By Any Means Necessary
In just 100 days, nearly one million people were killed in Rwanda’s genocide—and Isa lost almost her entire family. But what seemed like the end of her story became the beginning of a greater one.
Isa was born and raised in Rwanda, a small but beautiful nation known as the “land of a thousand hills.” Growing up in a large, joyful family, her childhood was filled with cousins, friends, and celebrations. But beneath the joy was the painful reality of division. Rwanda’s three tribes—Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa—were marked by years of discrimination and tension.
As a young girl, Isa experienced this firsthand. Teachers separated students by tribe, and neighbors repeated lies about what a Tutsi should look like. By the time she was 17, she had already been interrogated by authorities and labeled as an enemy in her own country.
Then, in April 1994, the unimaginable began. The Rwandan genocide erupted, and Isa’s world shattered. Nearly one million people—men, women, and children—were killed in just 100 days. Families were destroyed, homes burned, and lives stolen. Isa fled across the border to Burundi, but she carried deep anguish, knowing her family was in danger.
In the chaos, she discovered that nearly her entire family had been killed. Only one sister survived. Isa describes this season as the darkest of her life:
“You lose the people that you love, you kind of lose yourself. You don’t see the future. You don’t even want to be there—you wish you were dead. But you’re still there, still breathing.”
It was in this place of brokenness that God met her. Passing by a small church, Isa was welcomed inside. A pastor asked if she wanted to receive Jesus Christ. She didn’t fully understand what that meant, but she said “yes”—and everything changed.
Through prayer, worship, and the family of the church, Isa began to heal. “He gave me hope. He gave me a family. He gave me a purpose.” Isa devoted herself to helping other survivors of genocide, offering comfort, prayer, and compassion to those carrying hidden pain.
In time, God opened the door for Isa to come to Houston as an international student. One day, she drove past Second Baptist Church. When she visited, she was embraced with love and immediately felt at home.
“Second Baptist is a family to me,” she says. “I love the friends I have made here, I love the pastors, and I love what this church does for the community and for missions.”
Perhaps the most powerful part of Isa’s journey has been forgiveness. Even the man who killed her father asked for her forgiveness. She chose to release the bitterness and say he had been forgiven long ago.
“It was impossible for me,” Isa explains, “but nothing is impossible with God.”
Today, Isa lives with unshakable gratitude. Every morning she lifts her hands and says, “Thank You, Lord, for a new day.” Her story is a living testimony that even in the deepest darkness, Christ can bring hope, healing, and joy that cannot be taken away.