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By Dan Williams, Director of Spiritual Integration

A seven-week series from HOPE’s director of spiritual integration

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

As we dive into God’s requirements of us in Micah 6:8, let’s start by looking at what it means to act justly.

My first job with HOPE was split living in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. As I regularly traveled across the island of Hispaniola, I got quite familiar with the border crossing between the two neighboring countries.

On one trip, I got stopped at the Dominican border because I had overstayed my tourist visa. I was pulled into a small room that had a single desk staffed by a lone Dominican officer, and a line of people, entirely Haitian, who had also overstayed their visas. I watched as each person negotiated the fine they would have to pay to exit the country, noting that each person paid different fines. Without any definitive scale, the reasons behind our varying fines were based on arbitrary reasons. One person paid more simply because the officer deemed his passport was too dirty. When I received my own fine, I realized that I paid less than every Haitian before me.

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By Dan Williams, Director of Spiritual Integration

A seven-week series from HOPE’s director of spiritual integration

The flight attendant came on the intercom announcing our final descent into Rwanda. Giving up on my attempt to nap, I began gathering my things in preparation for landing, ensuring that my seatback was in the upright position, my tray table stowed, and my carry-on under the seat in front of me. Fully prepared for landing, I noticed my row companion taking out his earbuds, so I began conversing with him for the first time. An eager short-term mission trip participant, this was his first visit to Rwanda.

“What brings you to Rwanda?” he asked.

“I work for a microenterprise development network called HOPE International,” I told him. “We have two programs here in Rwanda.”

Somewhat familiar with microfinance, he was intrigued, recalling prior reading about how access to small loans and a safe place to save can be transformational for families living in poverty. He’d even heard of HOPE. “What do you do for HOPE International?” he asked.

Despite knowing the reaction I often get when I describe my role, I risked honesty. “I’m the director of spiritual integration,” I told him.

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Fellow innovators and change-makers:

Innovation is hard.

It can be painful, surprising, unexpected, out of control, positive, negative, closely managed, loosely managed, frustrating, life-giving … this list goes on and on with seemingly contradictory adjectives. One thing that innovation is not is avoidable. Things change. As our world and technology continue to move faster and faster, we cannot avoid change for very long. Continue Reading…

Johana

Johana remembers the moment she found out she was pregnant. Her husband was no longer living with her at their home in Comas, Peru, and when she told him, he didn’t want anything to do with their baby—financially or otherwise. In this time of isolation, the Lord spoke powerfully to Johana through His Word, reminding her that He would never forsake her: Continue Reading…

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”  Ephesians 6:18

At HOPE, we believe that God rejoices over and actively responds to the prayers of His people. It is in this assurance that we join with HOPE Zimbabwe in presenting four praises and petitions to the Lord.

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Before her graduation in August from Florida International University, Aisha Arias was a part of her campus chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Through InterVarsity, she attended the Urbana missions conference, where HOPE International had a stand. Aisha recalls, “I became intrigued with doing missions with finance, so I checked out HOPE’s website and saw they were offering an internship that suited my interests.” Continue Reading…