When Jean Kibu Kira joined the Burundi Sign Language Bible Translation team, he expected to help make Scripture accessible to Deaf people in his community. What he didn’t expect was how deeply God’s Word would transform his own heart.
As Jean spent years studying and translating the Bible, a passage in Mark 11 challenged him to confront unresolved anger and broken relationships from his past.
In the story below, shared in his own words, Jean reflects on how Scripture led him to seek forgiveness, restore a friendship, and experience the healing power of reconciliation.
“Hello! My name is Jean Kibu Kira and I work with the Burundi Sign Language Bible Translation team to take God’s Word and translate it into our sign language so the Deaf community can know God.
When I began working with the translation team, I started studying the Scriptures. Mark 11:25 jumped off the page.
This verse brought to mind those friends in my past who I had argued with in anger repeatedly, and eventually had decided to remove from my life, creating a barrier between them and me.
I had said I cannot forgive them ever. I have given up on them in their stubbornness. I did not want them in my life. I separated myself from them. I would continue through my day, my prayer times, and attending church regularly with steadfast sessions of prayer, morning, noon, and night.
Then one day I was invited to join the Burundi translation team. This created a regular rhythm of time set aside to read the Scriptures. After three years of studying the Scriptures, Mark 11:25 leaped off the page and touched me deeply. It says that, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
At that moment I remember the friends I had hurt and the unkind words I had used. I had chosen to push them out of my life. This grieved me. I thought back to this verse. How do we forgive?
I went to the church for service. As I looked over, I saw my friend sitting to my right further ahead of me. A while back we had argued with one another, and it was left unresolved.
When the service was over, I had a moment with God where He reminded me that we are all brothers and sisters, one family, and we are to love one another. As we all greeted each other and had fellowship, I kept looking toward this friend. I went over to them and asked them how they have been. They shared that they are well. We hugged and I asked if we could talk in private around the corner.
He accepted my offer. I took the opportunity to apologize for how I had hurt him, all of the unkind words I had said, and how poorly I had treated him.
I asked for forgiveness and asked if we could start our friendship again, leaving behind all of the hurt I had caused.
He accepted my apology and forgave me. I was filled with joy and relief to have this friend back in my life. I invited him to the beach where we sat together and talked about my work translating the Bible and the power in the Word of God.
He lit up with excitement. Our conversation went on for hours. He told me that he has seen a change in me through the power of the Holy Spirit working in my life. That the wisdom I have from studying the Bible and its positive impact on my life was evident. I thanked him for sharing this with me.
We continued to talk more this day and he even called me some time later and asked what challenges we were having in our work translating the Bible. I have been able to keep in contact with him and continue to share about our work. He has continued to ask more questions and start studying the Bible for himself.
What I have learned is that the act of forgiveness, done in the context of familial relationships in love, as we see in Mark 11.25 clearly guides us. We are to go to the person we have hurt, name the hurt we have caused and ask them for forgiveness as God has forgiven. Then and only then can we have right relationship with them again.”
