Are you ready to help change our World?

What are you doing in January 2012?

SORJ 2011 and guests

Take a moment and consider the upcoming School of Reconciliation and Justice in Harpenden, UK.

Over the last month, the SORJ team have been working in Rwanda with friends here who want to see Rwanda continue to be rebuilt with strong ties of restoration and justice that helps heal their country. 


As the weeks, have unfolded we have explored some of the themes you see below. If you want to learn more about the upcoming SORJ, check this out and then contact us. 
My other posts give you glimpses into the Seminar we just held here in Kigali and the 2011 school.

Our aim is to train individuals or teams to work in many different areas of society that need God’s work of reconciliation and restoration. 


If You want to be involved in peace building in an area of conflict; 
or if You want to be an advocate for the voiceless; 
or if You want to develop a restorative justice team in an inner-city; 
or to work in the political arena; 
this school will help you in developing your plans and your heart to serve God in these areas.

During this three month school, we will be training with international practitioners, researching current issues of conflict or injustice issues, and taking time to seek God’s heart for reconciliation and justice around the world. Then, you have the option of a 2-3 month internship program.

The 12 week course will cover these and other related subjects:

Character Development of the Peacemaker or Advocate

Biblical foundations of Reconciliation and Justice Ministries

Principles of Forgiveness 

Origins of Conflict

Issues of Conflict: Faith, Geopolitics, Nationalism and Tribalism in today’s Conflicts

Effective Peace building models for transforming communities

Conflict Mediation Training

International Relations and the UN

Restorative Justice Training

Advocacy Training

Program Development models to help you develop your vision for implementation

Lecture Phase: 17th January - April 9th 2011
Course Fees: £1750 – Lecture Phase
Perquisite: Discipleship Training School or Crossroads Discipleship Training graduate
Credits: Twelve (12) semester-equivalent credits will be earned upon successful completion of the School of Reconciliation and Justice (HIS 372). These credits may be applied to a UofN degree program or in some cases, transferred to another college or university.
Contact: registrar@oval.com; www.ywamharpenden.org or call +44 1582 46 3344 Internship: 4 - 12 weeks  It is hoped that each student will participate in a school outreach for 6 weeks. This may then be extended into an internship of various lengths.

SORJ FAIRTRADE Chocolate Football Tournament
Facebook: Chocolate: "Threat or Treat"

The Journey from Harpenden to Rwanda

The Journey from Harpenden to Rwanda

...."Reconciliation is God's gift to the world. Healing of the world's deep brokenness does not begin with us and our action, but with God and God's gift of new creation." Reconciling All Things, by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice

Our Journey of beginning the School of Reconciliation and Justice  in Kigali, Rwanda at YWAM Rwanda

Setting the foundations of reconciliation literally means cleaning the floor to set the stage

Antoniette and Ashlee organizing the classroom

SORJ 2011 wrote personal declarations about what God had done for them and so we have used them to inspired a new group of friends.....next we teach the SORJ song of 2010

Part of the campus...our classroom is on the right side in the back...with an avocado trree outside our window.

The wonderful staff....Michael, Anto, Ashlee, and Olivier...wise and also very fun people !

During this first week, I taught on the Journey of Reconciliation and its focus on restoring broken lives and broken societies. We wrestled with the issues of truth, mercy, love, and justice and asked a lot of "big questions"
Each day the participants shared a bit of their journey with the class.
Claire shared about her life and how God has restored her, and we all stood in awe of what God can do
 to rebuilt our lives and restore hope to us.

Olivier and Joshua sharing about life here in Rwanda

The group discussing the issue of justice involved in peace-building

Ashlee in the kitchen learning how to cook on a stove powered by charcoal...it was delicious banana bread and the next day it was a green cake ...good, but funny color.

The offices for the facility which also runs a pre-school and primary schools
...amazing work with the neighbourhood children.

Olivier cooking dinner...the food here is fantastic!

Downtown Kigali....we are on our way to have a delicious Rwandan coffee
 at a local coffee shop

These are local taxis if you want a thrilling ride.....not helmets and if you want to ride, you get a helmet too
.actually the traffic is very organized with  great buses
and everyone drives in the right lanes..this is a miracle

The view from the city...it is a beautiful place


In 1994, when the genocide began here in Rwanda, I was living in Switzerland and remember vividly watching the news for the reports of what was happening. In less than 100 days, over 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus who sympathized with their  Tutsi neighbours were killed by their Hutu neighbours in a government sponsored slaughter. If you want to read more on the Rwanda Genocide...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide

Since those dark days the leader of the Tutsi group that freed the country, President Kigame has led the country into rebuilding a society that is economically growing and on many levels is working at the healing of the nation. Through both the use of the International Criminal Tribune for Rwanda and then the local work of Gacaca trials in the local communities, Rwanda has wrestled with both trials for the organizers of Genocide and then sought to help through the Gacaca trials in the communities to restore offenders to their communities where appropriate.

Over the last three years of running the School of Reconciliation and Justice (SORJ) in Harpenden UK, we have had a group of Rwandan students involved in being trained and in helping to lead the school. Out of their prayers, this time in Rwanda has grown. We are running 4 weeks of the 3 month school here this fall and then hope to run the whole school here next year about this same time.

Next week: The Journey of Forgiveness....we will be walking everyone through a process of forgiveness that helps us deal with life and its ups and downs ...please pray for us.

It is a privilege and a responsibility to be here. I am so grateful for those from this country that have taught me through their lives while we were in Harpenden together. But also I am so grateful for the journey of life from Texas to the Middle East...thank you to each of you because your struggles to live the gospel through the challenges of normal life and through dealing with conflict has deeply affected this pilgrim!

May the grace and peace of Jesus overflow in your life today and may each of seek to serve God with a reverent love for Him, and each of our fellow human beings. 

Dancing to think about what We are Learning...the best processing I know of.