It’s been a Year….
It has been a rollercoaster year. A year of fear and bravery, sickness and health, concern and a lot of prayer, tears and praise filled singing from our children! The fighting that took place right outside of the walls of our home in the spring, and the prayers that kept our children safe gave everyone so much to be thankful for. The economic and military uncertainty of the region brought difficulty in getting supplies at times. But through wonderful friends on the ground in Kalehe, and our incredible house Dad Espoir, these difficulties were resolved. The hospital thankfully remained open during all of this as several children became ill with malaria and typhoid during the rainy season. Our children recovered well and all are healthy at the time of this blog. And a special note to let you know that little baby Israel (who we took in as a preemie baby last year when his mother died in child birth at the hospital with no family on record to take him) turned 1 in May! Happy first birthday baby Israel.
The peace agreement that has been signed between Rwanda and the DRC in July brings hope for a safer future for our children and a better economic situation for the country, and hopefully Kalehe.
The pictures below show our children preparing for and going to their first day of school on September 1. Two wonderful pieces of news to share about this. First, all of our children passed their tests to move on to their next grade level! The children had to work extra hard as their elementary school was bombed during the war fighting in the Spring. School was canceled and did not resume until summer, and only for half days. The secondary students attended their classes only in the afternoon after the elementary children had finished. The children worked together, tutoring each other and on their own to pass their grade level tests. Quite an accomplishment!
The second piece of wonderful news is that the elementary school was rebuilt over the summer, so children went back to school with elementary and secondary children in full-time classes
Lastly, our children have retained hope, love, health and joy. Your prayers and support continue to transform the lives of our family…Christophe’s Children. Thank you. Merci. Asante.
