Born in 1957, Rukundo has spent most of his life in the troubled central African country of Rwanda where he has experienced first hand the fierce animosity that exists between the two tribal factions of the country, the Tutsis (of which he is one) and the Hutus.

Rukundo recalls: "Living constantly within a situation of such intense conflict and growing up being treated badly because I was a Tutsi affected the way I looked at God. 'Why God,' I asked, 'do You accept hatred and killing? If You are good, if You are love, if You are God Almighty, why do You let people be like this?' These thoughts led me to doubt God's existence.

"I thought all the problems I had in life were because I was a Tutsi. I hated the Hutus and felt I would be safe without them."

Hostility between the Hutus and Tutsis fared in 1990, culminating in the 1994 Rwandan genocide when extremist Hutus rose against Tutsis and moderate Hutus. In 1994,between April and June, it is estimated that over three-quarters of a million Rwandans were massacred. Rukundo meanwhile had fled to Uganda and, while at a crusade, had given his life to Jesus. Yet still he wrestled with the same question about suffering.

It was now, while still fleeing the strife that was tearing his country apart, that Rukundo heard for the first time in his life the audible voice of God: "You were part of the problem, now you are part of the solution."

"God revealed to me how bad I was!" Rukundo continues. "Now I understood people because I understood myself. I began forgiving everyone. This changed everything. I had been full of hatred toward the Hutus. Now I could look at every Hutu and say, 'they are my problem!' I realised that we all need Jesus and we all need changing. Now I knew - I could be part of the solution!"

Rukundo's understanding - indeed his whole life - had undergone a revolution and now, a few months later while in Nairobi, he heard God speak audibly to him once again: "The solution is in the Church."

"I turned to the Bible and, as I read about the first believers in the book of Acts, I suddenly saw it - 'this is the Church!' I found out that the huge division the early Church faced was between Jews and Gentiles - it was just like the division between the Tutsis and the Hutus. Yet Jews and Gentiles all became one.

"I returned to Rwanda and spoke to people about my discovery but it was not until 1997 that I met eight young people and they understood what I was saying. Together we formed a little church family. Very slowly we began to be accepted and our church became known as the 'Disciples of Jesus.' Today it has about 50 members."

Rukundo's vision is to bring healing and reconciliation to his land. In 2007 he helped found a group called "One heart One mind", an organisation bringing together 127 people from different churches whose united message is the same: forgiveness and reconciliation must begin in the Church, where both Tutsis and Hutus are called to live in harmony as members of one Body of Christ.

It was an exciting discovery for Rukundo to hear about and join the Multiply network of churches as he feels that the vision the network carries is so similar to that of the movement he belongs to and a mutual strengthening can take place.

"There have been two warring tribes in Rwanda," concludes Rukundo. "Now we need a third tribe to bring peace - the Jesus tribe!"

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