On February 4th Gerrit flew to Rwanda. He’s currently in the Kimonyi Reconciliation Village. More news to come soon, but, in the meanwhile, his son Thabo has sent us a video he created. This short (7-minute) video shows how a group of dancers – Iterero Ubumwe– transcends the ravages of Rwanda’s genocide. They live together as Hutus and Tutsis in Kimonyi Reconciliation Village and travel around Rwanda spreading their message of love, unity, and hope. This extended trailer gives a glimpse into the lives that will be explored in a feature documentary. In addition to reaching out to fellow Rwandans,…
by Barbara Overgaard, Communications Director for The WordFAN A packed out crowd of students from several nations came to hear Gerrit speak to the Africa group, Ubuntu, at Colorado College on November 2, 2012. The numbers exceeded the expectations of the meeting organizers but the college students didn’t seem to mind whether they found a seat on the floor or on a chair. Since the meeting was set a time when Bishop Emmanuel of the Byumba Diocese in Rwanda was in Colorado Springs, he too was able to speak and together with Gerrit they kept the students on edge with…
This past trip to Rwanda proved to be a very encouraging time as we saw fruit since our last visit. As you read through this brief report, would you take a moment to pray the short prayers at the end of some of the paragraphs? I was in Rwanda for the seventh time in June/July. My son, Josh, accompanied me. The work continues to expand and we were pleased to see 14 water tanks X 10,000 liters each installed at the Mukono Secondary School. Several Word for All Nations donors made contributions. This enables the children not to have to…
During the last week of June my dad (Gerrit) and I traveled to Byumba. While Byumba is only one and one-half hours away from Kigali, the two places are truly worlds apart. Kigali is a city; Byumba is a rural area where goats, cows and chickens are often seen on the roads. Be careful though— if you see a chicken run across the road, it means someone is trying to catch it for dinner and you might want to slow down the car so as to miss both the chicken and its human “predator.” When we arrived, Bishop Emmanuel and…
Reflections on Pastor Deo’s Ministry to Orphans by Joshua Wolfaardt- 6/22/12 One of the first things a person will notice upon arriving in Rwanda is all of the children walking on the streets. These children are not always with parents, and unfortunately quite a few are orphans. Pastor Deo tries to help these orphans learn about God and also attempts to feed and clothe as many as he can. I had previously given an update about Pastor Deo’s work, but this was the first time we had a chance to actually see it firsthand. Amazingly, we also ran into some…
Joshua Wolfaardt’s Perspective 6/21/12 Today my dad and I had the pleasure of visiting the Kimonyi Reconciliation Village where both genocide perpetrators and victims live and work alongside one another. As soon as we exited the car we were greeted joyfully with hugs, dancing, and singing. The elected leader of the village, a genocide perpetrator who killed more than 200 people and had repented asked for forgiveness, came to welcome us to Kimonyi. One small child instantly grabbed my hand and walked with me for the entire duration of the visit. Dad was dancing amongst the people as they sang….
by Joshua Wolfaardt in Kigali, Rwanda. June 20, 2012 Ed. note: Gerrit and his son Joshua are in Rwanda now and send the following story of how one man and his wife began to make a difference in the lives of many youth in Rwanda. The conversation below is between Pastor Gerrit Wolfaardt and Pastor Deo Gashagaza: There are two common questions that are coming from people when they ask how to help in Rwanda: “How do we combat poverty?” and “How can we help to restore and recover Rwanda?” Here are some responses to those questions. Deo: “People were…
[Ed.’s note: Please click on the orange “+” sign at the bottom of this post to share it with your friends!] My sixth visit to Rwanda convinced me (not that I really needed it) that the first five trips were not successful by chance, but by the grace of God. It is truly amazing what God is doing in this country, and I am blessed beyond measure to be part of it. My friend Nico van der Merwe, who is now the Chairman of the WordFAN Board of Directors, invited a friend of his from Singapore to visit Rwanda with us to…
On Monday, October 31st, we travelled from Kigali to Kimonyi Village once again. Through Prison Fellowship Rwanda, The Word for All Nations was able to deliver ten industrial “Singer” sewing machines that will be used by a women’s co-op at Kimonyi Village. The villagers met us in the same field where they like to perform, and Gerrit was able to officially hand over the machines and pray a blessing on their use in the community. In addition to the delivery of machines, WordFan donors also provided for six months of training on the machines at Kimonyi Village. Our prayer is…
Prison Fellowship Rwanda posted a great blog about Gerrit and Thabo and the filming of “Dancing on a Thousand Hills.” They write: This week was a particularly busy one for the PFR staff as we welcomed two very important visitors: Gerrit Wolfaardt and his son Thabo, both born and raised in South Africa and now living in the United States. Gerrit has an incredible story that led him to Rwanda. Having grown up as a white Afrikaaner during Apartheid he was taught by everyone around him, his school, his church, and his parents, to hate ‘the Blacks’. Read the full blog…
