Transforming lives together

“For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.”
– 1 Corinthians 3:9

When Alemteshay took a TOLI microloan to support her family, she never imagined the depth of support she’d receive from Life Center Ethiopia, TOLI’s Strategic Partner. 

TOLI works hand-in-hand with local, Christ-centered ministries who are called to reach, serve and empower the vulnerable in their communities. TOLI is designed to be a powerful “tool in their toolbox” for Partner Ministries, so they can more effectively reach those God called them to serve.

Life Center Ethiopia implements TOLI’s “Cycle of Hope" to break the cycle of poverty and demonstrate God’s love to widows in Ethiopia. Here's how it works:

As Alemtsehay started her own clothing store, Life Center and TOLI Field Staff provided instruction and encouragement. They taught her how to manage her inventory, set prices, and market her store. They reassured her of her capabilities. They guided her through obstacles and celebrated her success – all while pointing her to the Lord! 

Partners like Life Center are integral to the success of each client. Their wisdom, knowledge, and experience broadens and deepens anything TOLI could do alone.

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“Partnership is working together for the same goal and mission to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what we are doing together with TOLI…We are not alone in the work. Partners help us to make us stronger and better because of the support, experience, and knowledge that they bring to our ministry.”
– Mulu Woldetinsae, Founder and Executive Director of Life Center Ethiopia

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Thanks to this partnership, Alemtsehay:  

• Established a business that provides steady income for her three children

• Saved money for the first time

• Grew in confidence in God-given value and capabilities

• Repaid her first microloan and took a second to expand her business

• Became a Christian leader who encourages more women to join the program

And Life Center Ethiopia is just one of TOLI's amazing partners reaching people in their communities. Click below to read about partners in Kenya, Uganda, and Egypt.  
 

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Join us in this partnership!

Right now, TOLI and Life Center are looking to distribute more microloans and hire a new TOLI Social Worker to lift more people out of material poverty and share the hope of the Gospel. Would you help us meet this need?

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Mark you calendars to…

Meet Don Paterson, TOLI's new Executive Director

Drop in for an open house at the TOLI Colorado Springs office to meet Don. There will be appetizers, fellowship, and a time for questions. See you there!

WHEN: Thursday, May 2nd // 5-6:30pm
WHERE: The TOLI office – 5785 North Union Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO

When life happens

Success beyond setbacks

Alemnesh walked through the doors of Life Center Ethiopia, TOLI’s partner ministry, in utter need. She was displaced from her home because of ethnic conflict, living in extreme poverty, and desperate to provide for her family of ten.

But Alemnesh’s story isn’t about what she lacked, it’s about the abundance of what she has to give.

And our partners at Life Center Ethiopia are SO good at seeing the abundant capabilities and God-given worth of every person who walks through their doors. Life Center provides the TOLI program to widows in their ministry so they can learn basic business skills and receive a microloan to start their own small business.

Through the TOLI Business Basics Course Alemnesh learned the practical tools to successfully manage a business. She learned how to save. With a $240 microloan she boosted her small business of selling traditional Ethiopian spices. Her income increased, and she grew in confidence as she provided for her family. 

“I never had training before TOLI. The training is very good.”
– Alemnesh, Ethiopia

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But soon after taking the loan, Alemnesh’s health worsened and running her expanded business grew difficult. She fell behind on loan payments, and the rising hope of her business faltered.

Microloans don’t solve every problem. Clients get sick. Businesses struggle. Life happens. But that’s why the TOLI program is more than just entrepreneurship, it’s holistic transformation.

TOLI partners equip clients with holistic tools to thrive and flourish, truly transforming hearts and minds, not just income levels. At the TOLI Business Basics Course, clients learn about overcoming obstacles, dreaming, and leadership. They leave knowing they’re capable of success and are valuable because God loves them. When they receive a microloan, a TOLI Social Worker walks with them through every hurdle and success – folding them into a culture of love and unity. 

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“I want everyone to become a family, where everyone can get a touch, a hug, and love. It’s not about making people rich. I want to change people’s minds and hearts, and to do this, they have to get a sense of a culture of love and unity.” 
– Mulu Woldetinsae, Founder and Executive Director of Life Center Ethiopia

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Armed with a new sense of self, Almenesh never gave up when life got hard. She moved forward confidently. With absolute determination, Alemnesh kept saving money, growing slowly, and paying off her loan. The TOLI Social Workers prayed for her, and with her health improving, she took a second microloan to open a cafe next to her spice shop.

And now Alemnesh gives to others! She pays her children’s school fees, takes in family members displaced because of conflict, and employs another woman to help her in the shop. Alemnesh even leads a savings group – teaching widows like her that they are capable of saving and growing a business too.

In 18 months, Alemnesh’s life totally transformed from that day when she first walked into Life Center. She’s now a confident provider, a generous leader, and a woman who knows she's loved by God.

And of course, there will be more obstacles. But beautifully, what defines Alemnesh is not the obstacles or what she lacks, but all that she is and all that she has to give.

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And THANK YOU for supporting Alemnesh and entrepreneurs like her.

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– Come pray with us –

TOLI TUESDAY PRAYER GATHERING
Tuesday August 8th from 8-9am MT

Join us via Zoom: Email Audrey for your link OR
In person at the TOLI office: 5785 N. Union, Colorado Springs, CO 80918

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Engage your church

Is your church interested in partnering with TOLI to engage the nations? Help spread God's story of transformation, grow the program to reach more communities, and add much needed prayer warriors to the team by engaging your church with TOLI. If you're interested, please email Amy Cullins and include your church and missions pastor's name. We'd love your congregation to be a part of the TOLI family!

Because someone believed in her

Help TOLI bring courage and hope

Last month I met a remarkable woman named Kebebush, a young widow in Ethiopia. Less than a year ago, she was scared and struggling to provide for her young daughter. 

Then she joined TOLI, and things began to change. 

“Before (TOLI’s business training) I was living to survive,” she says. Her little coffee stand was barely covering daily needs. But the training sparked new ideas and equipped her with better business practices. She graduated from the weeklong course, and received a microloan of about $250 to expand and improve her business. Now she specializes in selling aromatic spices to flavor coffee, a popular and more lucrative product. 

In just a few months, her income doubled. Better yet, her confidence skyrocketed.

“Now I have hope and courage,” she says. She’s now saving and dreams of starting her own supermarket one day. “People in my neighborhood ask me, ‘what changed’?” She encourages them to take the training, too.

The change in Kebebush from struggling and scared to courageous and confident didn’t just come from new knowledge. She needed someone to believe in her. 

That someone was Hiwot, a field staffer serving with Life Center, our partner in Ethiopia. Hiwot, along with her colleague Hailu, are TOLI Social Workers, who serve clients as business coaches, teachers, loan officers, and counselors. But beneath all those roles is love.

“What we share is our hearts and ourselves,” says Hiwot. “So if we don’t have love, it won’t work... That’s what makes (TOLI) impactful, because we are sharing our lives.”

This relational investment by our incredible field staff is the true power in TOLI’s program. That’s why this year we invested in equipping our global team through a series of regional conferences focused on servant leadership, spiritual growth, team building, and worship — WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW!  

Even though 2022 was full of challenges—global inflation, war, lingering impacts of the pandemic—our clients and ministry partners were resilient, creative, and full of faith. And, like Kebebush, TOLI grew a lot this year too. We’re humbled that God used this ministry to bring transformation to more people than ever before, as we: 

> Equipped more than 1,060 clients with microloans, and more than 1,900 with small business training.
> Expanded to new locations within Ethiopia, Uganda, and Egypt.
> Doubled our program size in Kenya.
> Grew our team to 42 field staff and 4 US staff.
> Gathered more than 100 TOLI leaders from six different countries for leadership training at Regional Conferences in Nicaragua, Egypt, and Kenya.
> Added a full-time Communications and Administrative Associate to the US office.
> Celebrated client baptisms, new professions of faith, and deepened relationships with Jesus.

And as we head into 2023, we’re investing even more in growing our program and our people. So if you’re praying about where to direct your year-end giving, please consider TOLI. Your gift will be an investment in the transformation of men and women like Kebebush — an investment that yields eternal dividends.

With gratitude and joy, 

Abigail McConnell,
Executive Director

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Merry Christmas from our TOLI family to yours! 

TOLI leadership and volunteers gathered in Nicaragua (top, June 2022), Egypt (middle, September 2022), and in Kenya (November 2022).

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Ever wanted to travel with US?

We have four Learning Trips coming up in 2023 … maybe God’s calling you to join us? TOLI Learning Trips are the best way to experience TOLI’s impact. As a TOLI traveler, you’ll meet and learn from our global staff, worship alongside our ministry partners, and meet and pray with TOLI entrepreneurs. These trips are designed to help you discern how God may be calling you to get involved in TOLI’s work more deeply. Space is very limited, and trip applications are required. Interested? Email audrey@toli.org or click on the button below.

Why partnership is priceless

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" // MARK 12:30-31

Wherever there's a TOLI program, there’s a local church or ministry already at work in the community. And that's why TOLI works, because these local Christ-centered ministries, who love God and who love people, use our program as a tool to transform their communities. 

Ministries partner with TOLI to reach people they wouldn't reach otherwise. While we provide a proven model and initial funds, it's our partners who hold the vision for their community. They assemble the local committee to champion the program, hire field staff to implement it, and encourage clients because they want to see people's hearts and minds transformed. They want to reach the poor and share with them the gospel. 

But don't take our word for it! Hear it from our partners as they share their heart for TOLI and for the nations:

“There are millions of widows who are waiting for help in Ethiopia, many of whom don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. I believe that serving with love and humility will transform lives with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe the loan program helps us to spread the Gospel and bring the kingdom of heaven to the earth. One at a time, individuals will be changed, then the community, through which we will change nations.”
– Mulu Woldetinsae // Life Center Ethiopia // ETHIOPIA

“TOLI has opened my eyes to new areas in Egypt that are shouting “come over and help!” My church is positively impacted by TOLI because it opened for us a big door to help the needy community in Egypt, and also it helped us in trying to change the mentality of the Egyptian churches to give donations to the poor.”
— Bassem Raouf // Heliopolis Evangelical Church // EGYPT

“My favorite thing is to see a poor person guided through an entrepreneurship program, then grasp the concepts of dreaming big, good customer service, good marketing skills, etc., and assimilate them into their lives. I’ve seen clients internalize this, start businesses, and progress. That makes my day. Seeing them slowly transform from poverty, making daily steps towards self-sustainability, humbles and empowers me to do more.”
– Humphrey Kanga // Kenya Connection Kids // KENYA

“My heart is with children. TOLI has brought more children to Sunday School and this is a huge blessing because they’re growing spiritually. For one client, Grace,
the first client to pay off her loan in Uganda, TOLI improved her life,
her children's, and her children's children."
– Angie Atta // Volunteer // Goshen Gospel Ministries // UGANDA

“TOLI is very effective because we have a lot of poverty here. Giving spiritual guidance without any practical help doesn't work to solve poverty. The Church used to just give money but that didn’t work. This system works.”
– Pastor Emad // Towah Evangelical Church // EGYPT

And thank you for your partnership as well! Your prayers and financial support help equip these local partners reach more people and transform more lives. Thank you!

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We’re back… Thank you for praying

This month, a TOLI team travelled to our site in Central America to visit with partners. We visited clients, encouraged staff, and held a Regional Conference – which was an amazing time of fellowship and leadership training with Field Staff and committee members. Thanks to our Prayer Team and supporters for covering us in prayer during this journey.

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New addition to the TOLI US Team

We’re so excited to welcome Amy Cullins as TOLI’s new Associate for Stewardship and Engagement! Amy has a welcoming heart for people, a passion for Jesus, and a gentle and humble spirit. Her rich experience in leading women’s ministry, event planning, volunteer engagement, teaching, and hospitality will be a huge asset to the TOLI team. Amy's focus will be on serving and praying for our donors, helping them meaningfully engage with the ministry and planning TOLI events. Amy, we’re thrilled to have you on the team!

Growing businesses — and believers

What does a microloan program have to do with Jesus? For TOLI, pretty much everything.

“I want to say something," said Amara,* as she raised her hand in the middle of class. "I want to receive Jesus as my personal savior.”

Amara had just heard a volunteer read scripture to kick off a recent session of TOLI's Business Basics Course — a free class designed for microloan clients in vulnerable communities and based on Biblical principles.

A TOLI client prays to receive Jesus Christ in a business training class.

"Prayers work!" said Hailu, TOLI Social Worker in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as he retold Amara's story to us. Amara, a widow and mom of two young kids, had joined the class earlier this summer. She had hoped to start her own business. What she started first was new life in Christ.

Amara is a perfect reminder of TOLI's most fundamental why: To introduce others to Jesus. And our how — as unlikely as it may seem — is through microloans. That's because the foundations of TOLI's microloan program are firmly built on Gospel witness. Here's how:

> Mission-aligned partnerships. We work with Christ-centered Partner Ministries whose mission aligns with ours. We are yoked together, committed to praying for each others’ leaders and kingdom callings. (ie, "Prayers work!")
> Spiritually mature staff. From social workers to board members, TOLI team members at every level are mature Christ-followers, activated for ministry.
> Relationship-building. The ongoing relationships between our Social Workers and our clients are fertile ground for meaningful spiritual growth, filled with opportunities for conversation and questions at a deeper level.
> Connecting with the local church. The local church is the most powerful tool available for spiritual growth. Our Social Workers help connect clients to the local church for important resources, activities, spiritual support, and worship services whenever they can.

Bible distribution is just one way TOLI shares the good news of Jesus Christ.

TOLI clients experience spiritual growth through our program in different ways.

Some clients, like Amara, accept Jesus in a pronounced, dramatic way. Others slowly learn to lean on him through prayer, or take small steps of faith, or return to the church after wandering. Others simply learn to trust a Christian for the first time. But in every case, TOLI clients are given access to the Word of God with a copy of their own Bible, along with the ongoing support and unconditional love of our field staff.

So, yes, we believe business growth is the best solution to poverty. But we also believe true poverty can't be cured without a relationship with Jesus Christ. Pray with us that every client, just like Amara, would raise her hand before him too. *names have been changed for privacy.

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COME PRAY WITH US.

This Tuesday, we'll be joined by Maged Metyas, Egypt Country Director, for September's prayer gathering on Zoom. You'll hear the latest updates and prayer requests from TOLI's largest and fastest-growing program. And as always, we'll share prayer needs from all around the TOLI family. Email Audrey Putney for your Zoom link.

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JUST A FEW SEATS LEFT...

Come experience the power of hope in unexpected places at our Fall event, Taste & See. Just a few seats remain, so reserve your spot today. Tickets are $50 (Lunch only — dinner is sold out.)

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THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS EVENT SPONSORS:

Planting 'New Flowers' in Ethiopia

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
— PROVERBS 3:5-6

One of the things I love most about TOLI is that it's an organization that deeply desires to move in step with the Lord and in sync with His Spirit. We may not always understand God's ways, but he promises if we trust in him he will make our paths straight. We will sense his lead and know which way to go, one step at a time.

And that is precisely where TOLI is today, as we sense him directing our steps to expand to Ethiopia. It would take hours to describe all the ways God has connected us with this beautiful, ancient country, but rest assured the whole story leaves us in awe.

In two weeks, I will travel to Addis Ababa — along with five other TOLI leaders — to help begin a new partnership with a powerful 'boots on the ground' ministry there. Like all of our partner ministries, this one is passionate about serving widows and their families, believing each one is made in the image of God to dream, create, and flourish as mothers and as entrepreneurs.

Each microloan given through this partnership will help change a family's story, out of poverty and into dignified work. The best part is, when loans are paid back, they will be reissued to other budding entrepreneurs in the same community, creating a beautiful cycle of opportunity and growth. Seeds that are planted, watered, and cultivated will bloom into brand 'new flowers,' dotting the landscape and fabric of Ethiopia. One loan. One business. One dream at a time.

Thank for you for praying with me for Ethiopia, for TOLI, and for all that will bloom from our partnership ahead.

Megan Nilsen
Associate for Communications, TOLI

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Give to support a specific traveler or the whole team. Funds raised in excess of travel costs will be invested in business training, microloans, and a salary grant for a local, Ethiopian social worker. And please pray for this trip, October 15-23.
THE TEAM: John Jaeger (Board member); Linda Hood (Board member); Erin Eilmes (Staff); Megan Nilsen (Staff); Monet Martin (volunteer); and Steve Hood (volunteer).

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THE LATEST FROM EGYPT:

TOLI Founder Eddie Yassa has been in Egypt this month visiting clients, overseeing business training in poor communities, and hosting our first TOLI Social Worker Retreat — a powerful time of encouragement, leadership development, and prayer for our six social workers and various partner committees from around the country, as well as key leaders from Heliopolis Evangelical Church in Cairo.  

Please Pray! TOLI is growing in Egypt. Please pray for all the social workers and clients to connect, seek the Lord, and experience His goodness in their businesses.

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Join us First Friday Downtown COS

Come visit Savory Spice Shop and Gold Star Pies and support TOLI at the same time!

Gold Star Pie Truck will serve up fresh award-winning pie in front of Savory Spice Shop, where you can find free hot cider and the tastiest spices in town. Proceeds from the evening will benefit TOLI. Many thanks to these two local small business —Dick and Mary Frieg and Heather Briggs — for their generosity and passion for supporting small businesses in poor communities around the globe.

WHEN: Friday Nov. 1, 5-8pm
WHERE: 110 N. Tejon, COS (in front of Savory Spice Shop)
MORE DETAILS HERE

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