“We are all going through an incredibly trying time. But through all the anxiety, through all the confusion, through all the isolation, through all the Tiger King, somehow the human spirit found a way to break through and blow us all away.”
— John Krasinksi
The world is crumbling… or so it would seem. Everywhere we look stories of viruses, job loss and economic collapse fill our newsfeeds. In such a time as this, it would be easy to draw back in fear, to collapse under the weight of the unknown. But we’ve been wondering — might there be a better way to cope with our collective grief? We think so!
Enter: The Good News Report!
Every day, we receive stories from our local offices and church partners around the world — stories of people, just like you, who are sharing love and spreading hope right within their own communities. Whether it’s apartment dwellers in Atlanta cheering on healthcare workers from their balconies, or a World Relief volunteer in Dupage donating a much-needed wheelchair to an asylum seeker, these stories from our World Relief family and beyond are inspiring. They’re uplifting! They’re a breath of fresh air in the middle of much unknown.
While there is still much to mourn and a lot of change and uncertainty to walk through, these stories have brought us some much-needed refreshment, and we thought you might need the refreshment as well.
With that in mind, we are committed to sharing good news from our offices and communities for the next several weeks. We hope these stories are a welcomed break from the heavy and the hard. We hope they give you strength as you move through your day. We hope they lift your eyes and fill your spirits as you discover that love still remains, even in the midst of crisis.
Westwood Community Church – Excelsior, MN
One of the best things we’re seeing come out of this crisis is the creativity springing up out of local churches as they find new ways to connect with their communities and serve others.
In Excelsior, MN, World Relief church partner Westwood Community Church had no problem shifting their services to an online experience. They had been LiveStreaming their services for several years and had recently implemented an online campus service just six months earlier.
In the midst of the transition, they reached out to one of their immigrant church partners, Destino Covenant Church in Minneapolis, to see if there was anything they needed. Destino’s lead pastor, Mauricio Dell, expressed a need to create a video so his church could put their Sunday services online. Westwood sprung into action, and days later, members of the Westwood Communications team met Mauricio and his wife, Jacquelyn, to film the service. Mauricio preached in Spanish while Jacquelyn translated in English. The video was uploaded and ready to stream the following Sunday.
But perhaps the best part of the story is that Mauricio and Jacquelyn were able to learn how to video the service themselves. The Westwood Communications team showed them what type of lighting to use and how to properly upload the videos. Now, Mauricio and Jacquelyn are taping their own services and no longer need to travel 30 miles to Westwood to get the job done.
The Spokane Chinese Association: Spokane, WA
Washington State has been one of the states hardest hit by the Coronavirus. Our World Relief Spokane team has been hard work making adjustments and meeting needs even as they social distance. Last week, they shared a story from within the Spokane community that encouraged them and us!
The Spokane Chinese Association first became aware of the novel Coronavirus as it was spreading across Wuhan. When the virus hit their own community in Spokane, they wanted to help. Led by their president, Ping Ping, the association was able to distribute more than 600 masks to people throughout the community. But Ping wanted to do more!
She began collecting donations and was able to donate 400 masks to the Spokane Police Department, a gift the police captain said was much needed. Now, Ping has raised more than $6,000 that she plans to use to donate more masks to first responders and medical workers in the Spokane area.
You can read more of Ping’s story here.
Rachel Clair serves as a Content Writer at World Relief. With a background in creative writing and children’s ministry, she is passionate about helping people of all ages think creatively and love God with their hearts, souls and minds.