Several years ago my husband and I went to Guatemala. This wasn’t a mission trip; it was an immersion trip, required by our seminary.
While we were there, we visited both the city dump and a five-star hotel in the same day. They were only a few blocks away from each other. Our systems were shocked to the core. We went from crying at the horrific things we saw at the dump, where mothers, fathers, and children lived, worked, and ate, to walking into a beautiful hotel full of riches and fine things.
Our professor shocked our systems like this on purpose. He wanted us to see that riches and poverty are not all that far apart from each other. He also wanted us to realize that we can be a bridge between the two worlds. Those two worlds don’t have to be so segregated. Those of us in the middle can use our relationships with the rich to advocate for the poor.
My favorite part of my job at Sight.org is being a storyteller. I heard a man at a different nonprofit entitle his job as “Chief Storyteller.” I love that. Ever since that trip to Guatemala, I have wanted to be that bridge. I realized that, growing up as a missionary kid, my parents were that type of bridge between the rich and the poor. I get to do that now as a storyteller.
The church that I go to uses the word “leverage” a lot.
When you leverage something, you use it to the maximum advantage. You multiply it!
Our church encourages the older generations to leverage their wisdom to pour into the younger generation.
We all have something we can leverage in order to bridge the gap between those who have resources and those who do not.
When the students at Oak Hill Montessori got excited about giving eyeglasses, they leveraged what was already laying around the house to send eyeglasses to Togo.
When Dawn decided to give $12.50 a month for eye surgeries, she leveraged her finances so that one person like Adeline could get her life back by seeing again.
When Robert gave $30 to our ministry fund, he leveraged his resources to provide an audio Bible and now our friend Jeanaway is burning for Jesus and telling everyone he knows about Him.
When Sue-Min wanted to give sight, she leveraged her birthday. She asked all of her friends to help her give sight to 34 people, and she did it in just 20 days.
When Steve gave $6000 to eye surgeries, he gave sight to 40 people in Togo while also furthering the gospel.
When Karen shared Sight.org’s urgent request on Facebook, she leveraged her relationships. She knew that she personally did not have the funds to give, but her friend in Florida saw her shared post and gave $1500 towards surgeries.
When optometrist Dr. Rudd gives $1 per eye exam to Sight.org, she leverages every patient who walks through her door to give sight to those in Togo.
When Robin gave her precious hours while her kids were in school to help stuff envelopes, she leveraged her time to enable 300 people to read our stories.
What gift do you have that you can leverage for people in need?
