Planting seeds of hope in places where despair tried to grow

A group of students supported through Heart Ministries eudcation program in Uganda wrote a letter to thank the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the love they shared with them.

Today I stand before you, not as someone who has received love, when life had almost taken hope away. I stand here with gratitude in my heart, a heart once heavy with sorrow, a heart that know hunger, fear and loneliness. But now knows kindness, mercy and care.

I am an orphan, I am a refugee, I know what it means to search for peace in a broken world. I know the silence of missing parents. I know the pain of wondering if tomorrow will be better than today. I know what it feels like to carry tears no one can see.

Yet even in darkness, God sends light. And for me, the light came through the Cabrini Sisters.

Through their hands, God reached us through their kindness, God remembered us. Through their sacrifices, God whispered softly “you’re not forgotten”.

When school fees became impossible, they opened the door of education. When notebooks and pens were only dreams, they placed scholastic materials into our hands. When the road seemed too difficult, they walked besides us. Not because they had to, but because love lives inside them.

The love of Christ, the spirit of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. Mother Cabrini travelled from her home the serve the poor, she crossed oceans with courage. She carried faith stronger than fear. And even today, her mission still lives.

It lives in every sister who comforts a child, in every act of generosity. Every school fee paid; every book provided. Every prayer spoken for us.

Dear Cabrini Sisters, thank you for believing in us. Even when it was difficult. Thank you for every sacrifice, every prayer, every smile, every moment, you chose to serve others.

Thank you for planting seeds of hope, in places where despair tried to grow. Thank you for choosing service over comfort. Thank you for loving us without expecting anything in return. May God bless the works of your hands.

And for us, we promise to work hard, we promise to honor the opportunity, love must continue, hope must continue. And one day, we too shall become the light in someone’s darkness.

Today we celebrate gratitude. Not only by words, but with heart full of appreciation. And from the deepest part of my soul, on behalf of many children like me.

Thank you, Cabrini Sisters. Thank you for becoming a blessing in our lives.