Preview - Christian Reformed Church

World Hunger
Campaign 2012
Join us today!
www.worldrenew.net
Devotional

Devotions and activities by Sonya VanderVeen-Feddema © 2012

Day 1
God has always carried his world close to his
heart like a loving shepherd carries his lambs
(Isaiah 40:11). He created a good world because
only goodness and light fill his heart. Before
the darkness of people’s sin marred God’s good
purposes, pastures were perfectly green, waters
were quiet, and food was plentiful.
However, everything changed when people
sinned. Today in many parts of the world, once
green pastures are parched and brown, water is
a source of disease, and poverty overshadows
countless lives. But, still, God’s plans stand firm
forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations
(Psalm 33:11).
Throughout the biblical story, God has made his
heart known to us. For example, he commanded
the Israelites to be open-handed to the poor and
hungry, instead of being hardhearted and tightfisted
(Deuteronomy 15:7-8). Later, he told his
people to defend the weak and the fatherless, to
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed,
and to rescue the weak and the needy (Psalm
82:3-4). The prophet Isaiah identified God as a
refuge for the poor and the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from
the heat (Isaiah 25:4a). And Mary, Jesus’ mother,
sang praises to God, saying he is pleased to lift
up the humble and to fill the hungry with good
things (Luke 1:52b, 53a).
God’s love-shaped story continues today in our
lives. We are commanded to do for hungry, poor,
and oppressed people exactly what God has
always called his children to do. He has given us
the privilege and responsibility to reflect his heart.
We invite you to read the devotionals in this
booklet for the next three weeks to discover
a Heart for the World
Psalm 33:11
God’s heart for the world and to celebrate what
he has allowed you and the Christian Reformed
World Relief Committee (CRWRC), now known
as World Renew, to accomplish in the past 50
years. We hope that as you read these devotionals
and take part in the daily action ideas, activities,
and giving suggestions you’ll also recognize and
anticipate what he will continue to do through
World Renew and you till Jesus comes again.
Prayer
Dear God, you command us to imitate your
loving, caring, and sharing heart. Create in us
pure hearts. Grant us willing spirits to share with
and learn from all people. (Psalm 51:10a, 12b) In
Jesus’name, amen.
action
Read Psalm 23. What actions did the Shepherd
Lord take on David’s behalf? Put 25 cents in Peter
Fish for each one. Think about ways God is yours
and the world’s shepherd. What actions can you
take to be a “shepherd” for hungry people?

Day 2
Though God reigns in holiness and majesty, he
stoops down to care for orphans. His father heart
can do no less. In fact, God initiated the first
“adoption agency” and set it in motion through
Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. When Jesus
was with his disciples, he promised that he
would not leave them as orphans (John 14:18).
Through his death on the cross, we were adopted
into God’s family. And through the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit at Pentecost we have been given
a constant reminder of our familial relationship
with God and each other through Christ.
The First Adopter wants his children to follow his
lead and care for the orphan among us. In fact,
according to the apostle James, if we care nothing
for orphans, we can’t claim to be Christ-followers
—“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure
and faultless is this: to look after orphans and
widows in their distress” (James 1:27).
That’s something that World Renew takes to heart.
Elvinah Spoelstra, a social worker and early World
Renew/CRWRC staff member from the United
States, became a champion of orphans when she
joined The Christian Adoption Program of Korea
(CAPOK) in 1966. Years earlier, the Korean War
(1950-1953) left two million civilians dead, leaving
behind many orphans. Other orphans were
“G.I. babies,” children of Korean women and
international soldiers. These children’s vast needs
were exacerbated by the traditional Korean view
of family ties, which was inhospitable to children
without parents or with bloodlines that weren’t
“purely Korean.” These orphans could not be legal
citizens of Korea, and adoption outside of one’s
own family was stigmatized.
Under Spoelstra’s leadership, CAPOK moved
from being a custodial childcare program into
God’s Father Heart
Psalm 68:5
a true adoption program. Her efforts inspired
CAPOK to help Korean Christians advocate successfully
for adoption laws and child welfare
laws. Because of her work, cultural attitudes to
adoption changed, allowing children to be placed
in loving families within their nation of birth.
Between 1962 and 1975, CAPOK placed more
than 2,000 homeless children in Korean homes.
Today, millions of children are still in need.
Though World Renew is no longer involved in
Korea, it is actively helping children in poverty
around the world. Some of these children have
been orphaned by the crisis of AIDS in the developing
world. Others have had to leave school or
home to find work in order to support themselves
because of extreme poverty. World Renew is
working in numerous communities to help adults
increase their food production and income. In this
way, parents can support their children, children
can stay in school, and orphans can find a home
with extended relatives and community members
instead of being taken away from the home they
know. Pray that God will use these World Renew
programs to reveal his father heart to the world.
Prayer
Father of the fatherless, we praise and thank you
that we are no longer orphans, but that we are
members of your family. Fill our hearts with love
for your children all over the world. Help us to
take action to support them. In Jesus’ name, amen.
action
Make a list of 10 blessings we experience by
being children of parents in North America. Put
10 cents in Peter Fish for each one.

Day 3
In our Bible passage today we hear a picture
of God taking a toddling Ephraim by the arms
and teaching him how to walk. This example
of God’s love for Israel is reflected in the lives
of his children through all times and places. He
hovers over our every step and teaches us to
walk before him, taking up our calling to love
the world as he loves it.
How God accomplishes this varies from life to
life. Your journey is different from mine, and our
journeys are different from that of Christian Jean-
Pierre, a 42-year-old Haitian man.
Remarkably, God used World Renew/CRWRC
to teach Jean-Pierre how to “walk.” He was
about nine years old in 1975 when World
Renew/CRWRC came to his hometown of
Pignon to promote community health and agriculture.
From a blended family of 18 children
whose livelihood depended on agriculture, Jean-
Pierre and many others in his community experienced
poverty. He was impressed that World
Renew/CRWRC came where no other international
organization had ventured.
World Renew/CRWRC selected agriculture
leaders from each community, who were called
‘animateurs.’ One of them was Jean-Pierre’s
father. Mary Both, who worked for World
Renew/CRWRC with her husband, Dick, in
Haiti explained, “The animateurs would come
to a central conference at the Missionary Church
grounds, where there were also good fields
for doing demonstrations. There they would
learn new techniques in agriculture and how to
teach them to others. Then they would take that
knowledge back with them to their communities,
where the knowledge was reinforced by working
together as a group.”
taught How to Walk
(Hosea 11:1, 3a, 4)
Jean-Pierre was particularly struck that World
Renew/CRWRC didn’t discriminate against
poorly educated people. “I recall how CRWRC
took into its programs people who barely finished
primary school and trained them to become
animateurs,” he said. “These newly trained men
and women became my role models and gave me
the vision to become what I am today.”
Today, Jean-Pierre is walking before God as he
oversees an agricultural program that feeds 8,000
school children and orphans, and as he provides
leadership and management for 21 fish ponds, a
poultry project with close to 2,000 chickens, and a
goat program.
Prayer
Dear Father, thank you for tenderly teaching both
rich and poor people to walk before you. Please
use World Renew and us to demonstrate to others
how to walk in your paths of justice, mercy,
and righteousness. In Jesus’ name, amen.
action
What are some of the ways that we can “walk”
with God this week? Put 25 cents in Peter Fish for
each idea you come up with.

Day 4
God knows how strange the world and its people
can seem to us when we are cocooned in our
familiar surroundings and ways of doing things.
But he wants our hearts to resemble his heart,
which is loving to all. One way of doing that is to
care for refugees.
One of World Renew/CRWRC’s very first
ministries was to provide support to refugees
in Miami. In the years after the 1959 Cuban
Revolution, many Cubans fled Fidel Castro’s
communist government and escaped to Miami,
Florida. Upon arrival, many refugees received
hospitality through the Good Samaritan Center,
a ministry supported by the Christian Reformed
Church (CRC).
The center grew out of a small, Spanish-speaking
church in the Little Havana neighborhood of
Miami established by Clarence and Arlene Nyenhuis,
with support from Christian Reformed
Home Missions. About the people who attended
the church, Arlene said, “We realized the people
that were coming came with absolutely nothing.
It was soon apparent that we needed to do more
than just have church services. At that point,
things were beginning to open up for refugee
work, and we opened a refugee center. We were
able to rent a store front, and we called it ‘The
Good Samaritan Refugee Center.’”
Growth in both the church and the center’s
needs led to the involvement in 1963 of the
newly formed World Renew/CRWRC, which
soon took on the additional task of resettling
Cuban refugees in other parts of the U.S.
According to Jim Tuinstra, Director of the Good
Samaritan Center, it was the first time that, as
a denomination, the CRC supported a resettle-
room for all
(Hebrews 13:1-2, 20-21)
ment effort. Over a period of 10 years, the
World Renew/CRWRC and the Good Samaritan
Center served 25,000 refugees.
The same God who stirred the hearts of Clarence
and Arlene Nyenhuis to care for refugees is still
calling World Renew and you to offer hospitality
to refugees and other strangers in our midst.
In Canada, World Renew works with various
families and churches to sponsor refugees and
help them begin a new life in North America. In
both the United States and Canada, World Renew
works with the CRC Office of Social Justice to
advocate for the rights of refugees. And around
the world, World Renew regularly provides food
and aid to those who have been forced from their
homes due to war or disaster. Pray, work, wait,
and watch to see how God will continue to use
you to care for others.
Prayer
Dear God, author of all authentic hospitality,
thank you for allowing us to participate in this
sacred task. Equip us to graciously and energetically
extend hospitality to refugees and other
strangers. In Jesus’ name, amen.
action
Refugees have been forced from their homes by
disaster, war, or persecution. Thank God for your
home and put 25 cents in Peter Fish for every
room in your house.

Day 5
Imagine that you are standing outside on a bright
summer day. When you look up, the sky stretches
far above you — blue for as far and as deep as you
can see. Then, remember the psalmist’s words,
“Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens, your
faithfulness to the skies” (Psalm 36:5). Whether
you’re looking up at the sky from a Canadian back
yard, from a farm in the United States, or from a
village in Sierra Leone, the sky’s expanse, majesty,
and grandeur remain the same. The same is true of
God’s faithfulness. Its expanse covers all people.
Its majesty is beyond tracing out. And its grandeur
arouses our adoration and worship. No one is as
faithful as our God. No other heart is as devoted to
loving for the long haul as is his.
This amazing faithfulness of God inspires
faithfulness in his children. World Renew’s
involvement in Sierra Leone is an example. In
1979, under the local name of Christian Extension
Services (CES), World Renew/CRWRC and
Christian Reformed World Missions joined forces
in Sierra Leone. At that time, it was the poorest
country in the world, where half of all children
died before the age of five.
CES worked among the Kuranko people in the
Koinadugu District, helping families to increase
food production, become literate, grow healthier,
increase their incomes, and learn more about God.
Local staff were hired and trained to eventually
take over the work from North American staff.
The idea was to see if one denomination (the
Christian Reformed Church) could really make a
difference if it focused its attention on one country.
In the early 1990s, civil war broke out in Sierra
Leone and violence continued for the next 11
years. In that time, tens of thousands of people
died and more than two million people were
displaced. Homes, offices and other buildings
belonging to CES in the Kuranko project were
For the Long Haul
(Psalm 117)
destroyed. In 1996, North American staff evacuated
the area but church services and programs
in literacy and health continued. When the war
ended in 2001, Sierra Leone was broken but the
people were not.
CES assessed needs and developed new programs
geared to postwar realities. In 2002, CES was
nationalized. North American staff handed over the
management of it to Sierra Leonean staff members.
Today, World Renew’s Wyva Hasselblad says,
“CES has moved forward with new staff, a
renewed vision and energy for development
work that is in the hands of the communities
themselves. One of the striking things now is that
people have moved forward from the war and it
is not the preoccupation that it was three to ten
years ago. The people who were kids during the
war are now adults. They are eager to get an education,
get jobs, and discover the new world of
communications technology.”
The next time you look up at the sky, think about
God’s faithfulness. Think about how he provides
for you every day, and how he stood by the people
of Sierra Leone through poverty and war and
into today as they face their challenges with hope
for the future.
Prayer
Dear God, We are amazed at your faithful heart.
You can do all things. No plan of yours can be
thwarted. (Job 42:2). Make us faithful servants. In
Jesus’ name, amen.
action
World Renew has been working in Sierra Leone
since 1979. Put 5 cents in your Peter Fish for each
year of World Renew ministry there.

WeekenD
aCtivity
Heart-art for the World
introduction
This past week you’ve learned about God’s
compassionate, faithful, and loving heart for
the world. You’ve also read stories about World
Renew’s heart for the world as evidenced in
their past involvement with Koreans, Haitians,
Cubans, and Sierra Leoneans. This weekend,
why not set aside time to create heart-art for the
world that will encourage you — both adults and
children — to communally consider the plight
of hungry people and the response our Creator
desires from us?
create a WorLd
Make glue. (In a small bowl mix 1 cup of white
flour with 1 cup of cold water. Stir till no clumps
remain. Pour into pan containing 6 cups of boiling
water. Turn heat to low and stir till paste is
smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool.)
Blow up a large balloon. Cut strips of newspaper,
dip them into the glue, and wrap them around
the balloon till it is covered. When the newspaper
has dried, paint oceans and continents on your
“world.” Decorate it with people, trees, flowers,
and animals to celebrate God’s good creation.
Talk about how the world is hurting and what
you can do to help.
create a Heart
Cut a large heart out of red bristle board. Hang it
up in the kitchen or other common area. Attach
a pen. On one half of the heart, jot down ways
in which you have experienced God’s love. On
the other half, list ways in which you would like
to express God’s love to hungry people. During
family devotions, discuss what you have written.
Thank God for his faithfulness. Pray for commitment
to follow through on the ways you desire to
help needy people.
create a HunGer Bank
On World Hunger Sunday, two weeks from now,
you will be returning your Peter Fish to church
so that the deacons can forward the collected
money to those for whom it is intended. But
of course, hunger issues remain after the Peter
Fish are collected. So, why not find another
container with an opening at the top, decorate
it with heart stickers to remind you of God’s
loving heart for the world, and continue to
place money in it after World Hunger Sunday?
Once you’ve saved some money, ask an adult to
help you use it for those in need. Perhaps you
could buy a toy for children in your community,
donate to a food bank, or send it to World
Renew to help others around the world.
create a BLessinGs cHain
Cut strips of brightly colored construction
paper. On each one write down a blessing,
such as food, clothing, and health care, that
you thankful for in your own life and pray that
God will provide to others. Make a chain out
of the strips of paper and add to it as you think
of more ideas. Hang it in a prominent place to
remind you to pray that God will pour out these
blessings on hungry people.

Day 6
Last week’s devotions focused on stories about
World Renew’s historical efforts to reflect God’s
heart for the world. In this week’s devotions,
we’ll look at places where World Renw is currently
active and explore what God requires of us
as his followers in our daily lives.
Today’s text begins at the beginning — “Through
Jesus.” It teaches us that only through our Savior
can we bring God a sacrifice of praise. In the
same breath, the author of Hebrews commands
us to share with others and to do good. Why?
Because sharing and doing good are also offerings
that delight God.
This is something that Jackson Tabani understands.
Jackson is a volunteer with the HIV/
AIDS program in Madi west Nile diocese in
Uganda and is a church teacher for World
Renew’s partner, the Church of Uganda. Jackson
clearly remembers when World Renew introduced
amaranth grain to his community. That
day he asked himself why this particular variety
of grain was better than the ones he was familiar
with. During a demonstration, he learned about
its benefits: amaranth has a short maturation
period, is drought resistant, and produces high
yields. Jackson planted some seeds in his kitchen
garden. When the crop matured, he added amaranth
to his daily millet bread and porridge.
That’s when he got a surprise! Symptoms he had
been experiencing that hadn’t responded to any
medicine were healed when the nutritional grain
was added to his diet.
So, Jackson decided to share. He said, “No medicine
applied before had proved effective. When
I shared my testimony with my colleagues and
Freely share
(Hebrews 13:15-16)
other church teachers, they also took some
grains of amaranth and planted them in their
kitchen gardens.”
News of the seeds has spread, and Jackson continues
to share even more. He has promised to
give seeds to interested members of his congregation
in time for the next planting season. He
believes the congregation will become healthier
as they add amaranth to their diet.
Through Jesus’ power, Jackson Tabani is doing
what God requires of him. He is sharing with
others through giving seeds and telling his story.
What shape will your sharing take through the
power of Jesus?
Prayer
Dear God, we confess that we need reminders of
your command to share because our sinful hearts
want to keep things for ourselves instead. Please
help us follow Jesus’ lead and share with others
as you have commanded. In Jesus’ name, amen.
action
Fill a clear glass bottle with grain of any kind
and place it as a center piece on your table as a
reminder of God’s good gift of grain. After completing
the Word Search on the next page, put 25
cents in Peter Fish for every grain you found.

aMarantH
BarLey
BuLGar
WorD searCH
aCtivity
Farmers grow many kinds of grain like those listed here. Find the following words in the puzzle:
corn
MiLLet
oats
Quinoa
rice
rye
sorGHuM
WHeat
N T I Z X R F B T N J
X G R C M A U E A X R
A S Q O A T S D E R E
R X M R L B O P H Y J
Q U I N O A R T W E M
R B G Y U R G I T C I
B U U R Q L H U C K L
Q L C A B E U V E E L
A G H F U Y M O G L E
N A M A R A N T H A T
Y R Z C S P K E R G Z

Day 7
stand up for What is right
When we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly
with God, we aren’t guaranteed smooth travelling.
Sometimes the road is fraught with trials,
but God encourages us to persist in trying just as
he persists in being a loving and just God.
Seeking justice often means fighting against
deeply ingrained, destructive patterns that can
choke the life and well being out of a community.
Families in northern Laos recently went though
that. Many people in their community had used
a drug, called opium, for many years. This habit
was not only hurting their own health, but it
also had negative consequences on their families
and communities. Tom Post, World Renew’s
Asia Team Leader, explains, “Opium smokers in
Phongsaly, Laos need at least $3.00 a day to feed
their habit. Often they are so enslaved to the drug
that they actually steal rice from their family’s
fields just before harvest to convert into money
to buy opium. Mostly it is the husbands who
become so addicted that they steal from their
own family’s food supply.”
In one village, Namkhong, there were 44 opium
addicts among 42 families. World Renew staff
members proposed that the addicts be sent to a
detoxification program. None of the men addicted
to opium agreed to go. Finally, the women of the
village spoke up. They threatened to leave their
husbands if they didn’t attend. Only then did the
men agree. And they’ve seen success. Of the 44
participants, only one has regressed.
Tom Post relates how World Renew recently
asked the villagers, “Is there more food in your
village now than there was two years ago when
we started working together?” The answer
they received shows that the fight for justice
(Micah 6:8)
bears fruit: “Yes, now there is more rice, more
education, and more diligence.” The villagers
attributed these good results to the fact that the
men are no longer stealing rice and animals to
fund their opium addiction. Instead, men and
women are working together for the good of
their families.
These life-enhancing outcomes affirm why God
pursues justice and wants us to do the same.
His justice brings forth life, not death. He “is the
fountain of life” (Psalm 36:9a).
Prayer
Dear Lord, you are known by your justice.
(Psalm 9:16b) Help us to follow you by seeking
justice in our own communities and around the
world. In Jesus’ name, amen.
action
In Namkhong village, the women had to be brave
and speak up against what the men were doing.
Put 25 cents into Peter Fish for each woman or
girl in your household.

Day 8
don’t Look the other Way
God requires that we live with eyes wide open to
the suffering in our world and the ways that he
is at work within it. That’s what loving the Lord
with our heart, soul, and mind entails. This kind
of looking isn’t for the timid because what we
see often makes us want to look the other way.
Only through Jesus’ power can we do what God
expects of us.
Sometimes we look and see devastating hunger.
At other times, we observe destructive natural
disasters. We might also see poorly run governments
or oppressive leadership. Each situation
demands a response.
In Senegal, World Renew and its partner, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Senegal (EELS)
refused to look the other way when one of the
participants in their adolescent health class experienced
injustice.
Wyva Hasselblad, World Renew’s Country Consultant
in Senegal, says, “Girls in the Dakar slum
areas have a difficult life. Their parents believe
that it is not worthwhile to educate them. The
girls are often treated as property and taught to
obey, growing up with little self esteem. World
Renew and EELS work together with the community
to change these attitudes and to enable
the girls to demonstrate the gifts they have been
given by their Creator.”
People who are treated as property are vulnerable
to the abuse of others. The girls in Dakar
are no exception. Hasselblad relates how,
recently, one girl confided to a peer, an educator
in the adolescent program, that an older man
was trying to get her to do inappropriate things
in exchange for gifts and money. The girl was
afraid to talk to her parents about the situation.
(Matthew 22:37-39)
With the girl’s permission, the peer educator
talked to the girl’s aunt. Soon others came
forward with similar allegations against the
same man. Eventually the local parents’ council
became involved and went to the community
chief to lodge a complaint.
“Because of World Renew’s reputation, the chief
took the complaint seriously,” Hasselblad says.
“The man is no longer approaching girls. The
women have learned that together they can take
action and cause changes. The girl in our health
group learned that she has worth and does not
need to suffer silently.”
This success was possible because people refused
to look the other way. Instead, World Renew,
EELS, the girl, the peer educator, the parent’s
council, and the chief looked and then took
action. Lives were transformed as a result.
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you that you never look the
other way and leave us alone with our problems.
You look. You act. You sent Jesus to save
us. Help us to look at the world as you would
have us do. Help us to love you with our entire
being and to love our neighbors as ourselves. In
Jesus’ name, amen.
action
Look through your daily newspaper or a news
magazine. Identify events and circumstances that
are difficult for us to learn about or look at.
Put 5 cents in Peter Fish for each one.

Day 9
keep God at the center
In today’s Bible verse, Jesus identified the one
thing that the rich young ruler lacked. The man
refused to keep God at the center of his life.
Instead, his heart was crowded and cramped
with adoration for his great wealth.
God requires that we adore him and keep him
at the center. When we do so, our cramped and
crowded hearts become big, generous hearts —
hearts like those of some villagers in Tanzania.
In 2011, World Renew received many donations
from supporters to give goats to people in need.
In December 2011, World Renew’s partner, the
Africa Inland Church of Tanzania Mara/Ukerewe
Diocese (AICT MUD) used some of these donations
to give 50 goats to 25 of the neediest households
in four of the villages where they work.
World Renew-Tanzania staff member, Chris Enns
explains, “Each village was asked to meet collectively
to select the poorest of the poor, or the
most deserving families among them to receive
the goats. Then a special day was arranged
to deliver all the goats to those chosen families,
many of whom were widows. When they
received the goats just before Christmas, the
recipients were overwhelmed by the generosity
of the gift, and the fact that their own community
had chosen them to receive the help.”
Grateful recipients weren’t the only ones encouraged
and changed through this experience. Enns
says, “The communities themselves were also
changed in this process. They saw the importance
of recognizing and taking care of their most
vulnerable members. They vowed to do more in
the future to look after those who are in the most
need. Praise the Lord.”
(Mark 10:21)
Yes, praise the Lord! We might think that people
in countries like Tanzania are poor, and many of
them do have a lot less than we do. Yet they still
recognized what they did have and are willing
to use those blessings to help those among them
who have less. That’s a sign of a generous heart.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for looking on us with love
and for constantly calling us to faithfully keep
you at the center of our hearts. Thank you for
the Tanzanian villagers who did exactly that. In
Jesus’ name, amen.
action
Put 10 cents in Peter Fish for each Tanzanian
household that received a goat.

Day 10
AIDS is a sickness that affects many people in
poor countries. Once they get sick, AIDS patients
can face huge obstacles. World Renew-Malawi
staff explain this by saying, “It’s difficult to rest
because you need to haul water and firewood
and farm your garden. The nearest health clinic
is far away and you have little money for a bus
ride. If you manage to save money to travel to
the clinic, there may be no doctor and very little
medicine. You may be told to go to a pharmacy
and purchase medicine, but you have no money
to travel to the pharmacy or to buy medicine. It is
difficult for your body to recover because you are
malnourished. Your friends and family are afraid
to take care of you, afraid to touch you for fear of
catching HIV/AIDS.”
Rose Khoromana knows firsthand the plight of
AIDS patients. She is one of 24 volunteer caregivers
reaching out to 309 patients in the Chipoka,
Malawi area on behalf of World Renew’s partner,
the Nkhoma Relief and Development. Rose and
the other volunteers go door to door, identifying
chronically ill patients. They also provide basic
medical care, medications, referrals to local clinics,
and assistance with transportation, food, and
household chores. Through this seemingly simple
ministry, patients are encouraged and their quality
of life is greatly improved.
Sarah Gray and her daughter Zione are two of
Rose’s patients. When Sarah became ill, her husband
left her and their three children. Later, Sarah
discovered that she and Zione were HIV positive.
God requires that we look after sick people,
even if they have a disease that seems scary or
care for the sick
(Matthew 25:36)
different. Rose has answered this call and visits
Sarah and Zione regularly to help them with
chores and provide them with companionship,
spiritual support, and medical advice. When
Rose takes care of Sarah and Zione, it is as if she
is looking after Jesus.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, when you walked this earth, you had
compassion on sick people. Thank you for Rose
and others like her who are obedient to your call
to care for the sick. Bless World Renew as they
care for AIDS patients and help us to care for the
sick as well. In Jesus’ name, amen.
action
Malawian villagers face difficulties when pharmacies
and clinics are out of reach. Check your
phone book to see how many pharmacies and
clinics exist in your neighborhood. Put 5 cents in
Peter Fish for each one.

WeekenD
aCtivity
nurturing our Hearts for the World
introduction
Having a heart for the world involves learning
more about people, the challenges they face,
and the ways they overcome obstacles. It also
includes thinking about social change and ways
that we can become increasingly generous. The
books listed below, for both children and adults,
are a good place to start. Why not spend some
time reading this weekend? Visit worldrenew.net/
worldhunger to find discussion questions about
these books.
• (Second Edition) by David J. Smith. Illustrated
by Shelagh Armstrong (Kids Can Press, 2011)
• by Charles Toscano. Illustrated by Sonja
Lamut (Zonderkidz, 2010)
• by Edith Hope Fine and Judith Pinkerton
Josephson. Illustrated by Hernan Sosa
(Lee & Low Books Inc., 2007)
• by Lesley Beake. Illustrated by Karin Littlewood
(Charlesbridge, 2007)
• by Mary Hoffman. Illustrated by
Karin Littlewood (Frances Lincoln, 2002)
• by Deborah Ellis (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2005)
• by Bobbie Kalman. (Crabtree Publishing
Company, 2004) by Emiril Lagasse
(HarperCollins Publishers, 2006)
• by Dave Toycen (HarperCollins Publshers
Ltd., 2004)
• by Frances Westley, Brenda Zimmerman,
and Michael Quinn Patton (Random House
Canada, 2006)

Day 11
God wants our hearts to look like his heart. We’re
not capable of accomplishing that on our own. But
God is! He has an undivided heart. In other words,
he is single-mindedly committed to accomplishing
his plans and to fulfilling his purposes. (Psalm
33:11) He asks us to have an undivided heart, too,
so that we can become committed to achieving
what he desires and to embracing his objectives.
Through the work of the Holy Spirit, our stony
hearts are removed and replaced with “
a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart” (Ezekiel 11:19).
Then, caring for others and the earth becomes as
natural as our own physical heartbeats.
That’s what’s happened to the women of the
Myntoilang Self Help Group (SHG) in the Pynthorumkhrah
district of Shillong, India. They are
single-mindedly caring for their community and
the earth. According to Nancy TenBroek, World
Renew staff member in Bangladesh and India,
“Garbage is scattered throughout the streets and
alleyways. There is no disposal system in place.
As result, plastic bags and trash are thrown
throughout the neighborhood. This causes problems
since the garbage, particularly the plastic
bags, clog drainage pipes and cause flooding in
sections of the community.”
World Renew and its partners are working in communities
throughout India to help people form
community groups and work together to improve
their way of life. Often these groups save money
and provide each other with loans. They might
also invite teachers to come instruct them in literacy
or preventative health. But the groups also
look beyond improving their own individual lives
to find ways to improve their whole community.
The Myntoilang SHG has taken action against the
garbage in their neighborhood. During monthly
undivided Hearts
(Psalm 86:11-12)
cleaning drives, they spend a day picking up garbage.
The community has noticed their efforts. In
fact, the Village Council has hired people to help
the women.
But the women’s concern for their neighborhood
didn’t stop there. They decided to prevent the
problem by providing paper bags as an alternative
to plastic bags.
“On their own initiative the women approached
their government representative for their region
with their proposal,” TenBroek explains. “The
Member of Legislative Assembly agreed to
donate the materials for making the paper bags.
Next, the SHG found a market for the bags. Their
products are now in high demand. This effort
brings in revenue for the SHG and hopefully will
decrease the use and littering of plastic bags in
the community.”
“Red-blooded, firm-muscled hearts” alive with
love and concern are changing the landscape of
this neighborhood in India. How will God use
your undivided heart to change the landscape of
your local and global community?
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you that you search every
heart. (I Chronicles 28:9) Help us to, above all
else, guard our hearts, “the wellspring of life”
(Proverbs 4:23) and to have undivided hearts that
seek your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.
action
Think of something that you can give up this
week (pizza, coffee, a favourite breakfast cereal,
going to the movies) and donate the money you
save to your Peter Fish.

Day 12
When our hearts are captured by God’s love, we
want others to flourish and to reach their full
potential. Sometimes that means gladly sharing
our own money so that others can have enough
to eat. At other times, it means helping people
gain the opportunity to learn more and grow in
their own knowledge.
A community owned box library in Mali is
accomplishing the latter. Zachary Entz, who
works for World Renew in Mali, relates that in
one Malian village of about 14 households there
are 15 people who know how to read. World
Renew has provided the village with a metal box
that contains several books and pamphlets that
can be borrowed, read, and returned just like the
libraries in our neighborhoods. The people in the
village are very enthusiastic readers.
“The more advanced readers have read most of
the 40+ books in the library and eagerly await
the arrival of new books,” Entz says. “When
new books arrive, the library manager goes
around to the households and announces their
arrival. This exciting announcement draws readers
into his concession to inspect the new books
and to borrow them or to find an older book that
interests them.”
Having fun reading and learning for yourself
isn’t the only benefit of the box library. More
important, community spirit is being built. Entz
explains, “Rather than reading their own books,
the circulation of library books also helps circulate
knowledge and ideas gleaned from the
books. This is a place where readers are given the
space to share and discuss what they are read-
Flourishing Hearts
(Psalm 52:8)
ing. In a society where power (both spiritual and
political) is tied to knowledge, this community
based library is slowly opening up the sources of
knowledge to everyone who can read.”
Your heart has been captured by God’s love.
Because of that, you are flourishing in his presence,
and developing into what God intends you
to be. What steps can you take to help others
achieve their God-given potential?
Prayer
Dear Lord, though we do not deserve your
grace, you make our lives flourish. Thank you
so much! Give us a deep desire to do what we
can, in your power, so others can thrive, too. In
Jesus’ name, amen.
action
The people in Mali are growing and learning
because they can read books. Count the books
in your house and put 1 cent in Peter Fish for
each one.

Day 13
Jesus is “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew
11:29). In today’s text, we are encouraged to follow
Jesus’ example and let humility characterize
our own hearts. Sometimes “humility” means
sharing with and helping others, other times
it means admitting when someone else knows
more than you.
World Renew’s team in Xiengkhouang, Laos,
practiced humility when the techniques for raising
pigs that they introduced to farmers proved
unsuccessful. James Zwier, World Renew staff
member in Laos, explains this by saying, “For
several years, the World Renew agriculture team
has been part of a network of organizations in
Laos called Legumes for Pig Production. Through
this network, a series of training sessions, study
tours, and exchange meetings were organized by
the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
to promote improved pig raising techniques.”
The World Renew team decided to try these
techniques in targeted communities to help them
raise pigs to improve household incomes. They
built special pens to house the pigs and fed them
special food. However, the results weren’t what
World Renew expected. “The pigs didn’t flourish
and weren’t getting pregnant according to the
expected time frame,” said Zwier. Against the
advice of World Renew staff, the farmers took
the pigs out of raised pens and put them in larger
free-range pens on the outskirts of the village.
After that, the pigs thrived. Many became pregnant
and bore healthy piglets. Most of them grew
large enough to sell and give back to the project
for the benefit of other families.
Humble Hearts
(Philippians 2:3-4)
“We learned that new agricultural technologies
might sound good in training, but aren’t always
a good fit for the realities in the community.
Outside technical advice can provide valuable
ideas, but in the end farmers are the ones who
know their situations best.”
World Renew staff and community members in
Laos had to be humble to try out new things,
admit when they were wrong, and accept advice
from others. Having a heart for the world as God
intends means practicing humility like this in our
own homes and around the world.
Prayer
Dear God, put to death our pride and nurture
humility in us. Strengthen our Christian witness
by cultivating our humbleness. In Jesus’
name, amen.
action
World Renew staff learned humility as they tried
to teach people in Laos about raising pigs. For
people in poverty, an animal such as a pig can be
like a bank account — providing food or extra
money when the family needs it. Put 50 cents
in Peter Fish for every pet that you have. If you
don’t have a pet, put 50 cents in your bank and
thank God for animals that help families in need.

Day 14
On a recent visit to a thriving homestead in Western
Kenya, World Renew staff member, Stephan
Lutz, had a unique opportunity to “rejoice with
those who rejoice.” Bainito, the owner of the
homestead, told Stephan, “We were expecting
you. You have to plant a tree.” In 10 years of
development work, Lutz had never started a visit
in this unique way.
After planting two fruit trees, Lutz noticed
many other varieties of trees around him. He
saw ducks, turkeys, chickens, and two cows. He
observed crops of sweet potatoes, beans, cassava,
and amaranth. And, he noticed beehives.
Bainito proudly explained to Lutz that he had
come to the area three years ago. At that time, the
land was barren. World Renew and its partners
are working in Kenya to help farmers like this
learn new agricultural techniques and encourage
families to try multiple crops and animals in
order to have many sources of income.
By employing wise farming methods and working
hard, Bainito had done just that. Today, his
land is productive. Many people living in the
area come to him now to buy agricultural produce
like honey, vegetables, chickens, and milk.
Income is always available and, whenever possible,
is reinvested in the farm.
“Bainito’s farm demonstrated many of the transformational
principles of agricultural development
I believe in,” Lutz says. “By letting creation
flourish to its maximum diversity, farmers enjoy
less risk and better livelihoods. Bainito is a great
farmer. His farm is a model of self-sustaining
rejoicing Hearts
(Romans 12:15b)
and diversified agriculture worth writing about
and visiting again in the future. I look forward to
planting another tree.”
Stephan Lutz rejoiced with Bainito, who was
rejoicing in the health and productivity of his
farm. You, too, can rejoice with people all over
the world who are overcoming poverty, making
land productive, and strengthening their communities,
as a result.
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for teaching us to rejoice
with others who have reasons to celebrate your
good blessings. Make us more aware of ways that
we can do so. In Jesus’ name, amen.
action
Bainito’s farm is characterized by diversity —
meaning that he has lots of different kinds of
crops and animals. Re-read the story above and
put 10 cents in Peter Fish for each kind of crop
and animal he raises.

Day 15
For 50 years, World Renew has experienced
God’s compassion daily. Through God’s great
faithfulness, World Renew/CRWRC has been
enabled to improve the lives of Korean orphans,
Cuban refugees, oppressed women in Laos and
Senegal, and families in need in Haiti, Sierra
Leone, Uganda, and many other places around
the world. Fifty years is a long time, and reason
enough to celebrate, but there is still much work
to be done.
Our world continues to be filled with evidence of
sin. There is poverty, war, disaster, and injustice.
Refugees, AIDS orphans, oppressed women, and
others have needs waiting to be met. Because we
are new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17),
we embrace the task of renewing this world back
to the way God intended it. We work to renew
the earth through improved agricultural practices,
we work to renew minds through literacy and
business training, and we work to renew people
by equipping them to achieve their potential as
God’s children.
While we may grow tired or weary in this task,
our God never does. Just as we work to renew
God’s world, he daily renews our strength (Isaiah
40:31a) and provides us with his Spirit to guide
and energize us. When we call on God, he is
always faithful and will renew our minds, body,
and spirit every day for achieving his task. Great
is God’s faithfulness!
renewed People
(Lamentations 3:22-24)
Prayer
Dear Lord, how can we begin to thank you for the
privilege and joy you have given us in allowing us
to serve you? You alone deserve all the glory for
what you have allowed World Renew to accomplish
in the last 50 years. The future is yours.
Renew us so we can keep on serving you. In
Jesus’ name, amen.
action
Read Revelation 21:1-5. What incredible things
will happen when Jesus comes again to make
all things new? Put 25 cents in Peter Fish for
each one.

continuing your Heart For the World
Now that our World Hunger Campaign is drawing to a close, what can you do to continue to mold
your heart after God’s and show your commitment to his children in need? One possibility is to sign
up for World Renew’s Free A Family® program. Free A Family® is a great way to provide regular support
to the ongoing work of World Renew while also receiving stories and updates to help you and
your family learn more about God’s children around the world.
To join Free A Family®, the current recommended monthly donation is $22. However, you may give
more or less as you are able. This support is directed to the region of the world that you select — either
Asia, Latin America, East Africa, Southern Africa, or West Africa — where it is used to support World
Renew’s life-changing programs for individuals, families, and communities in need.
In exchange for your support, you will receive quarterly updates about a real family that World
Renew is working with. You will hear about their challenges and struggles, and also join in their
celebrations as they achieve their goals. Because World Renew uses representative families for these
updates, you can be assured that your donation is being used to provide the maximum amount of
impact in the world.
For more information or to sign up, please visit www.freeafamily.org. Additional suggestions for ways
you can continue your heart for the world can be found at worldrenew.net.

WorlD reneW-CanaDa 3475 Mainway, Po Box 5070 stn lCD 1, Burlington, on l7r 3y8, 1-800-730-3490
WorlD reneW-Us 2850 kalamazoo ave. se, Grand rapids, Mi 49560, 1-800-55-CrWrC (27972)
www.worldrenew.net
World Renew is an agency of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) that relies on support from donors like you and does not
receive Ministry Shares. To learn more about the CRC’s work in North America and around the world, visit www.crcna.org.