Columbia-Willamette Women of Vision

February 2023

This week my devotional reading included this "Blessing" from Psalm 25:4-5.

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. 

Guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God my Savior, 

and my hope is in you all day long. 

That’s a good prayer and blessing. I do want to learn God’s ways. I do want to listen for God’s voice…

Then I started reading the news on Monday: 

• It was the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which is estimated to affect 200 million girls and women worldwide. 
• There’s been a devastating earthquake and equally strong aftershock in southern Türkiye (formerly Turkey, the official name is now the Republic of Türkiye) and Syria with thousands of buildings destroyed, thousands killed, and it is cold with snow and rain for those who survived and for rescue workers. 
• There is an update on the war in Ukraine and one on hunger in Somalia and another on the constant flow of refugees from Central America at our Southern Border. 

It feels like too much, Lord! I’d rather not think about those things right now. Maybe I should change the subject and do some Bible study. "Show me your ways, Lord…” And here was the reading from Psalm 82:3-4.

Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;

maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.

Rescue the weak and the needy.

Here were answers to both the blessing prayer and to feeling overwhelmed. God was calling me to know these tragedies because He sees and cares about them. He is making a difference in them through the work of World Vision. The World Vision projects supported by gifts to Women of Vision have a lasting impact on these very issues. 

The Kenya Big Dream project is helping communities to be safe places with zero tolerance for FGM. The Global Emergency Response Fund is active in just such places as Türkiye, Syria, and Somalia. The Central America Faith Project teaches parents and children how to live productively, without violence, so fleeing is not necessary. 

I won’t stop reading the news because at times it can be discouraging; I will keep reading because it reminds me who the weak and needy are that God calls me to help. On March 11, join us to learn more about the three projects we support and to hear eye witness accounts from chapter members who visited Honduras in February! Join us on April 11 for our annual Share the Light fundraising gala. 

Join us as we join God in his care for the weak and needy.

Ruth Nottingham

Columbia-Willamette Chapter Co-Chair

Women of Vision in Honduras Right Now!

From February 13 to 17, Nancy Perich, Karol Rykert, Lynne Sears, and Ann Zelenka, all from our chapter, are traveling with women from other Women of Vision chapters to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to learn more about World Vision’s Christian Discipleship project in Central America. Our team is shown here with Nadia Castro (in the middle). Nadia has worked many years with World Vision Honduras. She's the host and guide for our group this week. Please keep them in your prayers!

Update on the Türkiye Earthquake

What words can be uttered when faced with the horrific facts: 34,000 dead, hundreds of thousands injured, an estimated 23 million people likely affected by the devastating earthquakes last week in Türkiye and Syria? I know I serve a great and mighty God who sees the suffering and promises to walk alongside the afflicted, but how do I pray and understand suffering at this level? How are those directly impacted by these deadly earthquakes praying? I don’t know. But Romans 8:26-27 promises this for those of us who follow Christ:

The [Holy] Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit himself intercedes for us

with groans that words cannot express.

We must continue to pray for this region even if it’s only through groans and cries.

And we have a way to send love and support in human form. World Vision is on the ground assessing the damage, assessing needs, and scaling up its response. World Vision has 12 in-country staff in Türkiye, 48 staff in Northwest Syria, and hundreds more volunteers. They’ve been working in the region for 40 years.

World Vision quickly began distributing fuel and heat to shelters as cold and sub-zero temperatures became the immediate concern. Initial assessments from World Vision partners show a critical need for fuel to restore heating and electricity to medical facilities and emergency shelters. World Vision is also providing care to children whose families aren’t able to in the midst of the devastation. Thousands of children are out of school now, too afraid to return to unstable buildings. Many people are spending the night outside in freezing temperatures without heat or shelter. Health care facilities are full.

In the coming weeks, World Vision’s priority will be to provide affected people with access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health, shelter, and protection services.

Your gifts to Columbia-Willamette Women of Vision will support these efforts. Funding is critical now–the more funds World Vision can raise, the more people they can assist. Our chapter supports the Global Emergency Response Fund, one source of immediate funding for crises like these.

If you feel led, you can donate here. We will also be sharing more about this disaster and the way World Vision responds to emergency humanitarian crises at our event “Journey to Hope” on March 11. RSVP below.

Anne Huiskes

Global Focus Chair

Prayer Requests

Join with us to lift up the needs of our Chapter and the world. Please pray:

• For the victims of the horrific earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.
• Safety for the Honduras team as they travel February 13-17 and for deepened understanding of the needs and the project work.
• Family members and friends of women of our chapter who are facing serious health challenges, both mental and physical.
• For national and world leaders as they make decisions in challenging times.
• Strong turnouts to both our March 11 Education event at Columbia Presbyterian Church and for our Share the Light Gala fundraising event at the Multnomah Athletic Club on April 16.

Calendar

Please join us:

A Journey to Hope:

"Travel" with us to communities in Kenya, Central America, and Places Struck by Disaster

March 11, 2023

Fellowship begins at 9 a.m.

Program runs from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Columbia Presbyterian Church, Vancouver, Washington

Click here to RSVP



Our Winter Education event is designed to give you a glimpse into each of the three World Vision projects our chapter supports. 

You’ll “travel” to Kenya, Honduras, and disaster zones to learn about the need and the hope that World Vision offers. A special highlight will be a report from the women in our chapter traveling to Honduras with World Vision in February. 

We hope you’ll plan to spend Saturday morning, March 11, on a Journey to Hope: A Virtual Journey to Central America, Kenya and Places Struck by Disaster. Perhaps you’ll find hope for your journey as well!

Share the Light Gala 2023

April 16, 2023 at 5:30 in the Evening

Multnomah Athletic Club, Portland

Come enjoy social time, a delicious dinner, special music, a fresh new raffle concept, and a message from guest speaker Margaret Schuler, World Vision Chief Impact Officer and Senior Vice President, International Programs.

Invitations will be mailed the end of this month!

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, Central America, and areas around the globe struck by disasters. 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.