Christian Testimony

The Journey to Finding Home 

Based on my conversation with Beatrice Smith on the Follow Forward Podcast 

1994 was a significant year for me. I had succumbed to an illness that left me severely debilitated for three years. For long periods, I was housebound. 

Spending so much time at home meant that I watched a great deal of television, particularly news and sport. A lot was happening around the world. South Africa was preparing for its first democratic elections, Tony Blair had recently become leader of the Labour Party, and the USA was hosting the FIFA World Cup. But there was another story dominating the headlines: the genocide in Rwanda. 

Rwanda was a country I knew little about before 1994, but it soon became lodged in the world’s collective consciousness. In the space of just 100 days, an estimated 800,000 people were killed, and more than 3.5 million people were displaced. 

So, while I was learning to live within the confines of home, a few thousand miles away, millions of people were being driven from theirs. As I recovered in the safety of my parents’ home, families across Rwanda were fleeing violence, uncertainty and unimaginable loss. Among them was a ten-year-old girl named Beatrice. 

From Paradise to Hell 

Beatrice describes her childhood home with idyllic fondness. She grew up in blissful ignorance of what was to come. Rwanda was home, and her family flourished in life and Christian ministry. When the genocide suddenly gripped the country, her family was forced to flee. The upheaval was traumatic. 

“No one expects to ever have to leave home. Nothing in your psyche prepares you for that.” 

What the family believed would be a short sojourn turned into their worst nightmare. 

“We thought we were leaving Rwanda for two weeks. Thirty-plus years later, that’s a long two weeks.” 

Living Between Nations 

Beatrice and her family experienced the full gamut of the challenges of displacement. Difficult to explain to those who have never experienced it, she shares how home became something remembered rather than experienced. Identity became harder to define. The loss was not only geographical. It was emotional, relational and deeply personal. 

“Something that happens when you lose home by no means of your own choosing is that your identity becomes mixed up.” 

For many refugees, the journey does not end when they cross a border. Instead, they enter a prolonged season of uncertainty. Beatrice describes what it means to live without permanent status, constantly navigating questions of belonging and identity. The search for home became about far more than finding a place to live. It became a search for rootedness, security and purpose. 

Finding God in the Valley 

Refugees learn that survival is success. Some of us may find it hard to imagine living with that level of insecurity. Unable to make plans and completely at the mercy of others. There is so much grief and loss to contend with. This level of trauma runs deep. Beatrice underlines that, in such circumstances, survival itself is an achievement. 

“There isn’t a lot of forethought, foresight. You’re just in survival mode… Survival is success.” 

It begs the question: how did Beatrice and her family survive? She credits one factor beyond a physical address: God’s presence. 

Even amid unimaginable suffering, she found God’s reassuring presence. The secret to survival was prayer. Prayer was a lifeline that sustained Beatrice and her family through years of trials and uncertainty. It was not merely a spiritual practice. At times, it felt like a matter of life and death. 

“Prayer is your only lifeline. You take it or you will die.” 

She encourages us: 

“If you are feeling helpless and the only thing you can do is pray, I want to encourage people to know that it works.” 

A Long Road to Healing 

For Beatrice, physical survival eventually brought her to the UK, where she has now lived for almost 30 years. However, like many people who experience trauma, she did not fully process her story until much later in life. 

As is often the case, she suppressed much of the grief and loss associated with her childhood home and the trauma of being a refugee. As an adult, however, she began courageously facing those experiences with God, through therapy, and through deep personal reflection, including the process of writing her book. 

“I’ve realised how incredibly privileged I’ve been to be safe enough to process the grief that I’ve experienced.” 

From Refugee to Advocate 

Today, God has called Beatrice to become an advocate for others who have likewise lost their homes. 

She now works with UNHCR. As a child refugee living in the Democratic Republic of Congo, she once benefited from the organisation’s support. Years later, she partners with them to advocate for refugees around the world. 

At a time when displaced people and immigrants are often viewed with suspicion or fear, voices like Beatrice’s are especially important. She speaks not merely from knowledge but from lived experience. Having walked the long road of displacement herself, she brings both credibility and compassion to the conversation, extending grace to those whose stories are often misunderstood. 

“God has genuinely redeemed every single part of it… God has used something that I thought was so painful and unredeemable.” 

Finding Home 

Beatrice’s story is ultimately not about displacement. It is about discovery. 

It is the story of a young girl forced to leave home, who then spent years searching for safety, belonging and identity, only to discover that true home is found in something far more secure than a physical address. 

• When have you experienced a season where familiar sources of security were taken away, and what helped you find stability and hope during that time? 

• Beatrice discovered that home is ultimately found in God’s presence rather than a physical place. What does it mean for you personally to find your identity and belonging in God? 

As followers of Jesus, we are all on a journey toward home. We are sojourners in this world, learning to trust God’s presence through every season of life. Beatrice’s story reminds us that even when familiar landmarks disappear and life takes unexpected and painful turns, God remains at work. He can redeem our pain, shape our character and lead us forward with the assurance that our ultimate home is found in Him. 

*To find out more about the Follow Forward Podcast, click here.
To listen to Beatrice’s interview, choose your preferred platform: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.