In late 2006, God had been stirring Rwanda in the very core
of my being for about 2 years. He
finally “connected the dots” for me with a former colleague from my years at
Pitney Bowes. Phil Smith and his wife
Becca were relocating to Kigali, Rwanda, where Phil had accepted the position
of Country Director for World Relief Organization in Rwanda. After convincing them that God was indeed
calling me to Rwanda, as well (and I wasn’t completely crazy), they agreed to
host me for a vision trip. It was wonderful to finally know that something God
had breathed into me was finally going to come to fruition.
I had already been volunteering my summers in Mozambique
where I lead capital campaigns and mission trips to serve Chicuque Hospital, a
rural hospital serving a community of over 500,000 people in southeastern
Mozambique. In late 2006, I had made
application to form a nonprofit organization to better support the work in
Mozambique, knowing God was placing Rwanda deeply in my heart.
I was thrilled God was ready to bring me to Rwanda. I had enough frequent flyer miles saved (from
flying to Mozambique) to get me to Johannesburg, South Africa, which
incidentally, is the wrong route to travel if you are going to Rwanda. I now needed to raise the funds to get from
Johannesburg to Kigali.
A very dear man, Garland Warren, is someone I had known for
awhile. After hearing me speak about my
plan to go to Rwanda, Garland quickly offered funds to help me with the rest of
my ticket. Garland sowed seeds into True
Vineyard Ministries before we were ever officially a nonprofit organization.
Many mornings after my return, I would go and have coffee in
his restaurant at Centerpoint Station. We would often pray together and share
what God was doing in our lives. What I knew of Garland Warren was that he
pretty much sowed seeds anywhere he felt God led him, until his death in 2010.
Since that vision trip in June 2007, my life has never been
the same. The future work of True
Vineyard Ministries was imbedded deeply into my life. God had surrounded me with loving friends to
support my efforts and more importantly, a family and husband who understood
the incredible calling he had placed on my life. To date, True Vineyard Ministries is
supporting 58 people in fulltime employment in Rwanda, 44 of those, women who
were made vulnerable by genocide, subsequent civil wars and HIV/AIDS. Today, through seeds Garland planted in our
ministry, 235 people are being fed, clothed, educated and counseled.
In 2009, after seeing the financial support that could be
raised for TVM through reselling products we purchased in Africa, our Board of
Directors prayed and voted to rent a small house on San Antonio Street in San
Marcos. It was to be called The Vineyard
Marketplace and its purpose was to help us cover the administrative costs of a
local office for me. That was over 6 years ago. My, how God has changed the
purpose of that little store!
The Vineyard Marketplace has become an arm of our ministry, now
supporting organizations and artisans in nine African nations. Sales from the store support women in sewing
cooperatives, which employ genocide survivors, women who have been made
vulnerable by the sex trade, and women with HIV/AIDS. Additionally, the store supports orphan-headed
household organizations, one employing the deaf in Kenya, as well as individual
artisans in all of the nations where we shop. It is remarkable how the store
has grown. 100% of the funds produced by the store are reinvested in the
ministry in some capacity.
About two years ago, we literally outgrew our space and had
to move much of our back stock and fixtures to storage. We began searching and praying that God would
reveal a “new” perfect place, at a price we could afford. Each time we thought we had found the right
location, it didn’t work out, either because the price was too high or the
location was not conducive for what we felt we needed.
In early January, my two incredible staff members and I went
out of town for a 2015 strategic planning meeting. We spent a large amount of time praying for
wisdom. We asked God to lead us to the place he wanted us to have as our new
location. We promised to trust him, even
if it meant we had to stay on San Antonio Street for another year. Within hours, God laid a very specific
location on my heart – an old general store that Garland had moved behind
Centerpoint Station and used as his private museum.
We began to pray over this location, knowing it was not
available for lease, but knowing this is where God was calling us. I contacted Garland’s daughter, who I did not
know and began to converse with her about the possibility. We prayed for God to open the door for us…and
he did!
On June 1, 2015, we will be moving operations to Garland’s
general store, directly across from Starbuck’s, behind Centerpoint Station in
San Marcos! We are thrilled with the
potential this will mean for the ministry and know that it will bless us, our
women in Rwanda and the many organizations we support in Africa!
We ask for your continued prayers as we follow God’s leading
for this miracle for our ministry!
Many Blessings-
Diana
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