The Heart, Healing, and Hope
3 and a half months. 3 and a half months of positivity, of encouragement, of my worldview being expanded, and my skills being enhanced. This was my internship experience with World Hope International (Canada).
The Heart
Before my internship began, I feared I would not be an asset to the World Hope International team. I had just had a baby in February, and my brain and body were still in recovery mode. I still remember that anxious phone call I made to my internship supervisor. I had
“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up” Proverbs 12:25, NIV
phoned with little hope that I would be able to take on this internship, but she gave me great encouragement and the reassurance that I would be taken care of at every step of the way. She was igniting hope within me.
That encouragement and reassurance spoke more to the heart of the people I would be working with than I had even realized at that moment. “I would be taken care of” was an understatement. Not only was I taken care of, I was also made to feel a part of the team and that I had something to offer. Though the World Hope International Canada team is small, they are mighty because their hearts for people, and for the world are unmistakably a breathtaking reflection of God’s heart. It is the heart of the people that dictate the heart of an organization, and from my internship I can tell that the heart of World Hope International is beautiful.
The Healing
WHI (Canada) holds the philosophy of being lifelong learners. This philosophy was empowering to me as I knew I was not the only one who was learning but, we were all learning together. One of the major things that I learned is that my world view was very broken, but working for World Hope has been a part of its healing. All our worldviews are broken to some degree because the world is big; the only one who can totally understand it is the one who created it. However, it is through organizations like World Hope International where people can have their worldviews healed as they experience the opportunity, dignity, and hope that the Lord is producing around the world.
My time at World Hope exposed me to the realities of poverty around the world and helped me to see those struggling with it as REAL people with REAL stories. Sometimes it is easy to look at the work that a global organization is doing in another country and shrug it off because the issues within that country are so distant from our own daily lives. But the Bible challenges us to have a global scope when it comes to loving others. It is through vessels like World Hope, where God challenges people’s worldviews to look more like Christ’s, I know mine certainly was.
The Hope
Everything World Hope does is intentional. The intentionality is something I highly valued. All the staff members choose day after day to look at the hope that can be found in every situation. This keeps the staff, and the organization focused on God and the hope that He makes available to all. I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to have learned from a team that both professionally and personally live and breathe the hope of the Gospel. The work that will be accomplished and has been accomplished by World Hope has eternal value and that is something to be celebrated!
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 NIV
Madison Long
Intern, World Hope International Canada
Learn more about how World Hope International is working to alleviate poverty and injustice.
You can support life-changing programs with a gift to The Hope Fund.
