Give2GiveHope (Vision 434) is the work of many volunteers both here in the US and in Sapadril, Honduras where our foreign ministry is located.  It began with a vision given by God to our founder, Ken Hayes, who went on his first mission trip at age 39 with his daughter Robyn in February of 2009.

 

Previous trips to Monte de Santidad in Honduras had been primarily focused on construction - building the church, the home for the missionaries, and dormitories for visitors and trip participants.  There had also been some work done on ministry to small children by some of the ladies who were talented using puppets.

 

The trip in February of 2009 was planned to be a little different because a doctor was coming to provide free medical help to the people, and there were not any big construction projects planned.  The team was simply going to work on some minor construction, do some puppet ministry, and help the doctor with the clinic.

Ken's talents were not in carpentry, masonry, electrical, medical, or puppets, so he wasn't sure how much help he could be to the team during the trip.  He was the webmaster for St. Mary's of Michigan - a faith-based hospital who helped support Ken's trip with some donated medical supplies - and so he originally thought his main purpose on this trip was to assist the missionaries with setting up their new website.

 

Ken had always wanted to go on a mission trip, but had always come up with reasons why he couldn't.  This trip was different for him.  God seemed to remove every obstacle and excuse, and so from the start, Ken knew that God had something special in store for him. 

 

The trip organizers had scheduled a time for the team to visit neighboring families "up the mountain" and it was during this time of the trip when God put a vision for a new ministry on Ken's heart. What Ken saw while visiting the houses on the mountain had a huge impact on him : Children who lived in poverty - in houses with mud floors, no windows or doors, made of slats of scrap lumber or whatever could be easily found to construct a shelter... Children who were malnourished - some to the point of starvation ... Children who were sick or had medical needs that were not being met because there was no doctor to help or the families were too poor to take them to see a doctor... Children who lacked hope for a future - seemingly unable to break the cycle of poverty they were to be trapped in.

Ken felt such a burden for these children and begain asking "Lord, what can I do to help these children?"  God answered in a way that Ken never anticipated... He directed Ken to use his past experiences and skills to create a website and begin a ministry that could share the needs of the children, and serve as a conduit to help meet those needs. God wanted others to see the faces of these beautiful children - living in a manner no child should. God wanted others to hear the stories of lives that need a touch of hope. God wanted hearts to understand - and to break - over the needs of these littlest ones whom He loves. God wanted others to join in partnership to give hope to children in need.

 

He began www.give2givehope.org even before he returned from Honduras.  Ken shared his idea and what God had put in his heart with the local missionaries and the rest of the team. The team and missionaries were excited about the work God was doing and the seed that had been planted and they worked together to visit more homes, meet more families, and take almost 100 photos of children in need.  Information was gathered to build this website and to be able to share with others the gravity of the needs of the children.

 

Eventually, Vision 434, Inc. (the parent organization of Give2GiveHope) was formed based on a scripture that God revealed to Ken : "Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.' " (John 4:34).

As Give2GiveHope partners with local churches, we work to ensure that the physical needs of the children are met (through providing the provisions) along with their spiritual needs (through the ministry of the church) and give our partners another tool in their box to minister to the families of their community.