International Aid Services America, microfinance, community development
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Helping the world's poor help themselves thru micro-finance, business training,

 

 
When as little 
 as $150 can 
 change a life 
 forever, it 
 pays to invest 
 your donated 
 dollars and 
 cents into 
 the lives of 
 developing 
 world 
 entrepreneurs.
 

 
 
 

 

 

A Recipe for Thankfulness

 
For most of us, November is a month of thanksgiving; a month when we try to give thanks for all the blessings God has bestowed on our lives.  But often we can find it difficult to exemplify
 

Thanks to your support of IAS, Adwoa Serwaa is now able to smile at the circumstances of life
 
It must be a human characteristic to focus on the negative.  For some reason our minds race to what has gone wrong in life and in the world this year; quite possibly the death of a family member, the current economic crisis, wars, hurricanes, or the famine in the horn of Africa to name just a few of our concerns.
 
However, we should be reminded that in the midst of life’s storms; God promises that He will be with us – even when we see no way out of our difficult circumstances.  It is easy to be thankful when things are going well, but the challenge of faith is to give praise and exaltation to our Creator, even as the darkness of life threatens to overwhelm us! 
 
This is the type of witness that shines through the hurricanes of despair that pound us all.  It is a witness that draws others into the calm in the midst of the storm – it is the witness of Adwoa Serwaa of Ghana.
 
Adwoa is just one of many IAS microfinance clients in this West African nation.  Adwoa’s business enterprise is to sell pots and pans and other cooking utensils.  She also cooks meals to sell at the local market.  With her husband’s income not sufficient to meet basic needs, Adwoa works tirelessly to support her nine children – six girls and three boys.
 
Adwoa’s dream is to one day build a shop where customers can come to purchase her goods.  But for now, she walks the streets and market places selling her wares to those interested.  And through it all, her face shines with thankfulness. 
 

Give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God…
 

 

In Ghana, everyone participates in the family business
You see, Adwoa understands her mission – the same mission God gives each of us – to shine in our world and in our own communities and families as best we can, rightly stewarding the resources over which He has given us charge. We’re not called to single-handedly change the world; rather to simply do our part to the best of our ability.
 

Often we become overwhelmed as we look at the “big picture.”  The job seems too large – how can it ever be accomplished?  But that’s not our worry.  Only a God bigger than the universe He created could have the outcome of our planet firmly in grip.

So, just like Adwoa, who now is able to provide for her family’s needs because of a microfinance loan from IAS, we remember to be thankful – thankful not only for God’s provision for us all, but also for His precious promises of eternal life, mercy, love and grace.

This Thanksgiving, thank you for your investment into lives like that of Adwoa Serwaa.  Thank you also for the impact you have made and continue to make in the lives of the poorest of the world’s poor throughout Africa.  And, as we gather around our Thanksgiving tables with family and friends, let us be thankful.  Despite the chaos that can seem to surround us on all sides – we have found that true calm in the midst of life’s storms.

Thankfully,

Douglas Mann
President
IAS — America 
 
 
 
 
  
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