Our first 2 days here in Rwanda have been spent at the Catch Up School. These are kids who have not been allowed in the public school because they do not have parents or they do not have a home. There are 157 kids that currently go to school here. All of them fit into only 4 classrooms. Our church partners with leaders over here to help educate, feed AND find a local home for these kids to have a family. We have been able to teach them about Jesus, sing and dance with them, play games and laugh with them, teach them valuable hygiene lessons, feed them and pray over them.
This is my second year coming back here and what amazes me the most is how much God is truly providing for these kids in a difficult situation. It is an honor that our church gets to support and be a part of that! I feel the presence of God in a very strong way every time I’m with these kids. It is not because I am far away from home, I miss my own kids or because I feel bad for them. It is because how real living out the gospel is for me… God says “to go and make disciples in all nations, to love your neighbor as yourself and to take care of the orphans and widows.” I get a chance back home to work with kids who don’t have parents, kids who are not educated and kids who are underprivileged. What God continues to show me, wether in Africa or America, is that kids need Jesus, they need to be loved and they need a family.
One of my favorite personal interactions was with a boy named Stephen. He is one of the older boys and is very shy, but after spending time with him and hearing about how the school has made such a difference in his life, he now has hope. He has hope because he now has a family that loves him and a school that is educating him so that it can be possible for him to go to a university and get a job one day. But most importantly he recognizes that the hope and love he needs most comes from Jesus and that through any of his past struggles and future struggles there is a God who loves him and wants the best for him.
It is a wonderful thing to come to this country expecting God to work through me to help these kids and then to have God work through these kids to help me!
Nick
What joy to know that Holy Spirit can come in and give hope no matter the circumstances if God’s people answer the call to reach out in love and compassion!. May the Lord continue to bless you and teach out as you minister to these kids and may Stephen continue to grow in faith and trust in Jesus.