Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. – Romans 12:12

While vaccine rollouts earlier in 2021 delivered the hope that the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic could be behind us, as the end of the year approaches, governments around the world are implementing restrictions to slow the spread of Omicron, the latest strain of the virus. Even as this virus has held the world in the grip of uncertainty, it has not robbed us of Christ’s hope.

Across the world, climate change has led to droughts that wiped out crops leaving farming families struggling with food insecurity and floods that washed out entire villages taking lives and destroying property. Even in the face of these disasters, Christ’s hope lifted spirits and strengthened the resolve of those affected.

Christ’s hope, even the faintest spark of it, is all it takes to ignite the courage to navigate life’s challenges. Christ’s birth and death are the promise – the hope – that life’s tribulations are not forever. This hope is the power behind someone like Mr. Tea in Laos, trying climate-adaptive farming methods, daring to believe he could grow enough to meet his family’s needs, or a village savings and loans group in Sierra Leone, trusting they could end hunger for local families, or Evens, an earthquake survivor who escaped the falling walls of his home, seeing hope in the tarp he received for shelter.

It only takes a spark of hope to transform a life.

Jeremiah 29:11 teaches us, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’” In World Renew’s mission of justice and mercy, at times the stories of hunger, poverty, gender-based violence, the mounting impact of COVID-19 – the stories of injustice – can be heartbreaking. But for the more than one million vulnerable people in 31 countries whose lives your gifts and prayers touched this year, Christ’s hope prevailed. This compassion and generosity reflects God’s love and abundance and reminds us that God is working, always, for our good.

Despite the continuing challenges of the pandemic, as we head into 2022, World Renew remains committed to the pursuit of justice and mercy. We rejoice in Christ’s hope – the hope that there will be an end to suffering, an end to the injustices of this world, and God will fulfill his promise to restore creation. With every participant in one of our programs who, thanks to our generous-hearted supporters, rejoices in Christ’s hope, we feel blessed to also share in that hope.

Please join us in prayer, as we ask that God’s most vulnerable children will come to find hope and the courage to persevere through life’s tribulations, knowing that they are loved and cherished by God – always.