On the Zina hill of the Bubanza province of Burundi live two women, the older one named Irankunda, and her daughter-in-law, Kwizera. They had not spoken to one another for almost five years.
It was an incomprehensible situation. Here in Burundi, multiple families live within the same walled compound, with smaller housing structures within the compound walls for those who are related by blood and marriage. While each family unit has a private space, they all share a common area for laundry, water, agriculture, meals and socializing. Theirs is a culture of shared lives, where family members eat from the same plate and drink from the same cup, but these two women had been in such conflict that they could not even bring themselves to greet one another. Irankunda was not allowed to even hold her own grandchildren! How was it possible for them to live together, and yet be so estranged?
The conflict had begun before the marriage, when Irankunda’s son chose to marry Kwizera, a girl that she did not approve of. The mother actually hated her before she ever arrived at their compound, and this hatred continued after the wedding, and was reciprocated.
One day, some believers visited the compound from a local ministry organization called Harvest Initiatives, which sends teams out annually to the far corners of Burundi to partner with local churches in evangelism. Going door-to-door, these evangelists met a member of Irankunda’s family, who expressed sorrow and frustration at the rift in between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The evangelists agreed to try to persuade the two women to reconcile.
Later, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law reluctantly agreed to meet, and listened politely to the evangelists message of forgiveness and reconciliation through Jesus. “He died for our sins,” they explained, “so that we could be reconciled to God. This is the way of Jesus! To refuse to forgive each other is the way of Satan, who only wants to steal, kill and—above all—to destroy families!”
Hearing this, the two women began to weep. How had they allowed an enemy to separate them for so long? Together, they gave their lives to Jesus Christ and then hugged each other as a sign of asking for and extending forgiveness.
For the first time in five years, they now drink from the same cup.
