Losing one
parent is one too many. For Josiah, losing his mom to HIV/AIDS in 2014 almost
prevented him from remaining in his family. Josiah was only 3 years old. He and his 3 brothers and sister were living
with their sickly father named Emmanuel. A carpenter by profession, Emmanuel
did casual construction jobs to get by. However, after losing his wife, Emmanuel's
health began to decline and his body weakened.
He was unable to provide for his family. Emmanuel's mother and oldest daughter took on the responsibility of
caring for the young family- three of whom were still in elementary school.
This sad
reality has provided a powerful opportunity for the local church to bring hope
and support. Emmanuel attends a local
Anglican church in their community where his late wife also attended. The church reached out to little Josiah, his
Dad Emmanuel and the rest of the family.
The church explained that while he was recovering from ill health, the
church could help. They could see that the
family was vulnerable not only to disease, but to being separated out of
desperation and poverty. An orphanage
would have been one fo the few options if Josiah's family did not have the
support of the local church.
Through
Rwanda Sponsorship, the local church has wholistically come alongside Josiah's
family. They are being supported by their church community and are frequently
visited by the members in their church family. Through God's mercy, Emmanuel is
now recovering and his family has remained together - largely in response to the
relationship they've developed with their local church.
The Church is the hope of
the world and the hope for every orphan and vulnerable child. Ending the orphan crisis is not just about getting
children out of orphanages - it's also about helping keep children out of
orphanages in the first place by helping vulnerable children remain in
families. By giving through the local church, sponsorship enables the
entire church to come alongside families like Josiah's, serving them in every
facet of life. Because of Sponsorship, care and support reached these
siblings before they became orphans, and the family is able to grow together!
If you are interested in impacting the life of a child through sponsorship, you can become a Rwanda sponsor at www.saddleback.com/sponsorship today! Connect with us at orphans@saddleback.com to learn about the ways you can help end the orphan crisis and prevent children from becoming orphaned.
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