And Then There Was One

Werener and Hannalie Gronewald made the momentous decision to leave South Africa with their small children and move to Afghanistan in 2003. Werner was the senior pastor at a Dutch Reformed Church and Hannalie was a doctor at a trauma unit.  Their children were ages three and five at that time. They had gone on a medical mission to the area some time earlier and felt an unmistakable calling from the Lord to move. They did so with eyes wide open, knowing they might well lose their lives in Afghanistan because it is a country extremely unfriendly to Christianity.

The move was not easy, the culture difficult to adjust to and the couple was particularly concerned about the educational and social needs of their children. However, the Lord was faithful in taking care of their needs and by 2014, John-Pierre, 17, was hoping to study aviation technology at Moody Bible Institute and Rode, 15, was becoming a gifted writer as well as being interested in the arts. Over the years Werner worked with various humanitarian agencies teaching leadership institutes for Afghans, community development, and always planting seeds of the Gospel. In addition to caring for her family, Hannalie also worked as a doctor in a clinic in Kabul. 

The Gronewald Family

On November 29, 2014 Hannaliie and her fellow doctors had been put on standby at a UN meeting because an attack by the Taliban was expected that day. She had no idea that her family was to be the target.

The Three Who Are Gone

That evening on her way home from work, Hannalie received word that their apartment had been attacked. Eventually, she discovered that Werner, two Afghans, and their two teenagers had been gunned down. Hannalie said in an interview that her one regret wasn’t necessarily that she survived but that “I wanted to be there, especially with the children, just to…hold them and face the bullets.” However, there is no doubt in her mind that Jesus was right there with them.

On October 2014, Werner had spoken at a conference on “Counting the Cost for Christ.” He ended his presentation with this statement: “We die only once. It might as well be for Christ.”  The Gronewald family practiced what they preached.

(Anyone interested in hearing Voice of the Martyer’s interview with Hannalie on September 23, 2016 can go to VOMRadio.net. You can also watch Hannalie's story at persecution.com/idop)