One Week to Find Joy

Looking For Joy?

Have you ever felt like you were on a hunt for joy? An 18-year-old boy was surprised to find it surrounded by people who had very little. He found it where you’d assume you’d find sadness. He went on a trip unsure of what he would experience but came back with a new perspective on life.
 
When he returned, he reflected and shared, “I’m willing to say I saw more joy in this one week in Kijabe, Kenya than what I’ve seen in America throughout my whole nearly 18 years of life.” 
 
What if I told you that you could find joy, a new perspective, hope and purpose by going on a trip for a week? Would you go?
 

The Trajectory of a Life Changed

High school senior, Nico, joined his classmates and teacher on a team to Kenya earlier this year. When he returned, the trajectory of his life changed. He came back with a different outlook on life simply by saying yes to going on a mission trip. 
 
He had spent 18 years of his life in America and only one week in Kenya, yet this trip had the power to alter his life and perspective. How is this possible? 
 

Moldy Cake

Nico shared his experience during his valedictorian speech amongst peers and their parents soon after he returned from Kenya. “The world tries to tell us to find purpose in happiness and the pursuit of it. However, that’s not God’s purpose for our lives, and we will never find fulfillment in doing it the world’s way.” 

Nico had witnessed the people in Kenya couldn’t find comfort in basic things like an abundance of food, easily accessible clean water, or a warm cozy home. He saw many people who lived in tiny one-room homes with dirt floors, no running water or electricity, and often had nothing but couches and blankets inside. 

“So often what we try to do is first find joy in the world and then put a little bit of God on top like icing on the cake. But let me tell you, the cake of the world hidden underneath is moldy and rotten all the way through. The people of Kijabe understood that we must first find our joy in the Lord and then He will provide for us.” 

“Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and He will give you everything you need.” 
-Matthew 6:33
 
Those in Kenya knew things he hadn’t yet discovered:
  • Their joy came from the Lord, not the world, simply because the world has very little to offer them in their current situation.
  • The things of this world that we have are blessings from God, not the rewards of our works or efforts. We can lose these things just as quickly as we gain them.

Don’t Rob Yourself of Joy

Where do you seek purpose and fulfillment? What is your number one priority in life? Where do you go to find joy and fulfillment? If it isn’t God, then I promise you, you’re only robbing yourself. 

Nico ended his speech by challenging his peers, “As we all go out into the world, I encourage each of you to build a Christ-centered life so that you may find peace that surpasses all understanding, hope that overflows, and unfailing joy that is independent of your circumstances. Happiness is fleeting, but joy is enduring. Choose joy. Seek joy. And find that joy in the God of joy.”
 
You too can find joy. God shows us that joy is where and how we often don’t expect it. Your life can be forever changed if you look for joy in the right places. Are you on a hunt for joy like Nico was?
child sponsorship

This is What Success Looks Like

A special message from our Program Directors in Mexico, Victor and Lety Velasco: Hola and Feliz Navidad from Forward Edge and our program down here in Oaxaca, Mexico. We want to tell you a story of the impact you’re making. One of the first families to join our program 10

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child sponsorship

Shepherding the Lambs

Step into Rosabel’s clown shoes and experience how we’re reaching children across Cuba with the love of Jesus. Each week, local leaders welcome hundreds of children into backyards and open spaces, offering a simple meal and a place to belong. For many, it’s their first time hearing the gospel.

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events

Why I Went Over The Edge

A Birthday with a Purpose Rappel down the side of a building to raise money for children?! I’d never heard of such an idea, but it sounded great to me! I’d get to challenge myself, do something fun, and help children all at the same time.   My fundraising goal was

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education

Get Them Jesus and an Education

In my mind, I can still hear her cries of defeat and see the tears pouring down her face. I can see the “I am stupid” notes she had written on her school worksheets that day.   My precious eight-year-old daughter was fighting to overcome dyscalculia – basically the math version of dyslexia – and we had no idea. It was

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Transform a Child's Life Through Sponsorship

Ka wula (hello), my name is Abdul Basit

  • location

    Ghana

  • 14 yrs. old

    05-01-2011

Entered the program: March 2023

Abdul Basit (who goes by Basit) lives with his parents, two younger brothers, his grandmother and uncle in a four-bedroom house built with mud and roofed with thatch. They have no latrine. They have electricity but no access to potable water. They fetch water from a village dam until it dries up and then the village women must travel long distances to find more.

Basit’s family is Christian. His father is a small-hold farmer who cultivates maize to feed the family. Though it is hard to keep food on the table, through the support of Create hope the family now has three meals a day instead of one. On some days they only have one meal a day. His mother is a housewife. It is so difficult to provide the basic needs of the children, without Create Hope, Basit’s ability to attend school would have suffered.

Sponsorship Level What's this?

Three $38 sponsorships are needed to cover the complete holistic care of one child. Cover one, two, or three sponsorships.