Celeste is a student at AUCA university in Kigali, Rwanda. He's been offered scholarship to study because he is a child of a former AUCA staff member. Celeste's parents were killed during the genocide of 1994. But he is hopeful that Jesus will connect them again.
[Celeste]
[Isaiah 41:10]
“Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
In 1994, one million and more have died, but I am still alive!
Celeste studies at Adventist University of Central Africa or AUCA. He and his 2 brothers lost their parents during the genocide in 1994. Celeste’s father was a gardener and his mother was a cleaner at AUCA, when the school was located in the city of Mudende. Unfortunately, the university was destroyed during the genocide and later was re-established in the capital city of Kigali.
Celeste and his brothers were raised by an aunt who came from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
As Celeste grew up, he was determined to fight the odds to improve his family’s condition. For 4 years he worked as a cook to pay for his older brother’s education in Informational Technology. As he worked, he wondered if he would ever get the chance to study. He would often remember his father’s counsel to be strong and to prepare himself so he could be of service.
One day the officers at AUCA decided to search their records for the children of former employees of the Mudende campus. They found Celeste and other names on the books. AUCA wanted to check on the children and offer them a chance to attend university. Celeste was surprise with the news. He would finally get the education he longed for.
Here was his golden opportunity and he enrolled at AUCA. The university provides free education for the children of former staff. But the young students still have to work hard to pay for books, clothes, and food. Celeste studies hard, he wants to be a business accountant so he can connect with people who do not know Christ yet.
At AUCA, Celeste preaches and teaches the word of God. He is happy to share the hope and joy he finds in the Bible with his friends. He wants to honor a Savior who died so faithful ones can live again.
[Celeste]
And Jesus also died. Jesus has been resurrected. Our parents and our family have died but not eternally. And I’m awaiting for Jesus, when He will come He is going to take me, my brothers and my family up….
AUCA has been commissioned by the government to establish a medical program on campus. Through your support of the mission offerings, this project will bless the lives of an entire continent. There are currently 9 Adventist hospitals and 130 clinics and dispensaries in the East Central Africa region alone. Please pray for the challenge of staffing so many hospitals and clinics, and thank you for supporting mission in Rwanda and around the world.
