Before the genocide, Uwihoreye Wellars had a good relationship with Tutsis and did not think that they were bad people. However, during the genocide he participated in several different attacks against them.

He especially remembers helping to kill one young man from his village with whom he used to play, and he remembers destroying many houses. Upon reflection, he cannot explain what brought about the mentality and the change of heart that allowed him to kill innocent people. He and his companions did not really think about what they had done and did not think that they were doing anything wrong until they were arrested. While in prison, he encountered many people who shared the Gospel and talked to their cellmates about God. He started to attend a prayer group in the prison, and he began to gradually realize the crime he had committed and to feel deep regret ; but he could not think of how he would be able to ask forgiveness. He and some friends approached those in charge and asked if they could give a public confession, but even after this, he had trouble approaching specific people who he had wronged. The same thing happened later on when he was sent to his home village for a Gacaca trial.

He confessed what he had done but still could not bring himself to talk to the victims. At one point, he finally asked forgiveness of one man, who told him that everything was fine and that he had already forgiven him, but Wellars did not feel in his heart that he was forgiven and did not think that it was genuine. When they both attended the workshop together, the teaching touched their hearts and they were able to achieve real forgiveness. Wellars could see in his victim’s face that he had truly forgiven him this time.