A life changing experience at City of Hope!

“Life changing!”

This is one of the phrases we hear over and over again from people that have visited City of Hope! Read the testimony of one of our board members, Jacob Moyer, after meeting our kids while on a missions team:

“Every morning we were woken by the crow of the rooster and the shuffling feet and giggles of the children who were running around outside finishing their morning chores. After a devotional and breakfast, we went to work putting in a fence around the banana plantation or building shelves. The children were off from school and they loved lending us a hand with our work. When it was time to stop for the day one would grab the wheel barrow, another the spade and the shovel and a few more would run up and take our hands in theirs as they walked us back to the compound to play soccer and wait for dinner!

Samwel, one of the older boys, quickly became my sidekick. I taught him how to tie a rock to a piece of string to make sure the fence posts were plum, how to safely use a drill, and how not to play soccer! In return, he would teach me the dances that he and his friends made up and new Swahili phrases. He shared his story with me and one afternoon as a group of us hiked up a nearby mountain he showed me where he grew up and where his parents were buried. Samwel’s father was a bus driver and he hoped to follow in his father’s footsteps. Leaving Samwel was one of the saddest days of my life but my faith grew stronger as I realized our Lord had provided him a place like The City of Hope: a safe place of learning and growth, where children from tragic situations truly have hope and can reach their full potential.”