Supporting a Future Farmer in Rwanda

I was so excited yesterday to see the Compassion envelope in my mailbox marked "A Letter From Your Sponsored Child." It was the first thing I opened. To my great surprise, it also contained two pictures. The first one was of Kayirnagwa and a sheep. Her birthday was in January, so I had sent money for a birthday gift. Last year, the money was used to buy a hen so they could have eggs. This year they managed to buy a sheep to breed! I think I am supporting a future Rwandan Farmer! It is fun to know that they gifts will be put to such good use.

Kay wrote that she had a good Christmas. The Christmas money was used for bread and meat for her family. She wrote that the dress she is wearing in the picture above is the one that she wore for her church Christmas program. I am so encouraged that she is going to church.

The second picutre is of her family. This was real treat! I've asked questions about her family, but I don't usually get concrete answers. It looks like there are 4 children in her family, with Kay being the eldest. Aren't they adorable?





At the end of the letter, she wrote that her whole family loves me and prays for me. Who is getting the bigger gift -- her or me?

A Child Buys A Hen

Yesterday I got a letter from Kayirangwa -- my Compassion International child in Rwanda. She nine years old. Several months ago, I sent some extra money for a birthday gift. She told me that it was equal to 5404 francs and in her mind it was quite a lot of money for me to send. She thanked me and told me that with the money she was able to buy a hen to have at home so her family can have eggs.

Most of the children I know, when given money, would buy a toy or something electronic. It's part of our culture. I doubt any child I know would buy a hen to provide eggs for their family. It's not that they don't care. It's just that we live in an affluent society even if we may feel like we struggle to make ends meet. I had no clue that I had sent enough to buy a hen that could lay eggs for her family. Knowing that the little I sent could have that impact makes me want to send more.

My friend Melissa encouraged us to go and look at Tracie's blog. Yesterday, Tracie shared about her trip to Ecuador and that a gift of $400 from a sponsor built one family a home when their home literally caved in on them. It is a great post about the work that Compassion International does. Click here to go and take a peek at it.

Sometimes what little we think we are giving is more than we can imagine. That is humbling. It makes me realize how much I really do have and how I have been blessed.

A Child in Rwanda -- Compassion International

Heads up. This is not my typical post. It tells about my other Compassion child in Rwanda, but also deals a bit with the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. I hope you'll still read, but it is just very different from my other posts.

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As I write, the things I sent for Delia and her family are in Ecuador. My friend left yesterday on her trip. I'm praying that everything went well.


But I wanted to introduce you to the other little girl I sponsor. I recently received an updated photo. I think she looks taller in this picture than the last.





Kayirangwa is 9 and she lives in Rwanda. Rwanda is a small country in Africa. How, you might ask, did I get from sponsoring a child in Ecuador to sponsoring one in Rwanda?

Several years ago, I read a book called The Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World by Gary A. Haugen. Gary is the president of International Justice Mission. It is an organization that works with victims of slavery, exploitation, and violent oppression. No, this is not light reading. But it is important reading!

I think I was gripped with the opening paragraph. He talks about making his typical commute one morning in 1994 and having the thought of saying to his fellow travelers, "Excuse me, friends, but did you know that less than forty-eight hours ago I was standing in the middle of several thousand corpses in a muddy mass grave in a tiny African country called Rwanda?"

What? 1994? I remember thinking that those things just didn't happen any more. I had consigned them to the Holocaust and World War II.

But they do happen, like most things of that nature, for little or no reason (or rather exaggerated reason). The Rwandan genocide was between the Tutsi and Hutu people of Rwanda. The Hutu militia and every day civilians killed their neighbors -- anyone of Tutsi descent or anyone perceived as sympathetic to the Tutsi. Most estimates of the death toll are 800,000 to the 1,000,000 mark. Supposedly, it was fueled by the belief that the Tutsi and Hutu are very different and with one being superior. Sigh. In reality, there is very little genetic difference. All of that death took place in 100 days.

Perhaps one of the saddest aspects is that the world looked on and did very little to stop the escalating violence. President Clinton apologized during his term. But it makes me wonder if it wasn't a bit like World War II. There were rumors of concentration camps but we didn't step in until attacked.

I was surprised by the book and my own ignorance of the situation. I do well to keep up on local news. Global news is hard to grasp. Still, I think I should do better.

Delia caught my heart because of language (I cannot speak it but I took Spanish in high school and college) and the relative closeness of Ecuador. Kayirnagwa caught my heart because of reading that book and that sadness that anything like that could happen so recently. It was only 14 years ago. At 9 she wouldn't have been born yet, but I am sure her parents were. What an awful thing to have lived through. What a difficult thing to heal from -- whatever side you were on.

I came across a 2007 newsletter from Compassion about Rwanda. It shares the story of Emmanuel. His mother had survived the devastation but had hardened her heart. How could God care if all of those things had happened? But Emmanuel was enrolled in Compassion and became a Christian. Each morning he knelt to pray. Still, his mother wasn't interested.

In 2006 there was a drought. His mother wanted to flee the country in search of relief. Emmanuel told her not to, that his Compassion center was providing rations to families affected by the famine. At first she didn't believe him, but he convinced her to go and see. The workers loaded her with rice and water. As a result of Emmanuel's witness and Compassion's practical intervention, his mother became a Christian.

That is how I got from the United States and Ecuador to Rwanda. I know that Kayirangwa likes to jump rope and play games and that she has chores. I do not know how she or her family might have been impacted by what happened. But still, I hope, that in some small way my giving to her gives her hope and healing for her family and the tiniest bit of healing for her country. I am thankful that I know a God who can multiply what I give and what Emmanuel's sponsor gave a million times over.

Now, if any of you know of anyone going to Rwanda, I'd love to be able to send Kayirangwa something like I did for Delia!

Two Little Girls Hundreds of Miles Away -- Compassion International

I want to tell you about 2 little girls. They live hundreds of miles from me and each other. Yet, at this point our lives are intertwined.

The first little girl is Delia. She is just shy of 11. Her birthday is June 1! Happy Birthday! She lives in Ecuador with her mother and father. She likes to sing, tells stories, and play with dolls. I like knowing that she speaks Spanish. That was my language of choice in high school and college. Not that I could converse in Spanish, I still like it that I know a few words of her language.

The second little girl is Kayirngwa. (If any of you can help me on how to pronounce that, let me know. I think of her as Kay.) She lives in Rwanda, a country in Africa. She likes jumping rope, running, and playing group games. Rwanda is an HIV/AIDS affected area.

As you probably guessed, I sponsor both of them through Compassion International. Sometimes it is really tight to try and send, but I know they are counting on the money I send.

How did I end up with two so different countries? Both times I heard a broadcast about Compassion. One specifically mentioned Delia by name. It was one of those heart tug things. With Kay, I heard about a plug for Compassion again. Something tugged on my heart again. This time I asked about Rwanda. It was through a local organization and the volunteer said, "Rah - what?" They weren't sure if they had Compassion there but they would check.

I read about Rwanda probably 15 years ago or so when I read an IVP book called, The Good News About Injustice. It deals with the attempted genocide in Rwanda. The Hutu and the Tutsi are actually very close genetically. I don't remember the exact percent of ethnic similarity but I believe it was less than 1% difference. But throughout the years there has been great acrimony between them -- enough to cause mass slaughter of men, women, and children. Something about that book nestled in my heart and God nudged it that day.

I try to write to them once a month. Sometimes I manage it, sometimes I don't. I know that children like to hear about other children, so they often get tales of my adventures with the kids I know here as well as pictures of my cats.

I love getting letters back from them. Both, at one time or another, have expressed some confusion that I live alone. They want to know where my family is. How do you explain singleness to a child? Or how do you explain that family doesn't live close as they do for them? At one point or another, they have given me their advice. Kay thinks I need to join the choir at church. Delia thinks I should play some games with people. Both are great suggestions, but my church doesn't have a choir and I'm not sure what games Delia thinks I should play. Perhaps, she is thinking of sports.

Along with pictures, I've sent along blank pieces of colored paper or stickers. I love giving stickers to the children an Barnes and Noble. They have stopped quite a few tears. I cannot imagine how children who are poverty stricken might enjoy those little things.

With my friend Jill having just been on a Compassion trip, they have been on my mind more. I wonder what it would be like to visit them. Though, after reading Jill's blog, I know I cannot imagine the poverty they must live in.

Even in their pictures, I am struck that neither one is smiling. I wish I had a snapshot of smiles. But, it is perhaps, a reflection of the harshness of life they live. That, and I'm sure cameras and pictures are a novelty and maybe meant a solemn occasion.

At any rate, I pray for them and each month manage to save up the money to send. More than anything, I pray that they know the living hope that is Jesus.

Operation Compassion

My friend Jill is in El Salvador with Compassion International for the week. It is heart wrenching to read about all that she is seeing. She has pictures up as well. Please visit her blog at http://www.jillsavage.blogspot.com/ to see the pictures and here what she is seeing. She wrote yesterday that she has never seen so much poverty and that it brought her to tears. That is a great picture of compassion.

Do you sponsor a child? If you do, please post about your child and leave a comment here and I will visit to read about your child. Later in the week, if people leave links to their sites, I'll post them in a list.

I sponsor two little girls -- one in Ecuador and one in Rwanda. I'll post a bit about them over the next couple of days.

Please consider reading what about Jill's time in El Salvador and pray about becoming a sponsor!

Amy