From Aristote : On Christmas Day, like every year, we organized a special day of celebration for the children who follow the STEPS program, the teenagers and the orphaned children.

From early morning, I was with the children telling them about the birth of Jesus. Unfortunately it started raining very hard right after the meal so we were not able to finish the coloring activity.

Around 5 :00 pm the rain stopped and we could pursue the celebrations with our group of teenagers who were already waiting. I shared with them about our lives as children of God and we read from Psalm 119:11, encouraging them to stay away from sin, to keep the faith and to persevere when facing trials.

We then went with these young people to bring a hot meal to an orphanage that had nothing to celebrate. Everyone was so happy!

From Cedric:

I would like to express my gratitude towards Espoir Congo for their help with the celebration I organize every year for the orphanage at Christmas.

My wife and I, along with our 11 month daughter, went to the orphanage to celebrate Christmas with the orphaned children. It was a beautiful experience to be able to spend time with the children, to bring them food and also God’s Word. This year for Christmas, I shared with them a message that talked about God’s love, to show them that Christmas is an opportunity to witness God’s love, because God has showed His love towards us by sending us Jesus Christ, and we also need to show love at Christmas because it is a holiday that celebrates God’s love. It was a beautiful time and the children were very happy. Thank you so much!

Fabrice Organized a Christmas celebration for the children who follow the STEPS program with him weekly throughout the year. He also invited the parents. The children sang and performed and quoted verses they had memorized during the year. Then a hot meal was served at the end.

Reaction from a parent: My name is Agnès Mtumba , I am thrilled to see the improvements in the life of my children since they have been attending Fabrice’s character building classes. I noticed a big difference imparted by the STEPS Program. May God bless this organization.

From Jacques: Christmas has always been a wonderful time for Christians in general and children in particular. Every year we organize this event with the help of our brothers and sisters, and this year it brought together over 80 people, including 60 children and 20 adults.

The main aim of this activity was to enable children to celebrate Christmas in a creative and participative way, while at the same time fostering their learning of Christian values linked to the feast of the Nativity. We also wanted to create a space where children could develop their talents, strengthen their community spirit and share a joyful moment together. So, through a variety of activities such as dancing, poetry, games and singing, each child was able to give glory to God in a very special way.

The children showed great enthusiasm and involvement, and enjoyed discovering new ways to celebrate Christmas while learning more about the Person of Jesus Christ and his love for humanity, which leads us to love others around us.

Parents were also able to enjoy the children’s performances, especially during the final presentation of songs and poems. The event strengthened the bonds between children, supervisors and families, and provided an exceptional opportunity to spend time in God’s presence.

Some testimonials:

 Gracia LUVILA (Child): I’m very happy to be taking part in this activity. Through the teachings of the STEPS program, I’ve come to believe in God’s love, and Christmas has always reminded me of how this love was manifested in Jesus, and knowing that Jesus loves me and came for me fills me with joy.

 Mercia (Child): I learned a lot during this activity, spending time with others helped me understand the importance of fellowship and how to make others happy. I danced and sang, and even though I don’t know how, nobody made fun of me, and that gave me confidence.

 Marthe ISAKA (Mother): Before my children attended this Sunday school, I used to worry a lot during the festivities, because our neighborhood is often under delusions and depravities of the children’s morals, and now I’m happy to know that the children follow such an educational program that helps them grow in the fear of God and love of others.

 Papa Paulin (Father): I’m really happy to take part in this activity, it reassures me to know that the children are following teachings centered on Jesus and God’s love. I saw the children dancing and singing for God and it was really exceptional. Sharing the meal was a good thing, in my opinion it teaches the children to share with others.

Kikimi Celebration: Théo would like to thank Espoir Congo for their donation, which enabled them to celebrate Christmas with the vulnerable children of our school. The teachers joined Florence to prepare a meal for the children and organize the activities. A group of children had prepared a nativity sketch, for which they had memorized some Bible verses from the book of Luke. The children played a variety of games and had a great time: blindfold in the sand, tug-of-war, sack races, singing and dancing to celebrate the birth of our Savior. It was a wonderful and memorable day for them. Thank you so much.