Jenkins, O'Neal back Rwanda aid

By Matthew Watson - Courtesy of the Talon

The descriptions from the Ugandan border were brutal.

Bodies floated down the rivers. Thousands ended up in the lakes of Uganda. Humanitarians on the other side of the destruction picked body after body out of the water.

In July 1994, the central African country of Rwanda experienced extreme hatred, not from outside forces but from within its very borders.

The Hutus took it upon themselves to wipe out rival ethnic group, the Tutsis. The murder and chaos lasted 100 days.

When the violence finally subsided, nearly one million Rwandans were killed. Thousands of bodies were dumped into mass graves. Humanitarian efforts dropped. Many groups gave up hope.

Even today, there are no Church of Christ missionaries in Rwanda. But one family is trying to change that.

Missionary Dave Jenkins and wife Jana feel that it is their duty to spread Christianity to Rwanda.

"Everyone had these grand ideas about mission work, but no one carried them out," said Dave Jenkins, who spent several years in neighboring Uganda. "When we came back here, Dr. (Mike) O'Neal contacted me and asked if there were any Church of Christ missionaries over there. Sadly, the answer was no.

"He asked if anyone was willing to go. I thought to myself, �I'm willing.'"

During the genocide, several denominations took place in aiding the murders. People went to the churches for sanctuary, but found only mayhem. Since the Church of Christ did not have a hand in the massacres, the Jenkins feel the Rwandan people might trust them from the beginning.

The Jenkins lived in Africa for 11 years and had great success in spreading the word of God.

"Uganda only had a handful of churches, and 11 years later, there were 30 missionary families and there were over 170 churches." Dave Jenkins said.

With the Christian work in place in Uganda, the Jenkins feel there is no better time to help Rwanda than right now.

Last fall, OC president Mike O'Neal accompanied the Jenkins to Rwanda to assess the potential mission field.

"We need to go," Dave Jenkins said. "The best time to do it is now."

At the beginning of the genocide, things seemed grim for Rwanda and neighboring countries.

"In 1994, we were living in Uganda, downstream from Rwanda. Bodies were floating down the river, thousands of bodies ended up in the lakes of Uganda. I had friends picking bodies out of the lake. People stopped eating the fish. Everything in the water became contaminated," Jenkins said.

Now, government officials are trying to rebuild the country from the ground up. It isn't always easy.

"Rwanda is a peaceful country now," Jenkins said. "What people typically think of Africa is always chaos and that is not always true. Rwanda has been peaceful for 10 years and I think they have a good government in place. I think that the future of Rwanda is good.

But some feel that nations on the outside looking in could still do more in the way of relief efforts.

"The international community has not gone to help," O'Neal said. "Western civilization turned their back on the country and did not help them. I am very hopeful that we build a team of missionaries to send over there to help them."

Rwanda is located in central Africa neighbored by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Dominican Republic of the Congo.

Compared to the surrounding countries, Rwanda is relatively small.

"Oklahoma is four times the size of Rwanda geographically, but Rwanda has four times the amount of people than Oklahoma," Jana Jenkins said. "Yet, there are no Churches of Christ."

According to the most recent study of church demographics in Oklahoma, 63,000 members constitute more than 600 Churches of Christ throughout the state.

Many look at the numbers and gasp. Some shake their heads in disappointment.

But Dave and Jana Jenkins simply look up and, knowing what they are willing do, ask others to do the same.

"We are looking for anyone who is interested in helping with mission work in Rwanda," Dave Jenkins said. "No matter the background of the person, if they have the heart to help we would like to talk to them."