An urgent message?
A visitation from heaven?
What's the best way to find out?
"[In mid-November, 2010] ... My stomach tightened as I realized that Segatashya was indeed very aware of the [2008] book [Our Lady of Kibeho] I'd written about Kibeho, and he wasn't pleased about it.
"And then, without using words, he looked into my heart and asked me, 'Immaculee, why have you been so concerned about whether the [Roman Catholic] Church gives or does not give approval to the visions I had while I was on Earth? You know how late the hour is for humankind; you know that the end is near. Isn't telling my story more important than waiting for someone on Earth to give my words a stamp of approval? Isn't letting people know about the messages Jesus gave to me the most important thing in the world? What is more crucial than sharing the messages Jesus urgently wants people to know about as soon as possible -- messages he wants people to know about right now, before it's too late?'
"Then Segatashya smiled and said, 'You know, some messages are so important that they must be told immediately, no matter what. Some things are so important that they just can't wait for approval!'
"He reached out and touched my arm, and I awoke with a start.
"As soon as my eyes opened I knew that this had been no ordinary dream; it had been a visitation from heaven. Segatashya had left paradise and come to me with an assignment: to tell his story and share his messages with as many people as I could.
"Without even pausing to turn on my bedside lamp, I reached for the pen and paper I kept on my nightstand. In the dim light of early dawn, I began jotting down the images that were still burning in my mind from Segatashya's visit ... a visit that would take root in my heart and slowly blossom into the book you're now reading."
In the epilogue: (In 1992) "As I listened to Segatashya describe his meetings with Jesus, I knew that just the power of his words would keep me awake all night. I kept asking my new friend to describe the way God's love felt to him. Was it like the love of a parent or sibling?
"At that point in our conversation I could see that Segatashya truly pitied me, that he wished he could give me the gift of seeing what he saw when he was with Jesus. 'What you need to know is this: Jesus knows us all to the very depths of our souls, all our dreams and worries, all our hopes and fears, all our goodness and all our weakness,' he explained. 'He can see our sins and faults and wants nothing more than for us to heal our hearts and cleanse our souls so that we can love him as immeasurably as he loves us. When he sends us suffering, he does it only to strengthen our spirits so we'll be strong enough to fight off Satan, who wants to destroy us, so that one day we can bask in the glory of his presence forever.
"'Let me put it to you this way, Immaculee: when I was with him, I never wanted to leave. If he asked me to come and be with him now, I would leave this world forever without the slightest hesitation. To be near him is to live in love; no words need be spoken. In his presence, your soul is at peace and completely joyous.
"'Know that his love is real, and that it is eternal and ours to have if we love him and do his will on Earth. Ask him into your heart, and all his graces are yours. He will refuse you nothing. If you were able to know only one truth in your life, you should know this truth: Jesus loves you.'
"I had so many other questions I wanted to ask Segatashya about his apparitions, his messages, and his time with the Lord. But it was late, the sun was setting, and we had to part.
"I walked back to my dorm room, and he walked off into the sunset. Eighteen months later, Rwanda was in ruins. More than a million people had been slaughtered, and almost everyone I had ever loved or cared about was murdered, including Segatashya.
"During an apparition 12 years before the genocide, Jesus had shown Segatashya images of homes in flames and people being hacked to pieces by killers armed with machetes. The Lord told the visionary that this was what would happen if people continued to sin and to hate each other. Segatashya knew that the genocide was coming, he warned us about it, and he told us we could avoid it by loving God, but some of us didn't listen.
"When I heard that Segatashya had been shot by a death squad, I cried for him, and I cried for the world's loss of such a great messenger of God.
"He was a voice of truth in a world too often shrouded in lies and deceit. He was a light in the darkness and brought us messages from God. If we listen to them with open hearts, they can lead us out of the darkness and into the loving arms of the Lord.
"The messages Segatashya dedicated his life to sharing can change our hearts and save our souls, and if followed by enough of us, can pull our world back from the brink of destruction. My biggest hope in writing this book is that you will hear the messages Jesus sent through him.
"In my heart, I will always know and love Segatashya as 'the boy who met Jesus'.
"And now that you know him a little bit, I hope that you will love him, too."
