Daughter of the Heart

Individuals come in and out of our lives for different reasons, but almost always leave a mark, whether it is a long term relationship, a pleasant memory, or in this case another daughter. God blessed me with giving birth to a son, Jeremy and a daughter, Rachel. But when I moved to Kenya in 2002, He blessed me with a daughter of the heart, Violet.

I first met Violet in a cyber cafe. In 2002, very few people had internet in their homes. Most of us depended on cyber cafe's which consisted of a small room full of computers all connected to the internet. You paid by the minute and it was an affordable way to keep up with the other side of the world. Violet was a refugee from Rwanda and lived in a Catholic compound full of other refugees. They taught these young women skills to help them get ahead in life. Violet is the same age as my son, Jeremy, but at the point in time I met her, she had been a refugee for 8 years. She was only 16 when she was forced to leave Rwanda. I won't go into the horrors of Rwanda in this post. If you are unaware of what happened, just Google it and you will learn more than you probably want to know.

She and I developed a mother/daughter relationship during that first year and it continued until she relocated to the UK. She is now married to Rukundo (also a Rwandan) and has given birth to two adorable little boys. Pictured below is the happy couple.

I was privileged to travel to her home in early December. It was a time of celebration and rejoicing to see her and her family again. Her youngest wasn't even born the last time I saw them.

Here they are! David is now 4 1/2 and Samuel is 2. David remembers me from a prior visit, but Samuel wasn't at all sure about me at first. He later warmed up and we had a great time together. Just as my three grandsons in Tulsa, these boys call me Nina.

David is a very sweet little boy. He's very intelligent and easy going. He is well loved at school and very obedient.

Here are the boys with their dad, Rukundo. He is a wonderful father, full of love for his family.

Violet, is a wonderful wife and mother, and an excellent cook! I am very proud of her. She has come a long way since the days in the refugee center. For the first time in many years, she can see a future for herself.

We celebrated our time together with a party. Pictured here is the family, plus Rukundo's nephew, Evode, who lives with them.

Christmas presents from America!

African animals for the boys!

I think every little boy enjoys Matchbox cars.

My time with them was shorter than we wanted, but of course I had to get back to Kenya. God is an amazing God who gives us more than we deserve. I am so thankful He has brought this family into my life. What a blessing they are!