Guest Post* & A Book Giveaway

Hi there! My name is Mushimiyimana Ange (yes, I know it is a mouthful! You can call me Ange), and I am one of Tim and Jennifer’s sponsored children. They began sponsoring me exactly one year ago. Today I want to share a little bit about me, and how being in the Compassion program has impacted my life.

First of all, I live in a small village in the hills of Rwanda not far from the Congolese border. I was born on October 22, 1995, a year after the terrible genocide that took the lives of over 800,000 Rwandans. Do you know what? Compassion came to Rwanda in 1980, so they were already on the ground when the terror began. They lost sponsored children in the genocide, and while they did have to shut down temporarily during the fighting, they stayed and helped people behind the scenes.

And just as importantly, Compassion stayed in Rwanda after the genocides, helping our country to heal and rebuild in the aftermath. I am proof of that!

I will be turning 17 in a month and I live with my mother; she works when she can at farming, so we don’t have a lot of money for food and things. My father died, so it is just the two of us. When I am not in school or helping my mother, I love running and playing with my friends. At home I help with cleaning, washing clothes and preparing meals. We do not have a home of our own right now; my mother’s dream is for me to finish school and get a good job so that I can build a house for us. She has worked very hard her whole life for very little, and she knows that school is our best hope for me.

Compassion has made a way for me to be able to go to school. This takes a great burden off of my mother’s shoulders! I can’t say for sure what my life would be like without Compassion and my child development center, but I do know that things would be a lot harder. There would be a greater chance that I would have to leave school altogether to work small jobs here and there. I would also be at greater risk for abuse and exploitation.

I am sure that you have plenty of opportunities to help children in your own country and in other parts of the world. But I do hope that hearing my story will lead you to consider sponsoring a child through Compassion. In addition to school, children in Compassion’s programs also receive regular meals and snacks, health check-ups and hygiene training, the care of a local church and (most importantly!) we get to hear about Jesus. And we get to experience Jesus’ love firsthand when we are cared for and loved by you.

I do hope you will consider sponsoring a child today.

I will conclude with the same blessing I send to the Touseys: I wish you God’s peace and abundant blessing, and one day to see our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yours,
Ange

*Of course Ange didn’t really post today, but I wrote based on her letters to us and the information we have about her. Ange is our second teen girl from Rwanda; our first moved unexpectedly to an area without a Compassion program. We chose Rwanda because of the genocide. I remember as a teenager reading about the horrors over there, and feeling angry and helpless. I still feel angry and helpless about it. But one evening, after talking about Rwanda and how I felt after all these years, Tim and I realized that we weren’t totally helpless to help undo some of the wrongs that were done. No, we aren’t making up for hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of displaced families or devastated land. But we are making a difference in the life of one young lady, and in turn she will be able to make her once war-torn country a better place. 

Is there a country or region of the world that is dear to your heart? Maybe you’ve traveled there, or maybe you’ve just dreamed of going. Have you looked before to see if Compassion is there? Just like in Rwanda, Compassion was in Haiti when the earthquake hit. They helped dig through the rubble and their country staff worked tirelessly to account for every single Compassion child. Maybe you have felt helpless as you have seen all the destruction that still persists in Haiti, of millions still living in tents. Compassion offers you a way to step out of helplessness and into giving hope. 

I know this is a long post, but this is my last this month for Compassion. I hope that you have at least considered sponsoring a child. If not, will you pray about it now?

As promised, I do have a book to give to one reader. The book is Just a Minute by Dr. Wess Stafford, the president of Compassion International. In it he shares story after story of children and adults who have been children in need or who have helped children in need. These are amazing stories of God’s redemptive power, and of his love for his children. 

How do you win? Easy! Just click over to the Compassion site and find a child in a country that is dear to your heart. Any country! (You can find the country tab in a drop-down box to the right of the page.) No, you don’t have to sponsor them (although that would be AMAZING!). I just want you to look at the face of one child in a country of your choosing. Write their name down and commit to pray for them this week. That’s it; just find a child to pray for. Then please come back here and leave a comment with the country you chose and the name of the child you will be praying for this week. I will join you in praying for them.

I will close out the comments on Sunday night and I will announce the winner on Monday. 

I can’t wait to hear all about the children you see!