A Message from our Senior Pastors
James 1:27 NLT
"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."
We are excited to have Compassion joining us this year in Hamburg on the 1st May. It has been a challenging year, not only for those of us who live in countries that have managed the COVID 19 time well. It's been especially challenging for the developing world, including our key nation of child sponsorship Rwanda.
The global pandemic has taken all of the Compassion projects and church partners in the developing world from 'development mode' to 'survival mode'. With many families unable to leave their households due to Government restrictions, families can't work and provide for their families. Some of the farmers haven't even been allowed to plant next year's crop, so there will be no harvest next year for them, can you imagine that? Not being able to provide food for your family, coming home to children asking where their next meal is coming from, is unbearably painful.
Sue and I are so proud of everyone who has sponsored a child at Globalheart Church as together we are playing our part in Rwanda's survival process from this terrible pandemic. The Nation of Rwanda has been through so much while having risen amazingly from the genocide. Rwanda continues sadly to face this situation along with other ongoing challenges, such as the recent floods.
Globalheart Church reached our goal in 2019 of sponsoring over 1,000 children through Compassion and its many projects throughout Rwanda. Compassion was even able to take what we had accomplished together and use it to inspire other churches throughout the state of Western Australia to begin rescuing children from poverty in Jesus' name.
However, there are still thousands of children in real need of sponsorship; multitudes are still sick, malnourished and uneducated. Through your generosity, sponsorship will truly help release a child from a life of (often) hopelessness. It's so valuable also to realise that the support of just one child hugely impacts their family and local community for good. TOGETHER, we won't let COVID-19 or poverty win, and our generosity helps bring hope to communities to see a future beyond the current crisis in Jesus' name!
This year we have the incredible privilege of letting a child know that they are loved, and we care by sponsoring a child for the first time or adding another beautiful child to your Compassion family.
Can I thank you in advance for your "Love" and generosity as we come together as to help remove fear, insecurity and hopelessness from the lives of more of the beautiful children of Rwanda!
Matthew 25:40 NLT
“Jesus says whatsoever you do for the least of those you do for me.”
With much love and appreciation,
Ps Gerard & Sue
Story from the field
Compassion’s local church partners are finding creative ways to support children and families during the pandemic. Providing food relief in Rwanda What happens when the only source of food is snatched away by unforeseen circumstances? In the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, Rachel lost her income, unable to sell pots and charcoal stoves in the market. She struggled to provide for her children, including Pacifique who is registered with Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program at the local church.
“I was not able to get food to feed my children and myself. When the lockdown was announced, we were told only people selling food were allowed to sell in the market. This was a blow to so many of us. We hadn’t saved money for such times and we don’t even have a garden to harvest from,”
The pandemic has most affected the children who live in urban town centres and Nkombo Island, where agriculture is limited, leaving families unable to grow their own food. Compassion’s local church partners are providing food supplies to vulnerable families, including Rachel.
“I’m so excited the centre remembered us during this pandemic and have given us food. I give God the glory. We have been given maize flour, beans, cooking oil, soap and sugar. As a mother, I’m very happy that my children are not going to die of hunger,”
Across Rwanda, Compassion has been able to provide food relief to over 10,000 families.
