RW - Gahanda

Choosing Hope

by AfricaBlogConnected CommunityRwanda
written by Mark Logan, Northgate Pastor, Batavia, NY (blog excerpt)

“Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”

Christopher Reeve

August 22, 2019


It’s about 6:15 a.m. the door to my room is open to the outdoors. I am listening to the wonderful birds of Africa wake the world. A group of people are tending to their crops by hand on a plot of land in the distance. A child just walked by with a large bundle of sticks on his head. The motorbike taxis are already transporting people here and there.

Today is our last day at Gahanda. I have mixed feelings. I am sad because my stay is drawing to an end. I am thankful for all that has taken place. The little school and church Northgate has been called to help has changed over the last two years. And the future is so bright. These teachers from Northgate that I have had the honor of being here with have brought so much hope into the lives of the Gahanda teachers. You can see it on their faces!

And the sponsored children and their families have been impacted in a life changing way. I had the privilege of visiting a sponsored child and family who now have a cow and new home because of one of our church members. The sponsored child’s mother told me, “I don’t know why God chose us, because I am unworthy … but I am so grateful He did!”

I sent photos of that meeting to the sponsor from Northgate and this is her reply, “Oh my ! I am just so humbled God chose me to sponsor that sweet child. His direction led me to pick Nadine that day. Isn’t that just like God? My heart is full and I feel so saddened to know how rich I am compared to those you are visiting in the community. It just seems so unfair. This world will end (someday) and then – oh then my friend, all of us that love Jesus will spend eternity in heaven! No rich or poor.”

Today, I continue to choose hope because of all of the above and so much more! Anything is possible!!!

Read more from the October Reflections.

How I was Impacted by ICCM Sponsorship

by AfricaBlogRwanda

Alice Bland is one of the people who influenced my life. She made an incredible investment in my childhood through ICCM sponsorship. I am who I am today or will be in the future because of sponsorship.

How splendid to have received my sponsor’s first photo together with her husband Charles! Our relationship was founded on encouraging words and praying for one another.

In this photo I am holding the rabbit we purchased with a gift of money she sent. This photo of my family includes my father, Elie, my mother, Therese and my siblings, Bernardin and Alvera.

I remember how Alice was saddened by the death of my brother. Later we, as a family, mourned hearing in her letter of family deaths. I treasure these letters and photos received from Alice. My dad kept them safe and transferred them to me after my wedding. I, too, will transfer them with clear explanations to my children as a precious inheritance. May our Lord’s blessings be upon the next generations of Alice Blands who are influencing children and changing the world through sponsorship.

P.S. This would be a great time to take a few minutes and write to your sponsored child. They prize a letter or photo from their sponsor! Enclose a letter with your next check or click here to write your child  through the website. Thank you!

Samuel with Kids

The Long Road Back

by AfricaBlogRwanda

As the horrific events of April 1994 recede into the past for the rest of the world, Rwanda still remembers the Genocide every day. Such evil has rarely engulfed a nation. It cannot help but scar the soul of a people. Rwanda is on the long road back from that hellish time.

For International Child Care Ministries, our tragic date is 2001, the year we had to suspend sponsorship of two thousand children in Rwanda. The decision was painful for all involved, but unavoidable, as the leaders of the Free Methodist Church at that time proved untrustworthy. Many sponsors suffered; certainly many children and their parents suffered. It was our own “worst case scenario.”

Since 2008, we have been working with new leaders in Rwanda. Our new approach began with several initiatives. They include expanding the “cow project” begun in 2001 and still going strong in some areas; providing life-saving water filters for families; and offering a very limited sponsorship opportunity —the children of the Amizero Project, a ministry to mentally challenged kids, are being enrolled.

In a land where reconciliation is seen as the greatest need, it seems fitting to restore our own relationship with our sister Church there, being agents of reconciliation and bearers of hope together. If Rwanda is on your heart, turn the page to see how you can help the children there.

 

Thank you!

Gloriose

“Amizero” Means Hope

by AfricaBlogRwanda

In Rwandan culture, children with mental disabilities are stigmatized. This program for special kids is one of a very few aimed at bringing out the best in mentally challenged children and teens. Their parents are supported and equipped for their care; students learn life skills and vocational skills (the young man pictured below sewed the shirt he is wearing), and all experience the love of God through caring equipped and devoted staff.

In addition to sponsoring the kids, we want to provide physical therapy equipment, beds, and a van. To donate to this unique project in Rwanda, mark your donation “AMIZERO.”