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Mary Musabende is a widow with five children who lives in the village of Nygatare, Rwanda. She and her husband were living in a rented home with their children when suddenly her husband died unexpectedly, leaving her with five school-aged and under children. She stayed in their home until the landlord had to evict her because she had no way of earning an income to pay the rent. She is illiterate, uneducated and has no vocation. She worked in the fields each day to bring home a little food for her children. But, Mary is a strong Christian who cried out to the Lord day and night "until I had no breath left to pray", Mary said.

Mary began looking for a big bush that could accommodate her and her children as a source of shelter when her pastor offered for her and her children to live in the grass-thatched hut that they used as a prayer room. The hut walls were made from muddy bricks and the tattered roof was made from grass. It had a circumference of about ten feet around at the most. It was one room with a dirt floor where they slept and lived. So, they were thankful to have a place to lay their head but it was still very difficult.

This family was so needy that when Bright Future School sponsorships were made available to the neediest of children in the village in 2007, Mary’s son, Steven Ngoboka was chosen among the first. Only one child per family is chosen in hopes that that child will be successful in school so that he/she can help the entire family escape their dire situation, so Mary’s other four children in the family remained at home.

Steven’s sponsors were a married couple from Boise, Idaho. After a few months, Steven’s sponsors sent him a gift that included some clothing and toys and school supplies. When Pastor Patrick went to the village with the gift, he also took a videographer to video tape the village people and school. So, when they went to deliver Steven’s gift, Pastor Patrick had the videographer tape the difficult situation in which Mary and her children lived. On the video tape, Pastor Patrick made a plea for someone who has a heart of compassion for Mary to reach out and help her in this dire situation.

A few months later, Pastor Patrick came back to Boise on a ministry trip and he showed the video. When Steven’s sponsors heard Pastor Patrick’s plea on the video tape, they looked at each other and both exclaimed that they were certainly called to help Mary overcome this situation. At that time, they rallied their entire family together and came up with $10,000 to send home with Pastor Patrick to build Mary and her children a home. They also pledged to sponsor Mary and each of her five children for a period of about a year until Mary was able to get on her feet. They continue to sponsor the children in school.

Pastor Patrick returned to Rwanda and immediately raised a contractor to build a house for Mary. When the house was completed, the entire community gathered to dedicate the house to Mary and to the Lord. This was in June of 2010 and it just so happened that Henry and Gayle Martinez from Boise, Idaho were there at the time and got the privilege of participating in this joyous occasion. The house is a five room empty house with cement floors and wooden shudder windows but this is a mansion to Mary. It is built on land big enough for Mary to cultivate a garden for their food. The testimony of Mary in the village is nothing short of a miracle. She was among the lowest of the low people in her village but her fervent prayers brought help from God using people halfway around the world who did not know her nor have they ever even been to Africa. Everyone in the village, including the village mayor and pastor and the church were there to witness this miracle dedication. Mary shared her story and Pastor Patrick translated for her. Everyone present glorified God for the wonderful work that He did for Mary and for her children. This one act encouraged a village to believe that God is a God of miracles and that He cares about them and is also willing to help them.

Today Mary is self-sufficient with home-grown produce and a roof over the heads of her family. Her children are in school and they have hope for a very bright future. Praise God!

 

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