How one father changed his family's future — forever.

When we first met Mohammed over a decade ago, he was struggling to put food on the table for himself and for his five kids.

He was struggling — but he was also dreaming. He dreamed of creating a business that would provide for his family's daily needs as well as for their future. So he applied for a TOLI microloan. With that loan of about $150, he bought the ingredients and equipment needed to make and sell felafel. He mixed it by hand, cooked it with a propane stove and sold it to his neighbors. 

And Mohammed's felafel was good. 

Mohammed and his kids show us his original felafel mixer, purchased with a TOLI microloan over a decade ago.

Soon his business was earning good income, his family's life improved, and he quickly paid off the loan. But Mohammed kept dreaming. He took another TOLI loan to expand his business with an industrial mixer, increasing production and sales of his famous felafel. He quickly paid off that loan too.

Because of Mohammed's hard work and creativity, matched with TOLI's simple but powerful program, all five of his children are cared for, well fed, and in school. Now he's even sent one daughter to college. His family's future is forever changed.

Mohammed used a second loan to buy an industrial mixer to expand his business.

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Mohammed's story answers a few of the most common questions we get about our program: How long does TOLI stay involved in the lives of clients? And, are clients allowed to take more than one loan? 

We've known Mohammed for over 12 years. His was one of the very first loans we granted in the town of Nazzlet Hanna, Egypt. In all of our sites, staffers visit clients regularly throughout their loan term, building relationships and getting to know their families. And because our model is to serve clients who are connected to each other — through either geographic proximity or because they're part of a savings group — we can see the big-picture impact of our program over time. Our partners in Nazzlet Hanna have been walking with clients and ministering to the community for years — building trust, praying for restoration and sharing the hope of the Gospel.

And do we allow multiple loans? YES!  After a client pays back their first loan, we encourage them to apply for additional loans to further expand their small businesses — until they've moved up the economic ladder and out of our target demographic of the 'poorest of the poor.' 

So what's next for Mohammed? Well, he keeps dreaming — now it's a dream of a full-service restaurant. And from what we've learned about Mohammed, that dream is bound to come true. We'll keep you posted. 

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Inspired? Here are 3 ways you can get involved:

1. PRAY. Mohammed is just one example of thousands God has touched through TOLI — and it all starts with prayer. Pray for our clients, partner ministries and about how you can be a part of this ministry. 

2. GIVE. You can help propel another success story like Mohammed's. When you donate to TOLI, you equip someone with a life-changing microloan and the life-saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.

3. AMPLIFY. Do you have a small group, Bible Study, missions committee or business group that would be interested in hearing more about the power of microloans? We love to sharing stories like these in person! CONTACT US to request a speaker and help us spread the word.

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TRAVEL WITH US IN 2019 

Want to meet clients like Mohammed yourself? There's no better way to understand how TOLI changes lives than by joining us on a Vision Trip. We're leading vision trips to Kenya and Nicaragua in 2019. Interested? Visit our TRIPS section for details. 

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Updates from our other sites

NICARAGUA

— Program progress and political strife. We are grateful that our new program in Puerto Cabezas is off to a strong start — five poor single moms here have started small businesses with TOLI microloans in the last month. At the same time, the country has been reeling from demonstrations, police violence, and political upheaval. Please pray for peace in the country and safety for our partners.

INDIA

— Community small business training. In partnership with First Presbyterian Church (Colorado Springs) we trained nearly 40 people in small business principles and practices in Kalimpong, India in April. TOLI Field Staffer Ashish Subba and ministry partner Pastor Mathias Subba played key roles in facilitating this successful week-long training for members of this community. Pray for the training to be shared and implemented by TOLI clients and friends.

ALBANIA

— Praise God for small beginnings. This month, our first client in Albania began a business raising pigs. This 'pilot' loan is an important first step in helping our partners here establish the TOLI program. Please pray for Ilir's new pig business, as well as for field staffer, Nico, and our volunteer leaders. 

KENYA

— Farmers' small business training. In the village of Magumoni, near Mount Kenya, we're working with a community savings group of small scale farmers. This month we launched a small business training course with this group, laying the foundation for granting our first loans later this summer. 
— Pray for relief from extreme rains and flooding that's plagued much of Kenya this spring. Our clients' businesses have been negatively impacted, so pray for their perseverance, as well as improved weather patterns!

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We are miraculously connected

From our Executive Director

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I went on my first mission trip in 2001. I had said a brave yes to joining a short-term trip to Kenya with our church, where my husband was a pastor. I was eager — and scared. As a brand new pastor's wife and a 20-something mom with babies left at home, the idea of being a 'missionary,' even for just two weeks, was intimidating. 

Our group helped with a small building project, ran a VBS for a few hundred kids, and took lots of Kenyan tea breaks. One morning we visited an orphanage called Karai Children's Home, near the town of Kikuyu. It was a small home, recently built by The Outreach Foundation, who helped organize our trip.

We dropped by one morning and led the 40 or so kids in some silly songs. Halfway through Father Abraham, I took off my sweatshirt and tied it around my waist, as the goofy song motions and Equator sun warmed me up. Next thing I knew a young girl copied me, taking off her blue knit school sweater and tying it around her waist, just like I did.

Kids at Karai (left) in 2001. 

This little act somehow settled all my fears. It suddenly seemed so simple: We were just two daughters of Abraham, doing something together, and discovering how big God's family is in the process.

But there was another girl there that day, a girl I would meet again — 17 years later.

When I returned to Kikuyu last fall with Touch of Love, we hired a social worker named Lucy. We loved her immediately because of her leadership skills, her smarts, and her dedication to the group of women TOLI was going to serve there. She had a heart for this community, because she grew up here. 

Teaching a small business lesson with Lucy (right) last month.

It turns out Lucy grew up just down the road — at Karai Children's Home. 

And, it turns out, Lucy was there in 2001. Lucy was one of the kids singing Father Abraham with us, one of the girls with whom I discovered I had nothing —  and everything — in common. 

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Sometimes the light shines on God's invisible webs just right, and suddenly you see everything is connected and glistening. 

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Why am I sharing this with you? Because God's plans are elaborate and exquisite. Because His plans are for every person. Me. You. A kid in an orphanage. A woman in a tea field. A man in a slum. It's why the church exists. And it's why TOLI exists. 

We are all children of Abraham, and we are miraculously connected, beyond the bounds of culture or geography. We are family.

My prayer for you — and for every one of our supporters, staffers, and clients — is that you would know yourself as part of His family, and that, as you say your brave yeses to how he wants to use your life, you may catch a glimpse of the glistening threads that connect us all. 

God's plans are elaborate and exquisite. And sometimes we even get to see them.

Yours in Christ, 

Abigail McConnell
Executive Director

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PS: Want to connect with us? 

Maybe it's by praying. Maybe it's meeting for coffee to hear more about TOLI. Maybe it's even going a trip with us. Maybe this is your brave yes... 

Or maybe there's another corner of God's kingdom I can connect you with.

Send me an email and let's find out. 

3 inspiring stories fresh from the field

Over the past few weeks, we've met face to face with dozens of clients in Egypt and Kenya to hear about their lives, check on their progress, and pray together. We were thrilled at their successes and inspired by what God is doing in their lives. Here are three of our favorite stories...

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Fayez Hanna: Overcoming disability and finding joy

Fayez was born with cerebral palsy in El Khom el Akhdar, Egypt. Because of his physical and mental disabilities he had never been able to have a job. Idle and unhappy, he was a burden to his already struggling family. Then, TOLI helped him start a small project with a microloan. He bought an inventory of candy and sweets, and decided to try to sell them from a cart outside of churches and schools. It worked. Fayez soon was working regularly and earning steady income. The extra money helped, but his family also noticed how much happier and more stable Fayez had become. He no longer fought with family and neighbors. He had purpose and began setting goals for himself. Fayez is now completely independent, earns his own income, and contributes to the needs of his widowed mom as well. Fayez's loan is now paid off, and he continues to be one the most popular guys on the block. 

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Raooth Atta: Empowered to care for her family

When Raooth's husband was severely injured in an accident, he lost his ability to work and required full-time in-home care. With both of them now unemployed and housebound, their situation looked bleak. But soon Raooth found a creative solution using a TOLI microloan and a stock of fish. Because catfish are able to live for a long time in containers, she realized she can sell them right in front of her house, allowing her to continue to care for her husband as well as earn an income. She now has a bustling business offering her customers fresh catfish, which she cleans and filets as she sells them. With the income her catfish business is earning, she's now able to pay for her husband’s medical treatment and support her three young kids. 

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Stella Mumbua: Head of household at age 25

Stella is determined to overcome her obstacles. At just 25, she's an orphan, a single mom to 8-year-old Hanson, and the guardian to her two elementary school-aged siblings. But with grit, charisma and her energetic personality, Stella is fighting hard for her family. We visited her tidy one-room apartment, where she was thrilled to show us her new clothing inventory, recently purchased with a TOLI loan. Her clothing business clientele is growing steadily. What's more, she is a member of 3 different savings groups, and meticulously records her weekly deposits in journals she keeps at her bedside (see picture above). Step by step, Stella is finding her purpose and taking charge of her life with determination, faith, and joy. 

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WANT TO MEET OUR CLIENTS YOURSELF? 

Travel with us! There's no better way to understand how TOLI changes lives than by joining us on a Vision Trip. Visit our TOLI communities, meet and pray with clients, and get to know our partner ministries. Several trips are already in the works for 2019. Interested? Email Abigail McConnell for details. 

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Other highlight from our March visits

EGYPT VISIT HIGHLIGHTS
— Our second site has surpassed 1000 loans. The village of Nazzlet Hanna has granted over 1000 microloans and is now in the process of expanding TOLI to nearby villages. 
— Heliopolis Church takes a key role. A devoted group of volunteers is helping to grow TOLI to multiple sites around Cairo through their church planting efforts. 
— Field staff meet and collaborate. Social workers and program directors from our Egypt sites met with TOLI leaders to share resources and training. 

KENYA VISIT HIGHLIGHTS
— Small business training. More than 20 women in the village of Mai-A-Ihii completed a 4-day small business course, equipping them with tools needed to develop and grow their businesses.
— TOLI launches in Chuka. We signed a contract with KCK Ministries in Chuka, and together will serve the community by bringing enterprise and discipleship to their community through savings groups. 

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WANT MORE LIKE THIS?

Subscribe below to get TOLI news and updates straight in your inbox. (And don't worry, we won't share your info with anyone or clog your inbox, we promise.)

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PS: We need you! Here are 3 ways you can jump in:

1. PRAY. The clients above are just three examples of thousands God has touched through TOLI — and it's all because of prayer. Please pray for TOLI clients, partner ministries and leadership. And pray about how you can be a part of what God is doing through this ministry. 

2. GIVE TO TOLI. We are reaching more people in more places than ever before, so we need your support. Please prayerfully consider a gift to TOLI to help us equip more people with life-changing microloans and the life-saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. GIVE NOW.

3. REQUEST A SPEAKER. Are you in the Colorado Springs area and have a small group, Bible Study, missions committee or business group that would be interested in hearing more about our ministry? We'd love to share! CONTACT US to request a speaker.  

February field reports

This month has been packed with progress at each of our field sites. Here's a country-by-country look at the work our partners have been doing: 

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Meet Deepika Bara. This month she signed to take a TOLI loan to purchase a sewing machine. With the support of our social worker Ashish Subba, Deepika is launching a new business that will enable her to provide income for her young family and new hope for a whole community.

India: new clients and new hope

While political unrest slowed our efforts in the Duars region of India last year, we're happy to report that we now have 16 brand new clients in this region. Their businesses range from tailoring to a car repair shop to a chicken farm. 

PRAY: For for these new clients as well as our social worker Ashish Subba, as he guides them in their budding businesses. Pray also for Board Member Lisa Hallock as she prepares to make a site visit in April in conjunction with First Presbyterian Church, Colorado Springs. The team will make sites visits as well as run a small business training course in the area.  

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Nicaragua: building a stellar team

Our social workers, like Junior, above, are crucial to the success of our work, and they wear many hats: mentor, coach, loan officer, and discipler. 

Meet Junior, our new social worker in Puerto Cabezas, who will work with clients here. He is a translator (speaks English, Miskito, Spanish), plays drums in worship, and preaches in the local church when needed. His personal ministry includes jail ministry and he has a calling for evangelism to recovering addicts. He loves to play and coach baseball and he has a wife, 4 kids, and 6 grandkids. We're so excited to have Junior onboard!

While our partner committee in Puerto Cabezas is busy receiving loan applications, Junior is conducting interviews with applicants at their homes. By next month, the first TOLI loans will be granted. 

PRAY: For the Lord to direct our committee and field staff here as they learn the ropes of our program. That TOLI would become a catalyst for economic and spiritual transformation in this community. 

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Egypt: multiplying through partnership

Our new social worker Mario (center) with the Pastor Amir and Abd el Massieh of Haggana church outside of Cairo. 

Our new partnership with Heliopolis Evangelical Church is producing amazing fruit. Through their missions program and a group of core volunteers, the TOLI microloan program is being planted in several new sites around Cairo. Heliopolis is becoming a hub for TOLI in Egypt, allowing us to multiply in coordination with their church-planting efforts as well as streamline our program in Egypt overall. 

PRAY: For founder Emad Yassa who's traveling to Egypt this week to work with our TOLI committee there, make field visits, as well as evaluate a possible new partnership in Jordan. Pray that God would allow TOLI to be a tool for these budding churches to effectively reach, serve and minister to their communities. 

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Kenya: strengthening savings groups

Our clients in Mai-A-Ihii, Kenya, are all part of a peer-led savings group (SACCO), where members pool their resources and act as an informal bank. For these women, financial services — such as savings accounts or loans — would otherwise be out of reach. It's exciting to see how the savings group and our microloan program are working in tandem, helping women save, grow enterprise, and support each other. From March 12-19, a group of TOLI leaders from the US and Egypt will be in Kenya to hold a small business training course for these women, as well as continue developing our second site in Chuka, Central Kenya.

Pray: For the upcoming small business training course in Mai-i-Ihii in March. 

>> Our Kenya program is growing fast! Can you help? Please consider a gift to support our expanding program:

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Albania: creating a tool for ministry

A recent long-distance Albania team meeting. 

We are encouraged by the zeal of the young church in Korce, Albania, to serve the poor in their community and share the Gospel with neighbors. Our partners here are eager to use TOLI as a vehicle for ministry, and Pastor Plator, social worker Niko, and US friends Beth and Bill Bennett are working hard developing our program here. 

Pray: For the committee in Korce as they work through local red tape as we set up our site here, and for Beth and Bill as they travel back to Albania after a month-long hiatus in the States. 

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Get involved

3 ways you can join our work

1. GIVE MONTHLY.  By making an easy, affordable automatic donation each month you will support hard-working entrepreneurs and help sustain our work in a powerful way! Sign up here. 

2. REQUEST A SPEAKER. Are you in the Colorado Springs area and have a small group, Bible Study, missions committee, neighborhood group or business association that would be interested in hearing more about TOLI's work? We'd love to share! Contact us to request a speaker.  

3. GIVE YOUR BIRTHDAY AWAY! Holding a birthday fundraiser on Facebook is a fun and easy way to support us financially and raise awarenesss. Click here to find out how!

Watch how TOLI changes lives

New to TOLI? This video gives a great glimpse of our vision, mission and impact. Enjoy!

Touch of Love International 2017. (5:40)

WANT MORE LIKE THIS?

Subscribe below to get TOLI news and updates straight in your inbox. (And don't worry, we won't share your info with anyone or clog your inbox, we promise.)

What I learned around our kitchen table

From our Executive Director

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What kind of kitchen table conversations did your family have growing up?

I realized recently that what my parents talked about, more than anything else, was imagining things that didn’t exist — yet.

My dad ran an ad agency and my mom was a small business owner. They shared a passion for renovation and an entrepreneurial spirit that meant discussions at dinner usually revolved around what they were imagining together. A plan for a downtown revitalization project. A vision for a new business they were hatching. Another renovation project on our old stone farmhouse.

And without trying really, they passed on to me the same sort of productive imagination — the ability to picture something that isn’t there, then plan the steps to make an idea an actual thing.

Maybe my family was a little unusual, but this productive imagination is a gift from God to every one of us. Creative capacity is something that sets human beings apart from the rest of the created world. In fact, our ability to ‘take an idea and make it a thing’ is proof that we are made in God’s image, the original Creator, and confirms our value, purpose and potential to flourish — not just survive.

Unleashing productive imagination is the core of what we do at TOLI, and it’s why I am so passionate about our mission.

“What makes development happen," writes Lawrence Harrison, "is our ability to imagine, theorize, conceptualize, experiment, invent, articulate, organize, manage, solve problems, and do a hundred other things with our minds and hands that contribute to the progress of the individual and humankind … the engine is human creative capacity.”

And God has given this capacity to every man and woman — no matter their place of birth, no matter their privilege, no matter which side of the ‘poverty problem’ they're coming from. So while there are times to hand out short-term relief and aid, real renovation of broken economies — and real restoration of broken relationships with God — begins with seeing that God made each person for a purpose that is meant to be fulfilled. Otherwise development is short-circuited, undercutting the God-given potential of the very people we are trying to serve. And then we all lose.

There’s something else my folks taught me: the best creative projects are team projects. Rarely can you imagine, design, fund and execute a creative dream alone. So we team up.

At TOLI, we get to team up with some of the most creative thinkers we know — men and women in poor communities. We get to team up to encourage them to imagine something, then share the resources needed to ‘make it a thing.’ The best part? Their kids get to watch, listen and learn to do it too, just like I did.

This is a new role for me here at TOLI. And I’m grateful for how much productive imagination, and even more spiritual imagination, has gone into building this ministry since it began over a decade ago. As we head into this new chapter together, I ask nothing more than for you to pray for TOLI like you’ve never prayed before. Because while I have a lot to learn in this job, this much I know is true: as prayer fuels our holy imagination, God will make something out of us that will bring him glory and us joy.

Yours in Christ,

Abigail McConnell
Executive Director

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Last month we met with church leaders in the small town of Manfalot, Egypt, to begin offering our microloan program there.

What's happening in the field: 

— Our Kenya program is up and running. Meet some of our new clients HERE! We think they're amazing. New businesses like a bookshop, a cereal wholesaler, and a bakery have been launched in Mai-A-Ihii. Pray for each of these women, their families and their new enterprises. 
— TOLI continues to multiply in Egypt. Please pray for Heliopolis Evangelical Church and our leaders there, as they replicate our microloan program through various church plants across Egypt. 
— Pray for Beth and Bill Bennett, friends of TOLI in Albania, as they continue to work with local ministries to plan our Albania launch. 
— Pray for VERBO ministries in Nicaragua, as they identify staff and potential clients to serve in their community. 
— Pray with thanksgiving for our program in Duars, India, where they've completed a small business training course and are in the process of granting microloans for 16 new entrepreneurs there.
— Pray that each of our field staff would be led by the Holy Spirit as they work with clients. Pray for relationships that point to Christ and lead to both material and spiritual wholeness.  

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Meet our newest clients

Get to know the women and the dreams you're investing in

Stella, with TOLI Social Worker Sam, with brand new inventory for her clothing business.

Hanna with her new bookshop inventory.

STELLA has three children to care for, a promising idea for a new business, and a sparkling, contagious smile. When we first met Stella in October, she was participating at our mini-workshop in Mai-A-Ihii, Kenya. She told us she's earned money in the past doing laundry, cleaning and selling as a hawker, but she really dreams of running a clothing boutique. In December she received a TOLI loan to build her business. With the loan, she bought inventory and is taking the first steps toward her dream of running a profitable shop to provide stability and an education for her siblings.

HANNAH is 32 with two kids. She made a small income of about $30 a month sewing school uniforms, but it wasn't enough to live on. But then Hannah saw an opportunity to expand her business by offering books and educational supplies to her uniform customers. In December, she took a TOLI loan to buy inventory to create a bookshop. Already her business is taking off. After just one month she was able to pay her first installment back on time and pay her kids' school fees, which brought her so much joy. 

"Hannah is a happy soul. She has not been this joyful before. Her business is doing great." — Lucy, TOLI Social Worker

And Hannah keeps dreaming. When she succeeds, her goal is to buy a plot of land for her own home and move out of her in-laws' compound. 

Mary has started a new business grains wholesaler.

MARY is a mom of three, and wife to Peter. Their income of $100 per month was not enough to grow a business that will truly flourish. With a loan of $200, Mary invested in bulk grains to be in cereal reseller. She is a leader in her community savings group, a determined worker, and her future is brighter than ever. She told our social worker this week that the biggest difference in her life since taking the loan is that she is now able to provide her family's daily food and that she has hope for her future business growth.

And these are just the start.

There are 8 new clients in Mai-A-Ihii with stories as inspiring as these, and many more on the waiting list. Women with capacity, abilities and generous hearts for their families and neighbors. With guidance from our field staff, these women are on track toward prosperous futures filled with God's purpose and abundance. 

So what's next?

We're eager to return in March to provide small business training for clients and community members, and to complete the launch of our other site in Central Kenya. We're so grateful for how you've invested so far in this program with your hearts as well as your finances — we wouldn't be here without you. So here's how you can help us build on this strong start:

1. PRAY. Pray for each of these women, their families, their businesses. Pray for social workers Sam and Lucy, for our local partner ministry, Comet House, and for the upcoming business skills training session. Pray for the local churches who minister to these families and faithfully point to Jesus as the source of lasting abundance.

Pray for our other Kenyan partner ministry KCK, with whom we're hoping to complete our site launch in March. We just heard that their call for applications for TOLI Social Worker position yielded 27 applicants! Pray that God would provide just the right person for this crucial job. 

2. INVEST. There is a waiting list to receive a loan. Even though TOLI loans are revolving and stay in the community, it will be many loan cycles until Mai-A-Ihii is self-sustaining. Would you consider becoming a sustaining giver? Consider sponsoring more loans, or, even better, becoming a monthly supporter. Just click here to find out how:

3. TELL US WHAT YOU THINK. Have questions about our work? Ideas for improving how we tell the story of TOLI? Let us know. Your input is invaluable.

4. TELL YOUR FRIENDS. Know a friend, colleague or neighbor who would be excited about Christ-centered, business-based solutions to poverty alleviation too? Please share this with them! Together our impact will multiply. You are changing lives. 

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SPREAD THE LOVE!

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Our top ten for 2017

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
— ISAIAH 43:19

Don't you just love it when God does a new thing? That's the heart of Christmas, after all — God sending a newborn savior to bring us new hope, new birth, new life, for good. 

At TOLI, 2017 has been a year marked by many new things that God has done—new growth, new beginnings, new milestones—and we couldn't be more thankful. To celebrate, we've assembled a little top ten list... 

TOLI's Top Ten New Things 2017:
 

10. NEW STRENGTH: For the first time, leaders from our various sites gathered together in one place for worship, training and collaboration.
9. NEW TRAINING: We adopted a new training method for educating clients in small business skills.
8. NEW FIELD STAFF: We hired three new social workers: Mira (Egypt), and Sam and Lucy (Kenya).
7. NEW RELATIONSHIPS: New ministries and churches, including Heliopolis Evangelical Church in Cairo, are joining us to help multiply TOLI in their communities.
6. NEW MILESTONES: For the first time (but not the last!) we surpassed 1000 loans granted in one village, El Kom El Akhdar. 
5. NEW LEADERSHIP: Three new leaders are sharing their gifts as Board Members: Linda Hood, Anna McFall and John Jaeger.
4. NEW DIRECTOR: For the first time, we've hired a full-time Executive Director, Abigail McConnell, who starts in January.
3. NEW CLIENTS: Brand new clients in Kenya are already starting their new businesses after our launch in October.
2. NEW REGIONS: Our new program in Nicaragua is being born as we speak — our team is there now launching TOLI with VERBO Ministries, interviewing new clients and planning for new business growth among vulnerable women in Puerto Cabezas.
1. NEW SUPPORTERS: God has blessed us by expanding our network of support — that's YOU! 

In fact, for each way God has brought us new growth this year, he's matched it with new provision. Thank you for letting him use you to bring restoration through your support of TOLI.

And there's even more on the horizon for 2018. TOLI has been called to serve the poorest of the poor in some of the most challenging places. And yet, that's where new life is most precious, new growth is most green, new hope is most powerful. It's our joy and privilege to see him work in these places, rebuilding families, renewing dignity, restoring souls. We thank you for your partnership. And we thank God, the giver of the very best gifts. 

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Our new Executive Director, Abigail McConnell, starts in January.

For the first time in 2017, we assembled leaders and field staff from multiple countries in one place to collaborate, learn and worship together. 58 people participated in the training, including leaders from Egypt, Lebanon, India, Nicaragua and the US.

We officially launched in Kenya, partnering with Comet House Ministries to offer poor women microloans. We expect a second partner site there to launch by March.

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As we look forward to a new year, we need your prayers and support. To include us in your year-end gifts, or to become a monthly supporter, make a quick, secure donation here.

Your support changes lives. 

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Gift-giving for world-changers

Honor someone you love by gifting a TOLI microloan

This Christmas, we're all searching for gifts that mean a little more, last a little longer and truly represent the spirit of the season. Here's one that fits the bill: give a TOLI microloan in honor of a loved one.

Honor cards are available to download and print when you gift a TOLI loan. Click on the link to find out more.

Your gift can mean a hand up for a father who yearns to provide for his family or for a woman aching to send her kids to school. TOLI microloans empower individuals to rebuild their communities, to fulfill their purpose and experience true flourishing.

Sponsor one microloan ($300), a whole village ($3000) or even just a share of a loan ($30). Whatever the size, your gift can transform a life, a family, even a whole community.

Growing both deep and wide

We've just returned from Kenya and Egypt, where TOLI isn't just growing — it's multiplying

October was a banner month. After more than three weeks of travel to Africa and the Middle East to train leaders, launch new sites, collaborate with field staff, and expand programs, TOLI leaders are giving thanks — and taking a deep breath. Here are just a few highlights...

Margaret has applied for a microloan in Mai-a-ihii. She'd like to expand her small vegetable stand to a larger, permanent grocery kiosk.

KENYA: TOLI's first site in Sub-Saharan Africa

— A team of 10 visited two regions in Kenya to evaluate new partnerships.
— We officially launched in Mai-a-Ihii, outside of Nairobi, partnering with Comet House Ministries to offer poor women microloans. We expect a second partner site, in rural central Kenya, to launch by March. (For pictures and videos, check out our Facebook updates)
— We're excited to be working with savings groups to strengthen our program here. These are community-based covenant groups of poor individuals who pool their assets to provide basic financial services to each other. They also build accountability, discipline, and a platform for Christian discipleship that will add a powerful dynamic to TOLI's loan program.
— We ran several workshops with potential clients focusing on goal setting; overcoming obstacles, and identifying how we're designed to work together in the body of Christ.
— We look forward to returning in March to run a week-long entrepreneurship course for clients, leaders and community members.
— HUGE thank you to the Kenya Launch Team, whose generous support kickstarted this program.

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"We've tried businesses before, but without a plan we learned you cannot succeed. We look forward to you coming back in March for the five-day course."

— Nancy, microloan candidate and class participant, Mai-a-Ihii, Kenya

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TOLI leaders from around the world met in Cairo for a week of training, collaboration and worship. Photo by Jessica Birkelo/Alternativ

EGYPT: New growth in our oldest program

— Five leaders continued from Kenya on to Egypt to provide a week-long small business training course and make field visits.
— 58 people participated in the training, including leaders from Egypt, Lebanon, India, Nicaragua and the US.
— For the first time, we assembled field staff from multiple countries in one place to collaborate, learn and worship together.
— A whopping 800 microloan applicants are hoping for a chance at a TOLI loan in Garbage Village, a poor area of Cairo built entirely on recycling the city's garbage.
— 7-8 new TOLI sites are being planted throughout Cairo, thanks to a strategic partnership with Heliopolis Evangelical Church.
— El Kom el Akhdar, TOLI's first village site, reports meeting all of its yearly goals — reaching youth at risk of emigrating out of the village, finding employment for individuals with special needs, and improving the development of the village as a whole. El Khom is now planting the TOLI program in three nearby villages.

We visited Soaad, a single mom of 5 kids, who built small shop with a TOLI loan in Nazlet Hanna, Egypt. Her business is successful and her kids are thriving.

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We learned that more than 800 people have applied for a TOLI loan in Garbage Village alone. Would you sponsor just one?

A $300 donation provides one new loan — and the start of a brand new life.  Help TOLI bring restoration and the good news of Jesus Christ to more around the world. Make your quick, secure online donation here:
 

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