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Contents: A story that shapes us, impact updates from each of our partners, and resources for deeper engagement.
The Story
Are we living with a mindset of scarcity?
Help One Now grew out of a refusal. Before over 1,400 families were empowered to launch their own business. Before 4,500 students were given quality education every year. Before we began serving communities in 8 different countries. Before millions of meals were served – there was the haunting of refusing to care for a child in need.
In the very first days of Help One Now, before we’d even found our name, Chris Marlow was driving through the night with Pastor John Chinyowa in Zimbabwe. They were transporting two weeks’ worth of food for the 50+ children John’s ministry cared for at Musha We Vana.
On their way, Pastor John made sure he and Chris pulled over to check on a group of kids who’d begun sleeping at an abandoned gas station. All of Musha We Vana’s beds were full, but John knew it was important to at least check on these kids. They pulled over, and a young boy, no older than 8 or 9, asked Chris if he had work or anything to offer them. He and his friends were hungry. But Chris said no. Their van was full of food. But that food was already accounted for and desperately needed for Musha We Vana.
When he returned home to the U.S., that interaction with the young boy haunted Chris. What withered in his soul when he refused this call of service? What beliefs led to him having a van full of food but nothing to offer?
In many ways, Help One Now exists in relation to this refusal. At some point or another, each of our partners has wrestled with scarcity and the fear it carves out in our hearts.
What if we don’t have enough? What if our gifts, talents, and resources are inadequate? But all of our partners have shown us how to struggle past these feelings into a posture of abundance.
When Chris asked where Musha We Vana’s food would come from after that two-week supply ran out, Pastor John offered a clear-eyed response – “God will provide.” And God has provided. Musha We Vana has thrived for the last 15 years and transformed the community in many ways.
We exist as an onramp to a radical faith in abundance.
That we have enough, that we are enough, and that belonging to one another is not a curse but our greatest gift.
The Data
Monthly Global Team Report:
Read our monthly Global Team Report, with impact data, stories, and updates directly from our partners around the world!
The Deeper Dive
Perspective and insight from Forbes and our International Operations Director, Genessa Newberry.
Learn five ways to go from a scarcity to an abundance mindset…
Has scarcity caused you to lose faith in your ability to make a difference…
Want to learn more about how to move Upstream together? Contact our team for any questions or to talk through how you can join this story and change the world!
