I left for Peru on a brisk early morning in late summer—just that time of year when you begin to feel like fall has come to slowly let out the steam of the boiling summer heat. The drive to the airport was short and quiet as my wife, Carolyn, and I made our way through a city still deep in sleep. We exchanged a sweet goodbye, and I stepped from our car to begin my 3,400-mile journey from home. “This week is to be the beginning of something new.” The electricity of the thought caused my heart to race. My mind bowed in awe-struck humility at the journey I was on.

“Me … For this work God has chosen me.” Continue Reading…

In this series of blog posts, Aaron has shared his reflections on helping lead a HOPE Trip in the Dominican Republic, where he has been volunteering as a HOPE fellow. In this final post, Aaron reflects on the broader lessons he’s learned while in the D.R.

As you probably know, the basic financial needs of individuals in developing countries like the Dominican Republic and Haiti are tremendous, and I have seen with my own eyes how crushing these needs are, how they can penetrate and break apart a stable home environment and turn friendly neighborhoods into dangerous ghettos. But, as a believer, I know that the Bible speaks clearly: the last word in any economic situation and in any broken relationship is found in God’s redemptive work demonstrated to us in His son Jesus. I see this redemption alive and moving within the communities where we work everyday. Continue Reading…

In part one of this series, Aaron shared that his home church had traveled to the Dominican Republic to answer three questions about microfinance: Does group solidarity really work in the repayment process? How are the spiritual needs of the individuals addressed? How can we impact our local community using the principles of microfinance? This week, Aaron continues to describe the community bank repayment meeting they attended.

Maybe sometimes the Lord just plans it out like this, but in our second loan meeting of the day, located in Hato Mayor, a member was missing from one of the solidarity groups, and so, consequently, was her biweekly repayment. Some of the American bankers in the group perked up at the announcement with eager anticipation to see the dynamics of group solidarity play out. The loan officer, Carmen, announced the situation to the entire bank and prayed:

We pray, Lord, that you would help our sister with the difficulties in her family, with the difficulties in her business, and we pray that you would bless her family, that they would trust you, and that you would bless their business.

I’m not sure if you pray in your local bank, but we do here in the local Banks of HOPE, a lot. It is the responsibility of the loan officer to set the tone of the meeting and, along with the president, treasurer, and secretary of the bank, to maintain the solidarity of the community. Loan officers always encourage a daily practice of prayer when they talk to their clients. Continue Reading…