Jazmyne said her faith “started sprouting” during her freshman year of college. She and Charles attended a church in Downtown Phoenix together while they were dating, but after returning to the same church after the pandemic — they found it difficult to get involved. “It felt impersonal,” said Jazmyne. “I like having close relationships.”

So, after moving to Norterra, Jazmyne and Charles started looking for smaller churches nearby — and that’s when they found Hope. “We really liked the atmosphere of Hope,” said Jazmyne. “It was smaller, and we liked that there were young families, older couples, and more varied generations than our previous church.” 

After attending worship at Hope for a few months, Jazmyne said she really started to feel a tug on her heart to dive deeper and get connected — specifically to attend the Hope Mountain Retreat. Since money was tight, they decided not to go — until they were offered a sponsorship from the church and accepted it at the last minute.

“I don’t know how else to put this — but it changed us,” said Jazmyne. “The two of us have never felt more spiritually connected, and we finally started to feel like we could let people in and let them get to know us.”

Charles and Jazmyne had been fighting a silent battle for a while with infertility. “You feel so alone and isolated,” said Jazmyne. “Before the retreat, I had hit rock bottom. I was mad at God, and I wanted to blame Him for all the trauma in my childhood and now my struggle to have a child. My mom — who didn’t want to be a mom — could get pregnant anytime she wanted. But here I was, trying to grow a family that I wanted so badly out of love, and I couldn’t.”

Jazmyne said that during the retreat, she and Charles slowly opened up, and they were “prayed over and prayed for like never before.” She remembers being in chapel one night with no power, and during worship, she felt a crushing feeling on her chest, and she started sobbing. She said that after being prayed for that night, she felt “lifted from a crushing feeling.”

Jazmyne said that she and Charles left the Hope Mountain Retreat smiling, feeling happy, and confident that God wanted them to build community at Hope. “We are finding people to lean on during this challenging time because it’s not easy to do it alone,” said Jazmyne. “I have been praying for ways to get involved, and so many opportunities have presented themselves. I’ve been talking to Jessi about serving with Hope Kids, and Charles and I have started going to the Growing Families Group. I’m also working at Elevate while finishing school, and I’m so excited to be of service to people by working there.”

Jazmyne said that after the Hope Mountain Retreat, it finally feels like things are “clicking” in her and Charles's lives.

“I have never felt more loved by a group of strangers in my entire life,” said Jazmyne. “We’ve been thinking about the future after graduation, and now, we don’t want to move far from Hope because we want our family and community to grow here. We are so excited about the future, and we’ve never felt like this before. Nothing feels better than that!”

After the service, Terry and Nancy volunteered to help “push back the darkness” in Lakeville by facilitating pre-marriage courses and providing pre-marital mentoring for couples. God blessed their faithfulness wildly. Terry and Nancy welcomed an average of 30 couples — both from inside the church and outside the church — into their pre-marriage classes every quarter.

Terry and Nancy have seen many couples have their relationships and lives transformed during their decades of pre-marriage mentorship. They’ve seen a closed-minded, skeptical couple become comfortable and relaxed enough to open up, a couple who thought they “knew it all” gather a wealth of knowledge and value from their conversations, and a couple with harmful money habits learn how to get out debt and purchase a home and car with their input and ideas.

In 2021, Terry and Nancy felt called to move to Arizona. They talked to the pastor they had run the marriage ministry under — Dean Swenson — and he told them about Hope Church. “He connected us with Pastor Paul before we even left the state and told us that he was looking to start a marriage ministry,” said Terry.

After praying about it and talking with Pastor Paul, Terry and Nancy decided to start a pre-marriage ministry at Hope Church in 2022. This marriage prep course has already been a blessing to several couples in the church and the greater community who are getting married at Hope Barn & Gardens and across the Valley.

Terry and Nancy have also blessed the community at Hope by agreeing to not only lead the Pre-Marriage Ministry but also the Hospitality Team.

“It’s not my first nature to walk up to someone new and say hello,” said Nancy. “God is helping me approach new people, be intentional with them, memorize their names, and greet them again the following week. It’s not easy, but God is giving me grace in the process.”

Terry says he’s excited to continue to grow the Pre-Marriage Ministry at Hope, and he’s hopeful that future couples in the course will be open to mentorship. “I would love to get back to welcoming couples into our home to encourage and mentor them, and would love even to marry some of them in the future,” said Terry.

Dora said that when she and Michael moved to Arizona, they weren’t going to church. However, her sister encouraged her to get involved in a faith community. “She actually was the one to send me Hope’s address,” said Dora. “She read about the church online and loved it, and she told me I had no excuse for not trying it out because it’s right behind my house.”

So, Dora decided to attend Hope Church one Sunday right before Easter in 2021, and she instantly felt at home. Dora said she called her sister and said, “You were right. This church is amazing!” She was later invited to an Easter brunch and then the Young Couples Group. After a while, Dora said she and Micahel started to feel like they had another set of family.

“We didn’t have a lot of friends of any family here in Arizona,” said Dora. “Our family is all on the East Coast, and we really had no one besides each other. Now, it’s nice to feel like we have this big family and group of friends through Hope Church that we can hang out and talk with.”

However, this family couldn’t have come at a better time. After Michael and Dora started trying to have a baby in 2020, they had two miscarriages. They decided to see a fertility doctor, and after several hurdles in the IVF process — Dora started to feel like she needed God more than ever.

“I felt like God was telling me that I couldn’t do this by myself,” said Dora. “I thought I would see a doctor, get medicine, and have a baby. But that was not my story.”

When her sister suggested that she attend Hope Church, Michael and Dora were right in the midst of their fertility struggles. It took her a while to open up, but one Sunday, Dora decided to pray with someone from the prayer team during worship.

“He comforted me and told me I was going to have a breakthrough,” said Dora. After that, she started to feel more comfortable opening up to others about what she was going through. “It was a difficult time, but I didn’t feel alone,” said Dora. “I knew I had people who were supporting me and praying for me.”

After years of struggling and trusting God, Michael and Dora’s prayers were answered — their IVF transfer was a success, and they would be parents to a beautiful baby girl in October! “I knew God had answered my prayers and the prayers of those who were praying alongside me,” said Dora.

Dora says she is so excited to bring her daughter — and future children — to Hope. “I am already so blessed to be surrounded by so many women who are going to be moms at the same time,” said Dora. “We will be able to support each other, and our kids will be able to form friendships with each other!”

Jayce often serves in the nursery on Sundays during worship. He’s grateful to his Nana — Sue Abram — for inviting him to get involved. “Doing the children’s ministry can be difficult at times,” said Jayce. “However, it’s so rewarding to watch these kids know God and have a relationship with Him.”

Jayce said he also enjoyed serving in the nursery during VBS this year. “I loved seeing the kids have fun,” he said. “I also like seeing the kids create relationships with God through cool experiences, like VBS, and going to church. I like being someone who can help that happen.”

In addition to serving in the nursery, Jayce has enjoyed attending Hope Youth Jr. High. “I like going to youth group because we play games, and I can hang out with Austin and Josh,” said Jayce. “I also feel like when I go to youth group, I am more connected to God throughout the week, and I really like that.”

Jayce is really confident in his relationship with God — and the future God has in store for him. “I feel like God has a plan for me,” said Jayce. “Even though we don’t know it yet, He has a plan for all of us, and we get to learn more about His plan for us as our life goes along.”

We know God has an incredible plan for Jayce’s life — and we’re so grateful to be a part of his story. We’re so excited to continue to watch Jayce live out his faith in confidence by serving and creating a community here at Hope Church. Way to go, Jayce!

Brian and Jessica have always loved Hope Church and their life in Phoenix—but after dealing with some challenging personal circumstances and job changes during the pandemic, they longed for a change. “We felt complacent, and we thought a change would give us new life and that ‘thing’ we were searching for,” said Jessica. “We met with Pastor Paul, prayed, and then a week later, we got a call for Brian’s dream job in Bozeman. Everything was lining up for us to move to Montana.”

Brian and Jessica spent the next year preparing for their big move—they quit their jobs, packed their entire life into boxes, and put their house on the market. Brian left to start his new job while Jessica stayed behind to finish packing—but things didn’t work out exactly as they had planned. “I remember when he moved, and I was still here—my biggest fear was that it wouldn’t work out,” said Jessica. “The next day, I got the call from Brian that the job fell through, and he was coming home.”

Brian and Jessica felt they were back at “square one,” so they went on a getaway to South Carolina to listen to the Lord. “There were lots of things calling us to Montana, but there were things that didn’t make sense either,” said Brian. “We didn’t get the house we wanted in Montana, and we couldn’t sell our house in Phoenix. It worked out, because we were able to make a clean break from financial commitments and still have a home.” Jessica said, “We were hoping to be called out of the wilderness to live a life in the mountains. God started to show us that we could have the life we always dreamed of here, in Phoenix.”

While in South Carolina, Jessica also started to consider Pastor Paul’s proposition for her to join the Hope Staff Team as the Children’s Ministry Coordinator. “While praying on our trip, I started to feel like this job lined up with my career in education, coaching teachers and loving kids,” said Jessica. “I felt like all the pieces fit into this role.”

Brian and Jessica said getting away was a “huge turning point.” The week they returned home was Easter Sunday, or “Resurrection Sunday,” as Jessica said. “It was symbolic for us because we felt like so many dreams had died. We had put our hope in Montana and this job—and now, it was time to ‘resurrect’ our hope in something that will never disappoint us—Jesus. When we started to do that, everything else fell into place.” 

Shortly after Easter, Brian accepted a new job offer, and Jessica accepted the offer to work as the Children’s Ministry Coordinator at Hope Church. “It was exciting to feel the freedom to be myself,” said Jessica. “You’re worried about doing or saying the wrong thing in school. At Hope, there is so much grace. I truly feel loved for who I am.” 

Brian and Jessica are so grateful for the way the community at Hope has rallied around them during this challenging time. “I can’t imagine going through this experience without having our community at Hope to come back to,” said Brian.

When asked how Brian and Jessica have found hope while growing through this challenging season, Jessica said that “day by day, we keep our hope in Jesus. Hope isn’t found in the stuff of this world, or even a job. It’s only found in Jesus.”

Dan says his journey over the past few years has been extremely difficult. “I don’t know how some people make it through something like this without good friends, lots of support, and most importantly, faith in God,” he said. In honor of Jordan, Dan dedicated his life to giving back to children of all ages, emphasizing their mental, emotional, and spiritual health. “If what I do or who I support will save any number of lives—it’s all worth it,” says Dan. 

Dan’s commitment to showing children the love of Christ led him and Jordan’s mother, Cindy, to the Philippines this past September with Hope 4 Kids International. They visited for the dedication of Jordan’s Multipurpose Community Center, built in honor of their son, Jordan. When construction is completed next year, this center will be a safe place where kids from the community can come to learn, play basketball, attend to their medical needs, and enjoy church services and other fun events. 

“I just can’t say enough about the love, thanks, and prayers we all shared while we were there and how grateful these people are,” said Dan. “They are so poor and have nowhere to turn to for help other than organizations like Hope 4 Kids International. If you build them a home with a foundation, concrete walls, and a working bathroom—it feels like a mansion.” 

Dan says that while they visited the Philippines to help the kids, parents, and families there—the people they met during their trip helped him and Cindy in return. “They gave us flowers, cards, and handmade gifts to express their support and gratitude. They helped us work through our emotions, from being sad about Jordan to being happy, proud and touched by all the good this facility will bring. The dedication day was about as emotional of a day as you can imagine.” 

Dan is already planning his next trip with Hope 4 Kids next May to Romania—Jordan’s favorite trip he ever went on. He’s also excited to continue supporting the expansion happening at Hope Church. “Hope Church focuses on youth,” said Dan. “Statistically, it’s more challenging to gather financial resources with a younger congregation than a church with an older demographic. However, by supporting Hope Church, we can be confident we are keeping the church alive and providing the resources the church needs to bring the hope of God to future generations!” 

Dan misses his son dearly, but it gives him peace to know Jordan’s legacy is touching the lives of children worldwide by bringing them the hope of Jesus. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about him,” says Dan. “Every morning, I walk with God and walk with him, tell him good morning, and say, ‘see you down the road, son.’”

Davin experienced significant healing, growth, and hope over the past year. It started when he received a nudge from the Lord to participate in Healing from Loss, one of Hope’s missional communities, in October 2021. “It opened me up to so many layers of grief and suffering I felt like I was enduring all the time,” said Davin. “I had never had such an awesome support group before, and I know I have people who will check on me when they know I’m not doing good.”

However, Davin says his involvement on the Summer Team this past summer was a major turning point in his life. “I remember pretty much being begged to be on the Summer Team, and I was asked to just try it out for a week or two to see how I liked it,” said Davin. “It took me a while to say yes, but I am so glad I did. Summer Team saved my life.”

Davin said the Compton Mission was one of his highlights from the summer. He said after his experience in Compton, he realized he could build relationships from faith and not just by doing things for people. Davin said, “Summer Team really taught me that relationships thrive on care for the other person and, of course, God’s unconditional love.”

Davin said that before Summer Team, he lost a lot of hope, but after the summer, “the way I talk to myself, the way I think about my family, and the way I see the world has totally changed,” said Davin. “I feel like I was given a chance to thrive again and not just survive each day. God has overflowed my cup with blessings that I would have thought were impossible a year ago.”

Having even a little Arabic has proven invaluable in English classes. When students struggle to hear the sounds of a word in English, we can write a transliteration of the word in Arabic to help their pronunciation. Knowing pronouns and simple Arabic has been a tremendous help when working with beginning students. And our students know we are learning Arabic, so we sometimes commiserate together - irregular verbs in English and irregular plural forms in Arabic (both of which the learner has to memorize).

For Kelly's birthday, I went to a bakery down the road and asked the young woman at the counter which cake she recommended. She recommended a chocolate cake covered in fruit. I asked if she could still write "Happy Birthday Ya Kelly" (كيلي يا ) on the cake. She told me she could write on the cake using a chocolate disk but didn't know how to write in Arabic. If I spelled it for her in Arabic, I asked, would she put it on the cake? She agreed. I wrote on a Post-it, and she went to the back of the store to finish the cake. Returning, she said, "I cannot decide if you are Arab." I smiled and told her, "No, I am new here and just learning the language." She told me she was surprised because she spoke Arabic but was born in Dearborn and didn't know how to read or write in Arabic. She thought it was good that I was learning and could read and write.

Read this email for more of Trevor & Kelly’s story of missionaries in Dearborn, Michigan.

Cindy has served on the wedding ministry with Hope Barn & Gardens for the past two years. “For me, it doesn’t feel like work,” says Cindy. “It’s something I absolutely love, and I love the team I work with. There isn’t a wedding I don’t cry at, but it’s always tears of joy. I love helping to make people happy on their special day.” She is amazed at how much the wedding ministry has grown over the past few years. “We are totally booked every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from September through May,” she says. “When people come on our property, they are blown away by the place. It’s unbelievable!”  

Cindy is so grateful for all the ways God has blessed her with an amazing family, job, and opportunity to serve couples on their “big day” with Hope Barn & Gardens. But she also knows that her life would look drastically different if she hadn’t listened—and responded—to the things God has spoken to her over the years. “People need to take the time to slow down and listen to what God has for them,” says Cindy. “I listened to God and called Pastor Paul, followed through, and now Hope Church is a huge part of my life.” 

Cindy is already a huge blessing to couples through the wedding ministry and children through the Hope Kids ministry, and she says she isn’t going anywhere. “I am involved in many things at Hope Church, and I don’t think the Lord is finished with me yet. I think He has bigger plans for me, and I am excited to see where he is taking me!”

Mckynna says when she told her dad and mom about her desire to get baptized, they were extremely supportive. “My dad bought me a Bible, and he would read some of it to me every night. He said he would find a church where we could start going, so I could get baptized. He helped me learn more than what I already knew about God, and when he found Hope Church, I was so excited to get baptized and start going to church again!”

Mckynna says she and her family were warmly welcomed into Hope Church, and ever since then, there have been “awesome opportunities” and “awesome people” along the way. “After a year of talking to Austin about baptism, he helped my brothers and me get baptized on April 17th, 2022. It was such a special moment, and everyone I loved was there to see it!”

"Without Hope Church, I would not be where I am with my relationship with God right now,” says Mckynna. “I love being a part of Hope Youth Jr. High because I can be myself, and I don’t have to act like someone I’m not. Everyone is so welcoming, kind, supportive, and funny, and it’s always great to spend time with them because they are amazing people.”

Back in Indiana, Steve and Emma were part of an impactful missional community at their church. “It was a close-knit group of similarly-minded couples,” said Steve. “We ended up doing life together. We all got engaged, got married, and attended each other’s weddings. It was one of the most influential things we’ve been a part of.”  

Steve and Emma spent their first year in Arizona “church hopping,” unable to find a church that matched the level of the community they experienced at their church in Indiana. Unfortunately, the pandemic halted their quest for a church until earlier this year, in April.  

Since Hope was the closest church to their home, Steve and Emma decided to attend the outdoor Easter service. They were immediately drawn to the genuineness of the Hope community. “It felt like a family,” said Emma. “You could tell the people loved and cared for one another.”  

After just four weeks of attending Hope’s worship celebrations, Emma immediately volunteered to help with Vacation Bible School. “The rest is history,” said Steve. Emma is now volunteering with the Children’s Ministry, Steve and Emma both serve on the Hospitality team, and they’re both involved in Seek, the missional community for young adults. 

Steve and Emma just launched their own missional community for young married couples. “We want to encourage and support one another, and we want to build a community where we can do life together,” said Steve.  

Steve and Emma both feel like God has been faithful to bring solid friendships into their lives this year through their involvement at the church. Emma said, “Hope has been an answered prayer!” 

“The camp was about to close, and I believe God called us there,” said Connie. “I was responsible for building two retreat centers. Jeanne was really good at keeping track of the books and staff. My wife was the brain, and I was the mouth. We made a great team.” 

Jeanne joined her Heavenly Father on February 24th, 2021, after 68 years of marriage and a lifetime of faithful service to the Lord. “I miss Jeanne a lot,” said Connie. “I wanted to save all my time for Jeanne when she was alive, but now, I feel like I’ve been able to spend time meeting new people.” 

Connie says he is so grateful for the support that has been shown to him by the Hope community. “So many people have been good to me,” said Connie. “I’ve gotten rides from people, I’ve had lunch with people, and I know there has been a lot of prayer.” He also said it was very touching that four Hope families traveled from Arizona to Iowa for Jeanne’s Celebration of Life at Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp this past summer. “That meant a lot since it was such a long way to travel,” he said. 

Connie also said his involvement in the Men's Bible Study with Trey Neeman has helped him, and he's currently attending the People of Prayer group on the third Sunday of the month with Tom and Joy Kelly. He also enjoys Sunday morning worship and says the church "has a really great preacher." 

Despite the heartbreak of losing his beloved wife, Connie rests in the promises and peace of the Lord. He said, “God has been so good to me!” 

 After years of saying, "We should try that church out!" Ivan, Lillian, Tristan, and Brooke decided to attend Hope's Christmas Eve service in 2019. Hope immediately became "home" for the Tovar family. "When we came to Hope, everything in our professional, personal, and spiritual lives fell into place," said Ivan. "Hope has solidified our faith as a family. It's so nice for all four of us to be able to say that Hope Church is our place.” 

Lillian now serves on Hope Barn & Garden's Wedding Team and as the Communication & Office Manager for Hope Church. Before working at Hope, Lillian had spent more than a decade working as Pleasant Valley Dentistry’s administrator—but she was ready for a change.  

"After working at the practice for so many years, I prayed for a job that would fulfill me and allow me to excel in something I enjoyed doing," said Lillian. Hope has been that answered prayer for Lillian. "This job is so different from jobs I've had in the past because now, I'm working for God's ministry. I pray everything I do glorifies God and is a sweet aroma to Him," said Lillian.  

Ivan and Lillian have continually seen God's faithfulness in their marriage, family, work, and spiritual lives. "We know that we're not alone. We know that God is with us!"