This week we honor the anniversary of the passing of Barbara Deal one year ago. Barbara was a SIA Board Member and also a member of the Legacy Circle, supporting SIA with a bequest from her estate. From Barbara Deal: I’ve come to recognize that these things that look to be negative, that look like they are outside of God’s Plan, are really a gift. And I call that gift discontinuity. Our discontinuities can be our greatest friends, the greatest threshold to truth and to learni

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends! Every morning I write five things I’m grateful for on a post-it note and stick to the wall beside my bed. The result is a growing reminder of the many good things in my life that I can turn to when I’m feeling discouraged or sad. A wall full of gratitude This week I am so grateful for: A harmonious and productive SIA Board Meeting, where we approved new grants for poultry projects for women in Kenya and girls in Uganda, Small Bu

Guest post by Michael Hegeman Getting to travel to East Africa to meet with Spirit in Action partners gave me the opportunity to experience the power of hospitality. Everywhere I have traveled around the world, I have met with people who welcome me in ways I can only describe as mystical. The two key components I have discovered revolve around shelter and food. “You are welcome,” is a phrase I heard repeatedly in our visits with the people of Malawi, Kenya and Uganda.  Yes, w

When the Spirit in Action Board members meeting last weekend, we had two very important additions to our team. Every other year, we gather for a two-day retreat to give us time and space to explore our direction and vision. And this time – through the wonders of technology – Naomi Ayot, our Small Business Fund coordinator in Uganda, joined us via a WhatsApp video call. With almost no delay in connection, we shared what inspires us about SIA, as a way of envisioning a new miss

*Today’s post is a reflection from SIA Team Members and Advisory Board Members, Michael Hegeman and Dana Belmonte, who traveled with me to Kenya and Malawi last year. I appreciate their insights on the SIA program and the success of the trip. Africa Trip 2017: Team Member Report By Michael Hegeman and Dana Belmonte It is with an overflowing sense of gratitude that we begin this report. Over the last eight to ten years, we have heard about and supported the mission of Spirit i

Our last night in Manyamula Village, Malawi, the SIA team met with the Manyamula COMSIP cooperative management team to celebrate13 years of working together and to plan for the future. I have deep respect for these leaders who work tirelessly to reduce poverty and to promote prosperity for all in their community. As the sun set and the air grew cool, Matthews Mahowe – a farmer, schoolteacher, COMSIP leader, and Small Business Fund grant recipient – recited his poem of thanks

Has it really been ten years?? When I embarked on this journey as Spirit in Action Executive Administrator in September 2007, I had no idea that I would still be here ten years later. In those ten years, Spirit in Action has given: $79,650 for 531 Small Business Fund businesses $50,439 to 27 different grassroots organizations Wow! Behind each of those numbers are families and groups of people. They represent individuals with whom I have emailed, texted, visited, listened to.

Last week, I had the great pleasure of sending out the congratulations letters to the groups that received SIA grants at our last board meeting. I work with each of the grant applicants to more fully understand their projects and to refine their proposals. After weeks and months in communication the happy moment arrives when I get to let them know that SIA approved their application! “Overwhelmed by joy” Below is the reply I received from Vincent Atitwa, leader of the Matungu

The Spirit in Action Board of Directors met over the weekend to approve new grants, receive reports and review our program, and also pray for our partners and donors. We also joyfully welcomed Wendy and Terry Silverthorn of Camino, CA to the board! They are longtime supporters of SIA and are happy to get more involved with our work. I bet it won’t surprise you to learn that the SIA board does not operate like your average corporate board! After reviewing each grant proposal,

The excerpts below are from my presentation to the congregation of the First United Methodist Church of Point Richmond in November. Being open and willing to say “I don’t know” is one of the key characteristics of what my good friend Jennifer Lentfer calls rigorous humility. This is a concept that she finds central to being truly effective in the fight against poverty. This humility is about listening effectively and balancing power between grantmakers and grant recipients; b

1. For each of our Small Business Fund Coordinators, who volunteer their time to implement the program in their community and help families start small businesses. 2. For prayer partners around the world who remember Spirit in Action, the USA, and me in their prayers. 3. For Del’s wisdom and vision for helping each person reach their God-given potential. 4. For volunteers who help with technology stuff. 5. For WhatsApp, which facilitates easy, quick communication, no matter w

I apologize that the music videos didn’t show up in the email last week. If you want to watch them, click here! “I believe that the whole world about me is full of beauty, joy and power, even as it is full of God, and that I can share it and enjoy it if I attune myself to my Divine Plan and am inwardly open toward God and outwardly helpful toward [others].”   ~ Glenn Clark, The Divine Plan I have a tendency to get caught up in the details of work. I’m an organizer and I like

This Sunday, January 31st, is Inspire Your Heart With Art Day! It’s a day to appreciate the beauty and creativity around us all the time. Looking at a beautiful painting and listening to music often fill my heart to overflowing. And from that point of joyful saturation I find it more easy to believe in a better future, miraculous healing, and harmony among all people. Pictures of Home Flowers lovingly placed in the windowsill of a newly constructed home in Eldoret, Kenya. Son

Thanksgiving is a good kick-off to the giving season. Each year it’s a time when co-workers, the church, the media, and families start talking a bit louder about giving: Giving thanks, giving food to those in need, giving gifts to loved ones, giving light to the world. Thank you to those who have already given to Spirit in Action today for #GivingTuesday! Here are 5 things making me happy as we enter this giving season: 1. New SIA small businesses in Nairobi! 5 new small busi

For this Thanksgiving week, I am reposting this piece about gratitude that I wrote in February, 2014: “I believe that the whole world about me is full of beauty, joy and power, even as it is full of God, and that I can share it and enjoy it if I attune myself to my Divine Plan and am inwardly open toward God and outwardly helpful toward [others].”  ~ Glenn Clark, The Divine Plan A moment of personal connection. Meeting a SIA entrepreneur in Kasozi, Uganda in 2014. I have a te

This Saturday is Make a Difference Day in the U.S. You are encouraged to lend a hand, to improve someone else’s life, to build a positive movement with others in your community. I wrote recently about the importance of giving money internationally to make a big impact, while also noting that volunteering locally is a great way to effectively put your giving spirit into action. I was impressed that the Make a Difference Day website has 20 projects organized in Santa Cruz! The

First, I’m grateful for our amazing volunteers. People like Carmen Hernandez who share their skills with SIA. Carmen put together this video of me telling her why I choose this work and this organization, and mixed it with photos of me during my visit to SIA partners last summer. Just watching it brings back such heart-warming memories of shaking the hands of Small Business Fund leaders, hearing testimonies, drinking tea, and dancing along to their songs. To find what else I’

In the beginning of December, the Board approved four new Community Grants and I received four very enthusiastic and grateful responses to the good news. It felt only right to share their joy, so that we can all celebrate and pray for this good work! 1. Community Mobilization Against Poverty – Kitale, Kenya Sustainable agriculture training. Model bio-intensive, organic farm. Seeds. For 200 farmers. ($3,000) From Moses Mukongo, CMAP director: On behalf of CMAP I want to thank

Tanya shows off a basket and hat woven by one of the Small Business Fund groups. I’m grateful for the generosity of our grant partners! In the U.S. this is a week to reflect on and say out loud what we are grateful for. Recently, a friend asked me to list the three reasons I’ve chosen this work, and this organization. The three points express well my thankfulness for Spirit in Action: 1. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with how much need there is in the world, how many people sti

As you may have heard or seen, the SIA website was hacked yesterday. I got a dreaded email from Google warning me that the site would temporarily be marked as hacked until I got it cleared up. Yikes! And so two hours passed in the blink of an eye as I tried to figure out what I needed to do and how to do it… I’m pretty tech-savvy and there are still moments with the website where I feel like I’m in the deep-end trying to stay above water. I told this to my husband and he reas