A Christmas Wish: Investing in the Future
It’s almost Christmas! Today’s Christmas Wish comes from Rafaela Leonidas Encarnación from Basima, Dominican Republic. Rafaela is the mother of an entrepreneurial family. With six children, Rafaela was always worried about making ends meet and feeding her family. She operated a small business in her village, selling various items to other community members, but the income generated from her business was not sufficient to meet her family’s needs.
That started to change when Rafaela joined a Plant With Purpose group where she received training in small business and financial management.
Now, Rafaela’s business is thriving, and her daughter has also set up her own successful business selling empanadas. The income her daughter generates not only supplements their household income, but it also makes Rafaela very proud of her daughter’s entrepreneurial spirit.
“Partnering with Plant With Purpose has been very good for my community and me,” Rafaela says. “Thanks to God’s providence and the business training received through Plant With Purpose’s workshops, my business has been more successful, I have been able to attract more customers, and my relationship with my family is stronger.”
This Christmas, consider giving the gift of opportunity to entrepreneurs like Rafaela and her daughter. Village savings and loans associations (VSLA) offer a safe venue to learn to save money, receive low-interest microloans, and take part in critical business training.
A Christmas Wish: Sharing and Living the Good News
Our next very special Christmas wish comes from a woman named Jocelyn Dieumène of Barye, Haiti. Jocelyn lives in a place where words like community mean something. In the five years Jocelyn has participated in Plant With Purpose programs, her income has increased as her small plot of land has gone from producing 20 pounds of beans at a time to 50 pounds at a time. She is now able to afford the fees needed to send her three children to school, 
but beyond that Jocelyn says participation in group Bible studies has also encouraged her to give back to her community.
“When I listen to God’s word, my ideas change positively, and I am ready to share with my neighbors,” Jocelyn says.
During the Christmas season, you can help communities like Barye to strengthen their church and community ties by providing critical resources, training, and Bible study materials to pastors and leaders.
Consider giving a gift that will empower churches around the world to engage the needs of their communities in the name of Christ.
A Christmas Wish: Clean Water for Haiti
Forget the iPad, Christmas sweaters, and stocking stuffers, all Visnel wants for Christmas is access to clean water.
In Haiti, the place he calls home, clean water is hard to come by. Waterborne disease kills thousands of people there every single year, a fact that has only grown worse as the country continues fighting a cholera epidemic. In fact, contaminated water nearly cost Visnel his life when he contracted cholera this year. But thanks to his Plant With Purpose community group leader, Visnel arrived at a clinic for treatment just in time.
“Plant With Purpose saved my life!” Visnel says.
Still, while we celebrate this example of the incredible support system people are finding through Plant With Purpose groups, we believe that people like Visnel shouldn’t be getting sick in the first place. Something as simple as the gift of clean water changes communities and saves lives. It means health instead of illness, and it means a better, more hopeful tomorrow. It also means opportunity for Visnel’s children and others like them as they can go to school instead of walking for water each day.
In Matthew 10:42 Jesus says, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”
This Christmas season, consider providing children and families like Visnel’s with access to cold—and more importantly, clean—water.
Click here to meet more farmers like Visnel and view the complete Plant With Purpose Christmas Wish List and give the gift of hope to families in need.
