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"When I went to Rwanda, I braced myself for the stories of genocide, but nothing prepared me for the stories of forgiveness. Nothing prepared me for the palpable hope; the palpable feeling of future, and of moving forward."

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with a Christian artist whom I greatly respect, both musically and lyrically; Sara Groves.

I was not disappointed.

Sara shared some of the burdens of her heart which spring from a visit, several years ago to Rwanda, and from learning about the work of the International Justice Mission (IJM).

Below are a few excerpts from that interview. It can be read in its entirety in the July/August issue of Christian Musician magazine.

Sara, talk about some of the experiences that impacted you prior to the writing of your new album, Tell Me What You Know. How did you incorporate what you heard and saw into this project?

I wanted the music to reflect what I've learned in the last three years or longer. The last three years have been on fast-forward, with paradigm shifts, and having a lot of new experiences. The issue of social justice and the ills of the world are knocking on our front door. There is hardship, and the rhetoric is constantly one of fear. There is a lot of darkness; I think there's a lot of hard stuff happening. I prepared myself, as I entered into some of these experiences, for the burden of it, the shock and the pain of what I would see. But I was not prepared for the hope that I felt, and the redemptive-ness of my own walk with God. I was not prepared for the sense of salvation in my own life—that's what I want to try to capture and try to portray to my fellow-sojourners. To say, "Holy cow, look what the Lord has done and is doing," and—in a "hope-filled" way to beckon people to be a part of this great adventure. I think it's an incredible time to be alive. And if we believe the Gospel at all, we were put here for this time, so what does God have for us here?

As you look at a situation like what happened in Rwanda and you visit there, or you tour a safe house for girls rescued from brothels, or even going down to the Gulf Coast in the wake of Katrina, is it difficult, as you consider all these things, to go back and write a song about it—to know where to start? Or does that experience cause the song to come forth naturally?

It's been a journey, the whole thing has been a process, and I did have a hard time. When I first heard about trafficking, for instance, the beginning few months was about my ability to handle the conversation. I couldn't take hearing about it. When I heard Elizabeth (a trafficking victim) speak in Washington, DC, she has every right to talk about it because she has been through that nightmare. At fifteen-years-old, she was the oldest daughter of a Christian family. Between her sophomore and junior year, she wanted a summer job, and to save money to go to Bible college. A woman in her community told her about a job in a neighboring area and said she'd travel with her—never in a million years would she have anticipated that that woman would betray her. She found herself sold to a trafficker. She would pray every night to be rescued, while the other girls told her that God can't hear her. Eight years later, there she was giving her testimony in Washington, DC. She is a woman of tremendous faith; she said, "Still, I believed," as she prayed for God to rescue her.

I have to go back to Gary Haugen's (of IJM) book, "Terrify No More." International Justice Mission (IJM) is the group we work with. Gary writes in his book, "In the times of despair and the crushing of the innocent, I used to ask 'Where is God?' Now my plea is changed. I no longer ask 'Where is God?' but I've begun to ask 'Where are God's people?'" Because someone somewhere heard of the victims' plight and prayed, one wrote a check, and another spread the word; a man walked into the brothel where Elizabeth was, saw she was a minor, conducted an undercover investigation, brought that information to the authorities and they did a raid one night rescuing several girls—one of them was Elizabeth. Those are God's people; who believe Him and take Him at His Word when He said, "You are My hands and My feet." This isn't figurative oppression and slavery, it's the real thing. The most powerful part of the story is when IJM walked into her room, where she'd seen 4 to 6 men a day, and there—on the wall above her mattress—she'd written: "The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?"

Now that young woman is 23—a college graduate—and tells her story so other women don't have to suffer as she did. What I was not prepared for again, was her sense of hope. When I went to Rwanda, I braced myself for the stories of genocide, but nothing prepared me for the stories of forgiveness. Nothing prepared me for the palpable hope; the palpable feeling of future, and of moving forward. Obviously there is a time of despair, but like any great leader—Martin Luther King Jr., Harriett Tubman, Mother Theresa—what is unique about those people is that while they have every right to despair, they continue to prophesy hope; they continue to speak of a future and a hope. Paul the Apostle in chains, had every right to despair, but he said, "My hope is before me." I love that. [It causes me to] say, in my heart, "No, I will not give in to evil or turn myself over to despair, but I will be 'God's people', I will be [His] hands and feet."

Please read the entire interview with Sara Groves in the July/August issue of Christian Musician magazine.

For more information on the work of the International Justice Mission, CLICK HERE. For more on Sara Groves, follow the link provided.

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