Celebrate Recovery Mission to Rwanda
This is a blog entry from Deanna Bommarito about her recent trip to Rwanda as part of a Celebrate Recovery expedition. Deanna works with women in our Rose Treatment Program for Women. Sober Living by the Sea also has a Residential Celebrate Recovery Program.
Saddleback Church’s Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan encompasses the following goals:
"P" - Promote Reconciliation
"E" - Equip Leaders
"A" - Assist the Poor
"C" - Care for the Sick
"E" - Educate the Next Generation.
Celebrate Recovery of Lake Forest was commissioned to accomplish the "P" in P.E.A.C.E. - by promoting reconciliation in the country of Rwanda, Africa.
The people of Rwanda are in the process of rebuilding their lives following the genocide in 1994 during which over 1 million people were brutally murdered. These murders, at the hand of their friends, neighbors, clergy, and even own family members, were ordered by the government for the purpose of wiping out the entire “race” of Tutsis. Over a million people were killed in 100 days with machetes – the brutality is unimaginable.
For the past fourteen years, while under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, the people of Rwanda are healing and the country is recovering. The people and the land of Rwanda are beautiful and amazing even during this era of rebuilding and recovery – they were gracious and lovely to us despite the burden of their physical and emotional scars - they welcomed us into their lives and their hearts.
During the seminar I shared my testimony of how God has worked in my life – how He has used every one of my past mistakes for His Glory to help His children work through the pain they have experienced. I led the testimony writing portion of the seminar and taught the pastors and church leaders how to write their own testimonies to share God’s healing grace with others. Both of these presentations and the entire seminar were well-received.
Rwanda is called the “Land of a Thousand Hills” and the hills in the rural areas are covered in crops making them look like endless patchwork quilts. Our message found fertile ground in this beautiful yet scarred country, and hopefully, like the endless hills, Celebrate Recovery will continue on in this area and proliferate throughout nearby regions where men and women find comfort and healing in the teachings of Celebrate Recovery.
Thank you for letting me share.
Deanna Bommarito, BA, CADC-I is a Case/Program Manager at the Rose, Phase II, a Sober Living by the Sea treatment program for women. Deanna earned her BA in Psychology from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, CA and her Chemical Dependency Counseling Credentials at ICDS (Institute for Chemical Dependency Studies). Deanna has 10 years in recovery and is blessed to be married to her husband, Joe, her favorite person on the planet. Together they are raising three children, ages 14-21 and a Chihuahua, who keep them very busy when they’re not working or serving in ministry. Deanna’s passion is to serve God by serving His children for His glory.
