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Essay / Left to tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza - 694
In her book, Immaculée Ilibagiza shares the power of faith in God through her moving experience of the Rwandan genocide. God saved his life for a reason. “He left me to tell my story to others and show as many people as possible the guiding power of his Love and Forgiveness” (208-09). His book proves that “with God all things are possible”. Its objective is not to provide a historical account of Rwanda and/or the genocide. She tells her own story. She testifies that through God's help, forgiveness is possible – even to those who killed her parents. His book is intended to help people let go of the chains of hatred and anger and be able to truly live in God who is love. Left to Tell is a stunning book that proves the fact that “the love of one heart can make all the difference” (210). The book is divided into three parts, and each part into eight chapters. The author shares how God saved her from the shadows of death and helped her discover who He really is. The first part of the book gives an account of Immaculée's family past. The love she felt from her parents and three brothers is illustrated. His parents took care of everyone, especially the poor. Because of the love she grew up with, she never realized she lived in a country where hatred against the Tutsi, her tribe, was endemic. It wasn't until her teacher asked her to stand up in class during an ethnic call that she realized her neighbors were not what she thought they were: good and friendly . After struggling to get into high school and college, not because she was unqualified but because of discrimination based on her ethnicity, she worked hard to prove that if women had the possibility of......workplace... ..relatives were killed. She had to face fury and had no one to talk to, not even the other women because they were under strict orders not to say a word. She couldn't bear the pain of staying in the house of someone who had kicked out her brother. However, it was in the toilets of Mulinzi that Immaculée discovered God in the midst of the Rwandan Holocaust. She discovered God after many temptations from the devil who wanted her soul imprisoned by vengeance. She prayed for the thousands of Tutsi who had been murdered and prayed that their killers would enter into the powerful light of God and be transformed by his love: “Touch them with your Divine Love, God. Only then will they drop their machetes and fall to their knees. Please God make them stop their massacre. Forgive them” (105). After this prayer, things were never the same. Immaculate discovered the light of God and remained there.