High risk loans

Yesterday we had a meeting with 8 of Elevate's higher risk loans. Most of these ladies are single mamas that are struggling to meet the basic needs of their family. Our meeting was to discuss the "how's" of business. This included evangelizing, marketing, money management, and customer service. 

    Look at this beautiful group!

We asked one of our successful Elevate loan recipients, Chrismene (you may remember her from one of our posts on fb, she sells underwear), to come and share her story and to ENCOURAGE the ladies. She  was great and the other ladies were really receptive to what she was saying. 

  Here is Chrismene in her element

We also discussed with them the DREAM and VISION we have for them. We explained that we know that their current loan will not generate enough profit to support their families. However, this first loan is helping us learn what kind of person they are, these are things that cannot be taught. We are watching to see if they are willing to work, if they understand the importance of paying back a loan and the attitude that they do these things with. So far, every one of these ladies (and one gentleman whose wife was unable to come) is doing a phenomenal job on all of these aspects which means they will qualify for another loan once this one is paid off. 

We told them that we are in this for the long haul. Our goal is to help them get STAND ON THEIR OWN FEET within the next 4-5 years. For three of these ladies, this commitment means helping with food, housing, and school for their children in addition to the micro-loan. 

                                          "He is rich or poor according to what he is, 

                                                   not according to what he has." 

                                                          Henry Ward Beecher

My favorite part was watching the difference between the ladies that have just recently joined the program compared to those that have been part of it for the last year. The new ones had difficulty even sharing their name and the business that they do with the group. They were embarrassed, one in particular could not look anyone in the eye nor could she finish her sentence. The ladies who had been part of the program for a while were able to articulate well and some even asked questions! 

Please continue to pray for these ladies in particular. They have a long road, but if they are willing to do their part, I have incredibly HOPE for them. 

Training...

I was recently talking to Isaac, our Elevate employee, and he was asking me if I wanted Elevate to grow big. My response was 'no'. 

    (Isaac and his wife and 8 week old baby)

I explained that our goal is not to grow big but instead to grow deep. We want to make a lasting impact in the lives of those that are part of Elevate. We want to love them well, encourage them, to disciple them and remind them of the value they can find through following Jesus.  However, I did explain that if God wants Elevate to grow big, then we will listen. 

That opportunity may be arriving. We were recently contacted by another organization that works about an hour away from us. They run a clinic and have a few mamas that need an extra boost to be able to care for their families. They told me that they don't want to just give, they want to help the women help themselves. They had heard about Elevate and so they asked if they could meet with us to hear how we ran it. 

   (Our very first training with another organization who wants to duplicate Elevate)

Soon after this organization contacted us, we ended up talking to a couple of people from an organization that provides food to other organizations. They said they had heard about us and wanted to hear what we do. They asked us if we would consider training other organizations to do what we are doing. 

So...this may be jumping the gun, but imagine with me! We have 50 recipients in the Elevate program and, unless we hire more people, we are tapped. But what if God uses us to share how the Elevate program works with others and each of those other organizations have 50 people. This could be a way to reach, and help, an amazing amount of people in Haiti!! 

In addition to that, yesterday we had our very first meeting to talk to our Elevate recipients about how to evangelize with their business. They were incredibly receptive and I'm excited to see how God uses the to share the Gospel!

I say this all the time, but following Jesus is never boring. You never know what he is gonna do next. It may not even be this, but it doesn't really matter. The possibilities are endless when Jesus is leading. It's the best adventure ever. 

Below are some pics of Elevate recipients and their children which are being sponsored to go to school. God is good.