I am excited to join the team and support vulnerable children worldwide.
Published Mon, Sep 27, 21. Written by Kelly Flannery.
Camp is a special time at Children of the Nations. It’s a time for children to play games, sing songs, do arts and crafts, and learn about God’s love for them. It’s where many children learn about God for the first time or commit their lives to Him. So, what better place for God to perform a miracle?
Francisco is our spiritual care director in Malawi. When he was planning for this year’s summer camp for the primary school children, he knew to plan for more children than usual. This was going to be one of the first community events after the pandemic lockdowns. We typically have about 500 children at our camps, so Francisco planned for about 800.
But God had other plans.
About 1,800 children showed up to camp, more than twice what Francisco had anticipated. Francisco says, “Then we had to deliver the same activities we planned and not compromise any quality of our programming.”
They had games and teaching like originally planned. Francisco then gave an altar call, and over 186 children gave their lives to Christ!
Normally, we hold camps on our campus, but this year we held them in the communities we serve. This meant children who normally couldn’t have attended were able to come to camp this year.
It was then time to hand out food, but they only had enough food for the 800 children they had anticipated. How would they possibly be able to feed the 1,000 additional children that had shown up?
But after handing out food to 800 children, there was still more. They reached 1,000, and there was still more. They reached 1,200, 1,500, 1,700…all 1,800 children received food that day.
Francisco says it was a loaves and fishes moment. He had packed the truck with the food for that day himself, and he knew there was only enough for 800. But somehow all 1,800 children got something to eat.
In the book of John, Jesus has a crowd of 5,000 people following Him. He wants to feed the crowd, but all they have is five small loaves of bread and two small fish.
Jesus uses this small amount of food to feed all 5,000 people. “Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.” (John 6:11 NIV)
God used this same miracle to feed all the children at camp that day.
The theme of this year’s camp was, “I Can Do All Things Through Christ.” Francisco says, “Our emphasis was to encourage and remind our children that despite the season and time we are in where everything seems so impossible to achieve, they can still make things come to life again as far as they put their faith and trust in God.”
In this miraculous moment, God proved once again that anything is possible when you trust in Him.
Published Mon, Nov 18, 24. Written by Kelly Flannery.
Growing up in Malawi was not easy for Prince. He was not only severely affected by poverty but also filled with helplessness and hopelessness.
As a small child, Prince learned about God from his father, who was the pastor of a local church. Tragically, his father passed away when Prince was still a young child.
“When he was alive, he taught me about the goodness of God, His love for us, and His promises to protect and provide for us. [My father] introduced us to God at a very young age.”
After his father died, life became very difficult for Prince and his family.
“My two younger siblings and I wore torn clothes, walked to and from school barefoot, and often went hungry despite my poor mother’s efforts to make ends meet. No matter how hard she tried, things never seemed to improve. She had no other option but to see me drop out of school so I could help relieve her burden.”
Prince in 2015
In the midst of this, Prince struggled to understand God’s power and goodness.
“More than once, I tried to take my own life, feeling useless and believing there was no future for me.”
But Prince’s story did not end in despair. At fourteen years old, he joined Children of the Nations (COTN) in Malawi and found hope.
“Children of the Nations changed the trajectory of my life, lifting the yoke off my mother’s shoulders.”
Because of your generosity, Prince was able to thrive as he moved into adulthood.
“It gave me the opportunity to go back to school without worrying about tuition fees. For nearly half a decade, my mother no longer had to stress about where my school uniform and writing materials would come from. I received clothes, bedding, and food items, benefiting from their feeding programs.”
Surrounded by love and kindness, Prince’s relationship with God also began to heal.
“Above all, COTN helped me reconnect with my Creator. The staff in Malawi became my family, supporting me through ups and downs as teachers and mentors and helping me grow physically and spiritually. They encouraged me to dream and make rational decisions to achieve those dreams, becoming a vessel to challenge and change my surroundings.”
Prince today as a university graduate
This past year, Prince graduated from college with a degree in Christian leadership and business administration. Your support has helped Prince rise above hopelessness and become a nation changer.
“Today, I am optimistic about the future. I am equipped, charged, and ready to make a difference in my society and transform my nation. I am deeply grateful for the grace Children of the Nations extended to me. I feel indebted to my community and pray that God will use me to touch as many lives as possible, becoming part of their life-changing stories for His glory.”
Right now, there are many children just like Prince who are waiting for the opportunity to succeed. When you sponsor a child, you change their life forever.
YOU can change the life of a child like Prince
Prince says, “Raising children who transform nations is possible, and it starts with you and me.”
Click here to SAY YES to a child today!
By Former Staff at Children of the Nations
Published Wed, Dec 11, 24. Written by Kelly Flannery.
“I know what it means to have nothing . . . I know how it feels to be hopeless.”
Looking at the enthusiastic and accomplished young man Steven is today, it’s hard to imagine everything he has endured. At just thirteen years old, he lost both his parents—his mother died in his arms after suffering from anemia. He and his five siblings were now orphaned, and the eldest brother took over as their caretaker.
“Life was very challenging,” said Steven. Sometimes days would pass before their family had anything to eat. He shared one blanket with three of his brothers as each night they slept together on a mat on a wet floor. They lived in what Steven describes as a “dilapidated house” in danger of collapsing.
Steven nearly had to drop out of school—his family couldn’t afford the fees. And even when he went to class, he could never make the most of what education had to offer. “Imagine a boy who did not eat supper last night. Can he perform in class?” said Steven.
Yet today, Steven’s life has utterly transformed. And that transformation started with you.
Steven remembers back in 1998 “meeting a Good Samaritan” who helped rebuild his house, made sure his school fees were paid for, and gave him food, clothes, and more than just one blanket to share with his siblings.
“By this time, there was some ray of hope,” said Steven.
This Good Samaritan was Children of the Nations, and these life-changing gifts—the ones that put Steven on an entirely new path—were only possible because of your generosity. “I remember the very first gift that I got from Children of the Nations was a 50-kilogram bag of maize because there was no food in the house . . . In Malawi, if you have maize in the house, you are rich because you are able to eat. So that was a very precious gift that I will never forget,” said Steven.
Something else changed in Steven’s life too: his relationship with God. “My trust, belief, and faith grew. I would go to Him whenever I had a need, or when I was happy, I would just tell God, ‘Thank you. Thank you for today, and thank you for the free gift of life.’”
When our staff step into the life of a vulnerable child, they do so with the knowledge that a true and total transformation is only possible with the love of God.
Today, thanks to the education and nurturing care you, our dedicated in-country staff, and the grace of God provided, Steven is now the CEO of his own business, Maximum Entertainment, which supplies music equipment in Malawi. Not only that, but he decided to come back and work for Children of the Nations as the Village Partnership Program Coordinator, giving back to the next generation of children in his community. “I know the challenges that these children go through because I have gone through the same, and I know how it feels,” said Steven.
But Steven’s transformation didn’t stop with him—it has rippled out into his family and community. “I was born into a very poor family, but I will not die poor because I was supported. I am able to support my siblings and my family. My children attend good schools, and they are doing very well academically . . . My company has five employees, and next year we are planning to extend, and we will have twenty employees,” said Steven.
Last year, Steven’s oldest son, Mc Peterson, took the MSCE—Malawi’s version of a high school diploma—and ranked fifth out of 150,000 other students. He is a testament to the power of your compassion. A child who is cared for, loved, and empowered can become a family that is cared for, loved, and empowered.
“Thank you so much to all the donors that are partnering with Children of the Nations to make sure that the most needy children are reached with the support that they need,” says Steven.
“And those who haven’t yet started to support or to partner with Children of the Nations, I want to encourage them because the need is so huge. Sponsor a child today, and it will make a difference.”
Will you answer Steven’s call and sponsor a vulnerable child today? As Steven’s story shows, change is possible, and it all starts with walking alongside just one child.
By Kelly Flannery, Marketing Writer at Children of the Nations
