Great Work And Even Greater Potential
Jerry’s First Trip Blog
This young lady is thankful to have safe drinking water at her school
This was an incredible trip. Our main purpose for traveling was to help Jai, our new Director of International Development, better grasp the context and scope of work of our Farming God’s Way trainers in Rwanda and Kenya. The more time I spend with Jai, the more I realize God’s favor is upon Heaven’s Family, and He wants to see His work through us expand. But to make the most of our time, we also visited three of the schools you support, so we’ll start there.
Thursday morning, we met Cindy from Cindy’s Hope. The first school was close to our FGW trainer, so Peter came along. It was good because he could give us a Rwandan perspective of the school. From what I saw, the buildings were well-constructed and very clean. There were less than 20 students per teacher in every class, and the teachers had command of the students’ attention. After stopping in multiple classrooms, we asked Peter if he would send his children there. He gave a resounding yes. We found out later Cindi’s school was less than half the price he was paying.
In this class, the students were learning spelling
Cindi took us to the school farm and explained that they feed the kids daily snacks and lunch. She said, “This is the only meal most kids eat. They don’t eat at home.” That stuck out to me. Then she told us that she hires the local teens to do the farm work at the school. She also pays them for jobs that help their neighbors and improve their community. She uses the employment as an opportunity to share the gospel and disciple them. This also stuck out to me. After seeing the water tanks provided by Heaven’s Family, we were on our way to the second school.
This school caught my attention. As we approached the entrance, Cindi pointed out the water kiosk Heaven’s Family’s Safe Water Ministry provided. A line of people were waiting to fill their jerrycans. Once the gate was opened and we drove in, we were surrounded by beauty. You could see she took great care to make this school a place that would reflect the glory of God. The amphitheater, courtyard, cafeteria, and classrooms were top-notch. The farm, however, was not. But they hire local teens to work at this school as well. This is a great opportunity for development.
The campus Pastor, Eric, and his team are doing an excellent job going after and building relationships with the teens. This team was recently trained in Disciple-Making Movements so they can equip the youth to make more disciples. The missing link is that their families are still suffering from hunger. Both Eric and Cindi had been trained some years ago in FGW but were not practicing. We encouraged them to return to it to have greater harvests to feed the kids. But also, if they train the youth in FGW, they would be empowering them to meet the needs of their families. This potential for growth and empowerment is truly exciting. I’ll let you know how it works out.
Finally, on the way out of the school, I had the opportunity to interview Claudine while she was in line waiting to get water at the kiosk. Thanks to this kiosk, Claudine is now saving time and money. Most importantly, she and the baby on her back are no longer getting sick from drinking contaminated water. This is a direct result of your support, and it’s truly a life-changing impact. Praise God!
Claudine and a line of people are waiting to enjoy the safe water from the kiosk you provided
In my next blog, we will move to Karama in southern Rwanda, where your support transforms the community. See you there.
Grace and Peace,
Jerry Jefferson
