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For years, a group of young people has built a reputation for contributing to violent attacks in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo’s capital. “These young people sow terror in the city,” says Ghislaine Matondo, who lives in the city with her husband, mother, and sister. Yet little has been done to address the danger, she explains: “Juvenile delinquency in our neighborhoods is a sensitive matter [to which] even politicians do not dare give concrete answers.”

In 2020, Ghislaine took out her fifth loan from HOPE Congo to start a new venture: Merci pour la Bénédiction (“grateful for the blessing”), a business manufacturing sofas. But she says that the Lord gave her more than a new business idea; He also gave her a vision to address the challenge of gang violence in her community. Continue Reading…

HOPE interns brainstorm on the whiteboard.

by Ruthie Claydon, Experience Team Assistant (summer 2021 intern) During my internship with HOPE International, I experienced spiritual growth in completely new and unexpected ways. Throughout the summer, I felt fully welcomed and integrated into the vibrant staff culture. Overall, here are four of the biggest ways I was impacted by HOPE’s employee-directed spiritual practices. […]

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Leah Reyes

Starting out as small business owners, Leah Reyes and her husband relied on an unstable income to meet the needs of their young family. And even as they gradually grew their tricycle transport business, they could only employ a few neighbors from day to day. They needed larger loans to invest in greater community impact.

INCREDIBLE GROWTH

In 2006, Leah took her first loan from CCT (the Center for Community Transformation), HOPE’s local partner in the Philippines, to help her scale up her transportation business. Since that time, she has added a line of trucks and buses and expanded into managing a grocery store, a cooking gas business, and a large logistics operation. With later loans, she even purchased a cargo ship to transport agricultural supplies to the small island she lives on. Continue Reading…

‘The name Diaconía comes from the Greek word diákonos, meaning “servant” or “messenger.” Like the deacons in the Bible, the Diaconía team has a heart for serving and sharing the Good News. HOPE is excited to invest in Diaconía—our newest microfinance partner—as they are poised to reach more people. Continue Reading…

By Dan Williams, Director of Spiritual Integration

A weekly series from HOPE’s director of spiritual integration

Over the past six weeks, we’ve wrestled with the idea of integrating discipleship—intentionally creating opportunities where hearts can be transformed and developing the means for that transformation to be expressed. As we conclude this series, what I want to suggest is that discipleship is essential for true flourishing.

When we talk about flourishing, it’s important to think holistically—spiritually, materially, personally, and socially. If we only think about flourishing in the silos of our life, we will experience progress in these areas but miss the whole-person transformation we were created for.

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By Dan Williams, Director of Spiritual Integration

A weekly series from HOPE’s director of spiritual integration

Last week,­ we looked at steps organizations can take to more effectively integrate discipleship into their work. This week, we’ll focus on individual practices for integrating discipleship into our personal lives.

As we’ve discussed, integrating discipleship means intentionally creating opportunities where hearts can be transformed and developing the means for that transformation to be expressed. So how do we apply this in our lives and work? In this post, I will offer three examples of how I have pursued these things in my own life.

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