Speaker, choir tell story of joy, survival

ST. MARYS - The joyous voices of a children's choir followed by the solemn testimony of a survivor of genocide made for an emotional evening on Tuesday at Wayne Street United Methodist Church.

The Amani Children's Choir sang, danced and performed traditional spirituals for the packed pews. Based in Uganda, the choir is an offshoot of Light Africa Ministries and has been touring around the United States since November.

The tour has four major goals: share the love of God through music, dance and testimonies of God's work; raise awareness of the needs of the destitute and orphaned children in Africa; raise funds for continued development and support of Light Africa programs; and provide international educational and training opportunities for the children in the choir.

Although the group has been on the road for quite a stretch, choir director Freedom Kitengejja said it's all worth it.

"We're just thankful for the opportunity," Kitengejja said. "We're able to serve and reach out and raise awareness of what's happening back home."

All 16 of the children in the choir are from the Masanafu "suburb" of Kampala, the capital city. The group has worked to raise funds to build and furnish classrooms in Uganda, provide clean water for communities and offer accommodations for children in need of safe places.

Kitengejja said the choir will return home in October, but not before they make a surprise stop in Hollywood to perform with James Taylor and see Oprah Winfrey.

After the choir had finished, they went into the audience for prayer and fellowship with congregants.

Alex Nsengimana then took the stage. His presentation was sponsored by the Lima Area Operation Christmas Child, an organization that Nsengimana said changed his life.

Nsengimana was 6 years old and living in a small village in Rwanda with his siblings, grandmother and uncle when the president was assassinated and the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi began, he said.

He recalled waking up with his family on April 7, 1994, not realizing that a civil war had began, and attempting to hide in their coffee plantation and later their house. Members of a Hutu mob came into town and their neighbors tipped them off. Their door was kicked in, his grandmother was dragged out and she was immediately killed.

His uncle hid for three days under their bed while the mob continued to search. Eventually he told Nsengimana and his siblings to run to the city, an hour and a half away by foot, as he too was dragged out of the house to be killed. The children fled to the city to stay with their last remaining relatives, an uncle and an aunt.

Nsengimana recalled the tiny miracles that happened along the way that he didn't see when he was younger. They passed several roadblocks on the way to the city, but were told to keep on walking. When turmoil reached the city, he and his siblings were lined up to be shot, but the gunman's ammo jammed. Other adults in the area noticed the gunman and asked what he was doing. He replied that he was joking, dropped the gun and walked away.

He also remembered hearing a strange noise as he was walking one day and slipped on a cow pie. He was irritated at first, until the noise flew over head and a bullet landed not too far away from him.

Eventually he and his siblings were put into an orphanage. He was 7 years old at the time. Operation Christmas Child had given shoe boxes to all the children, and Nsengimana remembers the anticipation and excitement of receiving his own gift.

Later, Nsengimana was adopted by a family in Minnesota. His class members in high school were talking about gathering shoe boxes for OCC, and he had no idea what it was until he saw the logo.

"I realized that was the same ministry that changed my life," he said.

Afterwards, Nsengimana went to Crossroads College to study pastoral leadership. He eventually landed his dream internship - an opportunity to intern at OCC in Berne, Indiana. Now Nsengimana works as a contractor for OCC and couldn't be happier.

"It was a great moment for me to give back, but also to be an ambassador for kids who have yet to receive a gift," he said.

Nsengimana encouraged everyone to consider packing a shoe box for OCC, knowing what an impact it can make.

For more information on OCC and how to create a perfect shoebox, visit samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/.