Several years ago, a man attended a HOPE61 Engage training in Uganda to learn how to prevent human trafficking in his area. In an Engage training, participants learn what makes people vulnerable to involvement in human trafficking. They also learn that everyone has assets, skills, and resources to help those in their community who are vulnerable. This man realized that young men in his community were vulnerable to involvement in human trafficking, either as victims or traffickers, because they lacked education and couldn’t find good employment to provide for their families.
This man realized he could use his skills in furniture making and other types of woodworking to help. He decided to begin teaching carpentry and furniture-making skills to these young men to reduce their vulnerability to human trafficking. He opened a small business called Blessed Furniture, where these young men learned to make beds and dressers and eventually earned enough money to purchase a lathe so they could learn more detailed woodworking, such as turning bowls and chalices. They earned a good wage for their work and gained the skills needed to open their own businesses.
As important as practical skills are, the work and activity around the small shop are grounded in the love of Jesus Christ. The young men who work there, as well as people who pass by the shop and stop by to visit, regularly hear the message of the Gospel. This man who decided to teach woodworking skills to a few young men in his community understands that as he engages one, he can reach many.
A while after Blessed Furniture opened, HOPE61 leaders visited and saw this truth in action. They noticed that a young Muslim woman, a friend of one of the young men, was spending a lot of time at the shop. While there, she often heard about the love of Jesus and his desire for all to be saved by calling on his name. Although she had not yet accepted the gift of salvation when the HOPE61 leaders visited the shop, she was well on her way to welcoming Jesus into her life.
This is what HOPE61 is all about … encouraging people to use their gifts and resources to help those around them, to share the Gospel with them, and to welcome them into the body of Christ.
