Recent Posts

Should we pray for our public leaders as much as we pray for ourselves?

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Robert Zachritz in Advocacy

Should we pray for our public leaders? | World Vision blog

Should we pray for our public leaders as much as we pray for ourselves? When praying for our elected officials, what should we be praying for? These are the questions I ask myself every year around this time in October as the first of the month marked the start of a new fiscal year for our federal government. That means some reflection on the past fiscal year, including major accomplishments and major deficits regarding federal policies. In my position at World Vision, these are especially important. October 1 is also the first day of a new fiscal year for World Vision offices. To appropriately honor the day, our staff members, volunteers, and World Vision supporters from all around the world...

Where are they from? A World Teachers’ Day pop quiz

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Heidi Isaza in Causes

My grandmother was a teacher. My mom taught special education. My brother teaches middle school math. My sister is on the school board. Clearly, the importance of a good education was instilled in me from a young age. Still, the teacher gene is not dominant in my DNA. I think it might have something to do with my patience — or lack thereof. Although teaching is not in my vocation, I understand and value the work of teachers across the United States and around the world. These dedicated servants are molding the future generations, often in difficult circumstances. In my time working with World Vision, I have had the privilege of meeting and interacting with many teachers around the world....

Mission above mammon: Charting a course for success

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Rich Stearns in Christian Witness, Partnerships

As the president of World Vision U.S. and the former CEO of two for-profit corporations, I have spent all of my professional life trying to manage organizations to achieve success. Every organization, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, must have a successful financial model to succeed, but long-term success doesn’t come from just managing numbers. The most successful organizations are mission-driven. In Christian organizations, this truth may be even more compelling. At its core, this is the question of the means versus the ends. In a secular corporation, the goal is to create profits for the owners or shareholders; the means to that end might be selling automobiles, or books, or delivering a service like air travel or lodging. At the end...

On prayer… (LINK UP)

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Nish Weiseth in Conversations

I thread the glass beads between my tired fingers in my left hand. My right hand holds the pen to paper. I scratch out prayers in the quiet morning over coffee. God and I meet best in the early hours, my mind needing awakening and my bones still heavy from sleep. I suppose He’d meet me anytime, but I’m most sincere in the morning. I’ve never done well with prayer. It’s always been a hurdle to jump, my brick wall in the marathon of faith. Putting me in a group of people who speak whispered prayers makes me uneasy, and I clam up tight and choose to be quiet. If I speak my prayers, my language changes. I don’t sound...

Marriage, miracles, and Micro

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Guest blogger in Microfinance

The following blog post was written by Timothy Hall, Africa’s regional field specialist for VisionFund International, the microfinance subsidiary of World Vision. On my final day in Rwanda, I attended a wedding. Weddings in this part of the world are a blend of the traditional and the modern. The celebrations begin in the morning with negotiations between the two families’ representatives. There are dancers, drums, and traditional costumes throughout. This is followed by lunch, and then progresses to a church where the ceremony is much closer to a typical Western wedding — complete with a white gown, attendants, candles, and a priest. The bride was a young woman who worked for one of VisionFund’s microfinance banks, translating and posting information...