At a conference in 2009, I was given an envelope containing $10 and challenged to turn that $10 into $100 for a small loan. When I got home from the conference and found the envelope containing the money, I thought, “Oh darn, why did I take that?” I am a busy mom of 5; I don’t have a lot of extra time. But my girlfriends started brainstorming with me, and soon I had my idea. I am part of a group of moms with young children who are also busy but need healthy and fast dinners, so… I started making freezer meals. Within one month I had raised $300! I am imagining 3 moms who have been able to feed their own children because of a small boost from us moms here in Michigan! Never Ending Hope is a good thing!

Christmas greetings! I have been holding onto this envelope for months now, trying to figure out a way to raise the $100…nothing came to me, over and over…then I realized, Christmas Cards!! I used the $10 to buy a box of 20 Christmas cards. I then made a $100 donation to HOPE International and made a note inside each card with the website letting them know that this Christmas card represented a $5 donation to HOPE International (listed the website) and challenged each recipient to match the gift. A number of recipients have even decided to copy the whole idea…this little $10 has raised over $500 and growing!

My name is Erin, and I am 24 from Lancaster, PA. I am a full-time preschool teacher and student. When I heard about Haiti and what happened, I wanted to help somehow by giving money, something that actually felt like I was doing something to help. Anyone can text a number to give money, but for me that didn’t feel like I was doing something to help. So I decided that I would do a bake sale to raise money for Haiti. I am always looking for a reason to bake, and when I was reading everywhere about donating money to this and that for Haiti, I decided I would start a bake sale. It will continue until I can’t do it anymore (which could be never lol). I put together items that are my favorite, made a flyer, and started asking friends and family. I did my first bake sale and raised a good amount; this took me all day Saturday and Sunday afternoon to do. I loved it sooo much, and I am looking forward to baking again and raising more money. I have recruited friends to help me this next time. Not only will this be a fun time for us but knowing this is going to help people who really need it makes it all worth the time, energy, and money spent on baking. This is a talent I thank God for … I know that sounds silly, but with this talent I can reach out to people, and when they ask what organization I am doing this for, I tell them HOPE International. I explain who they are and what they do. It’s amazing what God can do with the talents He gives you.

God laid an idea on my heart that would allow every member at my church, Tidal Creek Fellowship, to be a part of this gift. I took the $10.00 bill and told everyone that by holding and touching the bill, part of their DNA would rub off and be left on the bill as they passed it around. As a result, part of them would now literally go with the gift as I send it in. I encouraged them to add to the original $10.00 as they passed the bill from person to person. After collecting the money after it had been passed through the entire congregation, I counted $160.00! Just like the loaves and fish that Jesus multiplied and fed the 5000, the Holy Spirit was with that $10.00 bill and turned it into $160.00.

Last October six members of our worship team attended the Catalyst conference in Atlanta and received the challenge for each of us to raise $100. It didn’t take long for us to come up with an idea – we would present a coffee-concerthouse event that was open to the public, with all of the proceeds going to HOPE International. We were all excited about the opportunity to bring this back to our church and to the members of our team who were unable to attend. What a great mission opportunity for our team! The day of our “Night of Hope,” as we called it finally came….with a forecast of snow that evening! In eastern North Carolina, where we live, that usually means everything is cancelled before the first snowflake is even seen. What to do? We had already received donations of coffee and desserts to serve at the event, so rescheduling would have meant starting all over. But we were also afraid that there would be very few attending, as most would not venture out into wintry weather. We were pleasantly surprised. Although the attendance was somewhat low, as we had expected, generosity was at an all-time high! Over $3000 was raised for us to send to HOPE International. We had a great, uplifting time afterwards imagining how many people that might help. In the end, this was such a neat melding of worship, fellowship, and service for our team and our congregation. We’ve already been asked when we’re doing it again!