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E
variste Musonera is one such
student. He and his family
fled Rwanda in 1994 when the
genocide started. After spending a short
time in the Congo, then 14 years in
Kenya, he received refugee status for his
family from the United States in 2008.
He was drawn to Abilene by the warm
climate and a friend who was already
living here. Members of Pioneer Drive
Baptist Church welcomed Musonera
and his family into the church and have
provided much of the assistance needed
to get them on their feet.
Musonera has been a student at HSU
since 2011. During that time, he has
earned his bachelor’s degree in ministry
and social work, and his master’s of
divinity degree. He plans to begin a
doctorate in ministry in the fall of
2019. When he is not pursuing his
education, Musonera is a preacher
at Global Restoration Church in
Abilene, which focuses its ministry on
refugees. Since 2015, the International
Rescue Committee has brought almost
3,000 refugees to Abilene and the Big
Country. Helping them learn English,
find jobs and become self-sufficient
is one of the ways that Musonera
ministers to his fellow refugees.
In addition, Musonera, who also is a
husband and father to 10 children, has
worked to bring some of his friends
to Abilene to study at HSU. In 2013,
Musonera began working with Daniel
Martin, director of student services in
Logsdon Seminary, to get his friend
and fellow preacher Kisemei Kupe to
HSU. It took five years of visa rejections
and other red tape to get Kupe and his
family approved to come to the United
States from Kenya.
When the approval finally came,
Musonera explained the significance
of the event to Martin, “Do you
understand what has just happened?
In Nairobi, there may be one thousand
people a day trying to get a visa. Of
those one thousand people, maybe one
hundred people even get approved for
an interview. Of those one hundred,
maybe ten people are approved for a
visa. Today a miracle has happened, and
God wants Kisemei here at Logsdon.”
Although Kupe has been at HSU only
since June of 2017, he already has made
an indelible mark on the campus; he is a
favorite chapel speaker, and as a student
worker in the global engagement office,
he is one of the first people international
students meet when they come to visit.
At the age of 14, Kupe was converted
and baptized by a Tanzanian preacher.
He was so passionate about Christ that
he began preaching among his tribe
— the Maasai people — in the wilds
WELCOMING FROM FAR AWAY
Evariste Musonera is the kind of person who always has a smile on his face. He was
especially happy when he walked across the stage to accept his master’s of divinity
degree during graduation in May 2018.
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