Nguyen was dying. She had a congenital heart valve defect that was slowly getting worse. The 36-year-old widow could no longer work as a day laborer in the rice and coffee fields of southern Vietnam. Without a job she had no way to support herself and her 10-year-old daughter, so she moved back in with her elderly parents for help.
Deborah, one of our staff members who usually works at a desk in our Florida headquarters, recently went to Haiti for the first time to see some projects we support in a remote village. Here are some of her raw reflections from day one:
A small group of staff members just returned from Haiti. They were so moved by their experience, they had a hard time holding it together as they spoke to the rest of us about it.
Please remember to keep our Kenyan ministry partners and their communities in your prayers. The situation there is truly dire. A severe drought is sweeping across the eastern African nation, crippling its agriculture-based economy and leaving entire villages without water.
Every few months we receive updates on the projects we support from our partners in the field. The following is an uplifting success story we recently received from a project in Zambia: Agness Nayame, the youngest of six, was born with a congenital deformity on her left leg. The 12-year-old’s father passed away when she was just a small child, leaving her mother alone to care for the family.
In our work with the poor, we see so many dedicated men and women who have given up comfortable lives to help those in need — often moving to some of the most remote and dangerous places on the planet. The faith of these unsung heroes is a constant inspiration for us in the office.