a superficial peace

Visitors love to comment that Rwanda is peaceful.

And it is peaceful. Just 11 years after a devastating war, Kigali is probably the safest capital city in Africa. There are no rebel groups here, no formal crime syndicates, no internal threats to stability.

But at the same time, it's not Peaceful. Every long-term foreign national I've talked to (even those that wouldn't normally believe in such things) is aware of a spiritual weight in Rwanda. We recognize it because it affects us all powerfully, over time.

You don't notice the first week you're here. Nor the second. You just notice that many Rwandans are quiet. Slow to open up. After hearing a few people's stories you don't have to wonder why.

Here is a resilient, proud, and strong people. They have been through more than I could imagine surviving, and survived. Everyone lost someone 11 years ago. Some were confronted by a side of themselves and their neighbors they didn't imagine could exist.

The peace is on the surface. No one's killing each other anymore, but the war ravages on, deep inside.

This country is at peace. Now we pray for Peace.