Fashion for a Passion
One Body One Hope has been continually blessed with stories of people within our community of supporters going above and beyond to spend themselves for the work of God in Liberia. God has done and is doing some amazing things within people's hearts, and we are so excited to share one spend yourself story of a young supporter of One Body One Hope.
Abby Van Beek, an 11-year-old from Rock Valley, heard about One Body One Hope through her grandparents, Rev. Dan and Mary De Groot. Both Rev. Dan and Mary have been to Liberia on service trips through One Body One Hope. When they returned from their trips to Liberia, they shared the stories and work they had done with their friends and family. As Abby listened to the stories and saw pictures of the children at Christ Our Hope orphange, God placed a compassion and love for them within her heart.
On November 24, Abby and her family put the compassion and love God had placed in their hearts and hosted "Fashion for a Passion." Abby, her family, and their friends hosted and participated in a fashion show. All of the clothing in the fashion show was kindly lent to the participants by Abby's grandmother Fonda Van Beek, owner of Nearly New Town in Rock Valley. That night, the auditorium at Rock Valley Community School High School was filled with friends and family of those participating in the show.
"Fashion for a Passion" began with a welcome by Abby, prayer from Rev. Dan De Groot, and quick introduction to the One Body One Hope organization. The fashion show was filled with smiles, laughter, fun music, and of course, fashion. Besides hosting an incredibly fun event, Abby and her family raised over $2,500 for One Body One Hope.
Abby's story of doing something about the compassion God placed on her heart continues to inspire us at One Body One Hope. We are incredibly thankful for Abby's friend's and family for supporting, encouraging, and helping her to create the "Fashion for a Passion" event. It's not easy for any of us to take the step out of our comfort zone and do something about a passion God has created in our hearts. We know this isn't the end of the story of God working in Abby's life, and we hope that He continues to intertwine Abby's story with ours at One Body One Hope.