From Hardship to Calling – What Rwanda taught me about Saint Patrick

It doesn’t seem to matter how many times I go on mission. Every trip leaves me overwhelmed by the needs of those we serve.

This last trip to Rwanda was no different.

One of the highlights of our time there was visiting the families of the children who are sponsored through our Muzima program. These visits are always both exhilarating and gut-wrenching at the same time.

They are exhilarating because we get to see the children again and witness the difference the program is making in their lives. The joy on their faces is unmistakable. Many of them are now in school, learning and growing in ways that simply wouldn’t have been possible before. We hear about the progress they are making and see how their confidence is growing. Both the children and their parents or caretakers are filled with gratitude—praising God and thankful to be part of this new community that surrounds them with encouragement and support.

But these visits are also gut-wrenching.

Even though we are helping provide education and some basic necessities, many of the living situations these families endure are incredibly difficult. Most struggle daily just to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.

One visit in particular will stay with me for a long time.

A mother in the program had recently been forced out of the place she had been living because she could no longer pay the rent. With nowhere else to go and needing shelter from the cold at night, she and her young son had taken refuge in a latrine.

It was almost impossible to comprehend that anyone would have to live in such conditions.

When we discovered where they were staying, we immediately worked to get emergency assistance to help her find a safer place to live. But moments like this leave you with a lingering ache. Even when we are helping, the need feels so much greater than what we can provide.

Every time I return home from Rwanda, I wrestle with the same feeling: wishing we could do so much more.

As I’ve been reflecting on this trip and trying to process everything we saw and experienced, I’ve been reminded of the story of Saint Patrick.

Long before he became the missionary we remember today, Patrick was simply a young boy living a comfortable life in Britain. As a teenager, he was suddenly taken captive and carried away to Ireland where he was forced into years of slave labor. Alone and isolated, he spent his days tending sheep on remote hillsides.

Patrick did not choose that suffering.

Yet it was in those lonely and painful circumstances that his faith began to take root. In his writings, he later described how hardship drove him to prayer—sometimes praying hundreds of times a day. What felt like abandonment became the very place where God was shaping his heart.

Years later, after finally escaping and returning home, Patrick could have left Ireland behind forever. Instead, God called him back—the very place of his suffering became the place of his mission.

Patrick returned not as a slave, but as a servant of Christ, bringing the message of hope and the love of God to the people of Ireland.

His hardship had prepared him.

As difficult as it is to witness the conditions some of these children in Rwanda endure, I cannot help but believe that God is also at work in their lives. The challenges they face today are shaping strength, resilience, and faith that we may only fully understand years from now.

What if God is raising up future teachers, pastors, leaders, and missionaries from among these very children?

What if the seeds being planted today will grow into a harvest that blesses all of Rwanda?

Scripture reminds us that God often works through the most unlikely circumstances to accomplish His purposes. Just as He used the difficult years of Patrick’s youth to prepare him for a life of ministry, I believe He is doing something extraordinary in the lives of these precious children.

We are grateful to play even a small role in that story.

But the need remains great.

So I would ask two things of you.

First, please pray. Pray for these children and their families—that God would protect them, provide for them, and continue to shape their lives for His purposes. Pray that the seeds being planted through the Muzima program would grow into a generation that loves and serves Christ.

Second, if God places it on your heart, consider partnering with us. Sponsorship, support, and generosity make it possible for these children to receive an education, encouragement, and the resources they need to pursue a different future.

We may not be able to change every circumstance overnight. But together we can be part of what God is doing—one child, one family, one story at a time.