Help, Hope, and Healing

Many people around our world are trapped by poverty, oppression, politics, and war. Disease and injury are prevalent. Education is inadequate or altogether non-existent. Basic health care is lacking. In short, people need our help. During 2018, The Hanna Project sent teams to various parts of the world to lend a helping hand.

In Ecuador's jungles, our team focused on two avenues of help. A construction group helped construct a school. Quality education aids in breaking the cycle of abuse and poverty. A medical team visited several jungle villages to provide much-needed healthcare.

A dual team of medical and construction workers traveled to Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, as well. Working in the hospital in Doropo, the medical team assisted local staff with surgeries, emergency medicine, basic treatment, wound care, and more for hundreds of people. The construction team completed several maintenance projects, including renovations to the new Dr. Lavergne Miley Medical Block at the hospital.

In Kazakhstan, a team helped construct a new Hope Center. Additionally, the team served 100 individuals during an eye clinic, providing free screening and eyeglasses, and assisted with English classes.

THP returned to Bulgaria in an ongoing renovation effort at a local hospital. The team prepared and painted an entire wing of the facility; repaired lighting and plumbing; and provided new beds, bedding, and furniture. The mayor and city leaders expressed great appreciation for all THP has done to bring hope and healing to the people of Bulgaria.

In November, a team of construction workers flew to Tokyo to renovate a meeting center for Hope Alive. The team cleaned, painted, built a wall, installed flooring, and completely renovated bathrooms. Sometimes working into the early morning hours, the team prepared the space to be used for English activities and other meetings for Hope Alive.

A couple days after Christmas, an 11-person team traveled to Bulgaria to bring hope to hundreds of children by distributing Christmas shoeboxes. The team visited 11 villages and distributed more than 300 shoeboxes. Joyful tears flowed down the faces of children as they opened their boxes. As much, or perhaps more, than the gifts they received, the children, parents, and grandparents were overwhelmed by the love demonstrated by the team as they played games and sang Christmas songs with the villagers. Local officials and villagers alike begged the team to return.

What an incredible blessing to use the resources we have been given to share help, hope, and healing with those around the world.

Several projects and trips have been planned for 2019. In May, a team traveled to the jungles of Ecuador to work in construction, medical, and educational efforts. In August, a team will return to Côte d’Ivoire to provide medical help, construction work, and children’s programming. In September, a team will travel to Kazakhstan to work alongside partners in the Hope Center. Bulgaria also will receive a team in September. A construction team will inaugurate work in the Dominican Republic in November as we help build an English school. In December and January, a team will return to Bulgaria to deliver Christmas shoeboxes. Other trips and projects are being planned even as this article is written. As plans are solidified, our website is updated with details and costs.

If you wish to support The Hanna Project’s efforts financially, or if you are interested in participating in a project, visit www.hannaproject.com to give or apply today.

About the Writer: Sam McVay is the former director of The Hanna Project.

Meredith Parrish

Many amazing things could be said about The Hanna Project. However, my praise for the organization is this: it gave me a chance to experience my love for the medical field for the first time, on foreign soil. Next semester, I will start nursing school. Before my trip to Ivory Coast last summer, nursing school was a good idea. However, after hands-on experience, ministering to people, and sharing Christ through medicine, I realize nursing school is no longer just “a good idea” but my calling.

Our trip had a two-fold mission: work with the medical staff in the indigenous hospital and help finish construction on a new wing of the hospital. After three flights, four days of lost luggage, and a ten-hour drive upcountry, we finally arrived in Doropo. To say I felt completely lost and in the middle of nowhere is an understatement. However, through the teaching of the missionaries around me, the hands-on experience in the hospital, and interacting with the locals, I realized the middle of nowhere was where God had to take me to get my attention. I quickly recognized I did not travel almost 5,000 miles solely to touch other people’s lives, but to be ministered to myself.

I will forever be grateful for The Hanna Project and every cross-cultural and lifelong lesson I learned on my trip. My life has been impacted immensely.

Ashley Rains

Just two days after Christmas, I traveled to Bulgaria with The Hanna Project. Our team’s purpose was to provide Christmas parties for villages. This included singing Christmas songs, preparing snacks and crafts, playing fun games, and everyone’s favorite part—opening Christmas gifts!

Like many people, I was familiar with Operation Christmas Child and the shoebox initiative. In fact, I participated personally at times with my family and our church. This year, I was able to hand out these shoeboxes to children. What an incredible opportunity! Seeing the looks on their faces, hearing them gasp in amazement, listening to squeals of joy, as each one opened his gift—these are things I will treasure forever.

As with any other team, it is always interesting to see God at work among you. He brought together 11 people from diverse states, age groups, professions, and walks of life to serve Him and those He loves so much. Traveling with THP created new friendships and bonds I will cherish for years to come. Among those was the privilege of getting to know our host missionaries. Without this trip, they would have remained faces on a prayer card.

I am so thankful I had the opportunity to travel with The Hanna Project and be a part of the ongoing work in Shumen, Bulgaria.

Jennifer Thomsen

After helping with the logistics for The Hanna Project, I felt the need to go on a trip myself. I looked at the trips scheduled for 2018 and tried to see where I could use my talents and skills. After a lot of prayer, I decided to go to Svishtov, Bulgaria, and I am so glad I did.

I could tell you so many things about our team and the things we did. We had a great team dynamic. I loved ministering with two people from my church. I loved the time in our room where three ladies from three different generations shared, laughed, and cared for each other. We painted a wing in a local hospital and helped with cooking classes at night. We visited with our missionaries, worshiped with Bulgarians, had a scavenger hunt around the city, and were on the receiving end of a missionary kid’s practical jokes.

The thing that impacted me the most was a conversation with Anna Postlewaite. A few of us had been inside of an Orthodox Church. It was a very moving experience. As we stood on the steps on the church, Anna took a deep breath and asked us to pray for her friend because “she knows lots of gods, but she doesn’t know the true God.” With tears running down my cheeks, I promised to pray for her friend. I stood on the steps of the church and thought, “This eight-year old girl gets it. It isn’t her parents’ job to tell others about Christ; she shares their ministry.”

The people of Bulgaria challenged me. But the request of an eight-year-old asking me to pray for her friend changed my life. I can’t wait for the day her friend knows the true God.

Coty Stroud

My name is Coty Stroud. I’m 28 years old and live in North Carolina. Last fall, I was privileged to join The Hanna Project on a trip to the Ivory Coast. My part of the trip consisted of construction work at a local hospital. A medical team also offered basic patient care and performed surgeries.

On the flight over, I had the honor to sit with Sherwood Lee. For many years, Mr. Lee worked in Ivory Coast as a doctor at the Miley hospital. Naturally, I asked, “What is the most important thing I need to know? I don’t speak the language so I’m a bit concerned how to communicate with people.” I’ll never forget Mr. Sherwood’s response: “Coty, there are no language barriers when it comes to love.”

Wow! What a powerful statement—not only for the trip but for living life.

We arrived in Doropo in the far northeast of Ivory Coast and began working. We helped local workers paint, lay tile, finish plumbing, perform light electrical duties, install HVAC, hang windows and doors—you name it; we did it. The medical team performed several surgeries, delivered babies, saw many malaria cases, and met the needs of the day.

Traveling with THP changed my life. I view the world from a different perspective. I see people differently. My love for God has become more passionate. Working alongside the men of THP and experiencing how God can use individuals is something I will remember for
a lifetime.

Before we left, the locals gathered to let us know how thankful and blessed they were by our help. But the blessing was all mine. What happened those weeks—what God did in my life, what He showed me, and what He taught me—was worth every sacrifice and money spent to be there. Every follower of Christ is commanded to go. That may be next door or maybe around the world. I don’t know what door God is going to open next, but I hope that door involves THP.

Mikayla Sprenkle

I traveled to Bulgaria in December 2018 for an Operation Christmas Child distribution with The Hanna Project. We went to villages delivering gifts to the children, playing games, and sharing the gospel. We worked in mainly Muslim villages. God really opened my eyes to what it meant to never hear the Word. My heart was broken. Several nights, I thought to myself, “Will they ever understand? How will God move here?”

Yet, by the end of each visit, I saw smiles turn into hugs, and hugs turn into a friendship. I truly believe our team did exactly what we came to do: plant seeds and deliver not only gifts, but hope!

Undeniably, God left His mark. He showed up right when we needed it. One day He provided just the right number of Bibles to distribute to the Bulgarian parents accompanying their children. Every child’s gift almost seemed tailored for them, even though we didn’t know what was in the shoebox. God was moving.

I am eternally grateful to THP for providing me with this opportunity. At only 17 years old, my life has been changed forever. It is my prayer everyone can share an experience like mine.