Hope is Light in the Darkness
In 2021, a 2-year-old girl was found abandoned on a garbage pile the size of a city block. She was alone, and the police didn’t know what to do with her. In this part of Southeast Asia, there wasn’t a government-run home available.
One policeman remembered that there was a Christian-run children’s home nearby. This is where our little girl found herself… at the front gate of a children’s home, rescued from a garbage pile and placed in a home. She was surrounded by 86 girls, also well acquainted with suffering, and they wrapped her up in love. These children know suffering. They also now know hope. That little girl, once discarded, has been given the opportunity to flourish into an engaging, joy-filled follower of Jesus. In one of the world’s darkest places, she and the other children in these homes are becoming beacons of light and Gospel hope – light no darkness can extinguish.
Erika is the mother of a beautiful girl named Dareska, a young girl suffering from severe cognitive disabilities and epileptic seizures. She needs to see many doctors; however, they live in a small community in Colombia, five hours away from where medical care is available. Erika feels heartbroken because she can’t give her daughter the care she needs.
Then things changed. “Today, I just want to give thanks to God for sending a Christian mission to our community. Dareska received much-needed medical treatment, including food. “Seeing her smile brought tears to my eyes. We felt so loved and cared for. But what moved me most was when someone took the time to talk to me about God. They told me how He sees me, how He can help me through my struggles, and that I don’t have to carry this burden alone. That message stayed in my heart.”
Milkah’s dreams in Kenya seemed out of reach. As the eldest of 15 siblings, her education was cut short so her brothers could attend school. At 18, she was married to an alcoholic husband and struggled to provide for their five children. Poverty, hunger, and ridicule from her community threatened to break her spirit—but Milkah refused to give up.
Everything changed when she attended a poultry training program. Armed with new knowledge and skills, she started with just 10 chickens. Today, she has a substantial income selling over 1,700 chicks and 200 mature chickens annually. She is funding her children’s university education—two have already graduated with honors! Now, Milkah is on a mission to empower other women, training them in poultry farming and kitchen gardening. Through her journey of faith and perseverance, she has not only transformed her own life but has also modeled hope for her entire community.
These stories show the hope that comes from the miracle and power of light in the darkness – the darker the night, the brighter the light shines. And behind these stories is Mercy Inc., an amazing organization that aims to give hope and light in the darkness by transforming lives caught in the cycle of physical, spiritual, and relational poverty through acts of compassion and the power of the Gospel. Mercy, Inc. works with partners and local churches around the globe to provide clean water, food security, children’s education, health, literacy, and life skills, and the hope in the Gospel.
You and/or your church can participate with Mercy, Inc. in bringing hope to the world. I’m scheduling an event in November to bring churches and lay people together to see what Mercy is doing. Email me at johned@johnedmathison.org if you would like an invitation for you and/or your church to this event.
