Above and beyond...

At one point during our November 2012 trip to Rwanda with Africa New Life, we were in and out of the ANL office at the Dream Center in Kigali, and I saw a young boy at an empty desk, just sitting there quietly.  He was so solemn.  Truthfully, he did not smell pleasant.  I learned pretty quickly that he was the one the staff had requested colostomy bags for, which our team had brought from the U.S.   I wrote this about him in my journal that week:  

One of the many things I appreciate about Africa New Life is that they will go above and beyond for special cases when the right resources are there and when it’s clear that they have the tools and the people to make it happen.  Some of the ANL staff took an interest in Jean Claude and started the process of getting help for his medical issues.  When I asked if he was up for sponsorship, they said at the time he wasn’t.  They needed to attend to his medical needs first and foremost.  A family in New Life Church decided to take him in to help address his needs.  Jean Claude had been abandoned by his parents, and his grandparents were no longer able to get him the medical help he needed.

 

My roommate Betty and I both had a place in our hearts for this boy and once we were back from our trip we continued to reach out to our new friends in Rwanda to see what could be done for Jean Claude.  ANL came up with a budget so that he could get the care he needed and we recruited others to commit monthly for Jean Claude’s needs, and as of February 2013 his extended family grew!...Betty, a friend of hers, my parents, both of my brothers and their wives, and my family all sponsor Jean Claude.  This sweet boy is loved by many!

Photo by Natalie Green, February 2014

Jean Claude’s medical records show is birth date to be April 3, 1999, which means he just turned 15.  He was born without an anus and has a surgically created stoma.  Until those colostomy bags arrived in November 2012 he had to just use a rag at the site of his stoma.  He was in extremely poor health, and from what our friend who just came back from Rwanda said, Jean Claude would likely not be alive today if it weren’t for the care that he has received this last year.  He has come such a long way and I can’t wait for our whole family to meet him!  Our kids pray for him and he is on my mind daily.  We are so blessed by the opportunity to get to be a part of his life.

Photo by Natalie Green, February 2014

Here are stories of a couple of other special kids that Africa New Life has helped with.  I had the pleasure of meeting Jovanus and visiting his home in Kageyo.  He had surgery on his legs in Uganda and then came to Austin for rehab.

Jovanus before his surgery

Check out this video of Jovanus walking after his surgery.

Natalie giving Jovanus gifts from the family that hosted him in Austin

Riding on the bus with us in Kageyo

  

And then there is sweet Rebekah who came to Austin summer of 2012 for surgery on her feet.  Lauren, Madeline and I got to meet Rebekah at her host family's home, and then on my trip in November I was able to visit with her family in Bugesera.

At Dell Children's, photo by Meredith Davis

Bringing news to her family Nov. 2012, while she was still in Austin

Rebekah headed home in June 2013, able to walk on the bottoms of her feet!  Photos by Simon Ross:

Africa New Life has stories of other special cases as well.  Sometimes staff on the ground in Rwanda advocate for these kiddos to begin with, other times people have gone on trips and come across a special case and then began working with ANL to get needs met.  I love seeing how the body of Christ works.  

“I don't want to live in the kind of world where we don't look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand. I cant change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit." - Charles de Lint

Nearly 20 years ago...

You may or may not be familiar with Rwanda’s history, but if you’re like me (up until a few years ago) I actually had no idea that one of the worst genocides in history had taken place there.  In 1994, nearly 1 million people were killed in less than 100 days.   That is truly hard to believe, right?  To put it very simply, one tribe built up the idea that the other tribe needed to be eliminated.  A civil war of sorts had been raging for quite some time, but on April 6, 1994, the unthinkable began.  Militia and rebels tore through the small country killing men, women and children, leaving complete devastation.   I encourage you to do a quick search if you aren’t familiar with the history.

At the Kigali Genocide Memorial...built on a site where 250,000 victims are buried.

This is Jane, who at the age of 5 witnessed her mom being killed in the genocide.

Jane shared with us that she fled to the Congo, and was gathered up along with other orphans by the Red Cross and was brought back to Rwanda.  They lined up and families picked them one by one to take them in, but Jane did not get picked by anyone.  She ran from the Red Cross and hid, sleeping in the fields at night.  She began hearing dogs and was afraid to stay in the fields so she found a house and slept behind it.  She intended to wake up early and leave so they wouldn't find her there.  However, she was so tired from many sleepless nights that she didn't wake up early.  When she finally awoke, there were several people standing over her.  She was overcome with fear as the memory of how her mom was killed flooded her mind.  She thought they were going to kill her.  But one woman reached out and said she would take her in.  She brought her home and told her they were going to worship at New Life Church.  Now she is thriving and full of HOPE! 

When I met Jane in November 2012, she was in the sewing program with Africa New Life.  70 women a year learn tailoring, giving them a chance for future employment and an opportunity to escape the cycle of poverty.  They also have weekly devotionals and daily discipleship, transforming their lives in so many ways.

Everyone over the age of 20 in Rwanda has been directly affected by the genocide.  Even some younger are still being affected, as they were born to HIV infected mothers (a tragic, intentional war crime by the rebels).

Despite the mark of pain and loss in their history, the people of Rwanda have been able, through forgiveness and what seems like impossible grace, to move forward in unity and rebuild their country in peace.  

If you’d like to learn more about Rwanda, here are some books that Africa New Life recommended to me before traveling there:

About the genocide-

*Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust

by Immaculee Llibagiza

*We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from

Rwanda

by Philip Gourevitch

Lead by Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide

by Immaculee Llibagiza

 

About Rwanda-

*Land of a Thousand Hills

by Rosamund Halsey Carr and Ann Howard Halsey

A Thousand Hills: Rwanda’s Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It

by Stephen Kinzer

*books I was able to find at our public library

  

We also read When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor and Yourself  by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert.   I highly recommend this book for anyone who does any kind of outreach.  Even if you aren’t involved in outreach to the poor, this is a great read.  It will get you thinking about our own country and how our own welfare system is affecting our society.  What I love about it is the idea that sustainable change for those living in poverty has to come from the inside (not from the outside).  While temporary handouts in times of emergency are vital, people in the cycle of poverty have to be empowered to help themselves.  That is one reason why the ability to receive education in countries like Rwanda is key.  

I'll be writing more about how you, yes YOU can be a part of that kind of change and empowerment for someone in Rwanda, so stay tuned!

Our Path to Rwanda

About 5 years ago I started researching child sponsorship and how we could get involved.  I found a little boy on a site that lived in Peru, and I had his picture up on our computer for a while as I prayed over him.  I was trying to decide if it would be possible to meet him by going on a trip with T Bar M, the camp I work for, who at the time was building a camp in an area near there.  Peru is a special place for us personally because Chad and I “fell in love” while on a mission trip there.  I felt the pull to sponsor that little boy, but never followed through (I pray he found a committed sponsor!).  I just wasn’t sure if we’d be able to meet him, and I knew I wanted to be able to do that.

 

A few months later a long time friend of mine began sharing about her time in Rwanda.  I will never forget the day the deal was sealed in my heart to pursue a path to Rwanda.  Natalie had video of the walk up to a tiny hut to bring gifts to the sponsored child of a friend of hers.  Food.  A thin mattress.  A picture of the family in Texas who was now forever linked with this family in Rwanda.  I called my girls to come and see, and we watched as they crowded in the tiny home atop a hill and looked through the gifts.  We watched over and over in amazement (and with tears!).  I knew then that there was no reason we couldn’t have that same kind of life-changing encounter. 

 

You see, child sponsorship dramatically changes the life of a child and their family.  It gives them opportunities that would otherwise be out of their reach.  On our end, the changes can be monumental too.  I have watched my children and my husband genuinely pray for and love Grace and Jean Claude, even though they’ve never met.  Our sponsored kids, as well as their families, are now a part of our family.  I’ve watched our children open up to the reality that not everyone has what we have.   And while I certainly wouldn’t want to press “the American dream” into Rwanda, is it too much to hope for every person to have the basic needs covered?  Clean water, nutritious food, the chance to learn and thrive?  Now all we need to do is give generously.  We need to love in tangible ways, practical ways.  Meet needs in any way we can.  Have compassion and act on it.

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians 2:2-4 

There are many organizations you can partner with.  We chose Africa New Life in Rwanda.  Visit www.AfricaNewLife.org to start sponsoring a child today.  That’s the first step in changing both the life of a child thousands of miles away, but also the lives of you and your family.  Resist the temptation to simply write a monthly check and leave it at that.  Pray for your sponsored child and their family daily…they’ll be praying for you!  Send them letters.  Gifts.  Weave them into your family, and watch what happens!

 Kathleen meeting her sponsored child Claudine

Bugesera, Rwanda

Photos by Lisa Perry ~ November 2012