As the leader of a small church in a Rwandan village, Pastor Leonidas has heard countless stories of lives that were tragically changed because of the genocide. In just 100 days, one million people were murdered and over one million children were orphaned.

“It was our darkest hour,” recalls Pastor Leonidas, “—when there was chaos everywhere in our country and no hope.”

Among those who faced despair was Adina, a woman in Pastor Leonidas’ local congregation. As a single mother, Adina has five children of her own and three whom she rescued. Earning just 60 cents per day washing clothes, it was nearly impossible for Adina to provide for her family’s basic needs.

It wasn’t until Pastor Leonidas introduced the book, The Purpose Driven Life that Adina began to see that change was possible. “It completely awakened my spirit,” says Adina. “I joined a small group and realized my life was not by accident, but it was the will of God.”

Eager to learn more, she took part in training introduced by the PEACE Plan. With other members in her church, Adina learned skills related to hygiene, agriculture, plumbing, filtration, and construction. She even learned how to build a wood-burning oven.

After completing PEACE training, Adina felt confident to open a small restaurant for college students. With earnings from the restaurant, she was able to meet the needs of her eight children and save extra money with the interest collected from the PEACE savings program. Those additional funds helped pay for repairs on Adina’s home.

“All this is the result of the saving knowledge and the support I got from the church,” Adina explains.  

Now running her own business, Adina’s story is not unique. Rwanda is full of people who found hope because of unity in the local church. Pastor Leonidas believes this is just the beginning of opportunity for the nation. Instead of seeing a broken people, he sees transformation in the lives of communities.

Neighbors are trusting one another, families are living healthy lives, orphans are finding homes, and more children are being educated in schools. Even the poorest in the communities are finding ways to earn a living. Most importantly, more people are coming to church and finding hope and love in Jesus Christ.

With a church committed to the PEACE Plan, Pastor Leonidas says the days of a divided nation are behind Rwanda. Today he works with other pastors to live out the PEACE Plan on  the interchurch council.

“God is using the church to transform our own lives and the lives of those in our community,” he says. “This is only the beginning. We believe we can change our country one person at a time through unity in the church.”

To learn more about what Saddleback Church is doing through the PEACE Plan in Rwanda and how you can get involved, visit http://saddleback.com/connect/ministry/the-peace-plan/lake-forest