Celebration Of Hope

Pastor Peter grew up in a rural community in Zambia, and was sent to jail with a 15 year sentence at a young age. It was in jail, where he met Jesus and his life was transformed. As soon as he was released, he devoted his life to changing the future of the community he grew up in. This community had many challenges of substance abuse, poverty, robbery, racism and violence. 

He began to pastor a church and eventually they bought a building that was formerly a bar, transformed it and began to congregate there. With the local church that pastor Peter started, things began to change in this community. They have been able to change the name of the community from Chipulukusu (meaning chaos) to Mapalo, (meaning blessing). With the support of our global partner organization, Jubilee Centre, they have been able to serve their community in incredible ways. 

They have built community schools (both elementary and high school) since the government schools are overcrowded, clinics for women and children to have access to maternal healthcare, theological training for other pastors, agriculture training on sustainable farming, and clean water through drilling of boreholes. In addition, the founding churches of the network successfully lobbied for the first electricity transformer to ensure that many houses were connected to the national power grid. The churches also pushed the government to construct the first tarred roads and concrete drainages in Mapalo.

Pastor Peter continues to be a champion of advocacy in his community. He regularly  meets with leaders in the government to help shed light on many of the plights that continue to plague the Mapalo community. His heart is always with victims of abuse and his relentless pursuit of justice is still one of his strongest character traits. This is an example of just one of the pastors that Willow gets to work with.

Our partner Tubepoka Development Initiative (TDI) is located in Chitipa, Malawi, one of the most isolated places in the country. Because of road conditions, the closest airport is at least a 12-hour drive! 

The church in Chitipa doesn’t see this as a hindrance, but as an opportunity. The Pastor, Paul, says, “Because of how far we are from other parts of the country, we have had to rely on God and on each other.” 

Our partner churches run a chicken program in Chitipa utilizing egg-laying chickens to provide a sustainable source of income and protein for families, but when inflation hit Chitipa in 2022, the cost of chicken feed more than doubled from $31 a bag to $75 a bag. 

The church had to think quickly. “We could no longer afford to buy chicken food, so we had to either abandon the project or come up with a solution,” says Paul.

With Celebration of Hope funding, they were able to purchase a machine to make chicken feed. The machine used locally-available resources, driving the cost perf bag to $22—far below what they were paying earlier! Now part of TDI’s core strategy is to invest in enterprises that mitigate risks, increase profitability, and enhance resilience for all people living in Chitipa!

Tzaneen, South Africa is rural and hilly, brimming with potential for growth. Access to seeds and clean water often keep people from the sustainable future they know is possible, but Emmanuel Assembly Church found a way to transform their community. 

Through our global partnership, we were able to use funds from Celebration of Hope 2021 to provide a borehole well to Emmanuel Assembly—and it has multiplied every aspect of their ministry since! 

The church started small, with only 150 members, but is constructing a new building to accommodate their growth. Many of their new members came first because of the well, then experienced the power of Jesus. 

Then, in 2022, the church received seeds packed by Willow, which allowed them to turn almost every square inch of their property into a vegetable garden! They are utilizing shade nets, elevated gardens, and even the envelopes the seeds arrived in to aid  in irrigation. They know each drop of water can lead to life, so they planted vegetables under every water spout so it could grow into plants used for ministry. 

The vegetables they harvest help feed the community and generate income for ministry, but even more importantly, they are brought by church members to the homes of elderly and disabled people that live in neighboring villages. 

Joseph, one of the stewards of the church garden, knows that this work doesn’t rely on him alone. That’s why he is training a group of teen farmers-to-be that can follow in his footsteps and start community gardens of their own. 

This type of impact is only made possible through a God who inspires His people, then amplifies their efforts to bring abundance in every way. 

Despite being the largest state in India, Rajasthan is the most water deficient state in India. The scarcity of water means that securing water is one of the most important tasks of every family. 

Krishna, a 15-year-old student, is responsible for fetching water for his family. “We walked to the well 3-4 times a day and I can only carry 10–15 liters per trip. The village has only one well that works, so it takes time. I used to spend around two or three hours a day fetching water.” 

Our partner provided water wheels to families in Rajasthan to help lighten the burden. Each water wheel has a capacity of 45 liters and can be pushed or pulled easily, even by children, allowing a family to collect more water, faster. 

Now, families have increased access to clean water, improving their health and giving them more time to spend in school. It’s remarkable how one  water wheel leads to multiple areas of flourishing and hope for the future!

The Nazarene Church network, which is led by Pastor Khalil of Ashrafieh Church in Amman, works with churches in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. These churches are responding to the needs of refugees in their communities. Pastor Khalil’s church serves 1,200 refugee families every week – providing education for children, food for families, access to mental health services, sports camps, and more. 

Our partnership in Jordan and Iraq started in the aftermath of the Syrian civil war and the refugee crisis that followed. But refugees have been fleeing to Jordan for decades.

Nadeen is one of the people that has recently had to flee conflict. She is originally from Iraq and is a Christian. Many Christians fled Iraq and Syria because of the persecution they felt from ISIS. When she arrived in Jordan she didn’t feel much hope. “There is such an enormous sense of loss. But I still had hope and I still had the gifts God gave me.” 

Nadeen got connected to the church in Amman, and had a heart for serving people like her, who had to leave behind their home, their possessions, and their loved ones. Now, she serves with the children’s ministry and the refugee clothing and food ministry, bringing hope to an upcoming generation. Currently, she gets to serve refugees that are coming to Jordan from Sudan, Iraq, and Syria.

I Hope Cambodia exists to see children become the “Generation of Hope For the Nation” by empowering and partnering with community churches to provide holistic development to children at risk in their communities. We partner with I Hope in Banteay Meanchey. 

Many of the injustices that Cambodians face can be traced back to the Cambodian genocide carried out by the Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot between 1975 and 1979. After the genocide many families were left trying to scrape together a new life and the effects of this tragedy are still felt today – with many people crossing borders to look for work – which separates them from their loved ones and puts them at risk to be trafficked. 

Khorn Rebeka is studying second grade at Kouk Svay Primary school. She has a younger brother and is currently living with her grandparents, because her mom, a widow, works at a garment factory in Thailand – doing her best to send back money for her family. Her grandma has a chronic illness and her grandpa tries to make ends meet as a moto taxi driver.

Rebeka found herself behind in her studies, and exhausted from her hard life at home. 

Fortunately, a new church was planted in her neighborhood that was offering a free, after-school class to any of the local kids that wanted to learn. 

Rebeka immediately started to attend the class. “I like to come study because there is a (volunteer) teacher from the church who helps inspire students and gives good advice, and truly cares about teaching children.” Rebeka is now one of the top students in the class; she can read and write and do much better at math. 

“I would like to say thank you to I Hope for making this class exist for kids like me to be able to study. I also would like to thank my teacher for caring for me.”

Rebeka thinks that a good education will bring a good future to her life, and her family – She wants to become a doctor because, “I want to help cure diseases of everyone, especially the poor, my friends, and brothers and sisters who are sick. I want to contribute to the country as a whole.”

Last year there were 91 of these supplemental classes taking place in churches, that reached 1743 students just like Khorn Rebeka. From what we know, 813 of those students have accepted faith in Jesus. 

Red Viva identifies churches in Costa Rican neighborhoods of extreme poverty and they assist by increasing churches’ capacity to care for vulnerable children in these local communities. Additionally, they provide support and coaching to help churches reach out to the marginalized. 

Costa Rica is prone to natural disasters and is a tourist destination. Sadly, being a tourist destination means child trafficking is also a problem. Red Viva’s work is to protect children both in times of natural disaster and from those who would come to Costa Rica looking to take advantage of poor children.

Pastor Cristian González with his wife Gloria are serving at Ciudad de Dios (City of God) church in San Isidro de Cóbano in the province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Cristian is passionate about protecting children and providing spaces for them to flourish spiritually, physically and emotionally.

Before he became a pastor, Cristian was addicted to drugs and struggled with homelessness. In his depression and addiction, Cristian lost much of the will to live. But one day after barely surviving a life-threatening overdose, Cristian audibly heard God’s call to him to abandon his current way of life and serve Him. By the grace of God, Cristian did just that, turning his life around and studying to become a pastor. 

Later Cristian was called to pastor a church in the community of San Isidro de Cobano, which had difficulties of its own. Now, four years later, 2 new classrooms have been built for tutoring children, 8 computers were provided for virtual education during COVID, and many families are supported with food and counseling. Today in this same church, vulnerable children and their families are given a safe space to grow and realize their full potential. The church has become a light to the community through the faithful response of a man who went from thinking he was worthless to believing that God could provide more abundantly than he could ask or imagine.

Pastor Jonny was a new pastor when he received training through Enlace, Willow’s partner, and immediately caught the vision for how the local church can transform a community.

By mobilizing his church and the gifts, skills, resources, and relationships in the community, they completed three major projects without any outside funding or influence. 

Because of Jonny’s church, the community has public trash cans for the first time, which resulted in a full trash collection service. They also built a bridge across a local river, which was previously impassable during the rainy season, allowing their community to be united even when the river rages. 

The local church is mobilizing God’s people to serve in amazing ways, demonstrating His love and bringing hope!

Saq B’e is a faith-based, non-governmental organization that was founded in 2007 to provide disaster relief efforts in response to the tropical storm Stan that hit in 2005. Over time it expanded to involve community development, health, education, and compassion programs in order to provide sustainable growth. We partner with Saq B’e as they partner with churches to alleviate hunger through farming programs.

In order to make lasting change, our partners invest in women, giving them the resources and training to have sustainable agricultural programs, like the poultry program.

One woman who has benefited from the poultry program is Blanca Livia Gomez. Her husband abandoned her, leaving her to raise her seven children. By receiving chickens and support, she has started various small businesses that provide food to her community. She tends and cares for the 14 chickens and five chicks, which provide 30 eggs a week! Her income has provided tremendous opportunities for her kids: Three were able to graduate from school and two are currently in school, but two were not able to attend due to the lack of money. Those two decided to travel to the United States in search of an education. After a long and worrisome journey, they both arrived, separately, in the United States. Blanca is tremendously grateful for the support of Saq B’e and how they have given her and her kids a new, hopeful future.

AVI, our partner in the Dominican Republic, provides training and support to pastors who want to create holistic change in their communities. Enmanuel’s life and ministry changed drastically through the impact of AVI.

We might not think of the church as the place where people get clean water, healthy food, medical treatment, and education, but in many parts of the world, the local church is doing just that! 

Pastor Edward and his wife Christian live in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. They received training from our partner and now live out a vision to holistically serve their community, where access to education, water, and internet is sparse. They hold classes for 300 kids in classrooms above their sanctuary, launched a water project to provide purified water at a low cost to the community, and installed an antenna on the church roof to serve the students and other residents in the area! The best part? People are finding the hope of Jesus as their needs are being met.