Several months ago Tom Akello, the leader of the Bujumbura International Church of Christ in the capital of the Central African nation of Burundi, reported the violent clashes that were taking place in that city. We read on Friday March 23 on Aces Online of the 'Courage under Fire' of the disciples who continued to trust God and to reach out to others even as people died around them, caught in the battle between the rebels and the government forces.

Since that time conflict in Burundi has, for the most part, disappeared from the international headlines. In no way, however, has the almost constant shelling and gunfire disappeared from the city of Bujumbura and its environs. The country of Burundi is torn along ethnic lines, principally between the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi, and is in the midst of a civil war that began 8 years ago after the Hutu president at the time was assassinated by Tutsi soldiers. The president, who came to power by way of a coup d'etat, and the overwhelming majority of army soldiers are Tutsi, while 85% of the country's population is Hutu. Though not united amongst themselves, the various Hutu rebel factions are in agreement that the current government must be deposed if it will not relinquish power or hold democratic elections.

Calm and quiet by day, Bujumbura is a small city that sits on the shores of Lake Tanganyika to one side, is surrounded by forests and hills on another, and has plains stretching off in the distance on another side. From as early as late afternoon, however, and continuing late into the night, the city frequently becomes the theatre of heavy armed exchanges between the Burundian military and anti-government rebels. The hills, so picturesque and beautiful, are also an ideal hide-out for the rebels. It is from this vantage point that many of the attacks upon the city originate. Residents are forced to remain outdoors to keep vigil rather than run the risk of bombs hitting their houses while they and their families are inside. There have been nights where nobody slept because of the volume and duration of the exchanges.

An alternative strategy of the rebels is to strike from right within the heart of the city. Mingling freely with the rest of the population during the day, they are extremely difficult to identify. In the meantime they select targets and strategize, waiting for nightfall to unleash the full force of their murderous terror. As neighborhoods are for the most part divided along ethnic lines, it becomes a lot easier for the killers to find their targets. Hutus kill Tutsis and Tutsis kill Hutus, sometimes being selective enough to target a husband but spare his wife, or vice versa, depending on the ethnicity of the two. Bujumbura being a small city, most people know each other, and as a result survivors of armed attacks by civilian militia know the identity of their relatives killers, yet are powerless to do anything about it.

Not only are uninvolved civilians butchered, but it is also a favorite tactic of rebels to ambush funeral convoys making their way to the main cemetery just outside of town and take more lives. So far this year alone there have been two coup attempts from within the army, as the government faces opposition from without and from within its ranks as well. Twice international airlines suspended their flights to Bujumbura. At one point the rebels cut off the electricity supply to Bujumbura for three weeks. On other occasions they have sabotaged telephone lines and thus interrupted the city's telecommunication network.

A process of political negotiations to bring peace is taking place in Arusha, Tanzania between warring and divergent factions, but with each passing day lives continue to be lost throughout Burundi. At least 150,000 people have lost their lives since the fighting began. International NGO's have their staff on constant high alert with evacuation procedures firmly in place at all times.

On the minds of the disciples, however, is not evacuation but evangelization. The day after the attacks in March, the Bujumbura church had a record attendance at its special African Sunday service, and in the week that followed, 2 men were baptized into Christ. Most of those who can are fleeing Burundi at the first opportunity. As a result, there are increasingly few qualified doctors. The health care standards are low and medicine is expensive when available. Yet, the number of wounded continues to climb and the need for medical expertise and equipment grows increasingly acute.

Both Tom Akello and Anita Mtwaiti, the Kenyan brother and sister who now lead the Bujumbura church, admit to being scared at times. The local disciples feel the same. But though they might on occasion be tempted to despair of life, they realize that this happens that they may learn to depend on God. Theirs is the confidence expressed by the apostle Paul in Romans 8:35-37 where he writes:
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

The disciples are determined, and see themselves as the light for their generation. Theirs is a generation hardened and embittered by mental scars and emotional wounds that last well beyond the last visit to see hospitalized kin or the last prayers offered at a graveside farewell to loved ones. How, after all, do you rebuild your life after seeing your family members murdered? How do you go on when the killers get away, and you not only know who they are, but they know that you know, and there is nothing you can do about it? To whom do you turn when you find yourself orphaned, and anyone on whom you might have leaned for help is equally in need? Where do you find hope when at any instant you could lose your home, your limb, your life, not for any fault of your own, but because powerbrokers sitting safely in their havens of authority refuse to shake hands? Where are the answers when the unfolding of each new day only brings with it more tough questions?

Jesus is the answer, the solid rock upon which to rebuild, the eagle's wings on which to fly, the friend to turn to, the hope eternal. This is the message of the Bujumbura disciples and the cause to which they have devoted their lives, for they understand that God "has determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live … so that men would seek [God] and perhaps reach out for him and find him."

Indeed many are finding, through God's love, the heart to forgive and the strength to move on. Guillaume, one of the first men baptized in Bujumbura, says that he doesn't understand why people should judge each other just by each other's physical appearance. As a result he wants to be friends with all kinds of people from different ethnic groups. Protai sees the hatred between people around him and says, "l want to be loving to people so that they can see that Christ was not conditional in his love. I want to love especially those that I considered to be my enemies before."

Yes, the bombings do go on, long after the BBC or CNN has dispatched its last report - long after the international media has focused its attention on some other dramatic piece of "breaking news" in some other corner of the globe. But for the citizens of Bujumbura this is not just a news flash they view on screen and then forget in favor of other headlines, but a reality that they live every day, and one that the disciples face with a faith, courage and love for the lost that is defining Christianity to their nation in their generation.