Getting to spend time with the Asante Choir kids has been the most spiritually humbling experience of my life.  These beautiful children put my faith to shame!  I have never before seen worship with so much passion and devotion, let alone seen such qualities in children as young as 8 years old.  God is glorified with every word that is sung and every dance that is performed.  The children rejoice with eyes closed and hands outreached toward the sky.  Some bury their faces in their hands and others even drop to their knees.  As I stand and listen to them sing and pray in a language I can’t understand, I’m ashamed that my worship is so routine and lukewarm.  I realize now that I never knew what true worship was until I watched these kids.  I can feel God’s glory when I listen to them sing.  And the best part is their JOY!  They experience so much agony and pain and still God’s name is lifted high.  I can barely accomplish that feat on a good day, let alone a bad one.  I used to feel sorry for these kids because I saw what poverty they live in, but then I realized their faith was 10 times stronger than my cushy fortunate American faith.  They show more joy and faith in a single day than I can in a lifetime.  So really, who’s the poor one?

Written by Tina Garcia

Muraho!!! Greetings from Butare, Rwanda!!! Wow, I can’t even begin to describe what a journey this trip has been so far. We arrived in Kigali last Wednesday, and spent the first few days and nights there. The days were filled with lots of smiling faces as we traveled throughout the city visiting the homes of sponsored children along with Hilltop Academy.  Everywhere you go here there are people shouting “Mzungu!” and greeting you with a smile!  On Saturday, we traveled to Burundi to meet the new group of children waiting for sponsors! Wow, what an amazing experience.  The children are all so beautiful and although the visit was short, some connections were made and I can’t wait until we meet again.  

Now we are in Butare until Wednesday and have been getting to hang with the kids of Asante Choir as well as meeting more sponsored kids!! Man, did I miss these kids! I was able to meet my mother’s sponsored girl Belise today!  I was completely touched by the joy I could see in her eyes as we met for the first time! I was also able to meet her family and speak to them with the small amount of Kinyarwandan that I have learned since being here.  God is good and he is showing it to me more and more as we travel throughout these parts.  The Faith and the Joy that comes with the African culture amazes me. It is truly the most beautiful place I have ever seen, along with meeting the most beautiful people who know what it means to be truly happy within. These people have not very much if anything at all, but yet they are the friendliest, happiest people I have ever met in my life. Sure makes me look at my own life and make me want to take a deeper look within myself… Until next time… God Bless

Written by Georgia Buckley