Rwandan genocide survivor shares story of faith and forgiveness in Red Bay
Around the Baymont area each year dozens of shoeboxes are packed near Christmas time, set to be sent to children around the world. Those packing the boxes pray the gifts – as well as the gospel message included inside – impact the recipient and share God’s love with them.
Alex, who experienced hell on Earth in Rwanda more than 30 years ago, can attest to the saving grace – and second chances – that can come from a simple shoebox.
Representatives of Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child visited First Baptist Church of Red Bay on Thursday, June 11, sharing how the ministry’s shoebox gifts impact children around the world. The evening’s keynote speaker was Alex, a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide who, as a child in an orphanage, received one of those shoeboxes. For many in attendance, it was an evening about packing shoeboxes. For Alex, it was a story about how God can transform tragedy into redemption.
Sharing a photo of his wife and daughter, Alex described the unlikely path that had brought a boy from Rwanda to a family in America. But before speaking about blessings, he took listeners back to one of history’s darkest chapters.
In April 1994, the Rwandan genocide erupted after years of ethnic division and hatred. Over the course of roughly 100 days, an estimated one million people were killed, leaving hundreds of thousands of children orphaned. Alex was just six years old at the time.
His mother had died when he was very young, and he was being raised by his grandmother and uncles. When violence reached their village, his family went into hiding. He recalled militia members coming to their home and murdering his grandmother before his eyes.
Days later, one of his uncles was also killed.
“Me and my brother and sister were scared,” Alex said. “We were wondering why our neighbors were doing this to us.”
Eventually, the children fled to the capital city to stay with relatives. During those desperate months, Alex said there were several moments when he narrowly escaped death – among them a bullet that missed him after he slipped and fell while he was running for his life in a cow pasture.
“Never underestimate the power of God,” he told the crowd. “He can use anything – even a cow pie.”
After the genocide ended, Alex and his brother were placed in an orphanage housing hundreds of children.
Then, in 1995, something unexpected arrived. Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. For the first time in his life, seven-year-old Alex received a gift of his own. He vividly remembers opening the box and finding school supplies, hygiene items, toys, coloring books and colored pencils. Those simple items carried significance beyond their material value.
After witnessing horrific violence, orphanage workers had often asked children to draw what they had experienced during the genocide. The crayons and coloring books from the shoebox allowed them to create new memories instead.
One item especially stood out: a candy cane. Having never seen one before, Alex smelled it, tasted it – and eventually realized it tasted much better without the wrapper.
“That candy cane brought me so much joy,” he said. “It reminded me that the person who packed that gift was thinking about me.”
More importantly, Alex said the shoebox became the beginning of a spiritual journey. Through the orphanage and later through Christian mentors, he learned about Jesus Christ.
Still, faith did not immediately erase his pain. After giving his life to Christ, Alex said he struggled with bitterness, anger and thoughts of revenge against those who had killed members of his family.
“I realized I was not free,” he said. “I was contemplating murder.”
Over time, through prayer, discipleship and the support of other believers, healing slowly came. In 2003, Alex was adopted by a family in Minnesota and moved to the United States. Years later, he learned more about Operation Christmas Child and became actively involved in the ministry, packing shoeboxes and volunteering.
Then came one of the most difficult moments of his life. After years of prayer, Alex returned to Rwanda and met one of the men responsible for killing members of his family. He said the encounter taught him a powerful lesson about grace.
“In God’s eyes, He loves him just as much as He loves me,” Alex said. “The gospel does not exclude anyone.”
Alex credited a shoebox packed by a stranger he has never met for helping set that journey in motion.
“A person who obeyed the Holy Spirit packed that shoebox gift in 1994,” he said. “That shoebox gift planted a seed.”
Following Alex’s testimony, Operation Christmas Child Regional Manager Jocelyn Escoto shared how the ministry continues to expand around the world. She emphasized that a shoebox is more than a collection of gifts.
“What God is pulling out of that box is evangelism, discipleship and multiplication,” Escoto said.
She explained that every child who receives a shoebox hears a presentation of the Gospel and is invited to participate in The Greatest Journey, a 12-lesson discipleship program that teaches children how to follow Christ and share their faith with others.
According to Escoto, more than 244 million children worldwide have received Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes since the ministry began in 1993. In 2025 alone, more than 6 million children participated in discipleship classes following shoebox distributions.
The ministry is also seeing approximately 1,000 churches planted annually through its global outreach efforts.
Escoto encouraged those attending to pray, pack shoeboxes and consider serving through local drop-off locations or processing centers.
Before heading to a reception for Alex and the Samaritan’s Purse representatives, attendees were challenged to consider what next step God might be calling them to take. For Alex, the message was simple. Whether it is forgiving someone who caused pain, sharing the Gospel or packing a single shoebox, small acts of obedience can have eternal consequences.
After all, he reminded the crowd, one small shoebox once found its way into the hands of a little boy in Rwanda – and changed his life forever.
