Letter from Jon, April 24 

 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
                                Matt 28:6
 
Dear Liberty Family and Friends
 
Christ is Risen!  Happy Easter.  I am sorry we can’t be with you this Easter Sunday to celebrate, but hopefully, at the time this letter goes out, Iain, Sam, Fiona and myself will be well on the way to Rwanda as part of a team of thirteen, to visit the Comfort International Mum and Baby Project which Liberty supports.  It is such a joy and encouragement to see Liberty’s partnership with Comfort grow over this last year and to know that we have the privilege of supporting so many lives through the amazing work of Comfort.  It is also a huge privilege for us to be able to visit this project and to actually meet the people supported.
 
As you are probably aware, Rwanda suffered one of the worst genocides in history just thirty years ago and, to my shame, I realised recently that I, like so many of us, was very ignorant of the level of suffering that took place in this small country.  Callum Henderson who heads up Comfort wrote a book ten years after the 1994 genocide, ‘Beauty from Ashes’, detailing the horror of what happened but also the hope that has come through the work of reconciliation in the land.  Having read the book I must admit I feel nervous about visiting this country, not because I feel in anyway unsafe, but because I realise my life has been so sheltered from this level of pain and I don’t want to say or do anything that would be insensitive or patronising to a people who have suffered so much.
 
As you'll know, we are taking suitcases of clothes, toys and supplies with us for the people we will meet (thank you to all who have contirubuted), but my expectation is that we will receive so much more than we give, not in material goods, but in a new understanding of God’s grace and the power of the gospel to heal and transform.   Whilst Callum’s book is horrific in parts it also shows the hope of healing, of freedom from horrific pain and memories, of forgiveness being extended and of miraculous reconciliation. 
 
I know we will see it Rwanda but I am so aware, particularly in recent days, of that same power at work amongst us, in and through Liberty.  On Good Friday it was an absolute joy to welcome over 100 guests to our Easter Extravaganza, many of whom are living through extremely challenging circumstances.  Day by day we are seeing the power of the gospel at work bringing hope, healing, purpose and freedom.  And so it is with great joy and hope that I can declare with you that ‘Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed.’
 
Happy Easter and much love
 
Jon