Pt1 Fathers
Saving Daughters Beautifully Broken Randy Hartley
August 19, 2022
Randy Hartley talks of how life circumstances beyond their control caused his daughter and his dear friends to be "Beautifully Broken". This true story is a movie and memoir, a vivid, first-person reminder of how deeply involved God is around the globe. In it, you find the Mwizerwas, who narrowly escaped genocide in Rwanda in 1994, and the Hartleys, who found redemption after helping their teenaged daughter heal from the trauma of sexual assault.
“Beautifully Broken is a powerful story of redemption and a moving depiction of how God interweaves our stories with others’ for His glory.”
—Michael W. Smith, Grammy Award-winning Music Artist
Long before the two families' paths crossed, William and Ebralie Mwizerwa fled Rwanda after 100 harrowing days of violent conflict within the nation’s borders. During this time, more than one million Rwandans were brutally murdered by the militia. It was a genocide that Rwandans have never forgotten, and one William and Ebralie were fortunate to have survived. From this harrowing journey, the Mwizerwas settled in Nashville, TN and began providing resources to help other refugees through their non-profit, Legacy Mission Village.
Unbeknownst to the Mwizerwas, their paths would soon cross with Nashville natives, the Hartley family. The Hartleys were dealt a devastating blow when their teenaged daughter, Andrea Hartley, became the victim of sexual assault. This traumatic experience caused her to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms and rebel. As the Hartleys tried to help their daughter reclaim her life after this unthinkable incident, Andrea found hope largely through serving children and families in need at Nashville’s Legacy Mission Village, the non-profit refugee support center founded by the Mwizerwas.
After meeting, the two families' stories became even further intertwined on a trip to Rwanda. In preparation for meeting her sponsor child in person, Andrea and her family invited their new friends the Mwizerwas to come along to Rwanda as translators. During the visit, the Mwizerwas reconnected with family and friends, yet tragically discovered unspeakable horrors their family members had suffered in the years they’d been apart. This included the revelation that a relative was involved in William’s mother’s death. This forced William into a spiritual quest to forgive that would alter his perspective and change his faith forever.
Through this beautifully textured saga of a father fighting to save his daughter and another father fighting to save his family from genocide, we are reminded again and again of God’s redeeming providence in the midst of even the most unspeakable circumstances and the mysterious blessings in being beautifully broken.