God has given each of us unique gifts and isn’t it exciting to discover them? That’s why, last week, Mark Lennox, our Partnership Developer to Latin America conducted a spiritual gifts seminar with our partner Bethesda. The trainings went really well and we had about 135 attendants in El Alto and a little over a 100 in Oruro.

In fact, the training went so well they want to do another training next year! They’d want it to be even longer and invite more people. The pastors are asking for a follow up in the next six months. Pastor Gabriel is going to ask his denomination if they can use their retreat center in Cochabamba and he will invite everyone from El Alto, Oruro and Cochabamba. They are hoping for 300 to 500 people! There’s nothing like discovering who God created us to be. We’re excited to be brining that process to our churches in Bolivia.

Bethesda has become one of the most important partners for Bright Hope in Bolivia. Their efforts and services have gained them the confidence of many of our partners in the U.S.  Located on the outskirts of the city of El Alto, this church is run by Pastor Gabriel Cruz who has 12 years of experience helping the community. The church serves over 100 kids and provides training and resources to 60 parents.

Children receive food three days a week (Monday through Wednesday) as well as help with their homework. At the same time, the church involves the through micro-enterprise opportunities. Being a part of micro-enterprises means that the parents can take part in one of the activities to generate income and become self-sustainable. Such activities include chocolate production, baking or sewing.

So if you haven’t before, check out their page and learn more about this church fighting extreme poverty: Bethesda

There’s a good chance, as your reading, that Esther Havens is 35,000 feet in the air, on her way to some remote village in the far corners of the world. She’s a freelance humanitarian photographer that’s worked for charity: water, TOMS shoes and Concern Worldwide. And today, she’s Bright Hope’s Person of the Month.

Esther’s ability to strip away all that make us feel detached from the foreign lifestyles of the poor is what makes her photographs so noteworthy. Unlike so much humanitarian photography, the people in her photographs are not statistics or a cause; they are individuals we understand, with a families, ambitions and particularly difficult circumstances. She bestows honor on her subjects and creates equality between the viewer and the subject. Which isn’t easy to do. Her work reflects the emotion and effort she puts in to getting to know her subject before she photograph them. Nice work, Esther!

Please check out her website and enjoy her photographs for yourself: estherhavens.com

From Dotun Modupe, Partnership Developer to Kenya:

I flew out on Monday, October 3, for my second trip to Turkana.  Bishop Francis Namuya and the team were there to welcome me. We went straight to buy the food commodities for distribution— 400 bundles of cornmeal, 110 boxes vegetable fat. They were hauled onto the truck which also carried the loaders, security guard, and other team members, traveling all through the night to reach the distribution sites as scheduled.

9,600 bags of cornmeal and 2,640 tubs of oil will were distributed to about 6000 people. That will supply about 38,000 meals.

We had two main distribution centers on this trip–Nakurio and Kerio. We also gave food to other communities in Lorengelup and Juluk. In addition to this, we donated food to schools in Nakurio, Kerio, and Lorengelup.

In all, this distribution was very successful and we were able to serve more needy communities and people. There was no discrimination, everyone was eligible to receive help. I was again impressed with how well-organized and coordinated the Full Gospel Church of Kenya team was.

You can continue to help: Buy meals for families.

A GOOD LEADER: A leader should be practical; he must demonstrate what he or she teaches. Pastor Chanda is an example of such a leader. He is a loan beneficiary from Ephrath Church and uses his business to support his family, his Ministry and his community. He has invested his microloan into farming and is expecting to generate about K 6,000,000 ($1,200) in profit this year.

One way he serves his community is by selling his vegetables at a cheaper price. When asked about this Pastor Chanda said, “I keep my prices low so that needy families can afford to buy the vegetables.” He also allows needy families to collect the bottom leaves from his cabbage for free. The bottom leaves while not as desirable as the cabbage head, are still nutritious. While visiting Pastor Chanda’s farm there were at least six people collecting leaves. He is also helping an elderly church member by giving him a garden space and teaching him how to manage vegetables.

We believe that Church development will result in community transformation. We can see this happening in individuals like Pastor Chanda who is more concerned about the needy in his community than his own profits. If other believers were to follow Pastor Chanda’s example, Samfya would be a community transformed by the love of Christ. We look forward to that day!

Zainabu is the first recipient of our college scholarship. She’s grown up in Mathare Valley, overcome incredible obstacles and will graduate from university this December. We’re so proud of you, Zainabu!