Join with us in celebrating one of our newest Crown Stewardship Centers in Burundi, Hope for Tomorrow. Founder, Donna Bloomfield, originally from the UK, has a heart for the orphans in Burundi and recently shared the following with us:
Hope for Tomorrow Global in Burundi has been working with hundreds of families who have been oppressed and despised and living in abject poverty for years. When we first met them, we found them in a camp where some had literally starved to death. Their only form of shelter was made from scavenged cardboard, straw, bits of plastic and old sacks. They were in utter despair. They were not allowed to leave the camp, so they had no means of sustaining themselves. We began to take a sack of maize and beans for each family every month. We needed God’s provision. We then started to provide a daily cup of milk for over 300 children in the camp who were badly malnourished. Each time we visited, we would share the gospel and would teach them about God’s heart for the poor, often from Psalm 113. “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes, with the princes of his people.”
We shared with our friends how God wanted to lift them up, but as the years went on, it was hard not to get discouraged as little changed for our friends. But as always, God provided the funds each month. After almost 4 years, the camp was suddenly destroyed, and the families were dispersed. They had nowhere to go and nothing in the way of belongings, but now they had freedom, and this meant we could now start to support and work together in new ways.
We immediately made plans to start teaching Foundations for Farming. Twenty-one people, all from the camp community, began to learn the farming principles on a tiny piece of land. Week by week, we taught them how to farm in the way God intended and we shared about who God is, His nature, and His ways, using the lessons in the Foundations for Farming Training Manual.
The trainees gave themselves wholeheartedly and readily embraced the principles. They worked hard and faithfully, grateful that they could now have something to give themselves. As they learned how to farm, many also encountered Jesus in a very real way. Hope was beginning to rise, and hearts and minds were starting to be transformed.
At the end of that farming season, the trainees harvested. What a day that was! Yields were 10 times more than would have been expected using conventional farming methods. It was incredible. There was such joy and we praised God. Hope had been restored.
Little by little, we rented more land and trained more trainers, so we could train more families. Each year, as we trained, more and more people encountered Jesus and learned how to feed themselves.
In the past 2 years, over 180 people have been saved at the field-side and as a result, City Gate Church has been birthed and established. What a remarkable turnaround and testimony to how God is true to His Word. God really is raising the poor and seating them with princes. They are now at the forefront of our desire and efforts to serve the nation and eradicate hunger through training others and giving glory to Jesus!
Donna’s right hand man at Hope for Tomorrow, John Murungwa, was one of the first orphans she took care of. They are an amazing organization involved in the following activities:
And now, through this Crown Stewardship Center, their community will be learning how to manage all these resources to lift their entire community out of poverty. They will be using the African Money Map, Money Map Game, and God Provides film series to teach God’s stewardship principles so these families can escape the personal and generational poverty they’ve been trapped in for so long and find true freedom, purpose and human flourishing. It is through partnerships like these that God is providing enduring solutions to economic suffering and transforming entire nations around the world.
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