Thank you, Iron Works Church, for serving children in East Africa!

Last month, a team of nine members of Iron Works Church in Pennsylvania visited City of Hope for the first time. It was encouraging to see them embrace HopeCo’s vision of seeing lives transformed and communities flourishing, and, as you can see by the smiling faces below, our kids and staff were immensely blessed by their visit!

While the team was serving in Tanzania, they got to meet the older students at City of Hope over a cup of tea, play with the younger children, and learn more about the history of City of Hope and our vision for the future.

They also had the chance to hear testimonies from the women in our sewing program. “It was evident that the culture of City of Hope has been built upon Christ. Through horrific adversity, these women had HOPE to move forward, HOPE to heal, and HOPE to dream about a future free from abuse. This was incredibly impactful for our team to hear. What a privilege to hear these stories and to witness the culture of HOPE in Christ that has been delicately and persistently formed,” one of the team leaders said.

Stefany Gess, the team co-leader, reflected on the team’s time in Tanzania: “All nine of us were overwhelmed by the joy of Christ that exudes like a fragrant offering from the staff and children. The hospitality, humility, and love were evident from the moment we arrived. The staff and leadership are also incredibly patient and faith-filled to wait upon the Lord to provide all of their needs. They are not anxious or fretting about all the things that need to be done, but instead, they approach it with faith, prayer, and trust in the Lord. That was a huge testimony to our team. This time sent us home with a sense of thankfulness, humility, passion, and urgency to live our lives with joy for Christ and on mission to defend the orphan and widow, to take up their cause, protect the vulnerable, and invest in relationships with those around us that need the HOPE of Christ. We are forever changed and are excited to share this experience with our church and to get others involved!”

We are deeply grateful for the Iron Works Church vision team - and for the ongoing partnership to come!

If you feel called to serve on a mission team or as an intern in East Africa, we’d love to talk to you. You can learn more about these programs below, or email us at kristi@joinhopeco.com.