Kashindi overcome with gratitude for the Lord’s provisions through you

Ungrateful Son, Redeeming God

A widow experiences God’s love in an unexpected gift

Dear Family,

You must find somewhere else to live, I am selling the house!

Mambassa had left Goma to find better work to support his family and his mother. Or so they thought. While there, he married another wife and abandoned his first wife, eight children and his widowed mother, Kashindi. Although Kashindi had a monetary share in the house, it was in the name of Mambassa, her oldest son. The African custom is for the firstborn son to care for a widowed parent when he or she becomes older. Kashindi’s eviction was imminent.

Previously, Kashindi and her own nine children had fled their ancestral home because militias were terrorizing villages. She began earning money from the sewing and basket-making skills she had learned from our partners in Goma and was supporting her daughter-in-law and the 8 grandchildren with her earnings. But now, Kashindi was truly devastated to discover that her son was selling their home and leaving the whole family homeless.

Upon hearing this heartbreaking story, I knew the Lord wanted us to do something. This dedicated mother should not spend her later years abandoned and homeless.

Through your investments in Heaven’s Family’s Refugee Ministry, you helped to purchase a home for Kashindi—one that cannot be sold out from under her. This home is in her name! It is also nicer than her previous home, with glass windows and painted a cheerful blue.

Kashindi in front of her new home!

Kashindi was shocked and overwhelmed with gratefulness for your love and concern. Now she knows that God truly loves her and will take care of her as she grows older. Thank you!

Becky Servant
Director, Refugee Ministry