Posts Tagged ‘Made for Change’
How Marie Holst is Making Change
As we approach the year-end season, we are giving thanks for everyone who partners with us at World Relief — people like Marie Holst, a member of our Changemakers community.
Marie has been partnering with World Relief for 36 years. Today, she shares why she loves being a member of the World Relief community and why she believes all of us are made for change.Â
How long have you been partnering with World Relief, and what first prompted you to make a gift?
I have been giving monthly to World Relief since 1984, which if my math skills serve me right, is 36 years. I had graduated from high school, found employment and began making a regular income. When I went off to college, I was looking for an organization worthy of donating a percentage of my income. I was impressed with World Relief because they spread God’s message of hope and love to the world through tangible life-giving means. World Relief does not just come in and preach to people. They clothe, feed and train them to have sustainable lives. Through that love, they can share the good news of Jesus.
By giving to World Relief, I felt that I was supporting the Great Commission when Jesus told his disciples to go and witness to people locally, regionally and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). I am not equipped to go as a missionary to the ends of the earth, but I can support those who do.
When you think about the impact your gifts have had, what are you most proud of?
To be honest, I’m most proud of how my gifts have had an impact on my own family. When I married my husband, Dave, I shared with him my views on giving. God loves a cheerful giver and blesses those who are faithful to Him in their charity (2 Corinthians 9:7). Now, with two children, we are able to be role models for them. Opening up our grip on finances and giving to God from the top of our income has an amazing way of freeing us from the unpleasantness of greed and worry. Our family is truly blessed in our attitudes regarding money.
Having said that, I am truly appreciative of World Relief and its efforts to change the world. I would not have continued giving to them for 36 years if they were not having a tangible impact all around the world today.
Why should someone consider partnering with World Relief today?
The world today is in such need. With natural disasters, poverty, famine, disease and war, the world needs relief and the good news of Jesus more than ever. World Relief takes a restorative approach to these issues, providing emergency resources when needed, but also taking long-term action to assist people to restore their lives. If you give a man a fish, he will be fed for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he will be fed for a lifetime. World Relief understands this and is in the business of teaching people how to build sustainable lives and supporting them with the resources they need to do it.
How have you seen faith or the Church change hearts in your community?
I can’t deny the most obvious is the Church’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. Across the board, I have seen fellow Christians stepping up to offer the hope that Jesus brings. Churches of all denominations have changed swiftly to be able to minister to people despite quarantines and social distancing. Many churches have implemented online services that will continue to reach people at home. I see God moving in this crisis to change His people, bring flexibility and expand the circle of people that He can reach.
There are a lot of people stepping up to support local organizations, such as food pantries. People are also jumping in and helping those in need, who may have lost their jobs due to COVID. I am amazed at how God’s people are stepping up to meet needs in these crazy times.
What does the phrase “we are made for change” mean to you?
I hear there are people who are invigorated by change. I personally prefer stability, things that are known and comfortable. However, I cannot stand injustice, poverty, hunger, hurting or lostness. These things break God’s heart, and so they break mine. If we are not the hands and feet of Christ on this earth, then who will be? The Church is the body of Christ. We are made to change the world for the better.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I just want you to know that World Relief did not prompt me or pay me to write any of this. I’m just an average person with an average life in the American Midwest and sharing my heart with you.
God is good. If He is calling you, take a step of faith. He will count your faith as righteousness (Romans 4:3, 5&9, Galatians 3:6 , James 2:22-24). Trust Him.
Join Marie and thousands of others like her in creating change that lasts by giving to World Relief. Your gift today ensures a better tomorrow for millions of people in the U.S. and across the globe.
Karyn Bryant has worked with donors and philanthropists to put love into action for causes they feel passionate about. She joined World Relief’s strategic partnership team in January 2020. When not working, you might find her cooking, floating on a river or spending time with her husband and two young children where they reside just outside Sacramento, California.
20 Reasons to Give Thanks in 2020
It’s Thanksgiving week. The time has come when we would normally gather with family and friends, celebrate the start of the holiday season and reflect on the things we’re grateful for. This year, those celebrations won’t be possible for many of us, and the practice of gratitude likely feels especially difficult. Many of us are simply yearning for an end to 2020. Yet it’s during times like these that it’s more important than ever to count our blessings and find joy and gratitude amidst the chaos. In doing so, you may find there’s still much to be thankful for in 2020.
We asked 20 of our staff and partners around the world to share just some of what they’re grateful for this year and how they’ve seen God’s faithfulness shine through in 2020. We hope their responses encourage you, as they have us.
What are you grateful for in 2020?
Cesalie Nicimpaye, Country Director, Burundi: I give thanks that God has been so faithful during the uncertain days of COVID-19, followed by the Burundian presidential election and the death of our president. Our strength in the Lord was renewed and we were able to lean on his promises. God spoke to us in different ways and kept us safe.
Jamie Berry, Foundations Manager, Cascade, CO: 2020 was a year of refining. It was so hard on so many levels, but when things were dark, hard and hopeless, we saw God show up the most in brilliant ways. We remember those moments of joy and faithfulness because they stand out so bright in such dark times.
James Misner, SVP of Partnerships, Baltimore, MD: God moved us further apart than ever before (physically), only to make us closer than we could have envisioned. He provided for us when we thought there was not a way, and gave us hope, energy and inspiration to keep going. For that, I will forever be thankful.
Elias Kamau, Country Director, Kenya: We are so grateful and so encouraged by the faithfulness of God! In 2020, we doubled our country programming and launched a new Church Empowerment Zone.
Charles Franzén, Baltimore, MD: I’m grateful that our humanitarian country programs remain strong and even expanding with steadfast country leadership. We are convicted that although times are now tough, God is in control and will show the way so that we continue to serve those in greatest need wherever we work.
CityWell Church, Church Partner, Durham, NC: We are so grateful to be in partnership with World Relief Durham and for the important work they do in our community and for each one of God’s children. Through our partnership [in 2020], we’ve been able to offer meals and financial assistance to families, even in the midst of this global pandemic.
Moses Ndahiro, Country Director, Rwanda: Looking back at 2020, one thing that comes to mind is God’s faithfulness. It has been a difficult season, but God provided not only the financial resources we needed to serve the most vulnerable but he also protected our staff. No one up to now has died because of COVID-19 or accidents.
Bethany Seremet, Director of Partnership Engagement, Baltimore, MD: I saw the Holy Spirit dump buckets of color and creativity on the old ways of thinking and doing and beautifully declare – See, I am doing a new thing!
Adula Gemta, Country Director, Sudan: I am thankful that we were given the opportunity to bring hope to the hopeless and demonstrate Christ’s love across Sudan in 2020.
Nathan Riedy, Director of U.S. Programs Fundraising, York, PA: I’m grateful that in 2020 God made sure that World Relief would continue to be a light for refugees and immigrants in the U.S., despite almost every force working against it.
Ric Hamic, Former Country Director, South Sudan: I am so thankful for our incredible staff in 2020, many who sacrificed their leaves to continue providing lifesaving services and to scale up for COVID-19 in an incredibly difficult environment.
Jeff Walser, Director of Partnerships, Tampa, FL: The world was shaken and we were left with what cannot be shaken. Our faithful God worked in mysterious ways. Through shadows and uncertainty, He was faithful and creative. And he dazzled us with his bright designs.
Karyn Bryant, Changemakers Lead, Sacramento, CA: In 2020, many of us finally woke up in a new way to the injustices and vulnerabilities of both ourselves and our world. It was needed, and for that I am grateful.
Jean Nyandwi, Country Director, DRC: Despite the challenges of COVID-19, I’m so grateful that in 2020 we were able to bring God’s love to a new group of socially outcast members of society, the Pygmies, in the remote villages of Ituri, Tanganyika, and North Kivu Provinces.
Selina Máté, Volunteer, Durham, NC: I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to watch [my mentee] graduate high school, begin her first job and start college this year. It’s been nothing but a blessing, and I am so thankful to have spent the last year mentoring her while she begins to navigate adult life.
Tim Breene, CEO, Boston, MA: I’m thankful that the last year has shown us once again the wisdom of placing our trust in God; it has shown us that disruption can be a spur to creativity and that God’s solutions are often different and bigger than anything we could put in a business plan.
Gibson Nkanaunena, Country Director, Malawi: We celebrate and give thanks that through faith, courage, persistence and resilience, we were able to serve over 1.9 million most vulnerable people across 13 districts of Malawi in the midst of an unprecedented and deadly COVID 19 pandemic.
Bryan Wilkerson, Church Partner, Lexington MA: My congregation and I are so grateful that through World Relief, we’ve been able to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world, serving the most vulnerable.
Lance Morgan, Donor, Waukesha, WI: I am so thankful that even in a year of so much upheaval, I have been able to use my gifts and my resources to bless other people. I just feel so humbled that God would use me to help and bless others, and I’m thankful for that.
Heidi Guttschuss, Education Manager, Sacramento, CA: I’m especially grateful for the incredibly creative staff I work with at World Relief, coworkers who are encouraging and keep coming up with new ideas to help us all thrive, and supportive leaders who do an amazing job guiding us through unknown territory
Francesca Albano currently serves as Director of Branded Content at World Relief. With a background in Cultural Anthropology and a graduate degree in Strategic Marketing Communications, she connects her interests in societal studies and global cultures with her training in brand strategy and storytelling. Francesca is especially passionate about grassroots community development and the treatment and advancement of women and girls around the world.
Made for Change Gift Guide
At World Relief, we believe that every single one of us is made for change — both in our own lives and in communities across the globe. This holiday season, we’ve created a list of companies and products that embody our commitment to change in our Made for Change Gift Guide.
Each of these companies is committed to serving those in vulnerable situations by partnering with World Relief. When you purchase a gift from this gift guide, you’ll not only support the work of World Relief, but you’ll be investing in small businesses across the U.S as well.
So what are you waiting for? Shop the gift guide, and create the change you know you were made for.
prettyinside.
For the woman (or man!) in your life that wants their outside to shine as brightly as their inside, pick up a few face masks from Musee Bath’s newest line, prettyinside.
Prettyinside is built on the belief that all women are beautiful, that they are created in the image of God and that beauty is more than skin deep. Empower the women in your life to take a look in the mirror and channel their inner strength, courage and beauty. All prettyinside products are sourced with the best plant-based ingredients for your skin. The packaging is 100% recyclable, and a portion of all sales go to support refugee women through the work of World Relief.
“World Relief is one of the foremost organizations addressing the needs [of refugees], and because this is a beauty brand and it’s targeted to women, I wanted to work with somebody that worked a lot with women and children. We are incredibly excited to be partnering with World Relief are so thankful for the work they do that makes a difference in the lives of so many women around the world.” – Leisha Pickering, founder
Pen + Pillar
For the writer and kind-hearted giver in your life, shop owners Taylor and Justin have created a series of notebooks, greeting cards and art prints that your loved one is sure to enjoy. Each gift is inspired by Taylor and Justin’s love of nature, travel, community and warmth. A portion of each purchase goes to support World Relief!
InSenseUSA
For the people in your life who need to indulge in a little self-care, InSenseUSA is your go-to shop. This collection of candles, soaps and bath bombs are all handcrafted with love in Wheaton, Illinois.
Shopowner Al Alsaadi and his parents fled their home in Iraq several years ago and were eventually resettled in the U.S. They got connected with World Relief, and with hard work and a resilient spirit, they rebuilt their live in the Chicago suburbs. Al is now a design engineer, part-time college professor and small business owner. He’s excited to give back to World Relief because of how much he feels World Relief has given to him.
“I am excited to give to World Relief simply because I wouldn’t be here, and I would not succeed in my life without World Relief. From the first day I came to the States up until to this moment — of having my own small business — Word Relief is on my side helping me. We are in this life to change someone’s life. We might be planning on doing it or not, but if we stop for a minute and think through it, we might have changed someone’s life just by smiling and saying good morning.” -Al Alsaadi
When You Can’t Go Home
This beautiful book is perfect for the avid reader and art lover in your life. Seattle-based artist Karisa Keasey spent two years interviewing refugees and painting portraits to accompany their stories. She combined the artwork and stories in this stunning book you can purchase on her website. 50% of the profits will be donated to World Relief.
“These are tough times right now and we are all in need of healing. Healing happens in community, and community happens by pouring into others. World Relief embodies this community and knows what it is like to walk alongside some of the most vulnerable.” – Karisa Keasey
Refugee Bath Co.
Love. Energy. Nourish. Soothe. These are just a few of the words used to describe the bath bombs from Refugee Bath Co. whose mission is to provide opportunities for refugees in Washington to thrive.
Give the gift of fun and indulgence to a special friend or family member in your life, and why not throw an extra bath bomb set in the cart for yourself? When you enjoy these products, you make a difference in the lives of refugee women and men in the United States, as a portion of their profits are donated to refugee support services.
Hawa Images
Not sure what to get your parents or grandparents? How about a family photoshoot? Mark a special moment in your life with a photo package from Illinois-based photography studio, Hawa Images. Studio owner Roxanne Engstrom believes in the power of story to inspire people to empathy and action and donates a portion of her proceeds to World Relief. Roxanne is now booking for 2021.
“I believe welcome is part of who God intends His people to be and partnering with World Relief continues to expand my view of the world and our interconnectedness with one another. We are made to be molded and changed by God and one another. I see a clearer and fuller picture of the kingdom of God from my friends who have been on the immigrant and refugee journey, and I am so thankful to learn from and with them. “
– Roxanne Engstrom
The Path Membership
Give the gift that keeps on giving. For the person in your life who is passionate about advocacy, justice and fighting back against poverty, violence and oppression, gift a membership to The Path — World Relief’s monthly giving community.
The Path community is committed to advocating for people in vulnerable situations and doing whatever it takes to see our world transformed. Through their gifts each month, Pathmakers create welcoming communities and provide vital services for refugees and other immigrants; they reduce early marriages and support women’s empowerment initiatives across the globe; they build resilience and create lasting change in communities around the world, and so much more.
Gift The Path and spread the gift of lasting change.
Amazon Smile
Did you know your Amazon purchases can support World Relief? They can through Amazon Smile! Every time an Amazon Smile customer makes a purchase, 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases will be donated to a charity of your choice.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for from one of the amazing businesses in this gift guide, or if you’re already shopping on Amazon, then follow the steps below to shop on Amazon Smile and Amazon will donate to World Relief on your behalf:
Visit smile.amazon.com and sign in to/register for your account
Type World Relief Corp. of National Association of Evangelicals as your selected charity
As you shop, be sure you’re using smile.amazon.com to make purchases (the same products are available on smile.amazon.com as on amazon.com or the mobile app).
Rachel Clair serves as a Content Writer at World Relief. With a background in creative writing and children’s ministry, she is passionate about helping people of all ages think creatively and love God with their hearts, souls and minds.
Change Disrupts, But Love Still Grows
It’s been a year of difficult change. But at World Relief, we believe you were made for change — not just to survive it, but to thrive through it.In today’s story, World Relief’s Vice President of U.S. Programs, Jennifer Foy, shares how amidst this year’s disruption, creativity, resilience and love still grew.
Recently, I was reading stories from our U.S. offices when I came across this one about two brothers who had been resettled by World Relief in Chicago seven years ago. They dreamed of opening up a tailor shop together, and that dream finally became a reality — in January, mere months ahead of the COVID-19 shutdown.
Faced with this new reality, the brothers wondered if their business would survive. But then, local residents started appearing at their shop – many of whom were immigrants themselves – in desperate search of masks.
Most stores were already sold out, and online shops were selling the masks at prices much higher than what these residents could afford. As such, the brothers knew what they had to do. They pivoted their business and began making masks, finding success and even fulfilling orders from other cities and states.
Change disrupts. But that disruption can bring new perspective.
This past March, when everything seemed to change overnight, I, too, wondered what the future would hold. After three difficult years of policy changes, office closures and a diminishing number of refugees being admitted into the United States, our U.S. teams were ready for something new.
But then, COVID-19 hit. Our offices began shutting their doors, staff moved to remote work and we began redesigning our services to meet new needs.
In the early weeks, the rapid change felt like a tsunami, crashing in and overtaking every part of our work and lives. This sudden change felt like another cruel blow to our teams working so hard to share Christ’s love, as well as to those we serve working hard to integrate into their communities.
Once I finally slowed down to catch my breath and take a step back, I realized God was inviting me into a new perspective. As I looked around at all the pain, sickness and unknown, I saw that beneath the chaos, resilience existed.
I began hearing stories just like the one above from across our U.S. network. Burmese refugees in North Carolina were making masks for their community, as were World Relief sewing program participants in Spokane and Seattle. A refugee restaurant owner in California began donating meals to frontline workers. Everywhere I looked creativity, strength, persistence, fierce courage and love grew amidst the chaos of our upturned world.
Among our offices, innovation flourished. Staff and community partners found new ways to serve in a COVID environment. In-person programs such as ESL classes, job training seminars and summer camps all moved online. Volunteer trainings also became virtual, opening up new pathways for people across the country to volunteer, whether they lived near a physical office or not.
When businesses began shutting down and our immigrant communities began experiencing lay-offs, our staff learned new skills and volunteers stepped up to help immigrant business owners navigate the Cares Act Relief and fill out unemployment paperwork.Â
Church partners also stepped in in new ways, allowing us to meet an immediate need for food. Across our U.S. office network, more than $1.5 million in food was donated and distributed, allowing us to serve over 42,000 families. Our North Texas office alone received $997,000 in food donations for immigrant families in need.
While I am looking forward to the end of COVID, I have seen new doors open and have been forever changed by the love shown in this season.
As we look to the year ahead, I see new strength in our communities — in immigrants who have learned to use technology to help them stay connected; staff who have renewed confidence that they can, with God’s help, move mountains; and a growing diversity within our communities of people from all walks of life stepping up to serve.
Change disrupts, but in that disruption we found hope and overwhelming amounts of love. We gained a new perspective and found an opportunity to rewrite the narrative of 2020 and make change for good.
Will you help us make change for good ?
Jennifer Foy joined World Relief in 2007 as a volunteer in serving many refugee families before joining the staff in 2014. She served in the High Point North Carolina Triad office until April 2019 when she moved to World Relief’s headquarters in Baltimore to take on a national role. In her current role she oversees the program management and development across all U.S. network of offices. She brings 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience leading local nonprofits. Jennifer grew up in Oregon and received a B.A. Sociology from Western Oregon University and later a M.P.A. from Norwich University in Vermont. She lives in Maryland with her husband Will.
Made for Change
Change isn’t easy.
I can’t even begin to count how many times we’ve said that phrase over the last eight months at World Relief. When I think back to March, when our offices across the globe began closing their doors due to shelter-in-place orders, it feels like another lifetime entirely.
Like many of you, we felt the blow of loss and the weight of uncertainty as the virus made its way around the globe. We prayed, we grieved, we sought reason to hope, and together, we leaned in to ask God what he might have for us in the midst of all the disruption.
Just when we thought we might be able to adjust to these new pandemic realities, the tragic murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd made national headlines. Calls for justice and reform swept across our nation in ways we haven’t experienced in many years. Faced with these current realities, I found myself evaluating my own blindspots in the fight for racial justice, lamenting the health of our nation and the division that continues today.
2020 has indeed ushered us into new levels of difficulty and uncertainty.
When we consider the enormity of these disruptions, the weight and even powerlessness found in this chaotic year, it can be difficult to access the spiritual energy we need to be a positive agent for change.
Many of us want to be part of the change, but are so drained we cannot carry it out. In the midst of this weariness and confusion, we may be tempted to turn away, to throw up our hands and say, “There’s just no use! Nothing I do will matter anyway.”
Others of us may be tempted to rush back to what feels normal — to prematurely begin putting our lives back together so things can get on just the way they were. But might there be another way?
Perhaps true peace and true change comes not in avoiding the weight of disruption or scrambling back to an old sense of normal, but in accessing the divine resources God has for us once our human store has run out.
King David spoke to this often in the Psalms as he cried out to God for renewal. David — a man familiar with life’s rapid and sometimes painful changes — did not shy away from his discomfort. Instead, he faced it, bringing it honestly to God.
In the opening verses of Psalm 69, David wrote:
“Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.”
He continues in verse 16:
“Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
Come near and rescue me;
deliver me because of my foes.”
Like David, we are invited to cry out to God in this same way, laying our fear, our confusion, our anger and even our own shortcomings at his feet. It is only when we are able to name all that we carry and fully surrender it to God, that we are able to move through change, grieve our losses and make something new on the other side.
At World Relief, we recognize the gravity of this year’s change and understand that the months ahead contain challenge and uncertainty of their own, and we are also convinced that God has something good for us in the midst of change.
In fact, when we are able to tap into the divine strength found in God, we may even find that we were made for change. We were made for growth. We were made for renewal. And we were made to bring that redemption to a broken, hurting world.
With this in mind, our team has worked diligently to create a resource to help you reflect and move through the immense amounts of change we’ve experienced. It’s called Monday Meditations.
Starting on October 19th, this six-part audio series will be delivered to your inbox bi-weekly.
I hope you’ll join us in this series as we use scripture to reflect on and embrace change, discovering what it means for each of us to lean in, look forward and reimagine a hopeful future together.
Already signed up? Text this link to a friend and invite them to join you.
Scott Arbeiter is a former pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and the president of World Relief, which is a subsidiary of the National Association of Evangelicals.