Hope For Life wishes you a Happy New Year! Thank you to everyone who donated money so that our boys could have a Christmas celebration. A Rwandan organization also contributed, taking the boys to play soccer and share a meal with many other vulnerable children. The boys had the opportunity to hear a motivating testimony of a former street boy who has now grown up and leads a successful life.

In Rwanda, most people celebrate their birthday on New Years. This big birthday party was an incredibly exciting day for the boys and the staff at HFLM. Spurts of giggling and singing filled the home and every face was lit up with a smile. Each boy received a birthday cake with candles and everyone sang happy birthday as the candles were blown out. Claude, who had never celebrated a birthday before, eyed the other boys and quickly blew out his candles as well. Not knowing what a birthday candle was, he proceeded to eat it. He was quite surprised to discover it was wax and not edible! Afterwards, two guests, Erin and Karen, taught the boys various crafts and games. Even the oldest boys Paul and David had a blast. They all made lions out of paper plates, glue and pens.

Thanks to the Hovde Family’s donation, three bleating goats have made their home at HFLM! The boys, most notably Berco, have learned to shepherd and care for the goats. We will be raising and breeding goats to help with the self-sustainability of the home.

This last month we lost two of our HFLM staff, Gakuru and Jean Baptist. The overturn of staff is always a difficult adjustment for the boys. Please join us in praying for stability in the boys’ lives and for God to continue to mold their hearts. Similarly, we are grieving the loss of Yves, Habimana, Donath, and Muhawe. These boys left for the third time and therefore lose their option to return to HFLM. Even though they are no longer at HFLM, we love them and know they are not a lost cause to God. We pray that God will work in their hearts and turn their lives around.

Thank you all for reading our update and joining us in prayer. Your encouragement and generous support are essential to this ministry.