PFR takes North America by storm!

At the beginning of the month, PFR was delighted to welcome back its Executive Director, Pastor Deo, from a summer trip to Canada and the USA, where he has been sharing the message of reconciliation and building support for the work of PFR.

Back in June, Pastor Deo set out to Canada, for the Prison Fellowship International Convocation. The convocation is a large international conference occurring every four years, bringing together representatives of Prison Fellowship ministries from around the world.  This year, the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto hosted this special Jubilee convocation from 28th June to 2nd July, the themes of which were hope, forgiveness, restoration and freedom. The participants had the opportunity to hear from speakers including judges, former prisoners, politicians and prison officials; to share stories of God’s transforming power and reconciling love; and also to learn best practice and leadership skills in workshops and classes. More than 1000 people were in attendance, representing 119 countries from around the world.

Bishop John Rucyahana, Chairman of the Board of Prison Fellowship Rwanda, was one of the guest speakers, focusing on hope and forgiveness. He spoke about good practice in Rwanda in the fields of restorative justice and reconciliation, and also talked about the positive development of Rwanda post-genocide, including government action and initiatives. He described how the country was destroyed by the genocide, with no hope left; but by the grace of God Rwanda is being rebuilt, including the building of reconciliation between killers and their surviving victims, and looks to a future of peace in which the people can thrive.

Bishop John’s speech was well received across the board, with a huge round of applause and a standing ovation. After the speech, Pastor Deo was approached by the Prison Fellowship representatives from Italy who wanted to learn from Rwanda’s best practice restorative justice approach and apply it at home. Other countries expressed an interest in learning more about Rwanda’s reconciliation villages. Exciting stuff! What a blessing and a joy to be able to spread the word about the amazing story of reconciliation in Rwanda and to enable others to discover how PFR’s approach could be applied throughout the world.

After the conference, Pastor Deo spent ten more days in Canada during which time he visited three churches and spoke to their staff and congregations about the work of PFR including reconciliation, and the women’s co-operative and the AAC children’s project. The response was great: he raised $400 from the sale of goods made by the women’s co-operative, and his Canadian host Margaret Fisher and her friends raised approximately $1,300 to contribute towards food for the children and to the reconciliation villages.

Upon conclusion of his time in Canada, Pastor Deo ventured across the border to Baltimore and Pittsburgh in the USA. During that time he visited All Saints Church in Baltimore and met a gentleman associated with Mustard Seed International who wants to buy a cow for children living in prison.

Pastor Deo had a wonderful trip and he would like to thank all the people who made that possible, including those he met and prayed with along the way. He prays for their continuous support in helping to rebuild Rwanda, and asks them to pray for PFR. He would specifically like to thank Margaret Fisher in Canada, and Donna and Dean Payne in Baltimore, USA, for their kind hospitality. He also thanks Mustard Seed for its continuous generous support. Furthermore, he would like to thank PFI for providing his accommodation at the convocation and air tickets.

Although his trip proved to be a blessing, Pastor Deo is delighted to return home to his beloved family, and, of course, to PFR!

A moving experience: visiting a prison in Rwanda

Kathleen Dhillon, a member of Falls Church Group, Virginia, USA, has been kind enough to share her experience of visiting a prison in Rwanda with Pastor Deo a few weeks ago.

During my first and recent visit to Rwanda, our team was given the privilege of visiting one of the prisons outside of Kigali. I volunteer, teaching basic computer skills, at a halfway house in Virginia for women re-entering society after serving time in prison, so the opportunity to visit a prison in Rwanda was very special to me. 

When we first arrived, I heard a lot of noise and realized it was singing. When I asked Pastor Deo about it, he smiled and said that the prisoners knew we were coming and were preparing for our visit by singing and worshipping God. I realized at that moment that it was going to be a special experience, as God had told me in my heart that it would be. We were warmly greeted and welcomed by the Director of the prison and several members of prison staff. I love the way that relationships rather than tasks are important to the people in Rwanda. 

As we took the few steps from the prison office to the compound doors, music continue to filter over the wall to greet us. As the door opened, I thought I might be scared, but I wasn’t. There were prisoners right there to meet us as the doors opened. They walked with us as we made our way over to an open area where everyone was gathered. I have never been to visit an American prison so I had nothing to compare this visit to nor did I know how to be prepared; but as we walked through the crowd, I felt the presence of God with these men and women. We were ushered up to a small stone stage where we were seated. Gathered in front of us were thousands of men and women from the prison. These men and women greeted us with song, traditional dance, praise and prayers which were amazing and beautiful. They were from the heart, genuine and touched every part of my heart.

I was particularly honoured that Pastor Deo asked me to speak. In my heart I wanted to reach out to each of these individuals with a message of Got but as I sat there I realized I am a woman who isn’t much of a talker and who certainly doesn't speak to crowds! I was scared - not of the people, but of my own fear - what do I say and what could I possibly offer? I tried to take in everything that I was seeing, hearing and feeling. I didn't see men and women who had committed crimes. What I saw in the eyes of these individuals was that they are just people - people not unlike myself or any of us:  some with sadness, but most with eyes of hope and love. I heard hearts that were singing out in praise of God even in these difficult circumstances. As I stood, I realized that my words were inadequate but that they came from the heart. God knows that these men and women live behind these walls and has not forgotten them. He loves them so much and I love them as well.

I have known Pastor Deo for some time but have never had the privilege of seeing him preach. What an honour to see how much he loves God; how he shows these men and women his love and how he reaches out to them with the powerful message of the Gospel. God is good! 

I will forever remember and be touched by my visit to the prison. In my future trips, I hope I will again have the honour of worshipping with these men and women.

Thanks Kathleen for your beautiful words. We certainly hope that you will return to Rwanda soon.

Friends reunited: visitors bring joy to PFR's children

The last few weeks have seen the return to PFR of the Falls Church Group from Washington, USA. The group have been key supporters of PFR for a number of years; generously giving of their time and resources to the organisation. Last Monday, some of the women from the group arrived with bags and bags of goodies for the local children who visit the centre three afternoons a week for food, fun, love and support. It was quite overwhelming! The church community had generously donated piles of t-shirts, sweat-shirts, socks, shoes, skipping ropes and other sports equipment. Such gifts are of tremendous value to these children - many of whom are homeless and without family support; therefore they rely on such kindness for basic necessities. Certainly, the children were delighted with their new clothes – many of them choosing to wear them right away – proudly running out to model outfits for staff and visitors.

Stacey and her daughter help to distribute donated clothes to the kids

However, the firm favourites of the visit were the popcorn-maker and the soap bubbles. No contest. After eating a balanced meal, which the Falls Church Group helped to serve, the children were invited to take handfuls of healthy popcorn as an after-lunch treat. What was particularly touching was when some of the children approached PFR volunteers and visitors with their handful of popcorn, asking if they would like to take some. These children have so little, but wish to share what little they have; therefore setting an example of humbling generosity and compassion to all of us. The soap bubbles brought out the child in every adult present, as everybody joined in to dip and blow – chasing the bubbles all over the yard.

In a more formal setting, the visitors introduced themselves; expressing their pleasure at being able to share their time with the children and how blessed they were to be in Rwanda. In response, some of the older children stood up in front of visitors, staff and their friends to share their stories. One of the young adults talked about his life on the streets; how he had struggled as a youngster – only able to envisage a life of drugs, crime and poverty ahead. However, Pastor Deo gave him reason to hope for something different when he was welcomed into PFR; he began to develop a faith through Pastor Deo’s teachings about Jesus Christ, and through experiencing the love and compassion given to him by the team. He was also able to discover and develop a unique musical talent, writing his own songs in a Rwandan hip-hop style, one of which he performed for a delighted crowd! Furthermore, the visitors were very impressed to hear that he regularly performs at a local hotel, participating in competitions. This gifted young man could never have imagined such possibilities several years ago, but we hope that he can now imagine scaling even greater heights.

Janvier Hitayesu: future Rwandan hip-hop star

Some of the visitors helped out by taking individual photographs of the children in order to build profiles as part of an educational sponsorship strategy currently underway. PFR’s offshoot organisation, the Association for the Assistance of Children (the AAC, previously known as Pastor Deo’s Street Children’s Ministry), is keen to get as many of PFR’s children as possible into the best education possible, with the help of sponsors; especially in light of the recent success of the Amizero graduates (see PFR’s May blog entry). The AAC will have its own website up and running soon – watch this space!

The little ones wait patiently to provide information for their sponsorship profiles

Afternoons with the children at PFR are never without a fair amount of dancing and this day was no exception. In fact, this day turned out to be a veritable dance party! The older girls entertained the visitors with some traditional Rwandan dance – graceful and beautiful as ever. The visitors looked somewhat reluctant when the girls pulled them up to join in, but they soon overcame their shyness as they got into the swing of things. Everybody clapped along and soon all were up and dancing to the infectious rhythm beaten out by one of the children on a make-shift jerry-can drum. Only the introduction of food into the proceedings slowed things down, but they soon picked up again later in the afternoon when the visitors’ driver turned his minibus stereo up and opened the doors. The children were excited to hear some of their favourite tracks and the PFR yard became a jumping dance floor as everybody worked to impress each other with their skilful moves. Even members of the PFR staff joined in cutting some shapes (and that was certainly a sight to be seen – there’s some hidden talent there….)!

All in all, everybody had a marvellous time: the adults left feeling somewhat more exhausted than the children, but exhilarated nevertheless. The PFR children never cease to inspire. The Falls Church Group arrived at PFR with their generous donations, but certainly didn’t leave empty-handed. They were able to take away precious memories of a joyous afternoon spent with a truly fantastic group of youngsters who are an example to us all with their courage, determination, creativity and compassion. The established relationship between PFR and Falls was further strengthened by the experience of the 2011 visit, and it is hoped that it will long continue into the future. On with the dancing!

For further information about sponsoring one of these wonderful children to attend primary school, secondary school or vocational college, please email aackigali@gmail.com