Happy Birthday Mukamwiza!

In the fall of 2013, My wife, Shari Schappell and I went to see one of her favorite Christian artists perform before his retirement.  (Bebo Norman at WJTL in Lancaster)

The concert was sponsored by Compassion International, a wonderful organization that connects families with a child in need from places like Africa, the Middle East, Far East, and here in America.  During a break, we felt led to visit the tables, and we agreed to sponsor a child.  (I had sponsored a child before, and so had Shari)  We were working on a blended family, and decided to add to that.

The tables were filled with dozens of information packets, showing the photo of a child in need of sponsorship, with information about location, family, and # months on a waiting list. The child we chose was from Rwanda, a war-torn country in Africa. Her name was Mukamwiza Appoline, and her birthday was in July. You can sign up there and register online. Your sponsorship starts right away, and for us, have it taken from our account monthly.

You communicate by writing letters. You can do this online or by mail. We write about our kids and what is going on in our lives. We ask about her and her family. We ask about school. We encourage her. And we tell her that she is loved and that God loves her and her family. I know that we don't always pray for her like we should, and we need to write more often.  We do get caught up in our own lives here, that we can forget she is over there. When we receive her letters of encouragement, it helps us.
 
They have so little compared to what we have, but she always sounds happy. Someone we have never met tells they love us and pray for us. That humbles us.

Compassion provides her with clothes, an education, meals and clean water.  This helps her family as well.   I recently received an email from Compassion that read in part, "We're excited to share an updated photo of Mukamwiza! Isn't it amazing how much a child can grow and change? And thanks to your support it's not just physical growth. Because of your sponsorship, Mukamwiza is growing spiritually and emotionally too!"

She lives in a hillside community, home to around 3,000 residents. Mukamwiza attends the Bigogwe Student Center in Rwanda. Her current schooling grade is 7 (equivalent to ours). She carries water and gathers firewood for her family. Her parents are farmers for income, and they earn around $30/month.
She just turned 15 yesterday on July 18^th, so this is a Happy Birthday to her, aside from the gift we sent her.
If you are interested in learning more, visit www.compassion.com. Maybe you will add to your family also.