Journeying with our God

I am on a plane approaching Nashville after spending a day interacting with clients of Esperanza International—HOPE’s partner in the Dominican Republic—in their businesses, in their homes, and on their streets in the Dominican Republic.

Yesterday I found myself walking down a muddy road from a bank meeting where we listened to clients lifting their voices to God in worship and reading from Scripture. We made the commute to one client’s business. A 10-minute walk and we had arrived at Anita’s corner store. Anita called to her daughter to open the store as we approached and soon we were peering into the small part of her home that doubles as a shop where people on her street pick up snacks and cold drinks. She explained to us with a joy-filled smile how business had been that morning. The customers had just kept coming, buying bread and milk powder for their children’s breakfast. From 6:50 a.m. until she closed up to make her way to the loan meeting, she had served customer after customer.

Nothing was going to get in her way. She had found opportunity through a loan from Esperanza, and she was willing to work hard and do what it took to provide for her family.

I don’t know about you, but I often have times when I stop and realize the craziness of journeying with our God. This was one of those moments. Standing before Anita’s shop with a joy-filled smile of my own spread from ear to ear, my mind filled with the wonder of my circumstances. I—no, we—have the ability to help by giving a little and working a little. What a privilege it is to be a tiny part of the story God is writing with Anita’s life. Enjoy the above picture she allowed me to take of her in her shop.

Isaac Ezell is a senior regional representative serving HOPE International in the Greater Nashville area. He is married and has two daughters.