God heard the heart cry of His son, Appolinaire, in Rwanda and His daughter, Valerie, in America. He saw that their hearts were fully His, committed to serving Him, loving Him completely, but still longing for someone to walk with hand in hand on this journey of life.
I (Valerie) grew up in a quaint little place called Manheim, Pennsylvania far away from the country of Congo where my dear Appolinaire was born. Though his father and mother were Rwandan, they had fled to Congo in 1959 because of political unrest in Rwanda. Appolinaire was born in the Congo and lived there until 1995. He lost his mother when he was only 17 and he father deserted the family not long after. Being the oldest, he took the responsibility for himself and his siblings’ wellbeing.
Sometimes I wonder why I was born and raised in the comfort of America while he suffered the pain of poverty and death here in Africa. But surely God was carrying out His plan for both of us though our lives were worlds apart.
After finishing high school, God lead me to Elim Bible Institute, and it was there that He revealed His call on my life to serve Him as a missionary in Rwanda. Appolinaire went to Bible School in Nairobi, Kenya and then came back to Rwanda to serve the Lord. He is an associate pastor in a Pentecostal church here in the Kigali area and he teaches classes part time at World Mission Bible School.
I first met Appolinaire in 2006, the first time I came to Rwanda. I was a part of a team from Elim that took a trip to Uganda and Rwanda. Though we were only here in Rwanda for a few days, Appolinaire took notice of me during that time. In the months that followed, we began to communicate via email and thus began an interesting and beautiful friendship. I have to admit that I was rather oblivious to his affections and interest in the beginning and it took me awhile to figure out what was going on. However, I did notice how kind and sweet he was from the very beginning of our communication.
When I returned to Rwanda in 2008, our friendship grew even more and began to develop into more than a friendship in our hearts during that time. However, I still was unsure about where the relationship was going and so I just treasured these things in my heart.
Coming back to Rwanda this time, I honestly did not know what God was going to do with our relationship, if anything. I did not expect what He did do and I certainly did not expect it so soon! I had always prayed that when the time came God would speak to me clearly about the man that He wanted me to be with. I have never been one to date casually and I had always just known that God would work things out and make the way clear to me when the time came. So, though it seems sudden to some, it is no surprise to me that God would speak to me clearly that this is the man He wants me to be united with in marriage. I cannot even begin to tell you the prayer and tears that have gone into this relationship already! I have received clarity and peace to move ahead in our relationship. I truly believe that God has called Appolinaire and I together to serve Him and expand His kingdom here in Rwanda.
So yes, I am in love but I am not in denial. I know very well that this is going to be challenging. Marriage is hard work even when you are from the same culture and Appolinaire and I have to added stress of different cultures and different ways of communicating. But I know that we are both committed to this relationship and are willing to work hard. We know the challenges will come but we are not afraid of them because we know that a cord of three strands is not easily broken.
So that is actually the short version of our story, believe it or not! We are planning to get married here in Rwanda on August 14, 2010!
