Reintegration of the boys was an incredible moving experience as we got to see their hearts in a way we had not before. We first witnessed this at the reintegration celebration when they stood up and shared their testimonies and hopes for the future. Now that they are home we have witnessed a new level of development and the ability to take a stand for their own health and spiritual welfare. While their outward situations appear to be similar, their attitudes have changed from passively conforming to their environments, to actively helping their families and standing firm in their faith. Through your support, we have also completed house renovation projects for the neediest families and succeeded in raising their standard of living. This year we will be partnering with other NGOs to teach the families financial management and aiding in small income generation projects such as raising farm animals.
And the blessings continue. We are thrilled to share with you the musical talent of three of our HFLM boys. David loves praising God through music and has written countless songs. When Stuart was in Rwanda, he recognized David’s talent and decided to help him with the production of one of his songs. David quickly shared the news with his best friends at HFLM who are also his music partners, Pacifique and D’Amour. The three were elated with the opportunity to go to a local production company and record their song. It was only four years ago that David lived in a garbage dump with no prospects for the future. Thinking of the stark contrast, he exclaimed “I would never have believed anyone if they told him me I would be instructing a producer on how to make changes to a song and that he would listen to me!” Hilliary and Stuart followed up on the recording with a music video for the boys. It is with great joy and gratitude that we share David’s song and give you a glimpse of Rwanda. You can view the music video here.
Another success story is 10 year old Papi, who has impressed us with his desire to go to church and read his Bible. Prior to HFLM, his mother was unable to care for him, and he survived by begging and sleeping in street gutters. When we first found him, he was covered in sores and suffered from severe malnutrition. It has been incredible watching his physical and spiritual transformation and we are excited to see his mother also becoming more stable. Since Papi was raised in a Muslim family, Chantal asked him, “When you go home, will you want to go to the Mosque or to church?” Papi firmly said he was going to go to church, even if he had to go alone. We asked his mother if she was fine with this, and she surprised us by not only saying yes, but that her life was rescued by several Christians a month ago when she was in a very bad spot. Only a few days after returning home Chantal received a call from Papi, pleading with her to come back to his house and bring his Bible because he accidentally left it at HFLM and really wanted to read it. It has been a true honor witnessing the children at HFLM mature and develop a firm foundation in Christ.
With the reintegration of the 8 boys in December, we now have the opportunity to bring in new boys. Chantal, the HFLM Children Director, has developed a list of new candidates and we are prayerfully moving forward to accepting these boys. We are also in search of new leader(s) to support Hilliary in bearing the HFLM torch. Thank you for all of your support and prayers!
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