We’ve been hearing the word Testify for a while now. It was the theme at the Institute for Children’s Ministries (ICM), and then we carried it with us into the International Assembly. So, of course, the One Child Fund (OCF) had to take advantage of the theme too!
Before ICM, I asked several of our children’s homes to send me testimonies from some of the children who have been part of OCF. I wanted people to hear not just from us about what the One Child Fund does, but from the children themselves about the difference it has made in their lives.
Here is one of those testimonies.
Jeovanie’s story is one of deep pain transformed into purpose. Her father, a faithful member of the Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP) in Burundi, was tragically killed when civil war broke out in their country in 2015. Left without support, her family fled to Rwanda, broken, uncertain, and grieving. The only family they knew, COGOP Rwanda, opened its arms and received them with love.
Through the One Child Fund, Jeovanie was welcomed into the children’s home, where she received access to education, nutritious meals, and a nurturing Christian environment that allowed her to dream again. Her intelligence and determination quickly stood out as she excelled in school and inspired others through her optimism and faith.
Today, Jeovanie is a university graduate, news anchor, and mental health activist. Each year, she leads a workshop at the annual youth camp as her way of giving back to the church and the home that helped raise her. Using her platform, she continues to inspire hope and speak truth into the lives of others.
“They didn’t just help me survive,” Jeovanie says. “They helped me believe in myself and in the God who never forgets His children.”
Her story continues to inspire the young girls in the home who see in her a living testimony of what God can do through compassion and faith.
And Jeovanie’s story is just one of many.
You can read and hear more testimonies from our children at https://globalcogop.org/ocf-testify.
When I began planning the OCF display for this summer’s International Assembly, I knew I wanted to incorporate the Testify theme somehow. I wanted the children themselves to be part of telling the story of OCF.
That idea became “Handprints of Hope: Every Handprint Tells a Story of Hope.”
It was simple and subtle, but each handprint on the display belonged to one of our children. Without saying a word, those handprints testified. Each represented a child with a name, a story, a past, and, because people have chosen to give, pray, and care, a hope for the future.
Jeovanie was once one of those children. Today, she is using her own voice and her own story to give hope to others. There are children in our homes right now whose stories are still being written.
That is why I would love for these handprints to continue serving a purpose beyond the Assembly.
I still have several of our children’s handprints available. If you would like some to give to members of your church, use in a classroom, or display as a reminder to pray for our children, please email onechildfund@cogop.org with the number of handprints you would like and the address where you would like them sent. I will continue sending them for as long as I have handprints available.
I also have prayer cards featuring our children. If you would like one, or several to share with members of your church, please email me and I would be happy to send those as well.
And, of course, you can become part of helping another child’s story become a testimony of hope through the One Child Fund.
Give online at globalcogop.org/donate, call 423.559.5209, or mail a check or money order to:
One Child FundP.O. Box 2910Cleveland, TN 37320-2910
Every handprint represents a child.
Every child has a story.
And every story has the opportunity to become a testimony of hope.
