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Appolonie Nahishakiye's Miraculous Journey

There are some people who, when you meet them, you know there is something special about them. You can't quite put your finger on what it is, but an unusual quality is certainly there. This was the case when I met BYU-Hawaii student Appolonie Nahishikeye. It did not take more than a few minutes of talking with her to figure out that extraordinary quality.

Appolonie, who was born in the African war-torn country of Burundi, has lived a life filled with miracles. The fact that she is alive and thriving today is, in itself, a miracle.

"In Burundi, there has been civil war for many years. It is impossible to plan for your future there because you don't know if you will live or die. It is terrible. Cousins killing cousins, sons killing mothers, all because they want power."

When Appolonie was only two years old, she and her family were conned and taken to a death trap. "My neighbor told my mom that my dad, who was in the army at the time, wanted to see us. We got on the bus with him, but he was lying. He really wanted to kill us. After we drove a little ways, my neighbor, the man who was driving us, got off the bus for some reason."

In an unusual way, this is when two-year-old Appolonie saved not only herself, but the other families that had been tricked into getting on that bus. "For some reason I started to scream. My mom said that I had never screamed that loud."

Thinking her baby was hungry, Appolonie's mother sent a young boy off the bus to find some food for the baby. Then, the miracle occurred. "He ran into a friend who asked him why he was on that bus. He told him that everyone on that bus was going to be killed." The young man immediately ran back to inform the families of this information. The families were all able to flee before they came across any harm.

Growing up, Appolonie experienced situations like this one, almost daily. She wanted to leave Burundi and go somewhere safe. Her sister was living in Maryland and, miraculously, Appolonie attained a work visa enabling her to join her sister in America.

Before leaving Burundi, however, she traveled back to her home to say goodbye to her beloved parents. Having no other choice, she took the notoriously dangerous bus ride to travel to and from her parents' home.

"On the way back to the city, my bus was attacked. The rebels shot the driver and then started shooting everyone else on the bus. I don't know how I survived. The man next to me was shot dead. I honestly didn't know if I was dead or alive."

The rebels took her and the survivors into the forest where they were tortured for four days. "They wouldn't give us any food or water. My mouth was dry and I felt so sick. I started begging them to kill me. I would have rather died than lived another moment with the way I was feeling."

Just then, she heard gunshots in the forest. The men tied up their captives and went to explore the situation. "I started to yell for help. I knew that the person who came would either help us, or kill us. At that point I didn't care which one it was."

Thankfully, the person who had heard Appolonie was a rescuer, there to bring her and the other survivors to safety. However, getting back to health and into everyday life was not easy. "I was in such bad condition after the rescue that I had to spend two weeks recovering in the hospital," she said.

During her recovery, she dreamed of life in America. "I really just wanted to get out of all of the war and the death. I knew that America would not have as much hate. Because God had just saved my life, I promised Him that I would find a church and that I would go to it."

It did not take long after her arrival in America for Appolonie to come in contact with missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "They were so kind to me and after taking the discussion, I knew that the Church was the true church of God. I got baptized and then, all of the sudden, I was happy."

Her sister was keen on Appolonie's new countenance. "She wanted to be happy like I was, so I told her to come to church with me. She came and eventually also got baptized," she said.

As a new member of the Latter-day Saint faith, other Church members easily befriended her; but one woman, assigned to meet with Appolonie monthly to visit her and provide  spiritual messages, would change her life forever.

"One day we were just sitting and talking and she told me that if I wanted to go to college, that she and her family would pay for my entire tuition. I was shocked, I was so happy and grateful."

Appolonie did indeed want to attend a university, but not just any university. She wanted to be a student at BYU-Hawaii. With help from her bishop, she applied to the school and was admitted for the following semester.

"I could not believe it! It was a miracle! Here I was, coming from Burundi, my home, a place where people wanted to kill me, and then going to a country that I was not from where complete strangers loved me and helped me to go to school and wanted me to succeed."

She was at BYU-Hawaii for only a few weeks though, before she felt that she had to go home to attend to family obligations.  "My mother had died and my father was going to do a burial for her.  Because of all my mother had done for me in my life, I really wanted to be there."

Appolonie had only planned on being gone for a few days, but encountered an unexpected dilemma upon traveling back to BYU-Hawaii. "My country wouldn't give me my student visa. The government wanted me to pay thousands of dollars to them in order to get it. It made me so sad to realize how corrupt some people in my country's government had become. It was so sad that I could not get back to BYU-Hawaii."

It took several years and many prayers on her behalf, but eventually Appolonie made the right connections, and was issued a student visa.

"Coming back to BYU-Hawaii was really a miracle. It has taken me a long time to get here, but I learned something every step of the way. I learned that Heavenly Father has me in his hands and that I am not just a citizen of a country, but I am part of a heavenly family," she explained.

Currently, Appolonie is a junior majoring in social work. When I asked if she plans on going back to her country after she graduates, her answer attested to that great character of hers, courage, which is so evident to anyone who meets her:

"I am going to go back to my home. I know that it is dangerous, but I know that I have to help my country. It will be hard. I feel like I am a container of juice being poured into the entire ocean, that I really might have no effect. But I have to try."