“Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”  I’m writing this morning to encourage the Body of Christ to not lose heart in doing good.

Over the last three weeks, I had the distinct honor of visiting the communities we serve in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and also three of the communities we serve with here in the United States who were hosting Ronia Romero, the regional director of our mission in Central America.

I have never in my life seen such a profound impact as the one you are making through your support of International Samaritan. Your support primarily helps fund holistic scholarships to lift entire families out of poverty through education, but so much more is happening in every community.

In Kenya, the parents of our 133 scholarship students are required to become a part of a savings and loan group to start their own businesses. They meet with our team members every Thursday to report on their progress each week–and they are getting results in our third year that I thought would have taken five to ten years.

Dozens of parents have left the dumpsite to start a business since 2023. This is Regina, who had seven people living in her home with two beds and no chairs or stove at the time of this picture two years ago.

And this is Regina now, a successful street vendor with a growing business:

I met so many people like her. One older gentleman told me that he used to be such a drunkard that he didn’t even remember he had grandchildren. That didn’t shock me because I had just walked through the dumpsite and had seen men his age passed out from alcohol in the middle of the day. But his granddaughter received a scholarship with your support, which meant that he had to join a savings and loan club with us too. He’s been sober for almost a year now and has a business selling eggs from 20 chickens he owns. He told me, “I look after chickens now, and just over a year ago I couldn’t even look after my own self.”

In Uganda, we celebrated the grand opening of the Kiteezi Family Life Center–just one year after the horrific landslide that killed dozens of people and left hundreds more without a home.

Based on the success of our family life centers in Ethiopia and Honduras, we know that big things will happen in Uganda, especially because of the uniquely talented and extremely hard-working team led by David Kafambe (pictured in the middle, below).

In Ethiopia, I enjoyed fresh homemade bread and coffee made over a fire with the leaders of the community who have become good friends since my first visit there seven years ago. In this place where hopelessness once reigned, these mothers and fathers have collectively built and manage together thriving businesses that include raising chickens, cultivating a community garden, selling fresh water, and milling wheat and other grains into flour. They tell me that people come from far and wide to buy products from the community, which was once considered a place to avoid because of the high rates of leprosy and HIV among the population, and tell them that this land is blessed.

I also had coffee and prayed with Yitayal’s father and brother, still mourning the loss of Yitayal, as well as his brother and mother. A Good Samaritan had stepped forward to help Yitayal’s brother get a driver’s license and make a down payment on a car. Yitayal’s brother told me, “For years, it has felt like every time I make one step forward, I get pulled two steps back. Today is the first day I can ever remember feeling hopeful.”

And then I came home to see genuine friendships and joy flourish as Ronia visited with Learn, Serve, Grow partners in Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Toledo: people from diverse cultural and political perspectives who care deeply about each other and making our world better.  

My heart is heavy with the violence and strife in our own nation, but I’m writing to remind myself and you not to grow weary in sharing the love, forgiveness, and peace of Christ. God is changing the world for the better through you.

International Samaritan is a Christ-centered organization built on Catholic Social Teaching. Our mission is to walk hand-in-hand with people who live and work in the garbage dumps of developing nations to help them break out of poverty.

We provide holistic scholarships for students from kindergarten through college, and we’re currently supporting nearly 1,000 scholars in Central America, the Caribbean, and East Africa.

Would your church or school group like to partner and travel with us? Learn about our Learn, Serve, Grow program.

Empower our scholars to change their lives. Become a monthly supporter.

Mike Tenbusch, President

Mike joined International Samaritan in 2018 after two decades of leading social change in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. He’s a University of Michigan Law grad and author of The Jonathan Effect: Helping Kids and Schools Win the Battle Against Poverty. He and his wife, Maritza, have three children who keep them young.