Meet another awesome group of people we got to spend time with last month.
These guys were previously at Iwawa Island in Rwanda. Iwawa Island is a government owned island and facility that takes in guys who suffer with drug and alcohol abuse. Instead of putting them in prison they got to the island for a year. Half of the year they go through a rehab and the other half they learn a trade.
Although this program is great, many guys leave the island with no home or family to go to which leaves them falling into their past easily. HOPEthiopia/Rwanda saw this problem and opened a home for guys who had nowhere to go. They are offered a home, community, love, and guidance for six months in hopes for them to form relationships with the community and find work in that time so they can get back on their feet.
It was seriously such a joy to hang out with them. We goofed off and had a talent show together (I got third place by shooting water out my eye). We went out to eat late night burgers after a church concert, had a movie night, spent a day volunteering in the community, watched their soccer match against the military, and spent a lot of times sitting around and visiting.
Some of these guys’ lives have been transformed. They have hope for their future; they are excited about how far they’ve came and where they are going. They have joy and dreams and vision.
Please keep my friends in your prayers as they continue to walk the road of recovery. Pray they will have love and support wherever they go they will find jobs and be excited about them, and they will use what they went through to give back to the community and love and support others who are going through difficulties.
Fun soccer match at the military base in the rain.
Jimmy going beast mode with the arm workout.
Dancing with kids from the community after the talent show.
