Through the Experience HOPE Trips program, participants meet staff and clients of Esperanza International, HOPE’s partner in the Dominican Republic; visit small businesses started with microloans; and return home inspired by the experience. But that’s not all.
Here are five reasons you should experience HOPE Trips.
- You don’t have to take our word for it. Have you ever wondered if microfinance is over-hyped or whether a small loan can truly make a big difference? See for yourself when you meet and speak with small business owners in the Dominican Republic.
- Discuss the problem of poverty with like-minded travelers. Scripture has a lot to say about poverty but isn’t always clear on how to responsibly apply principles of generosity and good stewardship. Spend time discussing God’s call and our response with others wrestling with the same questions.
- Your view on poverty won’t be the same. Think poverty just means lacking money? Expand your perspective as you learn how broadly those who live in poverty define the problem.
- You’ll meet those your support has empowered. If you’ve ever prayed for HOPE’s ministry or given to our programs, you’ve impacted our clients. Putting names and faces to HOPE’s clients helps you pray and give with passion.
- The D.R. is positively balmy this time of year. Temperatures in the Dominican Republic in January average 75 degrees. Need we say more?
For more information or to register for a HOPE Trip, visit www.hopetrips.org.
I spent my second full day in Kinshasa with the HOPE Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) staff. Once again I spent the day in the field: this time visiting repayment meetings. As I said in yesterday’s post, since the election at the end of November, things have been unsettled in the capital city of Kinshasa. The staff is working hard to get our program back to normal, working hard to catch up on both repayments (collecting payments on existing loans) and disbursements (distributing new loans). So while I wasn’t able to see a normal operating environment while I was in Kinshasa, I did manage to cram a lot of action into two short days. 
HOPE Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has had a challenging couple of months, starting with the general elections that took place on November 28. There were accusations of fraud and tampering even before the election happened, and as you’d imagine, those cries grew louder after the election. 
I send you greetings from Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kinshasa is right across the Congo River from Brazzaville. It’s about a 10-minute boat ride. Sounds like an easy day, right?
I’ve repeatedly come back to this passage during my time at HOPE. It is so encouraging and poetic, and it puts our daily trials into a larger perspective. Later in the day, when our loan officer was leading his clients through devotions during a repayment meeting, I heard him allude to the Romans passage that we reviewed during staff devotions. Daily staff devotions are core to our mission at HOPE International: we must be spiritually fed as staff members if we are going to minister to our clients. 
