Catch The Vision « The Hole In Our Gospel

Road worthy

A Washington couple takes to the road for AIDS-ravaged Africa.

When former police officer Jim Kelly, 54, first visited Lesotho in Southern Africa, the words of village chiefs he met there left him deeply moved. They said: “Please don’t forget us.”

Jim says after witnessing the plight of hundreds of villagers dying slow, painful deaths because of AIDS, it was a call he could not ignore.

He and his wife, Lynn, 49, decided to become Child Ambassadors to encourage other people in their hometown of Sumner, Wash., to sponsor children through World Vision. That way, they could meet some of the dire needs in Lesotho and other similarly devastated communities.

When the couple had the opportunity to retire early, they decided to take their quest further. They sold their home and bought a one-ton Dodge truck and 40-foot camping trailer with the proceeds. This meant that they could travel widely and take their message across the nation.

The couple plans to be on the road for at least two years, and they have begun by accompanying the World Vision Experience: AIDS — a 2,500-square-foot walk-through exhibit currently touring the country.

Jim admits the decision has been costly, but he has no regrets. “We’re cutting off a lot of ties with work, friends, and church, and it’s kind of scary in a lot of ways, but it’s kind of exhilarating, too,” he says.

After the first few months on the road, the couple’s enthusiasm is undiminished.

Jim says it has been wonderful to get to talk with some of the hundreds of people visiting the Experience every day, and says the number of people who have elected to sponsor children as a result is double what was expected.

He adds that selling his home made him realize how much Americans have that they don’t really need. The couple decided to give away to charity many of their possessions that would not fit in the trailer.

Courageous Leadership Award

A faulty statistic ignites a church’s passion.

The AIDS ministry of Fish Hoek Baptist Church in Cape Town, South Africa, had an unusual beginning.

It came about after senior pastor John Thomas heard a statistic that turned out to be incorrect. Back in 1999, he was told that 44 percent of people living in the church’s community were HIV-positive. He later learned that the true figure was closer to 17 percent. But by then, it was irrelevant.

“God used that [faulty statistic] to kick me and ask, ‘What are you going to say to me on judgment day if you have done nothing about this AIDS crisis all around you?’” Thomas says.

It was a question that could not be ignored. The 300-member church founded the Living Hope Community Center, which now offers counseling, testing, treatment, and palliative care to thousands of AIDS sufferers in the Western Cape region.

In August 2007, Fish Hoek won the first annual Courageous Leadership Award — a joint project of World Vision and Willow Creek Community Church, designed to honor churches helping struggling communities. The first prize of $120,000, contributed by two private donors, will be used to further the center’s work.

World Vision President Rich Stearns said the award was especially fitting when Thomas revealed that almost half the congregation left the church and he nearly lost his job due to initial opposition to the AIDS ministry.

“When we talk about courageous leadership, this was an example,” Stearns said.

Fish Hoek was selected among nearly 100 award entries. Two runners-up each received $40,000:

West Angeles Church of God in Christ, Los Angeles, Calif.: The church has raised more than $7 million for its AIDS ministry, which works with churches in 21 African nations, serving more than 100,000 children, many of whom are orphans.

Rockland Community Church, Golden, Colo.: Members built a center for children orphaned by AIDS in Tanzania, where more than 150 children and their extended family members receive care.

Next year’s award will also be presented at Willow Creek’s annual Leadership Summit. For more information, visit courageousleadershipaward.com.

—with reporting by Dean Owen

Change agent

An Oregon woman uses nightgowns to bring clean water.

For 25 years, Elise has brought amusement to her friends by sewing flannel nightgowns and giving them as gifts. The gowns are renowned for their outrageous designs — including patterns featuring flying pigs, giant pizzas, and strawberries. Then, Elise hit on the idea of asking those who would like a nightgown to give $50 to support World Vision’s water projects through the Gift Catalog.

“I like the smiles when people see the bright, goofy colors, but I wanted the dresses to impact more than just one person. I am so passionate about Africa and seeing people get water.”

To learn more about World Vision's Gift Catalog and other ways to change your world, visit worldvision.org.

City mission

Tacoma steps in to help an AIDS-hit African community.

It might be thought that the mayor of a mid-sized American city would have enough on his plate just dealing with local issues. But when Mayor Bill Baarsma, of Tacoma, Wash., was invited to visit World Vision’s work in an AIDS-devastated community in the Southern African nation of Lesotho, he was eager to go.

Having had several close friends who died of AIDS and having been an active member of the Pierce County, Wash., AIDS Foundation, Bill says he was acutely conscious of the anguish the disease causes. His concerns only deepened when he visited Sekameng, in western Lesotho, along with representatives from Tacoma’s businesses and churches.

The group met with orphans caring for younger siblings and soon-to-be orphans caring for dying parents. Bill says that one poignant moment was meeting 14-year-old Motlasi Sesinyi, who was valiantly struggling to feed and clothe his 8-year-old sister after the death of their parents. When Bill turned to Motlasi’s schoolteacher, she said that about one-third of her pupils were in similar situations.

Bill says that although Sekameng is thousands of miles from Tacoma, he felt his city could not ignore such pain. “We are all God’s children; we are all part of the community of the world. This was an easy call for me to make,” he says.

After discussions with Tacoma Pastor Dean Curry and businessman Ken Grassi, it was decided to establish the Global Neighbor Project — a community-to-community effort, whereby the citizens of Tacoma could meet some of the desperate needs in Sekameng.

About 200 Tacoma community leaders turned up to a breakfast to launch the project. Support poured in from churches, schools, a synagogue, private individuals, and the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, which performed benefit concerts.

So far, the effort has led to more than 1,000 children in Lesotho sponsored through World Vision and more than $130,000 raised to support the organization’s orphan care, education, and health and water projects in Sekameng.

Bill says he admires World Vision’s holistic approach to helping the community and the fact that it is developing local leaders to meet the tough challenges ahead.

For more information, visit GlobalNeighborProject.org.

Famine makes indelible impression

Tattoos create fond memories for a New Jersey youth leader.

Each year, the young people of First Baptist Church of Burlington, N.J., raise about $3,000 for the World Vision 30 Hour Famine, helping to feed the world’s starving children.

It’s an impressive effort, given that the church’s youth group has less than 10 members.

On the other hand, their youth leader, Brian Keller, 48, always manages to spice up the interest a bit. Several years ago, he volunteered to have the 30 Hour Famine logo tattooed to his forearm if the group raised $2,500.

Since then, he has added the name of each student who raises more than $250. If they achieve the feat more than once, he adds an asterisk to their names. So far, he has acquired 11 names and 12 asterisks.

Brian says it’s important when getting a tattoo to be sure that you will be happy with it for the rest of your life, and he is certain he will not regret having one of the 30 Hour Famine. “I know that if I live to 70 years old, it will bring back fond memories of what it was about — a wonderful thing that was done for starving children and the Lord,” he says.

Brian concedes that tattoos don’t always go over well in church circles, but his own interest in them was actually spurred by his Christian faith. One of his other tattoos features a burst of light rising behind the three crosses of Calvary. Another is based on the Christ of the Abyss statue in Key Largo, Fla.

He says he seeks to glorify God through his body art and says his unusual tattoos give him the opportunity to talk about his faith with others. “Because it’s something people don’t normally see, they ask about what it means. So it opens up a door for me to talk,” Brian says. “If I had a skull or spider on my forearm, they might not think anything of it.”

For more information about the 30 Hour Famine, visit 30hourfamine.org.

Hoops of Hope

An Arizona youngster sets out to change the world.

Basketball fan Austin Gutwein, 12, has a message for children everywhere. “You don’t have to be an adult to make a difference in your world,” he says. “You can make a difference even if you are still a kid.”

There could be no better model for the philosophy than Austin himself.

At age 9, Austin, from Mesa, Ariz., was so devastated by the plight of African children who lost their parents because of AIDS that he decided to get people to sponsor him to shoot baskets to support World Vision’s work among orphans.

He took a day off from school and shot 2,057 free-throws — one for every child orphaned by AIDS during the school day.

That first event raised a respectable $3,000. But Austin was not content to let matters rest there. A passionate speaker, he began to give talks at school and church groups, encouraging other youngsters to join him in a campaign that was soon dubbed “Hoops of Hope.”

In 2005, 50 children got together to shoot hoops and raised $35,000. Last year, more than 1,400 children in seven states repeated the event around the country, raising more than $54,000. The money will help World Vision build a school in AIDS-devastated Zambia.

Austin hopes to visit the school one day and says his dad has promised to take him to see it if Hoops of Hope can generate $100,000.

To learn more about Hoops of Hope, visit hoopsofhope.org, or start planning for World AIDS Day by visiting worldvision.org/worldaidsday.