When God Hears Our Prayers

A smile from within, a smile that refuses to leave from his face.  Meet Emmanuel, our top Advanced-Level student.  He has just entered Form Six, and his prayers and my own have just been answered in a big way.  Emmanuel is one of six children, and his father is a farmer.  The boy is intelligent and thoughtful, zealous in his studies, with an ambition that will take him far in life.  Far too often for a boy of his age and potential, Emmanuel has thought that he will not be able to attend school.  His family cannot afford his school fees, so he has been paying them himself.  Tanzania, like most developing countries, is unforgiving in the employment opportunities it offers.  The only work available to Emmanuel is farming.  So, he spends his holidays doing manual labor on farms, earning pennies that he faithfully deposits in his school bank account.  For years, he has prayed and applied for sponsorships from our partner church in America, and has watched in vain as lesser students receive them.  Finally, God has answered Emmanuel's prayers with a  resounding voice.  The picture above captures his reaction when he heard the news that St. Hugo of the Hills Parish from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, had agreed to sponsor him with a sum that will not only allow him to complete his Advanced-level studies without a problem, but will carry him into his University studies.  Emmanuel is studying to be a lawyer, and I am confident that he will reach his dreams and more.