PathLight has launched a year end campaign called Unleashing Hope, and I recently sent this letter to all the PathLight supporters. Thought I’d post it here to see what you thought!
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A generous donor has committed to match, dollar for dollar, every donation to the PathLight year end “Unleashing Hope” campaign before December 31st, up to $50,000. That means that if we raise $50,000 we’ll have $100,000 to help unleash hope in students, teachers and local communities in rural Belize.
Why are we calling this campaign “Unleash Hope”?
It is hope that inspires us. Hope encourages us to work a bit harder, think a bit deeper, trust a bit more generously. Hope lets us dream.
But we live in a turbulent world. Hope can be fleeting. Challenges, adversaries, failures … all tempt us to give up hope.
As I reflected on this truth, I was reminded of God’s promise in Hebrews, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Then later we read, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
This is a challenging passage for anybody, but especially for those who live in a country with few resources. An overlooked child in an overlooked village of an overlooked region of an overlooked country produces people who can easily give up. Hope is fragile.
Hold unswervingly? Not easy. Spur others on to love and good deeds? Even harder.
But there is a solution. And this is where you come in. You can Unleash Hope. In fact, you and many others already have. How?
Hope was unleashed when friends began praying for the launch of PathLight. Hope was unleashed when donors stepped up to fund the ministry. Hope was unleashed when neighboring villages asked us to support students. Hope was unleashed when teachers asked us for training. Hope was unleashed when the Ministry of Education encouraged our programs. Hope was unleashed when Belizean churches applauded our work.
Hope has already been unleashed, and we stand in awe of God. That is reason to be thankful, don’t you think? That is reason to hold tightly to the hope that is our anchor.
But there is more to do. There is more hope to unleash. There are dozens of villages in our overlooked part of the world, and each needs hope to persevere. There are thousands of children, and hundreds of teachers, who live in hope.
We are called to consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Years ago I discovered something about the poor – more than anything else, they need the gift of hope. You have that gift. The poor can give you many things, and I will write about that another time but this holiday season it is in your power to unleash hope. You can spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Join us in Unleashing Hope in rural Belize.