August Update

             (Twizerimana before and after the streets)

Last July, HFLM took in 14-year-old Twizerimana (meaning “believe God”) who initially had a countenance of grief due to a deeply wounded life. His life dramatically changed a year ago when his father died from AIDS, and weeks later, his mother passed away from malaria. He had nowhere to go after his mother died, so he began living on the streets and not even his relatives were willing to bring him into their home. After some time, Twizerimana was arrested and put into prison simply for living on the streets. He was released in April, and after attending HFLM’s outreach program in May, he gave his life to Christ. He says that, “…after coming to know Christ I changed my life and I stopped smoking cigarettes.” It is amazing to see how God began a work in Twizerimana’s life, brought him to HFLM, and has transformed his countenance to joyful smiling and laughing.

It is exciting to see the boys’ maturation in Christ as they have found joy in reading the Bible and applying its truth to their lives. Every Saturday morning the boys lead devotions at HFLM. 17-year-old Baby shared from Isaiah 54:17 which says, “no weapon formed against you shall succeed.” He confessed that anyone who looked at him before could tell he had many problems. He described the painful situation in his family that has been burdening him; “The last time I visited my mother it was so evident that she is dying that when we [he and his mother] looked at each other, we began crying and praying to God.” Baby then broke down in tears as he pleaded with us to pray for his mother. Baby shared that he’s also been struggling in school and has received bad grades. However, he explained, “I have felt happy since reading Isaiah 54:17. It is impossible for humans to be happy all the time, but I can find joy through reading the Word of God. He is for us and not against us.” A transformation in his attitude towards life has been unmistakable to everyone. Fellow HFLM member, David, shared an encouraging word to Baby and the rest of the boys saying, “I want to tell you the difference between dying and perishing. Us believers, we will die and have eternal life, but those who don’t know Christ will perish. Although we may think we are poor, we are richer than the richest person in the world because we know Christ. Most of our families don’t know Jesus, and we need to share this treasure with them.” As staff, we are proud and humbled to be a part of such momentous moments such as these.

During the month of August, the kids will be on their vacation. During this break, some boys will get the chance to go home to visit their families for a week. Several boys are eager to go home and share with their family how Christ has changed their lives and their hearts. Two of the boys, Veterne and Daniel, are going home to see their sister get baptized. They are both so excited and exclaimed they never thought they would see the day when their sister would accept Christ and be baptized. We are so excited that they have the opportunity to share in the joy of attending their sister’s baptism, as well as the opportunity to watch their sister grow in Christ. 

Hilliary also had the opportunity to share on TBN what God is doing in HFLM. Watch here.

Thank-you all for joining in this life transforming work and making it possible for these children and young men to have hope and a future.

God bless you,

Executive Director

 

July Update

Hope For Life July 2012 Update

Praise the Lord! Hilliary and Gwen, our intern from Moody Bible Institute, arrived safely in Rwanda. They are enjoying living at the home with the boys, showing God’s love to them, and teaching them how to play baseball!

 

Paul tried to translate the baseball rules to the boys, but they only seemed to catch the gist of it. After the first inning, only one child remained in the outfield and everyone else wanted to bat. Eight-year-old Simeon, and a few of the other younger boys, ran around the bases, purposefully stalling so that Hilliary had to chase after them to tag them with the ball. They would giggle as she ran after them, trying to show off how much faster they had gotten in the last six months. The most hysterical sight was seeing six- year-old Claude at bat. Mid swing, Claude would switch the bat to his other hand and circle around, trying to hit the ball. To his delight, his batting technique somehow worked and got him on base once!

God is continuing to bless and grow this ministry. Our Wednesday outreach program has grown to 20 boys. The devotion this week was led by Gwen, who talked to the boys about how God is always there with them and for them. She asked the kids if they have ever felt like nobody cared for them, and several sad faces nodded their heads in acknowledgement. They were joyful to hear of God’s love and care for them, even when it feels like no one else does.

On a sad note, after much discussion and prayer, HFLM staff have decided it best to send nine-year-old Nsabiri back to his home and mom. He has been negatively influencing the other children and even posed as a threat to them. We are saddened that other disciplinary action did not change Nsabiri’s attitude and that this resulted in his departure from our program. However, we are committed to following up with him at home. Please join us in praying for a heart change and for his safety at home with his mom.

In the coming season, HFLM is focusing our efforts on internal development. Our Executive Director, Hilliary, is looking forward to implementing a new structure at the home that will increase supervision and unity. We believe that it is essential to equip our Rwandan leaders to run the home and we are excited to focus on this. Hilliary hopes to impact our leader’s characters and deepen their relationships with Christ through intense staff training, theological training, and discipleship courses. We pray that this will aid in transforming our staff from the inside out.

Your prayers and gifts make all the difference to our children in Rwanda and your ongoing partnership allows us to meet our goals and continue transforming their lives. Thank you for joining us in showing God’s love to Rwandan street boys!

God bless you,