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In January, I embarked on a month-long trip to South Africa with the Fellows program by Impact 360 Institution. Fellows is a nine-month experience in which I learned about worldview, defending my faith, and what it means to be a Christian in modern-day culture, among other topics.

One aspect of Fellows is going international for one month in Brazil or South Africa. The purpose and title of this trip was not a typical mission trip; it was referred to as an international immersion trip. A journey in which the purpose is to see God's creation and people elsewhere. Through this, I got to work with a nonprofit called Living Hope.

My team worked with Living Hope the whole time we were in the country and got to experience and see how the kingdom of God works in different cultures. Living Hope nonprofit has many developed programs in which my team got to work together and dive into the work Living Hope does every week.

One of my favorite programs we worked with was the rehab center. The rehab center is where addicts, murderers, and alcoholics come and hear the Word of God and get to hear from their brothers and sisters who are going through similar trials. The rehab center was a very impactful experience. I sat next to a murderer and talked to a recovering alcoholic, and shook hands with a drug dealer. I heard their stories and how God brought them out of darkness. I learned that what they had done was not their identity, for that was now in Christ.

The other parts of Living Hope are farming, elderly care, nursing in close communities, and working with kids. Every part of Living Hope was so unique to see. I got to experience so much in the short time I was there. The Lord grew me significantly, and I loved serving the people there. I learned a lot in Cape Town and would love to return at some point in my life. I learned about abiding in and with Christ through the people in South Africa, and on my team, I learned how to rest and lean on Him.

I loved my time there and learned so much. I am so lucky to have been able to go, and I cannot wait for God's next thing for me.

It’s easy to agree with this lofty goal, but making it happen in the midst of our busy schedules can seem impossible! Thankfully, there’s a ministry giving us opportunities to serve the international community in simple, yet impactful ways. 

International Students, Inc. operates on college campuses throughout the United States and even internationally. According to their mission statement, ISI “exists to share Christ’s love with international students and to equip them for effective service in cooperation with the local church and others.” 

International Students, Inc. is thriving close to home at the University of New Mexico. Would you believe, UNM recommends that every international student connect with this Christ-centered ministry prior to their arrival? The value of the support ISI offers is undeniable!

Imagine you’re traveling alone to another country. You don’t know the language particularly well, and the culture is unfamiliar. Despite these challenges, you’ll need to assimilate quickly before your university classes begin. What a daunting endeavor! 

At the airport you are greeted, then welcomed into a home while you look for your own place. You are even offered donated furniture so you have fewer expenses to worry about as you get settled. 

Your new friends invite you to share meals, celebrate holidays and to experience local customs. Respectfully, you ask questions of each other and exchange ideas. 

These tangible expressions of Christ’s love, poured out over the course of your time studying abroad, would make quite a lasting impact! Especially as you return to your home country, a highly-educated leader in your field. 

Even for those of us who are not international students, ISI is invaluable because it breaks down into achievable steps that daunting goal of sharing Christ’s love with the nations:

Available during your lunch break to pick up a newcomer from the airport? ISI will put you to work! 

Willing to converse with someone practicing their English? ISI will invite you to the “English Corner” hosted at the Baptist Student Union. 

Got an extra seat at the table for holiday dinner? ISI will extend your invitation to students hoping to make relational connections. 

The first step to getting directly involved with International Students, Inc. is to check out isiabq.org. Contact director Joan Lasche and she’ll talk you through the steps to getting on their email list. Or, if that’s more than you’re able to tackle at the moment, be on the lookout for ways you can come alongside MCC’s Mission Team as we support ISI: 

Email mcc4missions@gmail.com if you’d like to donate furniture or household items to the cause. We’ll even pick up!

Drop off your food contribution at the church next time you hear the mission team is providing an ISI Welcome Meal. We’ll take care of the rest!  

You may choose to get involved with International Students, Inc. now, later, or not at all. Either way, I hope you’re excited to know that the Lord is working through this ministry. Thank you for lifting ISI in prayer! 

Genesis of Hope, one of our partners in ministry in South Asia, was created by the Landge family who has been working among the poorest of the poor since the 1980s. While meeting physical needs has value, they were driven to meet the spiritual needs, which has eternal value. They work in many different areas and engage people from Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist backgrounds. Genesis of Hope has eight children's centers focused on meeting the physical, mental, educational and spiritual needs of children and families living in the slums of a major city in South Asia. They employ engaged, creative, and caring staff to work in their own communities.  

Last October I traveled with a small team from MCC and was able to visit three of these centers and meet several of the teachers and pastors that work tirelessly for the children and their families. Several of these staff members I had met on previous trips five years ago, and some even more than 12 years ago. There is such joy from these men and women. They showed us some of the ways they are creatively teaching math and language lessons to the children and art projects they have done as a community. The centers provide a safe space for the children and the leaders provide care and emotional support. 

The first center we visited was Shahbad Dairy. MCC provides annual support for this center, which allows them to minister to approximately 80 children and their families. We were able to meet about half the students and were able to share a song, story and craft. The teachers at this center are amazing. We heard their testimonies and how Genesis of Hope has made a difference in their lives, even as staff. They were so excited to share how they are teaching the students in very creative ways.  

The second center was in a predominantly Muslim area. I was especially excited to visit this center because my family sponsors Sana, a 12-year-old girl that lives there. At this center we squeezed into a very small space. There were three connected rooms where maybe 60 kids crammed in and sat on the floor while we shared our song, story, and craft. I was also able to spend a little time talking with Sana and her mother and brother. 

The third center we visited is a new ministry that was begun by a pastor who noticed a growing slum underneath the metro lines on the floodplains of a major river near his home and asked if the ministry would be able to support another Genesis of Hope center. This center meets in a very basic open-air structure. This area receives food daily as a part of a feeding program from Amazon. It’s a rural area and gets flooded as the monsoons come every summer. 

Now imagine a super fun Vacation Bible School week at each of these centers. Genesis of Hope hosted six VBS experiences throughout their city this past week. What a sweet thing to pray about as we experience our own VBS. There were over 700 kids in attendance total. Kids had a chance to experience the hope that Jesus brings and have fun with their friends. Unlike many of the students attending MCC’s VBS, these children are from Hindu and Muslim backgrounds. Some are regular attendees of a Genesis of Hope program and for others this will be the first time they have ever had a chance to hear about Jesus. 

There are some logistics that make this VBS quite different from what our students experience in our church. While we may think it is hot here, they have experienced 110+ degrees with little or no access to air conditioning. They also managed to fit nearly 50-60 kids into spaces that we would only feel would comfortably hold 15-20 kids. The snack the kids receive may be the only nutritious food they receive that day. But there were volunteers and staff with smiles on their faces greeting each child, just like what happens right here. There was fun, there were songs, there were snacks, there were games and most of all, the name of Jesus was proclaimed. Those are the very same things that make our VBS special. 

Genesis of Hope will continue to meet the needs of children living in the poorest parts of this huge city. Our support enables them to pay their faithful staff, maintain their buildings, and provide materials needed to provide education and support for these children. Pray for all the staff of Genesis of Hope. The situation in their country is becoming more and more difficult for them to share their faith freely and sometimes even finding a space to meet together as believers is difficult. Pray for favor among their neighbors, and even with the government. When you pray this week, just remember Genesis of Hope. Please pray for each child to understand God’s love for them. Please pray the stories and lessons they learned will take root in their heart and that their families would come to know Jesus as well. 

The familiar Acacia trees greet us as we drive in from the remote Hawassa airport. Such a welcome friend! I cannot hold back a smile.

Beyond the native dome huts and cacti-fenced yards that scatter along the roadside, the fields of corn are now as tall as a man. I suspect that the harvest is not far away. Passing through the villages, before many homes stand piles of wide, flat stones. Each is crowned with sacks of potatoes. The markets are open.

The land of Ethiopia is a nation of great beauty, and also great turmoil. On a teaching trip there last year, I had the privilege to meet with some of our missionary church planters. The nation has recently seen a northern tribe rise up against the government, and Islamist guerrilla groups are also active in some areas. Prolonged drought in the horn of Africa has left millions of people acutely in need. Please continue to pray for our gospel workers, and for the people of this dear land.

Ask for the Lord’s grace and power for Alebachew. He works his trade and builds relationships with people among the Afar tribes. He loves to share his testimony. Pray for Medina to grow in her new faith, and for God to lead Alebachew to more open hearts.

Pray for God’s continued provision for Epheson. He is in a very impoverished area, and the needs are large even for him and his family. Believers in this animistic region are sometimes threatened and even beaten from the time of their faith in Christ. But the Lord has brought many to Christ, and there have been many baptisms. Pray for the growing church there to have a safe place to worship, and for Epheson to grow in shepherding them well.

Tesfaye’s church was scattered by war. Pray for the Lord’s great wisdom for them, and for stable and rich relationships among the weary believers. Also that the Christian witness of Tesfaye, a security guard, a barber, and several women selling bread, would be fruitful and see many come to Christ. 

Ask for God’s power amid spiritual battle for Henoke. He has been persecuted many times - losing his place of rent; being beaten and hospitalized; being driven out of town. He shares the gospel in the markets, and has seen miracles that have brought others to salvation. For safety, he also does discipleship out in the bush, and meets with friends interested in the gospel in this way.

Kenia was full of smiles and had questions all ready for us. Jaqueline hugged us right away and brought out every picture we’d ever sent her – pictures she’s kept even though now she’s married with a baby of her own. David was shy and took a while to even look at us from behind his mother’s back, but by the end was playing Uno with us like a champ. Yhoselin was timid but we got a few smiles out of her during our time together. Brayan was so proud to tell us he’s entered university and his family is doing well.

All of these kids live in Villa Margarita, all have similar brick and cement single room apartments that they live in with their whole families. Each has different situations, different challenges, and a different knowledge and relationship with God. The more-outgoing have grown up with Food for the Hungry as a part of their lives for the last 10 years. The more-timid have just started working with FH in the last few months. The difference is whether or not they know they are loved by God.

I have to admit that even though our family has been supporting kids through Food for the Hungry for 15 years, and we have written hundreds of letters, I forget them. It’s just a face on my refrigerator. It’s easy for me to give the excuse that I’m too busy to write now...I’ll do it next month. What could one little letter from me really do?

But after meeting them, seeing their faces, hearing their hopes and dreams, meeting their families, hugging them, seeing their smiles – I get it. They love getting mail (don’t we all!?). They love knowing that we are interested in what’s important to them. They keep those letters, those pictures. It is important.

But it wasn’t until I was talking with Marisa that I really got it. Marisa is the FH staff member who visits with and disciples the sponsor kids and their families in Villa Margarita. She said that she teaches the kids all the time that God loves each of them. But the kids can’t see God, and it can be hard to feel like he loves them when life is so hard. On the other hand, our letters are from people they can’t see, but they can hold the letter and read the words. They can know this “unseen person” does care about them and about their futures. Then Marisa blew my mind by saying, “Your letters are how these kids feel God’s love.”

WOW. Me? My letters? What a difference we can make in a kid’s life! Not only does sponsoring a child allow them and their family to be a part of the myriad of opportunities FH provides, but we get to be how they first understand God’s love! We get to be missionaries from our own kitchen tables!

So, I challenge you – let’s do it! Let’s be God’s love to them! Let’s show the kids in Villa Margarita that God loves them by being pen pals with a purpose! There will be child sponsorship packets available Sunday between services. I promise you, you won’t regret it, and it will impact both of your lives forever!