Ray Haakonsen

My blogs

Gender	Male
Location	Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Introduction	Ray Haakonsen grew up as a young white man in the small but beautiful Southern African country of Rhodesia. In this autobiography, Haakonsen visits the years leading up to the Rhodesian war – also known by his enemy as the Second Chimurenga (Shona for revolutionary struggle). He became a successful all round sportsman, representing his country playing rugby and was Head boy of his High School. After school, he served in the Rhodesian Air Force as a bush fighter pilot whilst his country bloodily transformed into Zimbabwe, all the while fighting his own Chimurenga within. A few years later, he had a radical encounter with God that had a deep and lasting impact on his marriage and career, revealing a life totally transformed. He and his family have served God in missions since 1987. Haakonsen and his wife Sue currently run Beautiful Gate Lesotho (www.beautifulgatelesotho.org), a care center they founded in 2001, caring for abandoned and HIV/AIDS affected and other vulnerable children. They are the parents of three grown children, two adopted girls, and three grandchildren and live in Cape Town, South Africa