron, Mike, Jack and Vern met during their visit to Africa expressed a genuine sense of optimism and hope. “They had a depth of spirit and joy that transcends the economic issues that we are so often guided by in the west,” says Vern, “it goes far beyond what we experience here.”  The men also made an impact on the people they visited. In the poverty-stricken country of Madagascar, the media were invited into the prison to see the difficult conditions under which inmates live. Ron spoke to the press, passionately imploring the government to care for the prisoners, who were slowly dying of malnutrition on their daily ration of just one bowl a day of cassava, a starchy Tapioca-like food. Two months earlier, PFI had arranged a shipment of $30,000 USD worth of medicines donated by Catholic Medical Mission Board and CrossLink International, but the shipment had been held up in customs. Shortly after the group left Madagascar the medicines were released to PF Madagascar through the assistance of the Justice Minister.  “The needs are so great,” concluded Jack, “and PFI is critical to all of the ministries in Africa. I have a sense that this is a place where Jesus would go.”