Irene's Dream [July 2010 eMagazine]

"Meet My Friend Ildephonse"

The first time I met Ildephonse Bigrimana, he was working under the hot sun at a street corner kiosk in Bujumbura, a city in Burundi, East Africa. He saw me from a distance — which wasn't difficult, as my white skin made me stand out from the mobs of other people—and he flashed a signature smile that I had seen in a photo weeks earlier, identifying himself to me. When I arrived at his kiosk we shook left hands due to the fact that his right hand was deformed. Ildephonse never stopped smiling, even as other nearby street vendors who knew him gently taunted him for being tight with a "mzungu." He held his head high.

Ildephonse used to beg on the streets for survival, but a conversion to Christ and a small-business grant from Heaven's Family gave him a new start. I had come to inspect his kiosk to determine if he should receive a second grant to expand his business. After some questions and counsel, he was approved. Since then, Ildephonse has married the girl of his dreams. More details are found below.

I love working for Heaven's Family, because we help members of our spiritual family one person at a time. And I love to share their stories with you, because your compassion is changing their lives. Enjoy this month's stories of real people whom you've blessed. And thank you, on their behalf. — David

Irene's Dream by Becky Servant
The Widows Fund at Work in Kenya

Irene Wangeshi with her three children, Sarah, Mercy, and James

Irene Wangeshi never knew her father. She was raised in a Kenyan village by her impoverished single mother—who tragically died when Irene turned fifteen. Irene's grandmother, with whom she lived after her mother's death, died shortly after Irene graduated from high school. With no living relatives remaining, Irene found herself alone and destitute. She moved to the capital city of Nairobi where she found a job working for a wealthy family as a house maid.

Lonely, vulnerable, and without the wise counsel of a loving family, Irene met a young man and married him. She discovered too late that he was addicted to drugs and alcohol, and the result was a roller coaster ride that lasted a decade. Three children were born into their marriage whom Irene watched suffer under her husband's abuse. Read more...

A Risky Rendevous by Elisabeth Servant
The North Korean Christians Fund at Work

When North Koreans are caught in China in search of food, they are sent back to North Korea where they are placed in hard-labor prison camps for being traitors

I felt as if I were in a spy movie. As I stood at a designated spot in a Chinese city near the border of North Korea, an unmarked vehicle pulled up. I slipped into the back seat, and the driver whisked me away through a maze of streets. When we reached our destination, I was ushered through a dark alley to the back door of a restaurant. Once inside, I was led to a hidden back room. There, Mrs. Joon was waiting for me. She was visibly apprehensive about our dinner meeting, but she knew that she would have to trust someone if her mission was to succeed.

Mrs. Joon had recently made the dangerous crossing into China, risking her life in hopes of taking food back to North Korea for her starving family and friends. Her mission was born of both faith and desperation. Read more...

A New Thing in Shimading by David Servant
The Village Development Fund at Work in Myanmar

A mother in Shimading enjoying running water, right outside her home, for the first time in her life

Nestled on a remote mountain ridge in Myanmar, just a day's walk by footpath from the borders of India and Bangladesh, is the remote village of Shimading. About five-hundred souls reside there in a cluster of seventy bamboo houses. Most everyone survives by subsistence farming. Some hunt or do a little trading.

All the families in Shimading are members of the Khumi tribe, who at one time worshipped rocks, trees and animals. But native missionaries brought the gospel to their region, and today, all but two of the families in Shimading are believers. Read more...

A Selfish Man Turns by CJ McDaniel
The Handicapped Christians Fund at Work in Burundi

Ildephonse Bigrimana outside his shop and home in Bujumbura, Burundi

Don't let his disability fool you. Although born with a disfigured back and right hand, Ildephonse Bigrimana of East Africa didn't let his handicap hinder him from sinning. He cared for no one other than himself, and his selfishness culminated with his discovery of his girlfriend's pregnancy. Disowned by her disgraced family and fired from her job in their rural town in Burundi, she turned to the man whom she thought loved her. He also turned. He turned his back on her and their unborn child—and ran. Read more...

Parting Shot - Presidential Bubble Gum