our loving family

Raising the Next Generation

In 2009, we were given a list of hundreds of children in desperate need of a family, and after going out in the villages and doing investigations, we initially took in 16 children who might not have survived had we not intervened from babies abandoned on the side of the road to others used as servants, while others left school in the early grades to beg and search for food to fill their hungry bellies. The Lord knows their stories; more importantly, He knew they would one day be brought into our big, radical, loving family.

Since 2011, we have welcomed 22 children into our family. We are encouraged as the word of God says, “He sets the lonely in families.” We are witnessing God at work in their hearts, healing and restoring them so they can fulfill their true calling.

Our model is to have Mamas (and Papas too) that feel God’s long-term calling to help us raise our children, together with a house helper who models Burundian family life. We currently have two homes and joyfully welcomed 20 children due to desperate circumstances.
Unfortunately, we cannot take in every child brought our way because we don’t want to compromise our values in deeply caring for and committing to being a forever family for each child. In the future, we would like to continue to receive more children as the Lord leads.

When we bring children into our family, they are no longer orphans. They become a part of our family and find their identity in the Father as children of God. Unconditional love, teaching God’s principles and modeling discipleship is at the core of our children’s journeys. We desire for them to know their identity in Him, as the world often defines them by what they passed through. Our prayer is for them to love the Lord with all their hearts and know, forever, that they are seen and loved. Through our family homes, we welcome and raise up once orphaned and abandoned children to become sons and daughters in our TCOAC family, raising them to be who God has called them to be.

We are in it for the long run and have created an environment for them to heal, grow and begin to understand what their passions and gifts truly are. So we journey with them through the valleys and mountains and look forward to the university graduations, marriages, and grandchildren as the Lord wills!