May 12, 2025 • 26 mins
Rick welcomes Katie Barok and Ryan Tomlinson to discuss Hope Church's first mission trip to Malawi, partnering with Urban Promise International to support education initiatives, including the new Longezo University project. Hear why both Katie and Ryan chose to go on a mission trip for the first time, what it means to them as educators, and how you can support the team!
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Pray for HOPE's Malawi Team! Malawi Trip Dates: June 19-29
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have
conversations about faith andhope.
Hope is one church made ofpeople living out their faith
through two expressions inperson and online.
We believe a hybrid faithexperience can lead to a growing
influence in our community andour world for the sake of others
.
Welcome to Hope.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of
the Meet Hope podcast.
My name is Rick and I'm reallyexcited to be here with two of
my friends and we're going on amission trip soon.
We're going to talk about that.
I'm with Katie Barrick.
Katie, hi, hi, rick, how areyou doing?
I'm great.
How are you?
You know what I want to say.
How long have you beenattending Hope?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Oh, you're putting me on the spot of this question,
at least since college.
So I'd say five to six years,all right, five or six years,
okay All right, good, all right,sorry that was a, I just threw
that question in there.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
That's okay it I'm also here with Ryan Tomlinson.
Hey, Ryan.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Hey, how's it going?
I'm good.
How are you Also doing well?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, all right, and how long have you been attending
Hope?
Speaker 4 (01:07):
I had the advantage of advance notice, so I've been
attending about nine years.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
That's great and together you and I the three of
us are part of Hope's firstmission team to Malawi.
There's 15 people going.
We're leaving June 19th untilthe 29th of June.
I had to look at my calendarand make sure I had that date
right and I'm excited about that.
Are you excited, you?
Speaker 4 (01:32):
guys excited.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah, totally excited .
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Yeah, I'm really excited.
I look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Whenever I throw a question, it isn't on the script
.
Katie looks at it and shoutsout that's not on there.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
It's going to be like this the whole time, right.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Oh yeah, I never follow it.
Sorry, katie, I should havewarned you of that too.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
My phone's already shutting.
It's fine.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Back to the script.
So have you been on a missiontrip before?
Who wants to go first?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So I've been part of the middle school youth trip.
The mission trips, oh okay, butone that I personally got on
for myself, no, just the middleschool ones.
Where'd you go?
We went to North.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Carolina, okay, but you do like to travel?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
And you've done some adventuring.
Tell us a little bit about yourexperiences.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yeah, I have done some adventuring.
So typically this summer I willbe spending it going to Malawi
and kind of being in the area,but typically I spend it
backpacking.
Um, so I've backpacked, likethe Appalachian trail, I've done
the Colorado trail, which is500 miles, and the last two
summers I've spent chipping awayat the Pacific Crest Trail,
which is 2,650 miles.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Wow, and how much of that one have you done?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Um, basically I would say, I completed it.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
There's 160 miles I had to skip last summer because
of wildfires, but that's prettytypical.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Wow.
So so you have, you havecompleted both of those then.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
So how many miles?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
is that total?
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Uh, making me do a math.
Uh, probably over like 6,000miles, probably over like 6,000
miles combined.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
6,000 miles of hiking .
Yes, wow, okay, all right.
And Ryan, how about you?
Have you been on a mission trip?
Speaker 4 (03:09):
You know I have been on some mission trips.
The last and, I think, onlymission trip I went on as an
adult was when I was in college.
I went with a group to Rome,okay, and it was a great
experience, both personally andspiritually.
It was a great experience, bothpersonally and spiritually.
Yeah, we partnered up with somestaff there who were
ministering at La Sapienza,which is a large.
(03:30):
It's actually the oldestuniversity in Europe, Wow
Founded in the 1300s.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Yeah, and we did some ministry with college students
there and also got to see thecity and it was really great.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
That's awesome, yeah, wow.
And you haven't hiked theAppalachian Trail though, have
you?
Speaker 4 (03:46):
You know, I haven't no.
Although I will say, in Rome westayed at a hostel and that was
an interesting experience andwe ate a lot of gelato, I don't
know.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
That's kind of like the AT, I think they have that
on the AT a little fancy andthen gelato in north carolina
too probably.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yeah, yeah, so that's good yeah um, but you mentioned
, college actually went on twoalternative spring breaks with
my sorority so we went down toflorida and we were able to
volunteer at like a children'shome.
So the first year it was like anew program, similar to what
we're doing, where I no one hadever been, and and then the
second year I returned and thenI was kind of like an unofficial
(04:28):
leader, to like a mentor to thegirls who it was their first
time going.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Oh, that's neat.
Yeah, cool, right.
Well, so you guys have had someexperience traveling, you've
been on some trips.
What made you decide to joinHope's first Malawi team, ryan,
why don't you tell us, yeah, Imean, I'm I'm super excited to
be going to Malawi team Ryan,why don't you tell us?
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Yeah, I mean, I'm super excited to be going to
Malawi and been interested ingoing to Malawi for some time.
Actually, hope set apartnership with Urban Promise
for many years and one of thegreat things about that
partnership is we get to hearfrom their international fellows
and we've had several speakerscome in from Malawi and, in
(05:05):
particular, I was reallyimpacted by Hamilton Banda, who
came and gave a talk here somany years ago and got me
interested in Malawi and what'sgoing on there and trying to
have an impact there, and sowhen the trip came, it was
obvious that I just reallywanted to go.
I really wanted to be there andbe part of what was going on.
Unfortunately, I'm not verygood with timelines, emails or
(05:29):
keeping up with dates, and so Irealized that it was the night
before you were supposed to signup when I finally emailed Dave
and said hey, I'm in, andluckily he agreed to let me join
at the last minute.
So, it worked out great.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, those dates that Dave sets, I think, I don't
think they're real.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
I agree.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I'm going to add to that and I also agree that
they're not real because, um, Iwas a late joiner.
I was originally interested ingoing on the Bahamas trip in
February and just being ateacher, that's logistically
more challenging to take a weekoff.
Um, and when Dave kind ofapproached me at one of the
(06:08):
Tuesday dinners and he was like,hey, like we're going to Malawi
like the end of June, like endof school, like you interested,
so I was already kind ofcaptivated by the idea of taking
time to attend a mission trip,so once it just felt like it
aligned more because it wasright at the end of school year
and I was like, okay, like wecan make this work and it was
(06:29):
just a yes.
After, that.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
So that was kind of your process.
Did you have like a process todecide, or were you uh, it's,
we're going to Malawi, I'm in.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Uh yeah, that was the short process.
Um, I also need to run it by mywife to make sure that she'd be
okay with it and she's verysupportive of the trip and of me
as well, so I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yeah, so you guys are kind of the jump in the pool
kind of.
You know, you don't walk downthe steps, you just dive right
in.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Yeah, yeah, pretty much Divers.
Head first.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
That's good so, but knowing that going on a trip
like this requires somesacrifice and some commitment.
You guys have been having topay for the trip or raising
money for the trip, and it's acommitment for you and the
people close to you.
Ryan, you had mentioned that itwas a decision that your family
had to make together Time awayfrom your work.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
I can answer that.
So I want to go on the trip toMalawi because I've been on
mission trips to first thestudents, to support the
students and see that impactthat it has.
And I am choosing to go becauseI want to experience that for
myself and I just look forwardby growing my relationship with
God and just being pushed out ofmy comfort zone, because I know
(07:49):
when you're put in thoseuncomfortable situations, that's
when you grow the most.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Yeah, good.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Yeah, I'm really excited about the trip because I
think it's a really nicepartnership of the Hope in
Motion campaign and Hope Churchwith Urban Promise International
, church with Urban PromiseInternational and the university
, new University.
Going is a way to experiencethe culture, meet people and
become part of the project andreally what going means, you
(08:19):
know.
I think it's a reasonablequestion to say like you know,
why don't you just send money?
Or you know, isn't it expensiveto fly a team all the way to
Malawi?
What are you guys going to dothere?
Anyway, it is, and you know Ithink we should be financially
supporting the trip and thecampaign and the university.
But going on, the trip itselfreally demonstrates our
commitment as hope and, you know, as emissaries of hope that
(08:40):
we're.
That you know.
We want to have an experiencethat we can rally around, not
just for time but for ourcommitment, and we also are
creating effects in ourcommunity here by going, by
doing something, we show ourcommitment, but also we have
impact on people in ourcommunity.
So I was actually I wasthinking about this earlier A
(09:03):
lot of us got yellow fevervaccines from the same person
yes, you're right and thatperson who I don't even know
their name, but the lady atWalgreens shout out Walgreens
Sponsor us.
Yeah, she gave us a lot of shots, and I must have been one of
the last ones through, becausewhen I sat down for my vaccine,
(09:24):
she says oh, you're with thatchurch group, aren't you?
And I said oh yeah, I am withthe church group, and so we
talked a little bit about theproject and about hope, and who
knows where that kind ofconversation will lead Right,
yeah, yeah, that's neat.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
That's what I think.
For me, personally, what I likeabout this is I experienced it
with our first trip to Haiti, Iexperienced it with the first
trip to Cuba is there are peoplewho are going to watch your
experience and hear about yourexperience and they're going to
decide to go on the next trip,and so, while they couldn't make
(09:55):
the strip or they weren'tinspired, they may be inspired
just by the stories from the,from what you guys share, when,
when we come home and so that'sso, then it becomes something
that we're not just doing, it'snot a one and done experience,
it's a partnership I think youused that word already that we
can have for the, you know, forthe next decade, potentially,
(10:16):
and I think that's that's for me, that's the most exciting thing
is to see the potential of this.
One trip will turn into a rippleeffect across Hope, across our
community and the impact wecould have in Malawi.
So tell me.
So.
Those are all those things thatmake us excited, but there's
(10:36):
also a part of the trip that cangive anxiety or concern.
Do you guys have any of that?
Speaker 4 (10:43):
I mean, there's obviously some unknowns with
going to a country you've neverbeen to before.
I've been a lot of places, butI haven't been to Africa yet.
So I'm not going to mention anycommunicable diseases, because
that seems like a bad idea.
So I'm going to say that one ofthe things that I am sure I'm
going to stumble upon is notbeing able to pronounce things
(11:06):
correctly.
So I'm just admitting that I'mgoing to say it wrong.
So that's you know.
There you go.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yep, that's a good, that's a good one, yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
For me, I would say there's a little bit of anxiety
just for traveling I've neverdone international travel and
that almost everyone on the teamhas global, has chosen to do
global entry and I chose chosento do global entry and I chose
not to do global entry.
So if I'm traveling kind of onthat realm of things solo, there
(11:40):
may be some higher anxietylevels.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
We'll get you the global entry.
Okay, we're going to get youthere.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
And listeners.
We teased her that we're goingto leave her behind, since
Katie's the only one who didn'tget global entry, but that is
not true.
My wife already said that wewould not do that to you, so
there you go, okay thank you.
So I'm going to have to waitbecause Kelly's making me wait.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Team Kelly for the win there you go, I'm gone.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
And maybe we answered this already, but what are you
most looking?
Speaker 3 (12:12):
forward to?
Is there anything that youhaven't shared about that's your
most looking forward to, aboutgoing on this trip and this trip
experience?
Oh well, I would say that I wasjust really captivated by having
Urban Promise come and speak onone of our Sunday services and
then, as a mission trip team, wehad the privilege of having a
gentleman who his name is AmAmaro and he came and spoke to
us about um he's a fellow abouthis, his life growing up in
(12:33):
Malawi.
So, just like it just reallytakes like a self reflection on
your own life and like, wow,like I'm so privileged, like
even though, like I might worktwo jobs or you know, I have my
own apartment or my car, like Ihave so we're so privileged,
like how much we have at ourfingertips, and to hear his
story of how he has grown up,and then see the idea behind
(12:54):
what Urban Promise is doing withbuilding the university and
just being an educator andknowing, like how important
education is, and even though Iteach the young ones and you
know they you build thatfoundation for the rest of their
education and then these arelooking at impacting high school
students that can go on touniversity, I just feel like
it's super powerful to be ableto be there to impact them Good,
(13:18):
good Ryan, anything.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Yeah, I mean I'm really looking forward to the
trip and, you know, getting tomeet people on the ground and
interact with others, meet someof the people that you know,
fellows that have gone back toMalawi I think would be really
exciting.
One of the things I'm reallygrateful for is, you know, being
able to just kind of show up,get involved, excited to not
have to do too much planning.
(13:40):
We're just kind of the handsand feet here, so we get to just
meet folks and be flexible,look for opportunities.
I think that'll be a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Yeah, for me.
I look forward to those thingsthat you guys said.
I'm looking forward to seeingall the different ministry sites
that Urban Promise is going totake us to see, looking forward
to seeing the university project, and I personally always look
forward to the team timeafterward, where we get to,
because there's so many sets ofeyes and so many different
(14:11):
hearts there, and so thedifferent experiences that we'll
share together is, for me, isalways inspiring.
It's challenging, yeah.
So I look forward to the teamBecause as often as we've had
team meetings and we've gottento know each other, you're going
to know each other so well inthis experience and by the end
(14:34):
of the week it's so close.
There's this companionship thatwe develop and create and it's
just.
I look forward to that.
I always enjoy it.
I always miss everybody when weget home.
The first couple of days iskind of weird.
You're like, oh wait, I don'thave to share the bathroom with
anybody right, it's just or youknow, but not because it's
(14:55):
inconvenient, it's justdifferent, right.
So I'm looking forward to thatpart, yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Well, one thing that listeners may not be aware of is
that the mission trip ends upbeing kind of a bit of a small
group.
So we've been meeting regularlyfor some time now, I think
since January, and so you know,it's not like just a bunch of
people showed up, got in a vanand went to Malawi.
So we've had some time to kindof pregame and talk to each
(15:20):
other and get to know each otherand plan and think and dream,
and so then we have theexperience and then we come back
.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Yeah, and, like I said, you're gonna have such
good friendships, like there arepeople who I still am close to
because of the first time I metthem was when they joined a
mission team.
So it's just this greatexperience.
So, let me, we're gonna wrap uphere, but just a couple more
questions that I think ourlisteners would love to hear.
Is so, katie, you're akindergarten teacher?
(15:48):
Yes, and you've been teachingfor since you said you graduated
college five or six years ago.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Oh no, before that.
I've been teaching for nineyears.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Nine years Okay, I'm sorry.
Nine years of teaching.
Yeah, where did I get the fiveor six?
Okay?
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Because I said I was going to hope for like five or
six years.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Oh, that's right.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Maybe my math is wrong.
Okay, maybe it's eight or nineyears Kindergarten math yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
That's what it is Okay, and Ryan, you are a
university professor.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
That's right, that correct, all right.
And and what do you teach?
So I teach tissue engineeringand regenerative medicine.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
And.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
I also teach a course in the medical school called
foundations of medicine.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
All right, all right, interesting.
We could have a whole podcastabout that.
We probably shouldn't, though.
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
I think they would turn us off.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
So we're going to Langeza University.
We're also going to see some ofUrban Promise's schools that
they've started.
What specifically do you seewhat role in your?
How much?
Let me say that again howspecifically do you see your
roles in education playing intoyour participation on the Malawi
(16:56):
team?
Speaker 4 (16:58):
So you know, as a professor, the trip is centered
around this Langeza University,and so that's a project that's
very close to my heart.
I'm very passionate abouteducation generally, but in
particular higher education.
One of the things abouteducation is that it opens doors
and it can really change thetrajectory of your life.
(17:20):
I know that was the case for meand the case for a lot of people
, but right now in Malawi a lotof people don't have an
opportunity for higher educationand it closes a lot of doors
and it prevents progresspersonally, but also on a bigger
level, on a societal level, andso I'm really excited about
going and being able to get kindof in on the ground floor and
(17:44):
develop some relationships andhopefully we can provide a real
sense to, you know, studentsthat are already on the ground
there and getting ready to beenrolled, and maybe
administrators who are kind ofdoing logistics or community
activists who are gettinginvolved in supporting
university, that we're here andwe want to support you, and
(18:07):
we're not just saying we want tosupport you, we're coming here
and we're here, we're physicallypresent, it's not just like
we're here in spirit, it's notjust here's some money, it's we
want to support you and you knowwe're in this for the long haul
, so I think that's really verymeaningful and lets us have a
big impact.
That kind of impact ischallenging to find here in the
States.
(18:28):
You know we have a lot ofuniversities, a lot of
opportunity, and it's even hardto fathom a scenario where
Malawi's at right now, and sogetting able to have an impact
there, I think would be reallypowerful.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah, you know, I was in when we saw the video on
LaGesia University that BruceMay was narrating and at the end
he talked about changing thecountry.
And I'm like, oh, I'm in, LikeI've never been a part of
something where I could change acountry, so I'm in right.
(19:02):
What an opportunity.
Yeah, katie, how about you?
Speaker 3 (19:05):
I would say we've had kind of the privilege to shape
and mold this trip to like caterto our team who's going to the
mission trip.
So aside from us beingeducators, there's a few other
educators on the team that arealso going.
So one of the nice things is assome of the things that we
planned hopefully do is there'sa newer elementary school there
(19:28):
and that's full of kindergartenstudents and I hang out with
kindergartners all day.
So I'm just super excited toshare that energy and that
knowledge and maybe teach themnew songs and new games and
things like that.
And there's other opportunitiesto just build connections
throughout the community,whether it's going to like a
foster care home and us womenthat are going on the trip are
(19:48):
allowed to interact with thegirls, or if they go to the boy
side, you know the men caninteract with the boys.
So I'm just really lookingforward to using those skills
that I use every day to justkind of like, shape and mold the
lives and be.
You know, that's one of thereasons why I became a teacher
was to interact and, like, makea difference in kids' life, and
I feel like, I feel stronglythat even the smallest amount of
(20:11):
time and attention that we giveto these kids is going to make
the greatest impact on theirlives.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, that's great, yeah, so so you know, I want to
wrap us, wrap this up, but I dowant to ask you guys so what do
you think God may have plannedfor you If it's in addition to
what you already shared?
You guys already shared somethings that we know that God's
part of that, but what do youthink God may have planned for
you in going on this trip?
Speaker 4 (20:35):
Honestly, you know, I don't know.
I'm looking forward to findingout.
I'm looking forward to findingout, so I think I shared that.
You know I've been lookingforward to being involved in the
ministry that Hope has beenpartnering with in Malawi for
some time, and so when this tripmaterialized, it was just such
a perfect blend of this passionfor Malawi and my professional
(20:56):
interest in the university.
I knew that God had somethingplanned for me here.
So I'm not really sure whereit's going to go, but I'm
looking forward to establishinga long-term relationship with
Malawi and with LongesoUniversity.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Let me ask you a follow-up, Ryan how do you
measure success for a trip likethis?
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Yeah, I mean, it's challenging.
I'm not sure if I necessarilybuy into the concept of success.
I think that success is showingup, it's having an open mind,
an open heart, but nonetheless,you know, I'd like to come back
with a sense of you know, hereare the next steps, here's what
I can do next, rather than justyou know, I've been there and
(21:41):
I've done that Right, and so ifI come back with that kind of
sense, then I'll consider that asuccess.
Great, that's awesome, that's agreat answer, Katie.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
how about you?
What do you think God mighthave planned for you?
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Yeah, so one of the things you mentioned earlier was
just about how our team of 15,it's not just 15, because we
have the support of the people-of the church behind us and you
know our families who aresupporting us and going on this,
our coworkers and things likethat.
Um.
So I just think, like God iskind of using us to help expose
(22:16):
and support um in that way, likeat, for example, amaro is
actually coming to my school tospeak to the fourth and fifth
graders later this month.
Um, because his story ties intoour curriculum curriculum.
And then also, um, our studentcouncil is working on
fundraising some of the suppliesfor the schools, like notebooks
and pens and pencils and thingslike that.
(22:37):
So, like these fifth gradersthat I get to speak with later
this week, don't even know aboutit, you know like they've.
They've grown up with grass andthings like that and having
access to all these things, sojust opening their eyes to other
things around um the world,like you know, happening around
the world.
But I also, like, as Ryan said,like still open to seeing what
(22:59):
the trip has in store for me andmy purpose there.
But I think um just kind oftaking how I'm impacting others
now and using those gifts overthere by kind of leaving my
thumbprint of like just showingkindness and compassion to these
people over there.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Yeah, and you, you, you have a community of people
behind you in this, don't you?
Your whole school is um, is ispartnering with you.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Yes, yeah.
So, um, we're all kind ofworking together hopefully to
bring over the supplies and theykind of like heard what I was
doing and they were like we wantto help you, we want to support
you and I was like that's crazy.
I was like, cause I, this is anew school to me.
I have been in the samedistrict but moved to a
different school.
So these are all new people andthis was in December and you
(23:42):
know I'd only been teachingthere for a few months, so it
was really awesome to have thatteam like behind me.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
That's really, that's really exciting.
So I'm going to wrap up here.
How can people pray for you?
How can people pay for the team?
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Yeah, I think something you said earlier was,
you know, something we can bepraying for is the team having
open eyes and looking foropportunities and being able to
seize upon them, being at theright place when God's moving.
You know, I think that's whatwe should be praying for
Obviously, for the success ofthe university and for Urban
Promise and, you know, theGreater Hope in Motion campaign,
(24:17):
but I think that those are theimportant bits.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
I would agree with Ryan and I would also add, just,
you know, safe travels andthings like that Financial
burdens, because it is acommitment definitely to attend
a mission trip, but also thatit's just like that, this trip.
I just ask for prayers thatthis is a successful trip, like
(24:42):
a stepping stone to build thisrelationship over there, so that
way, future, we can pave thepath, so that way more people
behind us can attend Malawi andget interested and want to be as
interested as we are to help,also just make a greater
difference.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Yeah, that's good.
Hey, listen guys.
Thanks so much for for doingthis.
I hope I've had a greaterdifference.
Yeah, that's good.
Hey, listen guys.
Thanks so much for doing this.
I've had a good time.
I hope you guys have.
And listen I hope you've enjoyedit as well.
Just a couple of things just toreiterate.
If you could pray for the team,as Katie mentioned, pray for
logistics as we travel.
It's a couple of differentplane flights and even a couple
(25:20):
different flights for the team,so getting us all there, uh, we
won't all be together untilwe're in Africa, um, so, so
that's a logistic that we're uhneed prayers for.
Uh, do pray for our, our hearts, pray for our families while
we're away, and then, uh, andand again, ryan's mentioned a
few times, but if, if anyonewants more information about the
Hope in Motion campaign,there'll be a link to it in the
(25:44):
show notes so that you can getmore details about that.
And if you haven't had a chanceto support that and you'd like
to do that, we would love foryou to do that and even mention
the podcast.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Thanks for being a part of the Hope community as we
continue our conversationsabout faith and hope.
If you don't already, pleasejoin us for worship on Sundays
or on demand.
You can learn more atmeethopeorg or find us on
socials at meethopechurch thanksso much and you guys have a
(26:36):
great day.
Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have
conversations about faith andhope.
Hope is one church made ofpeople living out their faith
through two expressions inperson and online.
We believe a hybrid faithexperience can lead to a growing
influence in our community andour world for the sake of others
.
Welcome to Hope.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of
the Meet Hope podcast.
My name is Rick and I'm reallyexcited to be here with two of
my friends and we're going on amission trip soon.
We're going to talk about that.
I'm with Katie Barrick.
Katie, hi, hi, rick, how areyou doing?
I'm great.
How are you?
You know what I want to say.
How long have you beenattending Hope?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Oh, you're putting me on the spot of this question,
at least since college.
So I'd say five to six years,all right, five or six years,
okay All right, good, all right,sorry that was a, I just threw
that question in there.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
That's okay it I'm also here with Ryan Tomlinson.
Hey, Ryan.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Hey, how's it going?
I'm good.
How are you Also doing well?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, all right, and how long have you been attending
Hope?
Speaker 4 (01:07):
I had the advantage of advance notice, so I've been
attending about nine years.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
That's great and together you and I the three of
us are part of Hope's firstmission team to Malawi.
There's 15 people going.
We're leaving June 19th untilthe 29th of June.
I had to look at my calendarand make sure I had that date
right and I'm excited about that.
Are you excited, you?
Speaker 4 (01:32):
guys excited.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah, totally excited .
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Yeah, I'm really excited.
I look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Whenever I throw a question, it isn't on the script
.
Katie looks at it and shoutsout that's not on there.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
It's going to be like this the whole time, right.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Oh yeah, I never follow it.
Sorry, katie, I should havewarned you of that too.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
My phone's already shutting.
It's fine.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Back to the script.
So have you been on a missiontrip before?
Who wants to go first?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So I've been part of the middle school youth trip.
The mission trips, oh okay, butone that I personally got on
for myself, no, just the middleschool ones.
Where'd you go?
We went to North.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Carolina, okay, but you do like to travel?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
And you've done some adventuring.
Tell us a little bit about yourexperiences.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yeah, I have done some adventuring.
So typically this summer I willbe spending it going to Malawi
and kind of being in the area,but typically I spend it
backpacking.
Um, so I've backpacked, likethe Appalachian trail, I've done
the Colorado trail, which is500 miles, and the last two
summers I've spent chipping awayat the Pacific Crest Trail,
which is 2,650 miles.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Wow, and how much of that one have you done?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Um, basically I would say, I completed it.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
There's 160 miles I had to skip last summer because
of wildfires, but that's prettytypical.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Wow.
So so you have, you havecompleted both of those then.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
So how many miles?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
is that total?
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Uh, making me do a math.
Uh, probably over like 6,000miles, probably over like 6,000
miles combined.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
6,000 miles of hiking .
Yes, wow, okay, all right.
And Ryan, how about you?
Have you been on a mission trip?
Speaker 4 (03:09):
You know I have been on some mission trips.
The last and, I think, onlymission trip I went on as an
adult was when I was in college.
I went with a group to Rome,okay, and it was a great
experience, both personally andspiritually.
It was a great experience, bothpersonally and spiritually.
Yeah, we partnered up with somestaff there who were
ministering at La Sapienza,which is a large.
(03:30):
It's actually the oldestuniversity in Europe, Wow
Founded in the 1300s.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Yeah, and we did some ministry with college students
there and also got to see thecity and it was really great.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
That's awesome, yeah, wow.
And you haven't hiked theAppalachian Trail though, have
you?
Speaker 4 (03:46):
You know, I haven't no.
Although I will say, in Rome westayed at a hostel and that was
an interesting experience andwe ate a lot of gelato, I don't
know.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
That's kind of like the AT, I think they have that
on the AT a little fancy andthen gelato in north carolina
too probably.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yeah, yeah, so that's good yeah um, but you mentioned
, college actually went on twoalternative spring breaks with
my sorority so we went down toflorida and we were able to
volunteer at like a children'shome.
So the first year it was like anew program, similar to what
we're doing, where I no one hadever been, and and then the
second year I returned and thenI was kind of like an unofficial
(04:28):
leader, to like a mentor to thegirls who it was their first
time going.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Oh, that's neat.
Yeah, cool, right.
Well, so you guys have had someexperience traveling, you've
been on some trips.
What made you decide to joinHope's first Malawi team, ryan,
why don't you tell us, yeah, Imean, I'm I'm super excited to
be going to Malawi team Ryan,why don't you tell us?
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Yeah, I mean, I'm super excited to be going to
Malawi and been interested ingoing to Malawi for some time.
Actually, hope set apartnership with Urban Promise
for many years and one of thegreat things about that
partnership is we get to hearfrom their international fellows
and we've had several speakerscome in from Malawi and, in
(05:05):
particular, I was reallyimpacted by Hamilton Banda, who
came and gave a talk here somany years ago and got me
interested in Malawi and what'sgoing on there and trying to
have an impact there, and sowhen the trip came, it was
obvious that I just reallywanted to go.
I really wanted to be there andbe part of what was going on.
Unfortunately, I'm not verygood with timelines, emails or
(05:29):
keeping up with dates, and so Irealized that it was the night
before you were supposed to signup when I finally emailed Dave
and said hey, I'm in, andluckily he agreed to let me join
at the last minute.
So, it worked out great.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, those dates that Dave sets, I think, I don't
think they're real.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
I agree.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I'm going to add to that and I also agree that
they're not real because, um, Iwas a late joiner.
I was originally interested ingoing on the Bahamas trip in
February and just being ateacher, that's logistically
more challenging to take a weekoff.
Um, and when Dave kind ofapproached me at one of the
(06:08):
Tuesday dinners and he was like,hey, like we're going to Malawi
like the end of June, like endof school, like you interested,
so I was already kind ofcaptivated by the idea of taking
time to attend a mission trip,so once it just felt like it
aligned more because it wasright at the end of school year
and I was like, okay, like wecan make this work and it was
(06:29):
just a yes.
After, that.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
So that was kind of your process.
Did you have like a process todecide, or were you uh, it's,
we're going to Malawi, I'm in.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Uh yeah, that was the short process.
Um, I also need to run it by mywife to make sure that she'd be
okay with it and she's verysupportive of the trip and of me
as well, so I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yeah, so you guys are kind of the jump in the pool
kind of.
You know, you don't walk downthe steps, you just dive right
in.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Yeah, yeah, pretty much Divers.
Head first.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
That's good so, but knowing that going on a trip
like this requires somesacrifice and some commitment.
You guys have been having topay for the trip or raising
money for the trip, and it's acommitment for you and the
people close to you.
Ryan, you had mentioned that itwas a decision that your family
had to make together Time awayfrom your work.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
I can answer that.
So I want to go on the trip toMalawi because I've been on
mission trips to first thestudents, to support the
students and see that impactthat it has.
And I am choosing to go becauseI want to experience that for
myself and I just look forwardby growing my relationship with
God and just being pushed out ofmy comfort zone, because I know
(07:49):
when you're put in thoseuncomfortable situations, that's
when you grow the most.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Yeah, good.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Yeah, I'm really excited about the trip because I
think it's a really nicepartnership of the Hope in
Motion campaign and Hope Churchwith Urban Promise International
, church with Urban PromiseInternational and the university
, new University.
Going is a way to experiencethe culture, meet people and
become part of the project andreally what going means, you
(08:19):
know.
I think it's a reasonablequestion to say like you know,
why don't you just send money?
Or you know, isn't it expensiveto fly a team all the way to
Malawi?
What are you guys going to dothere?
Anyway, it is, and you know Ithink we should be financially
supporting the trip and thecampaign and the university.
But going on, the trip itselfreally demonstrates our
commitment as hope and, you know, as emissaries of hope that
(08:40):
we're.
That you know.
We want to have an experiencethat we can rally around, not
just for time but for ourcommitment, and we also are
creating effects in ourcommunity here by going, by
doing something, we show ourcommitment, but also we have
impact on people in ourcommunity.
So I was actually I wasthinking about this earlier A
(09:03):
lot of us got yellow fevervaccines from the same person
yes, you're right and thatperson who I don't even know
their name, but the lady atWalgreens shout out Walgreens
Sponsor us.
Yeah, she gave us a lot of shots, and I must have been one of
the last ones through, becausewhen I sat down for my vaccine,
(09:24):
she says oh, you're with thatchurch group, aren't you?
And I said oh yeah, I am withthe church group, and so we
talked a little bit about theproject and about hope, and who
knows where that kind ofconversation will lead Right,
yeah, yeah, that's neat.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
That's what I think.
For me, personally, what I likeabout this is I experienced it
with our first trip to Haiti, Iexperienced it with the first
trip to Cuba is there are peoplewho are going to watch your
experience and hear about yourexperience and they're going to
decide to go on the next trip,and so, while they couldn't make
(09:55):
the strip or they weren'tinspired, they may be inspired
just by the stories from the,from what you guys share, when,
when we come home and so that'sso, then it becomes something
that we're not just doing, it'snot a one and done experience,
it's a partnership I think youused that word already that we
can have for the, you know, forthe next decade, potentially,
(10:16):
and I think that's that's for me, that's the most exciting thing
is to see the potential of this.
One trip will turn into a rippleeffect across Hope, across our
community and the impact wecould have in Malawi.
So tell me.
So.
Those are all those things thatmake us excited, but there's
(10:36):
also a part of the trip that cangive anxiety or concern.
Do you guys have any of that?
Speaker 4 (10:43):
I mean, there's obviously some unknowns with
going to a country you've neverbeen to before.
I've been a lot of places, butI haven't been to Africa yet.
So I'm not going to mention anycommunicable diseases, because
that seems like a bad idea.
So I'm going to say that one ofthe things that I am sure I'm
going to stumble upon is notbeing able to pronounce things
(11:06):
correctly.
So I'm just admitting that I'mgoing to say it wrong.
So that's you know.
There you go.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yep, that's a good, that's a good one, yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
For me, I would say there's a little bit of anxiety
just for traveling I've neverdone international travel and
that almost everyone on the teamhas global, has chosen to do
global entry and I chose chosento do global entry and I chose
not to do global entry.
So if I'm traveling kind of onthat realm of things solo, there
(11:40):
may be some higher anxietylevels.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
We'll get you the global entry.
Okay, we're going to get youthere.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
And listeners.
We teased her that we're goingto leave her behind, since
Katie's the only one who didn'tget global entry, but that is
not true.
My wife already said that wewould not do that to you, so
there you go, okay thank you.
So I'm going to have to waitbecause Kelly's making me wait.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Team Kelly for the win there you go, I'm gone.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
And maybe we answered this already, but what are you
most looking?
Speaker 3 (12:12):
forward to?
Is there anything that youhaven't shared about that's your
most looking forward to, aboutgoing on this trip and this trip
experience?
Oh well, I would say that I wasjust really captivated by having
Urban Promise come and speak onone of our Sunday services and
then, as a mission trip team, wehad the privilege of having a
gentleman who his name is AmAmaro and he came and spoke to
us about um he's a fellow abouthis, his life growing up in
(12:33):
Malawi.
So, just like it just reallytakes like a self reflection on
your own life and like, wow,like I'm so privileged, like
even though, like I might worktwo jobs or you know, I have my
own apartment or my car, like Ihave so we're so privileged,
like how much we have at ourfingertips, and to hear his
story of how he has grown up,and then see the idea behind
(12:54):
what Urban Promise is doing withbuilding the university and
just being an educator andknowing, like how important
education is, and even though Iteach the young ones and you
know they you build thatfoundation for the rest of their
education and then these arelooking at impacting high school
students that can go on touniversity, I just feel like
it's super powerful to be ableto be there to impact them Good,
(13:18):
good Ryan, anything.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Yeah, I mean I'm really looking forward to the
trip and, you know, getting tomeet people on the ground and
interact with others, meet someof the people that you know,
fellows that have gone back toMalawi I think would be really
exciting.
One of the things I'm reallygrateful for is, you know, being
able to just kind of show up,get involved, excited to not
have to do too much planning.
(13:40):
We're just kind of the handsand feet here, so we get to just
meet folks and be flexible,look for opportunities.
I think that'll be a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Yeah, for me.
I look forward to those thingsthat you guys said.
I'm looking forward to seeingall the different ministry sites
that Urban Promise is going totake us to see, looking forward
to seeing the university project, and I personally always look
forward to the team timeafterward, where we get to,
because there's so many sets ofeyes and so many different
(14:11):
hearts there, and so thedifferent experiences that we'll
share together is, for me, isalways inspiring.
It's challenging, yeah.
So I look forward to the teamBecause as often as we've had
team meetings and we've gottento know each other, you're going
to know each other so well inthis experience and by the end
(14:34):
of the week it's so close.
There's this companionship thatwe develop and create and it's
just.
I look forward to that.
I always enjoy it.
I always miss everybody when weget home.
The first couple of days iskind of weird.
You're like, oh wait, I don'thave to share the bathroom with
anybody right, it's just or youknow, but not because it's
(14:55):
inconvenient, it's justdifferent, right.
So I'm looking forward to thatpart, yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Well, one thing that listeners may not be aware of is
that the mission trip ends upbeing kind of a bit of a small
group.
So we've been meeting regularlyfor some time now, I think
since January, and so you know,it's not like just a bunch of
people showed up, got in a vanand went to Malawi.
So we've had some time to kindof pregame and talk to each
(15:20):
other and get to know each otherand plan and think and dream,
and so then we have theexperience and then we come back
.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Yeah, and, like I said, you're gonna have such
good friendships, like there arepeople who I still am close to
because of the first time I metthem was when they joined a
mission team.
So it's just this greatexperience.
So, let me, we're gonna wrap uphere, but just a couple more
questions that I think ourlisteners would love to hear.
Is so, katie, you're akindergarten teacher?
(15:48):
Yes, and you've been teachingfor since you said you graduated
college five or six years ago.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Oh no, before that.
I've been teaching for nineyears.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Nine years Okay, I'm sorry.
Nine years of teaching.
Yeah, where did I get the fiveor six?
Okay?
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Because I said I was going to hope for like five or
six years.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Oh, that's right.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Maybe my math is wrong.
Okay, maybe it's eight or nineyears Kindergarten math yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
That's what it is Okay, and Ryan, you are a
university professor.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
That's right, that correct, all right.
And and what do you teach?
So I teach tissue engineeringand regenerative medicine.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
And.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
I also teach a course in the medical school called
foundations of medicine.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
All right, all right, interesting.
We could have a whole podcastabout that.
We probably shouldn't, though.
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
I think they would turn us off.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
So we're going to Langeza University.
We're also going to see some ofUrban Promise's schools that
they've started.
What specifically do you seewhat role in your?
How much?
Let me say that again howspecifically do you see your
roles in education playing intoyour participation on the Malawi
(16:56):
team?
Speaker 4 (16:58):
So you know, as a professor, the trip is centered
around this Langeza University,and so that's a project that's
very close to my heart.
I'm very passionate abouteducation generally, but in
particular higher education.
One of the things abouteducation is that it opens doors
and it can really change thetrajectory of your life.
(17:20):
I know that was the case for meand the case for a lot of people
, but right now in Malawi a lotof people don't have an
opportunity for higher educationand it closes a lot of doors
and it prevents progresspersonally, but also on a bigger
level, on a societal level, andso I'm really excited about
going and being able to get kindof in on the ground floor and
(17:44):
develop some relationships andhopefully we can provide a real
sense to, you know, studentsthat are already on the ground
there and getting ready to beenrolled, and maybe
administrators who are kind ofdoing logistics or community
activists who are gettinginvolved in supporting
university, that we're here andwe want to support you, and
(18:07):
we're not just saying we want tosupport you, we're coming here
and we're here, we're physicallypresent, it's not just like
we're here in spirit, it's notjust here's some money, it's we
want to support you and you knowwe're in this for the long haul
, so I think that's really verymeaningful and lets us have a
big impact.
That kind of impact ischallenging to find here in the
States.
(18:28):
You know we have a lot ofuniversities, a lot of
opportunity, and it's even hardto fathom a scenario where
Malawi's at right now, and sogetting able to have an impact
there, I think would be reallypowerful.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah, you know, I was in when we saw the video on
LaGesia University that BruceMay was narrating and at the end
he talked about changing thecountry.
And I'm like, oh, I'm in, LikeI've never been a part of
something where I could change acountry, so I'm in right.
(19:02):
What an opportunity.
Yeah, katie, how about you?
Speaker 3 (19:05):
I would say we've had kind of the privilege to shape
and mold this trip to like caterto our team who's going to the
mission trip.
So aside from us beingeducators, there's a few other
educators on the team that arealso going.
So one of the nice things is assome of the things that we
planned hopefully do is there'sa newer elementary school there
(19:28):
and that's full of kindergartenstudents and I hang out with
kindergartners all day.
So I'm just super excited toshare that energy and that
knowledge and maybe teach themnew songs and new games and
things like that.
And there's other opportunitiesto just build connections
throughout the community,whether it's going to like a
foster care home and us womenthat are going on the trip are
(19:48):
allowed to interact with thegirls, or if they go to the boy
side, you know the men caninteract with the boys.
So I'm just really lookingforward to using those skills
that I use every day to justkind of like, shape and mold the
lives and be.
You know, that's one of thereasons why I became a teacher
was to interact and, like, makea difference in kids' life, and
I feel like, I feel stronglythat even the smallest amount of
(20:11):
time and attention that we giveto these kids is going to make
the greatest impact on theirlives.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, that's great, yeah, so so you know, I want to
wrap us, wrap this up, but I dowant to ask you guys so what do
you think God may have plannedfor you If it's in addition to
what you already shared?
You guys already shared somethings that we know that God's
part of that, but what do youthink God may have planned for
you in going on this trip?
Speaker 4 (20:35):
Honestly, you know, I don't know.
I'm looking forward to findingout.
I'm looking forward to findingout, so I think I shared that.
You know I've been lookingforward to being involved in the
ministry that Hope has beenpartnering with in Malawi for
some time, and so when this tripmaterialized, it was just such
a perfect blend of this passionfor Malawi and my professional
(20:56):
interest in the university.
I knew that God had somethingplanned for me here.
So I'm not really sure whereit's going to go, but I'm
looking forward to establishinga long-term relationship with
Malawi and with LongesoUniversity.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Let me ask you a follow-up, Ryan how do you
measure success for a trip likethis?
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Yeah, I mean, it's challenging.
I'm not sure if I necessarilybuy into the concept of success.
I think that success is showingup, it's having an open mind,
an open heart, but nonetheless,you know, I'd like to come back
with a sense of you know, hereare the next steps, here's what
I can do next, rather than justyou know, I've been there and
(21:41):
I've done that Right, and so ifI come back with that kind of
sense, then I'll consider that asuccess.
Great, that's awesome, that's agreat answer, Katie.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
how about you?
What do you think God mighthave planned for you?
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Yeah, so one of the things you mentioned earlier was
just about how our team of 15,it's not just 15, because we
have the support of the people-of the church behind us and you
know our families who aresupporting us and going on this,
our coworkers and things likethat.
Um.
So I just think, like God iskind of using us to help expose
(22:16):
and support um in that way, likeat, for example, amaro is
actually coming to my school tospeak to the fourth and fifth
graders later this month.
Um, because his story ties intoour curriculum curriculum.
And then also, um, our studentcouncil is working on
fundraising some of the suppliesfor the schools, like notebooks
and pens and pencils and thingslike that.
(22:37):
So, like these fifth gradersthat I get to speak with later
this week, don't even know aboutit, you know like they've.
They've grown up with grass andthings like that and having
access to all these things, sojust opening their eyes to other
things around um the world,like you know, happening around
the world.
But I also, like, as Ryan said,like still open to seeing what
(22:59):
the trip has in store for me andmy purpose there.
But I think um just kind oftaking how I'm impacting others
now and using those gifts overthere by kind of leaving my
thumbprint of like just showingkindness and compassion to these
people over there.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Yeah, and you, you, you have a community of people
behind you in this, don't you?
Your whole school is um, is ispartnering with you.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Yes, yeah.
So, um, we're all kind ofworking together hopefully to
bring over the supplies and theykind of like heard what I was
doing and they were like we wantto help you, we want to support
you and I was like that's crazy.
I was like, cause I, this is anew school to me.
I have been in the samedistrict but moved to a
different school.
So these are all new people andthis was in December and you
(23:42):
know I'd only been teachingthere for a few months, so it
was really awesome to have thatteam like behind me.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
That's really, that's really exciting.
So I'm going to wrap up here.
How can people pray for you?
How can people pay for the team?
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Yeah, I think something you said earlier was,
you know, something we can bepraying for is the team having
open eyes and looking foropportunities and being able to
seize upon them, being at theright place when God's moving.
You know, I think that's whatwe should be praying for
Obviously, for the success ofthe university and for Urban
Promise and, you know, theGreater Hope in Motion campaign,
(24:17):
but I think that those are theimportant bits.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
I would agree with Ryan and I would also add, just,
you know, safe travels andthings like that Financial
burdens, because it is acommitment definitely to attend
a mission trip, but also thatit's just like that, this trip.
I just ask for prayers thatthis is a successful trip, like
(24:42):
a stepping stone to build thisrelationship over there, so that
way, future, we can pave thepath, so that way more people
behind us can attend Malawi andget interested and want to be as
interested as we are to help,also just make a greater
difference.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Yeah, that's good.
Hey, listen guys.
Thanks so much for for doingthis.
I hope I've had a greaterdifference.
Yeah, that's good.
Hey, listen guys.
Thanks so much for doing this.
I've had a good time.
I hope you guys have.
And listen I hope you've enjoyedit as well.
Just a couple of things just toreiterate.
If you could pray for the team,as Katie mentioned, pray for
logistics as we travel.
It's a couple of differentplane flights and even a couple
(25:20):
different flights for the team,so getting us all there, uh, we
won't all be together untilwe're in Africa, um, so, so
that's a logistic that we're uhneed prayers for.
Uh, do pray for our, our hearts, pray for our families while
we're away, and then, uh, andand again, ryan's mentioned a
few times, but if, if anyonewants more information about the
Hope in Motion campaign,there'll be a link to it in the
(25:44):
show notes so that you can getmore details about that.
And if you haven't had a chanceto support that and you'd like
to do that, we would love foryou to do that and even mention
the podcast.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Thanks for being a part of the Hope community as we
continue our conversationsabout faith and hope.
If you don't already, pleasejoin us for worship on Sundays
or on demand.
You can learn more atmeethopeorg or find us on
socials at meethopechurch thanksso much and you guys have a
(26:36):
great day.
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