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Joseph on motorcycle

Like many young people from rural Tanzania, Joseph left his family home to find work. He settled in Arusha, six hours away, and took a job working in a home, earning less than $25 (U.S.) a month. 

Despite working hard, Joseph struggled to use his limited income to build a better future. As quickly as money came in, he spent it on marijuana and alcohol. “The way I was living,” he recounted, “was not pleasing to God.” As he wrestled with the gap between his professed faith and his actions, Joseph began looking for a church to call home. “That’s where my journey started.”  

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Ate Tina

Twenty-one years ago, a series of devastating blows made caring for her family feel impossible for Ate Tina. 

She’d recently gotten married, and only seven months after the wedding, she became the sole breadwinner of the household when her husband suffered a life-altering medical condition. Employed by a factory in the Philippines, Ate Tina worked grueling, long hours. When she learned she was pregnant, the factory’s demands were downright inhumane. 

“I ended up giving birth at home because I wasn’t allowed to leave work,” she recalls. 

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For six years, Valentin worked and pastored from Italy while his wife, children, and home church remained in Moldova.  

“The children grew up and grew up without me,” he says. “And the second thing was the church, and everything I did was done remotely [as the pastor].” He pauses. “It was a very hard time for me.” 

Valentin’s situation is a familiar one in Moldova, where many family members face the difficult choice to move abroad for work and send money home to provide for their families. In 2025, these types of payments back home to family members, known as personal remittances, made up 9.4% of Moldova’s GDP—compared to a world average of 0.8% that same year, according to the World Bank. 

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When Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Artem and Alina, like many other Ukrainians, made the difficult decision to remain in their community with their two daughters—despite the risk and uncertainty they faced.

In the years since then, it’s been challenging to hold on to hope. “I kept concentrating on difficulties, and I don’t want to keep doing that,” Artem reflects.

Owners of two successful restaurants, Artem and Alina responded to the challenges of war in the best way they could: share God’s love and use their business to provide internally displaced people (IDPs) with well-paying jobs.

During air raid alerts, military actions, and danger, the very first thing that saves us is prayer! God, family, and church—this is what gives strength in difficult and anxious times. Continue Reading…

In 2024, Diaconía—HOPE International’s partner in Paraguay—asked the entrepreneurs they serve a simple question: What do you need most?

The answer was surprising. Instead of pointing to business loans or training, clients repeated again and again that they needed access to capital to build or improve their homes. In Paraguay, it’s common for homes to be made from temporary materials and lack the space or stability to safely support family life and a growing business.

Diaconía—rooted in their desire to share the Gospel by meeting the practical needs of the people they serve—listened. And by August 2025, they were ready to respond.

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When Marc first joined Fraternite (“fellowship”) savings group through his local church in Les Cayes, Haiti in 2019, he expected it to help him grow his business. But when he joined at the encouragement of his wife, who was already a member, he quickly realized it was far more than a financial tool.  Continue Reading…