I’ve worked with HOPE over five years now, and one of my favorite parts of my job has always been writing clients’ stories. Hearing of school fees paid, families fed, and hearts transformed by Jesus’ love never gets old for me. In reading and writing these stories, I feel connected to HOPE’s clients … but this past week I had the immense privilege of traveling to Rwanda for the first time to connect with our clients face to face.
On my second day of client meetings, I sat in a simple brick church with one of HOPE’s saving circles, marveling at God’s goodness as one woman after another rose to recount her testimony. As each shared, the others clapped or interjected “Praise the Lord!” or “Amen!” As an afternoon storm blew in, I feared our time would be cut short, but the women raised their voices to be heard over the deafening rain. They refused to be drowned out, as they praised God for setting them free from adultery, alcoholism, and unforgiveness. Continue Reading…
Dave Wasik, HOPE’s vice president of operations, recently had the privilege of preaching at Rehoboth Church in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. The following passage was excerpted from his sermon.
![Before Eveness Mulungu joined the Walusungu (“mercy”) savings group through our church partner in Malawi, she faced days where she and her family ate animal feed because they couldn’t afford human food. But that changed when she joined the savings group. Eveness used her first group loan of about $1.70 (U.S.) to start a business selling doughnuts and beans.
“By the end of my first cycle I made $140 (U.S.),” Eveness shared. “My life is no longer the same now; [I] was regarded as no one in the community. ... This was the first time in my life that I ever touched and owned big money like this!”
Pictured: Eveness, with her husband in front of their piggery—a third successful business that she operates.](https://blog.hopeinternational.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)