Adopted

Adopted

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.'” – Romans 8:15

Enric Siva is a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. He and his family lived on a farm there, but during the raiding of their home, Enric’s father and some of his siblings were murdered. Just 6 years old at the time, Enric and his brother escaped into the jungle and lived there for 3 months, surviving on fruits and vegetables for food. Eventually, they could not find any more food to eat, but found a Red Cross camp where they discovered that their mother was alive.

Through an unfortunate turn of events however, their mother was also killed and Enric and his brother were left to survive on the streets, doing small odd jobs to survive. Enric’s story is incredible, because even in his struggle he found Christ while living on the streets and began to attend a church there in his town.

A widow with 5 children of her own discovered Enric and asked him about his life. She took him under her wing and asked him to stay with her and her five children. It was here where Enric was provided shelter, food, and clothing, and did not have to live on the street any more. God did a healing work through the church from all of the trauma Enric had endured as a young child.

While he was living on the street, Enric discovered a love for music and was given a guitar to learn how to play. Miraculously, he won a national singing competition in Rwanda, much like American Idol in the U.S., which put him in the limelight. Today, Enric speaks and performs, advocating for marginalized children.

Although Enric’s story is gut-wrenching, it is an amazing testimony to God’s love in how He provided for Enric throughout his journey. Enric attributes his redemption story to Jesus Christ and hopes that others will discover spiritual adoption through our Heavenly Father.