Columbia-Willamette Women of Vision

June 2022

On the spur of the moment, my husband and I flew to St. Louis two weeks ago to spend forty-eight hours with our granddaughter who was turning sixteen. It had been about a year since we had seen her, and we'd had to cancel a few flights because of the pandemic during the year and our refunds were going to expire in the summer. All the pieces came together and off we went.

On the flight, I finished our Women of Vision June book selection, The Girls in the Wild Fig Tree. Nice Leng’ete wrote her story as a girl in Kenya resisting FGM and educating others about the risks of early marriage. She is part of changing the culture of her country. The stories of the young girls were often heart-wrenching, and they were the stories our WOV Chapter have heard as we support the Kenya Big Dream World Vision project.

Throughout the weekend, the picture in my mind became very clear as I saw the life of our granddaughter versus a young girl in areas of Kenya. I soaked in the joy of a sixteen-year-old learning to drive with her permit, working a few hours a day to earn money towards a car, studying for finals, and deciding to take French for a third year because she loves the teacher. Excitement radiated from her as she looks forward to taking some advanced classes to meet her goals as she looks forward to college in two years.

She is not a sixteen-year-old with two children and caring for the entire household. She is not a sixteen-year-old whose dreams for the future were taken from her when she could no longer attend school because she was forced into early marriage.

As we got on the plane to fly back to Portland, I pulled out my phone to put it on airplane mode. An email popped up from World Vision. I had a new message from my sponsored child, Naominafula, from Kenya! She was thanking me for supporting her and her community.

At left, Ann in Mozambique. At right, Ann with her daughter-in-law, Leah (in foreground), and World Vision's Cherry Marcelo.

I am blessed to be a partner in this chapter of Women of Vision. A place where I can learn, discuss, and have personal connections with a World Vision project. And where I can pray and give with others to make a difference in children’s lives.

I look forward to serving as your co-chair this year, along with Ruth Nottingham. And I hope you are planning to attend the Midsummer Night's Share the Light Gala on August 7. I’ll see you there!

In Christ,

Ann Zelenka

Columbia-Willamette Women of Vision Co-Chair

You're invited!

Sunday evening, August 7, 2022

5:30 p.m. at Abigail’s Garden

The Abernethy Center, Oregon City

Invitations went out this month for our Midsummer Night's Share the Light Gala! We invite you for dinner and inspiration in a delightful garden setting to bring life, hope, and a future to children in Honduras, Kenya, and Syria. Sean Kerrigan, World Vision’s VP of Philanthropy, will be speaking. We hope you will plan to be there.

Tickets are on sale for $80 per person. Please respond by July 19!

You can buy your tickets several ways:

1. Go to Brown Paper Tickets online: stl2022.bpt.me/
2. Call the World Vision Help Desk to pay with your credit card: 877-968-4968
3. Mail a check made out to World Vision/Women of Vision to our treasurer.

Karen Zocchi

316 NE 105 Avenue

Hillsboro, OR 97006

You will need to choose from three dinner entree choices. Please include your choice for each guest with your check. If you buy tickets online, we'll be in touch to get your selection.

• NW Cedar Plank Salmon
• Grilled Beef Tenderloin
• Portobello Mushroom Veggie Stacker

Three Fantastic Raffle Prizes 

You will also have the opportunity to win one of three amazing raffle prizes:

• Oregon Coast Get-Away
• Original Painting by Margaret Terrall
• Dinner and Lake Cruise with LuAnn and Wayne Yocky

199 tickets will be sold for $50 each.

If you have any questions, contact Kelley Wong (kelleyjwong@aol.com) or Sandy Grubb (sandygrubb@comcast.net).

World Refugee Day is June 20th

The journey has just begun for these Ukrainian children, but World Vision is there for them with shelter, food, protection, and psychosocial support. The war in Ukraine and other conflicts have pushed the number of people forced to flee violence, human rights violations, and persecution over the staggering milestone of 100 million (1% of the global population) for the first time on record, says the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Monday, June 20th, is World Refugee Day. Please pause to pray for refugees around the world. A few weeks ago, our chapter of Women of Vision gathered in person to pray for refugees. Click to enlarge the prayer sheet above that we handed out to guide our prayers.

Calendar

Monthly Prayer Call

We won't be gathering to pray in June, but please continue to pray for our World Vision projects and our Share the Light Event. Thank you!

July Summer Book Group

Find Me Unafraid by Jessica Posner and Kennedy Odede

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Gathering starts at 6:30 p.m., discussion starts at 7:00

We'll be meeting at the home of Dinah Nicholson in SW Portland.

Click here for more info and to RSVP.

A Midsummer Night's Share the Light Gala

Sunday evening, August 7, 2022

(See details above.)

About Us

Women of Vision is a volunteer ministry of World Vision that cultivates dynamic partnerships resulting in significant investments of time, talent, and treasure in support of World Vision’s work, facilitating transformational impact in the lives of the poor and our supporters in the name of Christ. Please partner with us! Click here to learn what that means and update your commitment for this new year (or for the first time).

The Columbia-Willamette Chapter of Women of Vision supports World Vision's work in Kenya, Honduras, and the Syrian impact area. We also volunteer at many local organizations to help the disadvantaged in our own community. Please read about this work on our website.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.