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HOPE Intl

Feb 4 2015

HOPE Intl

 Staff / Travels Stories we love
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More than just money

Clients

by Annie Ansley, Field Communications Fellow in the Dominican Republic

I am blessed to get the chance to interview clients almost every week, and what they share never fails to surprise or inspire me. They’ve already taught me more than I could ever learn from simply being in the office. One thing I like to find out is their favorite part of being a client of Esperanza, HOPE’s partner in the Dominican Republic. Incredibly, they hardly ever mention the money. Check out what clients told me they value most…

“The devotional”

Many say that learning about God is by far the most important feature of Esperanza: The group Bible studies, prayer, and praise songs have brought them closer to God or taught them a specific lesson.

Hearing about Abraham and Isaac, Miguelina was inspired to sacrifice her profits for her church. Hearing the story of the widow and the oil, Angela learned the importance of working diligently at her bakery. When Carolina went to her very first bank meeting, she was going through an economic crisis in her family. Her loan officer spoke on Psalm 37, which sparked Carolina’s desire to return to God and renew her trust in Him.

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HOPE Intl

Jan 13 2015

HOPE Intl

 Spiritual Integration
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The first step to giving what’s in your hands.

by Phil Smith, Director of Savings and Credit Association Programs

When you think about it, in our common vernacular, we use the word “hands” in so many different ways to describe the everyday events of our lives.

  • Ownership or responsibility: “I’ll leave it in your capable hands.”
  • Busy schedule: “My hands are full.”
  • Act of giving (sometimes with negative connotations): “We don’t want to just give a hand out.”
  • Protection from danger: “They didn’t lay a hand on them.”
  • Request for (or offer to) help “Could you give me a hand? I’ll give you a hand.”

Over the years, we’ve built up quite a vocabulary on our hands to communicate so much of, well, life! And looking to Scripture, there is the same—if not more—use of the word “hands” as a symbolic and literal descriptor of life.  Continue Reading…

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HOPE Intl

Jan 8 2015

HOPE Intl

 Staff / Travels
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A letter to my January 2014 self

Joanne

by Joanne Lu, Field Communications Fellow in Rwanda

Dear Joanne,

By the time I write this, you’ll have received a new name, Ineza, which means goodness/kindness/gentleness. You’ll have learned the winding streets of Kigali and find comfort in their familiarity. You’ll have embedded yourself in a community of support and built friendships you refuse to think about leaving.

That’s what awaits you in 2014. It’s a year of incredible growth, extraordinary challenges, and immeasurable reward. You cannot imagine it. And what you try to imagine—it will far surpass.

Right now, your heart is churning; your mind is torn. You have an opportunity, one you’ve waited and worked toward for years. You can gather and tell stories of remarkable change in the developing world. This field communications fellowship—it’s the open door you’ve been praying for.

But is it? You’re confused. You’re being asked to choose between placement in Asia or Rwanda. Neither of them is your first choice, and in fact, you know nothing about Rwanda besides what you learned from the movie Hotel Rwanda that you just watched. And for a whole year? You’re wondering if you’re being selfish, if it really is worth dropping everything for a year, if it’s all just a big mistake.

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HOPE Intl

Dec 17 2014

HOPE Intl

 Stories we love
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Creating community

Francoise

Join HOPE in celebrating the clients featured in this year’s gift catalog, men and women using the gifts God has placed in their hands—talents, dreams, and hard work—to provide for their families and give back to their communities.

Full of entrepreneurial spirit, Francoise and her husband of 11 years, Etienne, know the joy of giving back. Francoise owns a thriving business in Burundi, where she and her four employees create colorfully patterned clothes. “I know how to sew everything,” she exclaims, “but my favorite things to sew are dresses.”

Etienne, also in the textile business, runs a shop in the busy Kamenge Market that sells fabric, thread, and other sewing supplies to the community. Together, they’re raising their five children, aged 2-9, as well as helping care for Francoise’s younger siblings. Six years ago, the couple adopted a sixth child whose parents were unable to care for her.

But even so, Francoise and Etienne didn’t have a safe place to save their money, leaving them few options in the face of unexpected expenses. When Francoise first heard about savings groups in November 2012, she was immediately intrigued by their focus on helping people improve their own lives. She joined the savings group Rukundo, meaning love, and began saving between $1.50 and $3 a month.

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HOPE Intl

Dec 12 2014

HOPE Intl

 News
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Thank you, 2014 golf sponsors!

In September, over 200 golfers joined HOPE International in York, PA, for a beautiful day of golf. We are so grateful to our sponsors who helped us make the day a success, and we hope you’ll join us in 2015 for our 15th annual golf tournament on Friday, September 25.

Community Banker Sponsor

Domuss, Ltd.

Men of Iron

Merrill Lynch, The Swift Group

Residential Mortgage Services

Regional Champion

Advanced Insurance Solutions

Esbenshade’s Garden Centers

Heritage Hills Golf Resort

Hostetler & Church, LLC

Stewart

Susquehanna Bank

Dignity Sponsor

AIA/Akron Insurance Associates

Barkas, Inc.

Conestoga Title Insurance Company

Hershey Financial Advisers, LLC

Kaplin Stewart

mRELEVANCE, LLC

Shepherd Real Estate LLC

The Simkiss Companies

Empowerment Promoter

Auntie Anne’s, Inc.

B&E Property Management, Ltd.

Bare Financial Services, Inc.

Emerald

Executive Coach

Garber Metrology

Horst Realty

Ironstone Ranch

Lancaster Mortgage Company

Lesher Mack Sales & Service Inc.

Martin’s Trailside Express

M&T Bank

Noble Opportunity Fund

Pine View Enterprises, Inc.

Ron Thompson

Sharp Shopper Grocery Outlet

Speedwell Construction, Inc.

TechniVate

Weaver Energy, Inc.

Adventure Capitalist

Garden State Asphalt Materials

INGROUP Associates, Inc.

Master’s Advisors, Inc.

McKonly & Asbury

Metro Bank

Mid Penn Bank

Pikeland Construction, Inc.

St. Onge Company

The Cardinal Group at Morgan Stanley

Verizon Wireless

 

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Matthew Rohrs

Dec 10 2014

Matthew Rohrs

 Spiritual Integration
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Week 13: 5 keys for being less stingy with what we know

Keeping Christ central

A series from HOPE’s director of spiritual integration

This fall, I had the pleasure of gathering with colleagues and friends from the Christian relief and development community at three different conferences.

I love learning and meeting new people at these events, but this year one observation really blew me away: We typically think of generosity in financial terms, but so many of these leaders are radically generous in sharing their life’s work. It was like they had a bullhorn and were shouting, “Here’s my life’s work—take it and use it however you can!”

For most of the world, innovation is viewed as intellectual property to be fiercely guarded rather than shared. While there is nothing wrong with profiting from hard-earned expertise and diligence, treating one’s knowledge and experience more like Wikipedia than a classified government secret proclaims a different Way … a way of unity, joy, and freedom.

The number of people I know who fit this description goes far beyond Christian organizations and outstrips my space to acknowledge them. So this got me thinking: How can we move away from a posture of protectiveness and choose to open up our lives and work in radically generous ways?

I offer five principles to help us.

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