Unfolding Short Stories: "...an orphan from the Rwandan genocide..." Kerry Hasenbalg's story of helping Nanja find her family in Rwanda

The Unfolding

Northwestern Media

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 809 Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Kerry Hasenbalg heard God say “Love this one as your own” it led her to Nanja, a girl orphaned in the Rwandan genocide, and set in motion a series of events that led to an unforgettable reunion. In this story, a scar became the key to recognizing a daughter thought to be lost.

Since that time, Kerry has walked through her own seasons of loss and healing. Today, she helps others through writing, teaching, and soul care.

Learn more in her new book The Way of Becoming: 12 Practices for a Thriving Soul

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today's short story is very powerful, but like so many powerful stories, it is rife with tragedy and trauma.
0:09.1	So listener discretion advised because today's story starts in 1994 Rwanda.
0:16.5	God's story?
0:18.5	Your life.
0:22.9	Unfolding short stories.
0:31.7	On Friday, I recorded with Carrie Hasenbog. She told me the most amazing story about Nanja, a girl orphaned in the Rwandan genocide, and what happened when God told Carrie, love this one as your
0:40.7	own. The day after we recorded, just this Saturday, and maybe you saw this in the news, Rwanda
0:47.8	and the DRC had signed a U.S. brokered peace deal. Probably around the time Carrie was sharing
0:54.7	the story with me.
0:56.3	And while world leaders
0:57.4	were signing papers
0:58.4	in Washington
0:59.2	to bring healing
1:00.1	amidst the past,
1:01.7	I think Carrie's story
1:02.8	can remind us
1:03.6	that healing
1:04.2	often starts much smaller
1:06.0	with one family,
1:08.2	one scar,
1:09.7	and one yes to God.
1:13.6	It was the last week of the Congressional Foster Youth Internship Program, a program that
	...

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