Boneko's testimony

I was born Feb. 2, 1994 in Burundi, to Euphraim NTIRAMPEBA and Siphorian MINANI, but before I was born, my parents divorced and my father died, leaving my widowed mother to raise her 2 orphaned sons, in poverty, hated and rejected by my father’s family.

Apple of the Eyes

My mother gave me the name, BONEKO, meaning “Apple of the Eyes” because she said to me, “You are an apple of our nation’s eyes, and you will be a light of nations.” So I grew up with a desire to help other orphans and widows like us. One day a man from France offered to help us, and though we needed food, I asked if he could help with school fees, because I thought, “If I go to school, I will learn how to care for orphans and widows”, and when I was baptized, I promised God I would do that.

I attended a boarding school where I did well, but it was hard having my poor mother far away. When I graduated in 2013, because no family came to celebrate, I did not go to accept my certificate. So I celebrated my success alone, quietly with God, listening for His Holy Spirit to encourage me.

That year was a time of prayer, fasting, and meditating on God’s Kingdom, asking Him to show me how I can do his precious works of helping orphans and widows, since I still had nothing. God heard my prayers, and I got a job teaching children, and I used my salary for this precious works. Then God  showed me that I can do University, and when I finished in 2017, I got a job in YWAM. Later, I joined Salt Lake Bible College where I studied the Bible for 2 years, and again I heard God tell me, “You are going to be a light of this nation.”