Today we bid farewell Matthew Kowoll. On July 19, after a serious illness, he passed away in peace and in the hope of resurrection. We first published the following article of his in 2006. It shows how l'ESPERANCE gives people hope.

The volcanic region of north-west Rwanda is known as the home of the mountain gorilla. Ruhengeri, that's the name of this beautiful region, is also a shelter for various rebel groups who can hide well in the remoteness. This border area with the Republics of Congo and Uganda was one of the main battlefields during the horrific 1994 genocide that killed around 1 million people.

From mid-November to early December, an evangelistic campaign organized and financed by l'ESPERANCE took place in Ruhengeri. Our orphans from the Kigarama children's village were supposed to actively support the event, which is why the date was set during the holiday season.

Days before the crusade, our children went from house to house with the staff, inviting people to the crusade and distributing programs. The local radio stations drew attention to the event, which included seminars on naturopathy and nutrition. We were blown away to have over 3 listeners on the first day of the campaign. In the second week the number grew to 000, towards the end there were 5 people who came from the surrounding villages to hear God's Word.

A journalist was surprised that the evangelism was organized by a children's village and therefore turned curiously to our responsible employee. He asked why our orphans, who made musical contributions with two choirs, were not traumatized by the massacre.

The l'ESPERANCE employee told him about the Christian upbringing and the associated positive effect that distinguishes the children from other children. He explained to him that our children have hope for a better life and that, despite their tragic fate, they can find joy, strength and courage again.

Deeply impressed, the journalist asked if he could come to the children's village to interview our orphans there. He said it's important for other traumatized children and young people to hear about the hope that has helped our children come to terms with their past through a radio show.

Since l'ESPERANCE is a missionary children's charity and the gospel should not only be reserved for our orphans, proclamations are carried out by every l'ESPERANCE institution. At the end of the evangelism in the Ruhengeri area, 61 people were baptized in a nearby river. Another 20 people have made a decision to be baptized and are being cared for by siblings from the STA church in Bwuzure.

Our staff have been re-motivated by this wonderful experience, which shows the work of the Holy Spirit, and already have plans to do another campaign in March this year. We thank you for your prayers and ask you to support our help for poor orphans.

With warm regards and blessings

l'ESPERANCE Children's Aid
To Kreuzleshöhe 6
87474 Kreuzthal/Allgäu
Tel .: (+ 49) 07569 930124

More information can be found on our homepage www.lesperance.de be accessed.

First appeared in our magazine foundation 3/2006