Best wishes for 2010

Best wishes for a blessed and joy filled 2010 from the leadership team at the Kigali Vineyard.

Thanks and Blessings

A special thanks to all who contributed towards the Christmas parcels that will be handed out to all the families in the Kigali Vineyard on Christmas Eve. Each package contains Rice, Beans, Maizeflour and Sugar.  The children will also be receiving parcels with cookies and chocolate. There will be extra cause for celebration in the Kigali Vineyard this Christmas as 11 people are getting baptized on December 24th. Please pray for the continued expansion of God's Kingdom and peace and prosperity for the land of Rwanda.

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Finding our Christmas Tree in Nova Scotia

It is strange to experience the onset of winter again for the first time in 4 years but thankfully we have been spared any really severe weather so far. On Sunday we had snow and we went to New Ross to get our Christmas tree which is one of our family traditions when in Canada. We are very excited to be with our Canadian church family this year and looking forward to the Christmas Eve service and all the good things that go with celebrating the birth of our Saviour. For the month of December we will be taking our 'furlough rest'; just working a little each day and catching up on life the rest of the time. We want to wish you all a very Joy filled Christmas and a blessed 2010 full of many life-giving moments. Blessings from the Finnertys.

Antoine and Florence with baby Nathan Mugisha

Belated congratulations to Antoine and Florence on the birth of their son Nathan Mugisha. Nathan was born prematurely and had to spend a number of months in hospital. Praise God that Nathan is now well enough to come home with his parents. We thank God for bringing them all through a very difficult time.

Rwanda Night at St. Croix Vineyard

The last couple of weekends have been great for us in terms of connecting with Vineyard friends in the beautiful province of New Brunswick. We were at the St. John Vineyard on the weekend of the 20^th of October and enjoyed the hospitality of the Bogles. On Sunday morning we gave a presentation on the church in Rwanda. We were touched by the interest and concern of the people who came to speak with us afterwards. We look forward to building our relationship with the folks at St. John Vineyard.

On the weekend of the 27^th we went to St. Croix Vineyard in St. Stephen. Carol Ann and Tom Wiebe who head up the missions team did a great job of looking after us. A 'Rwanda Night' was organized for Saturday evening and it was a great success. An entire Rwandan village was set up in the meeting area and visitors were able to get a feel for what life is like in Rwanda. On Sunday morning with some of the market stalls and other props moved to the side we gave our presentation on the work in Rwanda. We are blessed with our partnership with the St. Croix Vineyard and hope to see it grow as more people take an interest in what God is doing in the Vineyard church in Rwanda.

On Thursday Oct 1, Pat and Val flew to St. Louis Missouri to spend some time with our good friends and church partners at the Hope Vineyard. We are staying with Dan and Amy Freet at their home in the country. On Sunday morning we will give our presentation at the Hope Vineyard and in the afternoon we fly to Colorado Springs for the US Vineyard Missions Conference with Hope's pastor Robert Stovall.

Our new logo

Sorry again for the long silence. Our latest newsletter is posted on the news page and explains some of our unexpected adventures over the past 6 months. We do expect to be updating this blog page more regularly from now on.

We want to get things off the ground again by introducing you to our new logo. It was designed for us by our friend Aaron Babcock and the concept is based on the traditional Rwandan art form that was created by Kikara, the son of  King Kimenyi in the early 19th century as a way to beautify his house. It is made from a mixture of cow dung and dirt mixed into clay. Usually the colors are black and white

This logo integrates the symbol of Christ - His cross at the center of the art that is Rwanda.

The 3 rings of the spiral represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who lead us to the foot of the cross, and the design itself is meant to represent the desire of the Son of the King (Jesus) - that the people of Rwanda beautify His house by being present there.