May I always be the Fountain, not the Drain to all Gods leads me to.
With no Test, there is no Testimony!
Home Blog
3 of the most impactful innovations at HOPE in the last five years
HOPE International’s best ideas often come straight from the men and women we serve around the world.
Since the beginning of our Dreaming Beyond Our Boundaries initiative in 2021, we’ve surveyed over 17,000 people we serve. When they told us they wanted more flexibility in their repayment schedules, more support in housing, or to access money from their phones, we listened—and found more innovative ways to respond than ever before. As we’ve prioritized innovative problem solving, it has become the new normal at HOPE.
Read the full article here
3 of the most impactful innovations at HOPE in the last five years | HOPE International
A Little Boy’s Journey from Struggle to Strength Through Faith
Dear Dan & Gina,
Ibrahim, a 9-year-old boy, once found himself in the grip of displacement, fear, and isolation. His family had been forced to flee their homeland in Syria, escaping the violence of war in search of safety and a new beginning. The journey was not a choice but a desperate escape that had ravaged their lives. Faced with no other option but to seek refuge in Lebanon in alternative ways, they arrived with little more than hope—hope for a future free from the shadows of conflict.
The challenges were immense. Ibrahim’s family struggled to survive, working tirelessly to make ends meet. Yet, amid this uncertainty, they found Heart for Lebanon, a lifeline offering not just monthly food portions and material support but spiritual guidance that would transform their lives.
For Ibrahim, the transformation began with the Hope on Wheels program, the truck that goes to the most vulnerable areas in Lebanon and introduces children to Bible stories, kids’ clubs, and spiritual worship, creating an environment where faith and community could heal their broken hearts. Over time, Ibrahim began to open up. He shared Bible stories with his peers, joined in group activities, and sang worship songs with a newfound enthusiasm. His natural kindness and respectful nature became apparent to all.
A turning point came when the team conducted a home visit to check in on Ibrahim’s spiritual journey. “I used to struggle with my shyness. Before I met you, I felt alone and uninspired. But the team encouraged me to be brave and find my voice,” Ibrahim shared. Through this encouragement, Ibrahim discovered the joy of friendship and confidently embraced social interactions. His transformation was more than just behavioral, it was spiritual. He had learned to find strength in his faith and a deep sense of purpose in his daily life.
“I pray to Jesus every day,” Ibrahim said, his voice filled with sincerity. “I ask Him to help me keep coming to the Kids Club and to stay close to Him. When the war started [in Lebanon], I felt sad, but I prayed, and He gave me peace. I pray for the poor and for those who need help. Whenever I’m troubled, I turn to prayer, and listening to hymns makes me feel calm. My favorite hymn is ‘Jesus Is Like Sugar.’ It brings me comfort.”
Ibrahim’s love for the Bible grew, and he eagerly asked the team for one of his own. His joy was palpable when they presented him with a Bible, a gift he treasured deeply. “My favorite story is Joseph’s story,” he said. “It shows me that God has a purpose for each of us, even when things seem hard.”
Through Heart for Lebanon’s Hope on Wheels program, Ibrahim found not just the strength to overcome his struggles, but the love of a community that helped him discover his true worth, set him on his journey of faith, and a future filled with hope.
How a mom in Peru is breaking the cycle of poverty for her teen son
When Vilda Fretel Asencios, a single mom of four, joined Inspiradas por Cristo (“inspired by Christ”) savings group a few years ago, she saw the new opportunities that it would open to her. Supported by Comas CMA Church, HOPE International’s partner in Peru, the group brought together neighbors in Vilda’s community to pray, worship, receive training, and save money together.
Read more here
How a mom in Peru is breaking the cycle of poverty for her teen son | HOPE International
Impact data from Rwanda, a mother’s answered prayer, and more!
| VIDEO: How savings groups serve farmers More than half the people in the countries HOPE International serves are farmers. That’s why we’ve innovated new ways to invest in savings groups where most members farm for a living. In just a few years, we’re seeing incredible results! Watch Here Serving farmers through savings groups | HOPE International |
Re-cap of Recent Collaborations in Baja Mexico
First of all, we at Kingdom Coalition for Kids are so grateful for your Prayers and collaborative sharing of resources and relationships, it Truly is what GOD had intended when HE created this Coalition over 12 years ago. Below is a recap of a recent example of making intros and working together for HIS Kingdom!!!!
Last Thursday and Friday 3 of us got to go to Mexico from S.California and experience GOD’s beauty and collaborative SPIRIT in so many ways. 7 different ministries were introduced to each other to share resources and relationships. ” This is what it is all about Friends!!!!” Attached are a few pictures from the trip and below are website links to get more info on and connect with.
Auga Viva www.aguaviva.com
Manna Ministry www.mannasocal.com
Corazon De Vida www.corazondevida.org
Global Creation Foundation www.globalcreationfoundation.org
Dynamic Church Planting International www.dcpi.org
Royal Family Kids Camps and Mentoring www.rfk.org
El Sendero Ministry, is an amazing ministry run by Juan Pacheco and his team mostly the Holy Spirit as they work with young men who have turned 18 and are no longer in a children’s home and need Godly mentoring, life skills training, employment, and housing readiness. Juan who has an amazing story in which he grew up in one of the children’s homes for some of his childhood. Knows what they struggle with and having Jesus in their lives is the most important component!!! Feel free to email Juan for more info on the ministry and how you can partner. juanpacheco1712@gmail.com
Charlie Garrison with Manna see above our dear friend Michael Drapeau who has been hearing for years what GOD is doing in Baja from Gina and I for years and I headed to the border to meet our awesome friend and driver George Perez with Corazon de Vida please see above as well what a ministry!!! We all headed to Auga Viva which is about 30 minutes east of Ensenada and 2 hours from the border. What a smooth and lovely drive up the coast! We got to Auga Viva and ran into Kevin Davis, one of the leaders of the camp and retreat center, which also has a seminary on the grounds. Kevin is also one of the board members of KC4K and has been a key member in our new region and expanding our collaborative network with so many local and S.Cal churches and children’s ministries and their networks to come to Auga Viva and utilize the GOD-anointed incredible piece of property, see website for more of the story. Kevin gave us a tour of the facility and all of the vision casting and dreaming was kicked off. Retreat, Training, Short Term Mission trips, Royal Family Kids Camps, and mentoring partnerships. The facility can and is being utilized by so many, and many more to come from the above teammates as well as so many of the local children’s homes for camps and educational opportunities and programs. We ran into the director Hans Marron who lives on the property with his family and is right in his Kingdom Calling!!!
We then had lunch at a great restaurant overlooking the Guadalupe Valley which is as good if not better than the Napa Wine areas. We visited one of the children’s homes that George Perez with Corazon de Voda supports and the Ukulele’s which we brought down from one of the new partners we are so excited about Global Creation Foundation which focuses on Music and Art education, was a huge hit “see pics”. we then stopped by to visit our dear friends Jim and Hilda Taylor who are the founders of Corazon De Vida and have a wonderful winery TriVista, what a treat. please look it up for weddings birthdays, and./or any special occasions. We ended our long day at the El Sendero Ministry campus and got to meet a new friend Bob Dye who is working with many of the young men staying there as well as spending time helping at one of the local children’s homes.
Friday we were greeted with a wonderful sunrise “What a GOD WINK” we just love GOD’s paintbrush. We got a tour of the dorms the young men are living in which can house up to 12 and the rest of the grounds. A special moment was when one of the young men connected with Charlie and all of us could see the need for a GOD’s man in this young man’s life. Juan and his team, mostly the Holy Spirit, God’s word, and beauty in HIS Creation all around are grooming these young men to be the next leaders. We had a wonderful breakfast with Bob and Juan and got to hear both of their amazing stories. GOD is so great. We visited 2 more homes and had a blast with the kiddos and again the Ukulele was a huge hit. Thanks again, Seth and Team.
We had a very short walk back to the USA from the walking lane where George dropped Michael, Charlie, and I said our goodbyes. So many amazing stories of GOD’s moving in this wonderful collaboration and new easy button for Short-term Missions and new partnerships and mostly new friendships. Please continue to pray for many more connections in the coming months and years.
With much Love and Blessings
The KC4K leadership team!!!!!
The Week
Welcome to the week that changed everything – Holy Week. THE Week begins with what is traditionally called Palm Sunday and continues through the events leading up to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In this devotional, you and your family or small group will have the opportunity to engage in these events by listening to how God is speaking to you through the Biblical narrative and sharing those reflections with each other.
Please follow the link to download resources.
https://www.pebblesandstones.com/Resources/Devotionals/THE-Week
Sign Up for The Week Devotional
Kingdom Influencers
WOW, what an amazing SPIRIT led time together. Thanks again to our amazing hosts Eric and tera Bezko and our awesome greeter Ziva. Please see a few pics attached from evening.
We kicked off our evening with great collaborations and intros. An amazing dinner served from our dear friend and Host “E”. As we all circled around the firepit for our sharing of what GOD has been up to, Rita with “RHIM” Rock Intentional Home Ministries www.rihministries.org opened us up in a wonderful Prayer and our new Worship leader Aubree with Fight Therapy, blessed us all with an angelic worship time. What a way to kick things off!!!
So many GOD Winks to share, we had some newbies to the group and what IMPACT they and their team are having in HIS Kingdom. First Jake with Search National www.searchnational.org shared how they are focusing on going deep with the one over going deep with the 99, what a discipleship model!!! Laurie with Peacemaker Ministries www.peacemakerministries.org shared how her team has been working on loving GOD and others always.
When Rita spoke of her recent partnering with Tera and Gina’s team at www.findingfreedomint.org from coming to a recent dinner we knew the evening was going to be special, but when she said her team needed GODLY young men to be male mentors for some in her program and she was sitting next to 3 in Justin, Cade, and Nicola we were blown away!!! Jason with an IT consulting firm www.intersectis.com spoke up about he and his wife Amiee wanting to foster and/or adopt and have been working with strong families with www.olivecrest.org and that he may be interested in helping in the mentor needs. Jason is also helping us with our new app and creating a QR code, for all of us to utilize and share. Thanks Jason for all your help and if you need and IT help please reach out to him.
Moving along with this fun journey, ” I just love re-living the evening in these re-caps” our team at Standing Stone Ministry www.standingstoneministry.org was well represented with Jim and Debbie Hogan joining us were we learned more of Hogans Journey, www.hogansjourney.com and Debbie’s newest recipes and the Kicking off of Jim’s second book ” From Why to What” we are so looking forward to hearing more from Jim. We learned of the huge success in the passing of the torch to Jeramy and Jerusha Clark and their leadership team of which the current board chair joined us, Rick Hicks. We all know how important succession plans are and to see and hear one of the best ones was so awesome. Rick has such an expansive resume, but he shared a few, working with the leadership team at Forst Home and many years ago leading the ministry Operation Mobilization www.om.org and now back in a leading role again, opps almost forgot he was the dean at Biola “Bible Institute of Los Angeles” for years. Welcome to the team Rick and Jeramy thanks for being so active with our growing group.
One of our most active and utilized by the coalition resource team members Kieth with Pocket Testament Leage www.ptl.org shared some amazing stats of the custom app of the gospel of John being down-loaded all over the globe especially in the most persecuted areas. As always Keith a huge thanks to you and your growing team!!!
One of our newest resource partners Eternity Changers www.eternitychangers.com was represented by the founders Allyssa and Brian Seed, not only do they have amazing materials for parents, ministry leaders and churches to help their kids share and learn the gospel they believe and do share their materials and trainings with many of our other resource teams leaders. If you haven’t looked them up, please do and reach out for more information. On a side note Brian going to Biola let us know this was the most Biola teammates he’d seen in a decade!!!
Lynda and Walter joined us, and Lynda gave us an update on Kingdom Builders International please see more on their site, and that their daughter the founder Jayme is moving back to OC in the coming months. www.kbinternationalministries.com , Walter shared his recent conversion story and how serving in the Vietnam war had shaped much of his life. Thanks, Walter, for your service and sharing a bit of your story. It always so encouraging to see and hear that it is never too anything for GOD. Thanks again Lynda for taking your note.
One of the biggest blessings of the evening was to be with Gail and Neville Fannin from South Africa that were in town teaching and sharing at a Royal Family Kids International summit. www.rfk.org , They have been working with the LORD in transforming the lives of Millions of kids and raising up the next generation of GOD’s field Generals and covert Opps agents. Their latest venture is Everything Kids Ministry, where they are leading the equipping and training of Church leaders and Children’s ministry leaders throughout Africa. As well as the Trainers for all of Africa for Royal Family kids camps and mentoring. Neville spoke to us of the importance of GOD’s kids and that we need to bring them to the front of the Church not the back as they are GOD’s change agents!!!! He also spoke of how lucky and blessed we are to live in the greatest country in the world, the USA, and how grateful he and Gail are to us. Gail shared how amazing the coalition has grown since they helped create it over 12 years ago and how awesome it is to share resources like Alyssa’a training materials. The Fannin’s have been 2 of the most IMPACTFUL GODLY friends and mentors for Gina and I and we can’t thank you both enough.
Speaking of my best friend and better half Gina Streit, WOW does she amaze me with her open HEART to GOD’s callings and assignments for her. She is currently very active in the growth of Finding Freedom and their new programs, both local and around the globe with a current focus in Nicaragua. Tera the founder and our gracious hostess has such a gift of the SPIRIT to continue to say YES to GOD’s call and the two of them work so well together and we are so proud and blessed by their work and friendship.
Again a special thanks to Aubree for her leading us in worship and blessing us with her Angelic voice, “E’s” amazing cooking and hospitality, Ziva’s exciting greetings, and mostly the Holy Spirit with HIS powerful leading and movements throughout the powerful evening.
Until next month
Refreshing to the Soul!
Neither rain, nor sleet nor snow …
Here in Uganda you don’t need to worry about the sleet or snow … but the rain?!! Rainy season has started here and when it rains, it pours! It wakes you up in the middle of the night with the rain pounding on the metal roofs!
It rained so hard the first day that the workshop started 2.5 hours late! It left me scrambling trying to figure out how to do the workshop, fit in lunch and be done by 3pm! It was a scramble but, as usual, God showed up in a big way. People from varying types of communities came together to learn how to reach and disciple the children in the villages, refugee camps and from the inner city.
The feedback was extremely positive! Everyone left feeling inspired and invigorated to go back to their ministries and teach the Bible to their children. One person shared with me: This is so amazing and an incredible way to lead our children! I can’t wait till Sunday and try it out.
To close out our evening, the place we are on has a firepit and every last Friday of the month there is a group that leads a night of worship around a firepit. So refreshing to the soul! Come back tomorrow for more!