Stories of Triumph and Inspiration
Members of Faith share personal experiences that highlight God's love, mercy and guidance.
Beatrice Ndayisenga
This month’s STORIES OF TRIUMPH AND INSPIRATION features Faith member, Beatrice Ndayisenga. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Thanks for being willing to share a little about yourself. It’s always a good thing when we can learn from each other, perhaps even inspire each other. Can you summarize your life story before you came to Faith?
I came with my family to the United States in 2005 from a refugee camp in Tanzania. We had lived there for seven years—that’s where my first two children, Parvine and Belly, were born. Besides being a mother, I was a volunteer pre-school teacher, and then the principal for two years. When we first told people there would be a pre-school, we didn’t know how many children would register—maybe a few hundred. When the registration was finished, 1,200 children had signed up. We had only four teachers for three classrooms!
What did you do about that?
We got their parents to volunteer to build more classrooms. We put some of the children in the rooms and some of the children outside in the shade. That made the difference.
I remember that you did other work while you were there, right?
Yes, I was in charge of the farm, and I managed pigs! I was also a counselor for families with marriage problems. Life was challenging. I sometimes joke that perhaps I came to the United States for a rest!
So you came to the United States, learned English and became a citizen?
Yes, I learned English from Faith’s ESL program and classes at College of DuPage. Because I knew English, Swahili and Kurundi—and a little French—I worked for awhile as a translator for other families who came to Glen Ellyn schools. And I became a citizen in 2010.
Let’s shift to today. What are your present circumstances—work, family, etc.?
I’m the mother of six children—Parvine, Belly, Ben, Priscilla, Joshua and Juldace—and I’m a personal support worker for a woman with a disability. She can’t talk, so I find activities that help her speak, so she can be happy. Maybe that’s what God called me for. We’re all here for some reason. God calls us for doing some job; we have to do what he has called us for.
You seem focused on helping others.
I want to be a social worker. (Maybe I’ve always been a social worker?) I’m in my first year at St. Augustine College in Aurora, for an AA degree in Social Services. After that, at a four-year program. With the pandemic and taking care of my children, this is also hard work.
You know that you’re also a leader, right?
I know that most people think of me as a leader. I want to be an example to them. I get calls all the time from people who want advice from me. They get my phone number and want to talk with me. A little while ago, a woman from Nigeria—someone I barely met—told me, “I looked at your face; God told me to speak to you. You are someone who can give me good advice. You are amazing!”
You sound like a hopeful person.
I hope for my children. Their generation is in darkness—wars, drugs, etc. If they can keep the light, they will be good people. They are all good students—Parvine is in college at COD, and Belly is a junior at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora. Ben is good at math, too.
You’re proud of them!
Yes, I’m proud how they all work together. How they care for each other. Because they see how much I love them, they want to be someone who cares for others, not someone who cares only for themselves. We read the Bible and pray together at night. They are growing up as Christians now. I am thankful to God when I see my children.
How did you become a Christian?
In Burundi, our family was already Catholic. I followed my parents’ advice—never fight, never argue. I remember when I was age five, I got to dress up as an angel and sit by the priest. When I was eight years old, I wanted to grow up as a Christian—to die as an angel! Angels are real for me. Sometimes they visit me in my dreams. My mentors at Bridge Communities told me that this was how God speaks to me.
You’re a “people person”, right?
From the time I was a child, I loved all kinds of people—I was very quiet when I was little, and I was always processing what I saw in people. My mother helped me learn that—no matter our skin color or race—every one of us is a child of God. We all need to be good, to be kind.
You seem to be happy.
I’ve always tried to keep myself happy in any situation. Even when I was really young—maybe God made me this way. When I’m in tough situations, I close my eyes and pray, and then read the Bible—and I can clear out the problem. I know that everything will eventually become normal again.
What else keeps you going in hard times?
Trusting in God’s power. Even when I feel discouraged, I look back at the time of Jesus. How Jesus always did what was right. When I look back now, I put my trust in God. My life is sufficient. I am always moving forward. I will carry the rock on my head until then.
What else might you want the people at Faith to know about you?
I would like to write down the story of my life—but I can’t seem to get started. Maybe I need to work with someone who I could tell the stories to, and they could help me write them.
This church is my home, my parents—my kids’ grandparents. I don’t have enough to say thank you, and I always pray to God that I can pay them back. The people of Faith have true love—words and deeds. Everywhere I go, I find someone who will be my parent—who will show love to me and my children. What a blessing!
This month’s STORIES OF TRIUMPH AND INSPIRATION features Faith member, Beatrice Ndayisenga. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Thanks for being willing to share a little about yourself. It’s always a good thing when we can learn from each other, perhaps even inspire each other. Can you summarize your life story before you came to Faith?
I came with my family to the United States in 2005 from a refugee camp in Tanzania. We had lived there for seven years—that’s where my first two children, Parvine and Belly, were born. Besides being a mother, I was a volunteer pre-school teacher, and then the principal for two years. When we first told people there would be a pre-school, we didn’t know how many children would register—maybe a few hundred. When the registration was finished, 1,200 children had signed up. We had only four teachers for three classrooms!
What did you do about that?
We got their parents to volunteer to build more classrooms. We put some of the children in the rooms and some of the children outside in the shade. That made the difference.
I remember that you did other work while you were there, right?
Yes, I was in charge of the farm, and I managed pigs! I was also a counselor for families with marriage problems. Life was challenging. I sometimes joke that perhaps I came to the United States for a rest!
So you came to the United States, learned English and became a citizen?
Yes, I learned English from Faith’s ESL program and classes at College of DuPage. Because I knew English, Swahili and Kurundi—and a little French—I worked for awhile as a translator for other families who came to Glen Ellyn schools. And I became a citizen in 2010.
Let’s shift to today. What are your present circumstances—work, family, etc.?
I’m the mother of six children—Parvine, Belly, Ben, Priscilla, Joshua and Juldace—and I’m a personal support worker for a woman with a disability. She can’t talk, so I find activities that help her speak, so she can be happy. Maybe that’s what God called me for. We’re all here for some reason. God calls us for doing some job; we have to do what he has called us for.
You seem focused on helping others.
I want to be a social worker. (Maybe I’ve always been a social worker?) I’m in my first year at St. Augustine College in Aurora, for an AA degree in Social Services. After that, at a four-year program. With the pandemic and taking care of my children, this is also hard work.
You know that you’re also a leader, right?
I know that most people think of me as a leader. I want to be an example to them. I get calls all the time from people who want advice from me. They get my phone number and want to talk with me. A little while ago, a woman from Nigeria—someone I barely met—told me, “I looked at your face; God told me to speak to you. You are someone who can give me good advice. You are amazing!”
You sound like a hopeful person.
I hope for my children. Their generation is in darkness—wars, drugs, etc. If they can keep the light, they will be good people. They are all good students—Parvine is in college at COD, and Belly is a junior at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora. Ben is good at math, too.
You’re proud of them!
Yes, I’m proud how they all work together. How they care for each other. Because they see how much I love them, they want to be someone who cares for others, not someone who cares only for themselves. We read the Bible and pray together at night. They are growing up as Christians now. I am thankful to God when I see my children.
How did you become a Christian?
In Burundi, our family was already Catholic. I followed my parents’ advice—never fight, never argue. I remember when I was age five, I got to dress up as an angel and sit by the priest. When I was eight years old, I wanted to grow up as a Christian—to die as an angel! Angels are real for me. Sometimes they visit me in my dreams. My mentors at Bridge Communities told me that this was how God speaks to me.
You’re a “people person”, right?
From the time I was a child, I loved all kinds of people—I was very quiet when I was little, and I was always processing what I saw in people. My mother helped me learn that—no matter our skin color or race—every one of us is a child of God. We all need to be good, to be kind.
You seem to be happy.
I’ve always tried to keep myself happy in any situation. Even when I was really young—maybe God made me this way. When I’m in tough situations, I close my eyes and pray, and then read the Bible—and I can clear out the problem. I know that everything will eventually become normal again.
What else keeps you going in hard times?
Trusting in God’s power. Even when I feel discouraged, I look back at the time of Jesus. How Jesus always did what was right. When I look back now, I put my trust in God. My life is sufficient. I am always moving forward. I will carry the rock on my head until then.
What else might you want the people at Faith to know about you?
I would like to write down the story of my life—but I can’t seem to get started. Maybe I need to work with someone who I could tell the stories to, and they could help me write them.
This church is my home, my parents—my kids’ grandparents. I don’t have enough to say thank you, and I always pray to God that I can pay them back. The people of Faith have true love—words and deeds. Everywhere I go, I find someone who will be my parent—who will show love to me and my children. What a blessing!