by: Kevin Squires | Sr. Director of International Programs
It wasn’t long ago that I found myself sitting in a circle in a dry, rocky courtyard outside of a church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, listening to widows share stories of how World Orphans microloans were impacting their lives. Each woman had a story of how their lives were being resurrected by God through their local church and through our Home Based Care program. One woman explained how she turned her loan into a small business by buying cabbage and other vegetables in bulk, then reselling them at retail prices. Another sold incense. One woman cast the brightest smile as she told us about her banana and avocado business and how she longed to own her own shop one day. Another boasted about her secondhand clothing business. In all honesty, my jaws were aching from smiling so much as I listened intently to stories of life transformation and generational change. Each of these women were in dire conditions months earlier with no money, little hope, and stagnant dreams. Now, they were laughing and crying tears of joy reciting how God, their pastor, and the local church had given them new life, restored hope, and opportunities to dream again.
Story after story brought inspiration and hope to everyone in the circle. But even with that, I felt something coming. There are moments in life where you feel like something is brewing around you, like a crescendo of emotions ready to blast into a beautiful song and story. Today, the song and the story came in the life of a woman named Tesfanesh.
Tesfanesh is a widowed mother with one son. Living in a squatter village with no access to clean water, she spent years walking long distances to fill two 5-gal. jars full of water, securing each full 40-lb. jar to her back, and transporting them back to her village to sell. As she spoke, you could hear the weariness and despair in her voice as she reminisced of those early years.
When she was selected by her local church as a part of our Home Based Care program a couple of years ago, she was overcome with hope and decided to expand her water delivery business. With her first loan, she purchased two donkeys to help carry the weight and to allow her to deliver more water to those in the village. Shortly thereafter, wild hyenas attacked and killed her donkeys. Not giving up, Tesfanesh had saved some money and was able to purchase another donkey. Then, another tragedy struck when thieves stole the donkey in the dark of night. With little left and approaching her wit’s end, she mustered enough strength and money to purchase yet another donkey (her fourth), but this time she purchased a guard dog to fight off the hyenas and thieves. Her perseverance paid off as her business began to grow.
As she walked us through her journey, her voice transformed from weariness to strength, strength that she gained from constant perseverance. In so many ways, her hopelessness was the doorway to her hope; she just needed the community around her to show her the light.
Today, Tesfanesh not only runs a water delivery business, but she also has taken some of her profit and begun a real estate business—buying land, building a house, and renting it out to people in the village.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. (Psalm 91:1-4 ESV)
Many people believe that God promises to protect us from harm, setbacks, and anything that will make our path difficult. In reality, God promises to never leave us nor forsake us. He promises to journey with us, especially when life gets difficult. For Tesfanesh, God chose not to fend off the hyenas or the thieves so that she could grow a booming business from the start; rather, according to her, those setbacks forced her to learn, grow strong, persevere, and not give up.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 ESV)
In the next year or so, Tesfanesh will graduate from our Home Based Care program—an accomplishment she never even dreamt about. As her business continues to grow, she continues to impact those around her with her strength, endurance, and character. She has become a billboard for Romans 5:3-4 which says, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (ESV)
Pray that Tesfanesh continues to find rest in this hope. And for those of you facing hopelessness today, may our prayer be for you that your hopelessness is the doorway to hope found only in the gospel of Christ.
This article was originally published in the World Orphans Spring Insight Magazine 2023.