It’s September and definitely
time for an update on True Vineyard Ministries! It’s been a crazy wonderful
summer with lots to report!
Our summer team traveled to
Rwanda in early July and it is an understatement to say we were busy! We hit
the ground running and worked along side the women to develop new products out
of their beautiful new colors of Rwandan, Merino yarn. We were really excited to
be arriving behind a visit from Nancy Zeller, of Long Ridge Farm, who spent
several days with the ladies, teaching them how to dye with lots of new natural
dye extracts. Be sure and check out our Facebook page to see some of the
beautiful new shades…that are quickly turning into wonderful knit hats for
fall!
True Vineyard has been so
blessed by our full-time volunteer, Katie Scrafford, who has lived and worked
with our women in Rwanda for almost one year! It has been a fast year…but “WOW”
has she helped grow TVM to something great in Rwanda! Meeting Katie was a truly a divine
connection. She actually lived and worked on Long Ridge Farm in New Hampshire
as a SHEPHEDRESS several years ago. Katie received her Master’s Degree in
Marriage and Family Therapy from Antioch University in 2011. For the past several months, Katie has worked
closely with our Country Director, Simon, in developing a lay-counselor
training program. This program trains and equips other leaders to administer counseling to those who have experienced trauma. While our team was in
Rwanda in July, we celebrated the first graduates of the new program and
participated in their certificate ceremony. How wonderful to know that there
are now hundreds of people being counseled through their traumatic pasts because
of Katie’s heart for those who are in such great need. There are no words to express
the organization’s gratitude to Katie and Simon for the work they have poured
into this new program. How awesome it was to witness the fruits of their labor.
Now for the update on Gihunga
Center... Although we believed we would have been well into the construction of
Phase I of the new center, we are currently (and anxiously) waiting on final
approvals from the Rwandan government.
Just as everything was ready to begin, the Rwandan Development Board issued
a new mandate, requiring all NGO’s (Non-governmental Organizations)
operating in Rwanda (like True Vineyard), to “re-register”. We are currently in that process and are also
proceeding with application for a “special building permit” from the local
government sector. Unfortunately, the best thing for us to do is wait until we
have gone through one or both of these processes. We want to be absolutely
certain that our center is legally built, with all approvals in place. We
promise to keep you informed as we make progress!
By now you are probably
wondering what could the 50th Anniversary of the assignation of JFK possibly
have to do with True Vineyard Ministries' work in Rwanda… We are thrilled to announce a GRAND-SCALE
fundraising event coming to San Marcos, Texas this fall, Remembering Camelot Through the Lens of Jacques Lowe, the private
collection of Frank Harvey. Mark your calendars for November 16th and 17th and in the words of Frank Harvey “get ready to witness
history”. Please watch our promotional video and then visit our event site at
www.rememberingcamelot.com to learn more!
Many blessings-
Diana Wiley
Executive Director
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