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| Wednesday, June 25, 2008 |
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Children of Promse: Ripples of Hope
Church of God Ministries, Church of God - General
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Children of Promise directors share stories of sponsored children
By Jane Betteridge
 Unexpected tears flowed at the Children of Promise conference on Tuesday morning as those in attendance listened to dramatic stories of children whose lives have been transformed through the Anderson-based international child sponsorship program.
Hope was the overarching theme as leaders from the countries of Rwanda, Ecuador, Honduras, the Philippines, and Russia shared personal accounts of working with sponsored children and their families.
Rev. Charles Nsengiyumva detailed contrastingly beautiful stories of hope that are now taking place through the Children of Promise program in Rwanda. “Many children will try to hide the fact that they are orphaned because they receive so much rejection when it becomes known,” Nsengiyumva stated. He shared the story of a group of children who walked eighteen miles for the chance to be included in the Children of Promise program. “At first, they lied about having parents because they were afraid that they would not be accepted if the truth were known.” These children are now part of the Children of Promise program in Rwanda, known as Ejo Heza, meaning “Bright Future.”
In Ecuador, Church of God missionary Karen Lambert helps oversee the Children of Promise program, the Hope of Ecuador. Among the stories she shared was that of Danny, a young boy who came from a home where an abusive, alcoholic father told him, “You’ll never be more than I am. I will destroy you.” At age twenty-two, Danny is today at the top of his class, studying to be a physician. Now a successful young Christian man, Danny’s response is, “Where would I be if others hadn’t been faithful to God’s call to intervene in my life? I am so grateful.”
In Russia, where freedom of religion has found new roots, a young Church of God in Chelyabinsk has recently been added to the Children of Promise family. Pastor Andrei Kolegov spoke of families being transformed by the hope born of active compassion expressed from across the world to provide for the needs of their children. He further shared that when the church in Chelyabinsk was exposed to the caring response from Christians in the United States, they were galvanized to increase involvement in providing help for their friends and neighbors in meager and miserable circumstances. “It’s a ripple effect. Hope gives birth to more hope,” he said.
“The love of Christ expressed through the international Children of Promise program is transforming lives, even generations,” declared Dr. Ofelia Viray, of the Philippines,. She shared stories of sponsored children who have excelled spiritually, academically, and—now as young adults—professionally, all because someone from across the world cared enough to send a message of hope through a small check each month and through their regular prayers.
Dr. Paul Maxfield, executive director of Children of Promise, closed the program with prayer and then thanked attendees and the international participants. Those in attendance were treated to a preview of Covenant Production’s video project Journey of the Heart, which chronicles the trip of Andersonians Keith and Melanie Musser to meet their sponsored child in the Philippines. The video will be released this fall.
A version of this article appears in the Thursday, June 26, 2008, edition of the NAC roundup/08 newsletter. To view the newsletter in its entirety, click here (1.57 MB). The document is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat in order to read and/or print it. If you do not have Acrobat installed on your computer, you can download a free copy of Acrobat Reader here.
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