In the "Switzerland of Africa," Medad Birungi found violence, pain – and the power of God for Forgiveness

By Michael Ireland
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND (ANS) -- Medad Birungi was once a boy who begged to die by the side of the road, a teenager angry enough to kill, a man broken and searching, yet today he is a testimony to God's transforming power.

Cover artwork for Tombstones and Banana Trees

In his life story, Tombstones and Banana Trees: A True Story of Revolutionary Forgiveness, Birungi charts his outrageous journey through suffering, abuse, despair and revenge to unexpected forgiveness and healing.

In his native Uganda, Birungi faced pain few imagine, yet speaks of forgiveness all can experience.

"My story changed beyond all recognition. Everything that was made ugly by pain and anger was turned to beauty by one simple, revolutionary thing-forgiveness," Birungi says.

Medad Birungi grew up with a violent father in the war-torn country of Uganda in the 1960's. His childhood was scarred by extreme poverty, cruel suffering and unbearable sorrow that few of us can even imagine.

Yet from that trauma came the lessons that we can all appreciate: the impoverishment of life without Christ, the redemption of the cross and the revolutionary power of forgiveness. His story deals in nothing less than pure, God-given transformation.

According to a media release, Tombstones and Banana Trees "has the dual quality of being both uniquely individual yet universally relevant, holding together the grandest of themes and the most intimate of testimonies. Birungi's life is so comprehensively renewed that any reader sharing in his journey will feel the impact."

Through his story of healing, Birungi calls readers to find healing for their own emotional scars. He reminds them that when they forgive others they are doing something truly radical-changing relationships, communities and countries. They are welcoming God into the hidden corners of the human soul, where real revolution begins, inspiring others to start again and work for reconciliation. Birungi is "fascinated by forgiveness, drawn to it, compelled by it and delighted when anyone wants to join me. That is what revolutionary forgiveness becomes after a while-a passion. It draws us in, yet it does not overrule us. We must still make the choice to overcome our reservations."

The press release says: "Tombstones and Banana Trees will take readers back to their own tombs and funerals and help them ask how God might turn them into new births and celebrations. Their eyes will be opened to the revolutionary change that God Himself has in store for all."

How did he come up with the title Tombstones and Banana Trees?

Medad Birungi

"I was born under a banana tree. Mother had to hide there when she went into labor as my father would not pay for her to go to the hospital. He wanted my birth to be quickly followed by my death as he was full of hatred and anger," he said in a recent interview.

"Much of my early life was marked by tombstones. I felt like life was over when my father abandoned me, my mother, sisters and brothers. And when my sister was murdered, I became a raging civil war-full of death and thoughts of revenge. But, just like Lazarus, I found out that tombstones are not what they seem. When Jesus arrested me, he challenged me to forgive others-even though they had wounded me so badly that I had wanted to kill them. This type of revolutionary forgiveness has changed not just my life, but the lives of many, many others."

In his book, Medad share with readers the story of his childhood. He writes about the first six years of his life.

"I was very poor. I grew up in southwest Uganda-an area known as the Switzerland of Africa. It is very beautiful there, but for me the beauty was clouded out.

"My father had many wives and hated my mother-his first wife-with cruelty. He beat us all and eventually we fought back. He left us, but by abandoning us he left us with no food, no money, no possessions and no hope for the future."

As a teenager, Medad was filled with anger and a desire for revenge, yet God was working in his life. When he chose to accept Christ, he says that he needed to forgive his father and others who had abused and mistreated him.

"In the East African Revival of the 1930s, public confession of sin was considered essential for any Christian-especially a new one. That tradition was still in effect when I accepted Jesus as my savior, and I am glad that I confessed. Not only did it result in many people getting saved, but it helped to free me from the guilt of all the wrong things I had done. Most of all, we need to forgive because that is what we were commended to do... and for good reason: unforgiveness is a cancer."

Medad says he thinks forgiveness for acts of extreme abuse and murder are required by God, and this type of forgiveness can only be accomplished with God's help.

"Forgiveness for acts of extreme abuse and murder are absolutely required by God. In the Lord's prayer, Jesus taught us to pray: 'Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive others.' Jesus also prayed on the cross: 'Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.'

"Stephen also forgave those who were stoning him to death. God forgave David when he killed Uriah and he forgave Paul who killed many Christians," Medad says.

He continued: "To walk in forgiveness and grace, we must release others through the forgiveness allowed by grace through Christ Jesus. God promises to forgive us unconditionally ALL our sins with confession that is present with absolute repentance. We are to forgive others unconditionally for ALL sins also. Otherwise, Christianity will lose meaning and vengeance, genocide, civil war and more extreme abuse and murder revenging for past sins will be committed.

"This type of forgiveness cannot be accomplished without God's supernatural power. Forgiveness that is genuine and unconditional can ONLY be experienced by the supernatural love of God flowing through the heart by the Holy Spirit. This power comes only by humility and prayer, strength and the unconditional love given to us by God.

When Medad made the choice to forgive, his life was not the only one affected. He shared how that forgiveness went on to affect his family and the community around him.

"Forgiveness is a choice, but you cannot choose the consequences," Medad said.

He went on to say: "When I chose to forgive my father, my stepmothers and some of my relatives, I also chose to do restitution and sort things out with them. This was very hard and frightening, but it brought healing to all of us. Forgiveness gave me unconditional love for my relatives and family members. We helped our father when he got sick by taking him to the hospital, caring for him for seven months and footing all the medical bills. He reconciled with my mother after 22 years of separation. He came back home and was reconciled with us. We also reconciled with our relatives and stepmothers/brothers/sisters when he brought his family back for a reconciliation meeting and made me a heir to his household."

Medad added: "There was great repentance, forgiveness and reconciliations in the family and community around. Deep hatred and deep rooted bitterness were removed and we became a loving and reconciled community. My mother received their children and my younger stepsisters had their schooling at our village school. I also started paying school fees for the grandchildren of those who murdered my sister and cared for those who had hurt us when we were abandoned by our father. My sisters forgave those who raped them. Relationships were healed and restored and our home became a center for inner healing and a Christian home cell church. People still meet in my mother's house today for weekly fellowship. Jesus visited the village."

Medad has now established a charity by the name of World Shine Ministries and a portion of the proceeds from Tombstones and Banana Trees will go to benefit its work. He shared about the ministry of WSM and how readers can become involved.

"World Shine Ministries is an inter-denominational, non-governmental, Christian organization. It works to spread the knowledge of the Christian gospel, to relieve poverty and suffering and to assist needy children and students with education so that their conditions of life can be improved."

Medad explained: "We have a school, World Shine Foundation School, in a remote community called Rwentobo where we have 510 disadvantaged children/children at risk (orphans, street children and children from homes of domestic violence) whom we look after. Among the children are 87 Moslems and others with a background of Christianity or African traditional religions."

World Shine Ministries in Uganda is also involved in:

. Evangelism
. Pastor's conferences
. Christian broadcasting
. Working with women and fighting domestic violence; advocacy for women emancipation
. Sponsoring orphans' schooling
. Supporting HIV/AIDS widows
. HIV/AIDS education
. Poverty eradication
. Camps and conferences for young people

Medad said readers can be involved by sponsoring a child ($20 per month), supporting the school financially, sending a goat to a widow ($50), supporting WSM activities, volunteering, coming as a team to support in building, performing medical or social work, teaching and conducting conferences, children's camps or evangelism or becoming a short/long term missionary.

If you would like to support World Shine Ministries, please visit www.worldshinefoundation.org  for more information The organization is a registered charity based in Scotland. You can also view a short video of Medad sharing his life story at this site www.youtube.com/user/DavidCCookVideos#p/u/20/26ZXQwXdfm0

Tombstones and Banana Trees: A True Story of Revolutionary Forgiveness

by Medad Birungi with Craig Borlase
David C Cook/July 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7814-0502-7/208 pages/paperback/$14.99

www.davidccook.com  and www.worldshinefoundation.org  

Michael Ireland is Senior Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can donate online to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior Reporter