Prayers for 2014

I am in awe of what God has done through True Vineyard Ministries, Inc. During the past seven years, He has continued to amaze me by the rapid growth and reach of this widow-centered ministry, which offers life-sustaining opportunities in Africa. Our 50 Rwandan employees, their families and the surrounding communities have realized the results of our presence in a place where genocide, civil war and HIV/AIDS have left many feeling hopeless. It is far beyond what I could have ever dreamed or imagined for the organization. Please allow me to share a few highlights from 2013.

Katie Scrafford joined our team in Rwanda one year ago. She independently raised all of her own financial support to work for us as a full-time volunteer. Her background is in family therapy, but she also previously worked as shepherdess on a sheep farm in New Hampshire. Yes, you read that correctly. God brought a counselor and former shepherdess to our organization in Rwanda where we counsel widows and have a flock of sheep needed for our Handspun Hope yarn production.

Trauma counseling is greatly needed in Rwanda. With this challenge in mind, Katie and our country director Simon Dufitumukiza developed a lay counselor-training program. In July, the first class of 14 lay counselors graduated. Free trauma counseling is now offered to individuals in schools, persons with disabilities, and several churches in northern Rwanda. A counseling network is currently being formed in the area and many who are in desperate need of this kind of healing are being impacted by the presence of TVM.

In the spring and summer, we worked to raise funds through a matching grant for the first phase of construction for our new workplace, Gihunga Center, to be built on land we already own.  As the first phase of construction is finalized, our women will begin working at the new center. Having our own building is a huge step toward sustainable income for the 35 currently employed widows, support staff and their families with a total of 234 lives being directly impacted.

As TVM grows, opportunities are opening for the women to move to a place of greater financial independence. Through our Handspun Hope program, yarn making will continue to be a tool, providing for spiritual counsel and immediate expenses of food, shelter and healthcare. However, we feel that God wants more for the ladies and for other widows in the surrounding community. Through a savings group initiated by the women in 2010, we have seen the opportunity for them to save capital through microfinance initiatives. Using the property where the new center is being built, the women have started raising rabbits, which are sold to hotels and communities. This process moved us to begin praying about how God could potentially use TVM as a springboard for them to develop their own income-generating projects instead of remaining financially dependent on the organization. Gihunga Center—gihunga means “to cultivate” in Kinyarwanda—will serve this purpose. If the women can use their own creativity to build capital through similar microfinance initiatives, they can use the resources they've built through TVM to develop financial independence. This plan will allow us to bring more women into the TVM family!

Last summer, as a result of the success of the ministry and our store The Vineyard Marketplace, I was asked to go to South Sudan to consult with a newly formed women’s group on potential product development. It was an amazing process to watch how God used divine connections to bring me there. What is even more amazing is how He continues to use the ministry’s storefront to bring about lasting change to individual artisans and organizations in 11 African nations. We are the largest customer for many of the organizations from which we purchase fairly-traded products. This impact is far greater than we could ever hope to calculate.

In 2013, God used True Vineyard Ministries to bring more lives into realized change through employment, trauma counseling and the purchasing of products at a fair price. My prayer is that He continues to make provision for all the ways we feel Him calling us. It is a very exciting time for True Vineyard, and I hope that you will partner with us as we continue to grow. Please find enclosed a brochure on the opportunity for monthly widow sponsorship, outlining the different levels of engagement with TVM, as well as a “wish list” of our 2014 dreams for the organization. I ask that you consider supporting us through prayer and a year-end financial gift that will enable us to continue walking through the doors where God is calling the ministry. Should you choose, you may use the enclosed return envelope or give online at truevineyard.org.

   Thank you for your continued support. On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff and volunteers at True Vineyard Ministries, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Diana Wiley

Founder and Executive Director