True life Story; Can you forgive such a thing?

This true life story is coming to us from Rwanda. We all know about the genocide that took place in Rwanda, the genocide which lasted for about 100 days from April 7th to July in 1994. About 500,000 to one million people were killed between the Tutsi and Hutu, although mostly the Tutsi were killed.

This story is about a woman whose husband and children were killed during the genocide. One of the militants who led the group had a nickname he was fondly called by his fellow colleagues. That night they walked into that family with machetes and guns, slaughtered the man of the house and the children and there leader raped this woman, they left leaving her unconscious.


The genocide later ended and years passed and everything seemed to have returned to normal. The woman started a little business of selling fish and as nature would have it, what goes around really comes around, this same man came to the market to buy fish and straightway it was in her shop he started coming. Soon he became a good customer of her, although the woman recognized him but he didn't.

The woman's spirit was troubled but she kept cool, she thought of what to do to him but being a good christian she decided on what to do.

One day he came to buy fish as usual, they greeted and laughed but after the transaction, she told him where she lived and invited him to come to her house that evening. He left and was so happy that he broadcasted the news to his friends telling them tonight will be fun. So that faithful evening he went straight to her house, he knocked and the woman opened the door with a wonderful smile that really got his heart, she offered him a sit and he sat down. She sat down too and looked deeply into his eyes and called him by his nickname they used to call him back then, his heart was triggered with fear and with a stammering voice he said but who are you? the woman narrated the story to him about what he did, his body started shaking in fear, but to his amazement she said in tears, i have forgiven you, in tears too, he said who is your God i will like to know him.

Today he is a pastor in one of the churches, that's the power of forgiveness, but if i may ask,

Can forgive such a thing?