Stories of Hope

  Deanna knew that she wanted to start a community event for a charity. Her friend, Kimberly, had a passion for Africa, a place she visited and served on her honeymoon with husband, Jeff. “I went there to change lives,” Kim said. “Instead, I was changed.” Together with their friend, Katie, they started planning an event that would raise money for new moms and children in a developing country.

Journey to Bethlehem   Do you ever feel like you're on a treadmill when it comes to Christmas...running fast but going nowhere?   The tree, the decorating, the gifts, the shopping, the cooking, the wrapping, the parties, the dinners, the concerts, the movies – the stress, it all goes by so fast, all taking the joy out of a time of year we used to look forward to!   This year, let's take some time to take a breath, to make some space.

  Last Sunday night’s regional youth service at Hope Fellowship drew about ninety young people from area Christian Reformed churches. They wolfed down hamburgers, hotdogs and casseroles and, after the service, went home with ice cream sandwiches.

  As you read this, Chris and Krista Ritskes are on their way back from a demanding but rewarding week in El Salvador where they worked with Speroway (“spero” is Latin for “hope”), a charitable organization dedicated to helping needy children around the world

  A number of years ago I heard a medical practitioner tell a class that our two strongest appetites are for food and for sex. I have often thought about her observation and concluded that she was right for obvious reasons: food keeps humans alive; sex keeps the human race alive. Therefore, if we find ourselves thinking about food and about sex, we can blame God.

  “The ones who are crazy enough to change the world are usually the ones that do.” Some might think it is crazy to sell all your possessions, pack up a bag and head out for an 11 month, 11 country journey to live and volunteer in some of the saddest slums the world has to offer. But if you were asked by God, would you? A young lady by the name of Christina Reid, a member of Hope Fellowship, has decided to do just that.

  It’s that time of year when our boys club, now known as Cadets, has begun collecting coats for kids and there’s a growing pile of winter coats in the church offices. Our high school youth group, and our Advanced Cadets and GEMS 2.0 (Grades 7 and 8), are getting set to spend Halloween going door to door collecting food for several food banks, including the Zion/Hope Foodbank. These efforts have always been welcomed by the community. Once again, hundreds of needy adults and children will be helped.