When Seeds of Hope first began building our presence and programs in Jericho, we knew we wanted it to be much more than a local effort. From the beginning, we envisioned a global network of support and cooperation working together to impact the Holy Land in unimaginable ways. Our prayers have been answered in countless ways that we never expected, and today we have just that.
The Seeds of Hope family stretches across the globe with supporters and team members in many countries. Many of you have even traveled from half a world away to experience in person what you have supported from a distance for years. We believe this global network is one of the keys to Seeds of Hope’s success and influence. This is never truer than when we think about our volunteers.
“The word volunteer is not the ideal word to use,” said Stevie Ghanim about these men and women. “Yes, they come and serve on their own time and initiative, but they are more than volunteers. They are part of a team—part of a permanent structure in Jericho that is making waves.”
For over a decade, our volunteers—for lack of a better term—have moved to Jericho from countries all over the world and made it their home as they’ve filled vital roles in our programs. They’ve taught in our school, helping students of all ages learn English and embrace our core values curriculum. They’ve spearheaded new programs that have impacted countless people across our community. But most importantly, they’ve built relationships with families in Jericho that have influenced people for life.
“The volunteers have taken Jericho by storm in the best way,” said Simon Shaheen, Seeds of Hope Cultural Center Director. “The community speaks about our volunteers in the highest regard. By watching our team, many would say that their entire perspective on foreigners and Christians has completely changed! Locals still ask about some of our first team members who helped start Seeds of Hope in Jericho. They haven’t been in Jericho for nine years, but they are still thought about and asked about regularly. And many still keep in touch with them.”
Prior to the pandemic, we typically had five or six volunteers living in Jericho at a time, though we’ve had up to fifteen on our staff at once. In early 2020, we had seven potential new volunteers raising support and preparing to make Jericho their home. COVID-19 changed all that.
“During COVID, we lost our volunteer team as they had to return to their home countries,” remembers Simon. “We can absolutely feel their absence. We’re always praying that we’ll receive team members again.”
For the first time in fourteen years, we have no volunteers living in Jericho. With our borders closed for so long, it became impossible for some to return, and our prospective team members had to make other plans. Though we’ve worked hard to make up for the absence, it has certainly impacted us.
Thankfully, there is good news on the horizon. We’re hopeful that we’ll have volunteers start to return to Jericho this fall, along with Mike and Ashton Hang, the husband and wife duo who lead our volunteers and have been working to move their family back to Jericho since the pandemic.
“We are so thankful for our team members, especially our foreign volunteers,” said Mike and Ashton. “They sacrifice so much of their time (some years and others more than a decade) to live overseas in a different culture and learn a new language to share the light and love of Christ with their local neighbors.”
Over their years at Seeds of Hope, Mike and Ashton have seen firsthand the incredible impact our volunteers have had on our local community. “Through the heart, hard work, and persistence of our volunteers, so many local families have been blessed by our team,” they told us. “Parents tell us how much their kids want to go to school, how their English has improved, and how much they love our team members. And Seeds of Hope is held in the highest regard locally because of its ability to attract and retain international volunteers.”
Seeds of Hope’s global network of support not only enables us to create excellent programs in Jericho but also builds credibility with our community. We’ve seen families who would usually be skeptical of our message lean in and listen because they’ve come to trust our volunteers.
We’re excited to see how our volunteer team rebuilds this fall and next year. Please join us in prayer that we can build back an incredible team to come alongside our local staff and keep creating lasting generational change in Jericho and beyond.
