The Light Of Hope

The Light of Hope is a Christian Ministry-a non-profit Organization- started in Vejle ( Danmark) since 2015.

The goal

The Light of Hope as a ministry, has its goal first to fight against loneliness and reduce the percentage of suicide and suicide attempts, by creating relationship between people on one hand and between people and God on the other hand.

Second, to impact joy in the hearts, peace and hope in the mind, so that the people can be free from all kinds of bondage and afflictions to fulfill the mission by which they were created for.

The Light of Hope is founded from the very mission that brought the Lord Jesus Christ on earth as it is written in Isaiah 61:1-4:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who Mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of Joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified “

And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations” ( New King James Version).

In these words, the plan of God is clear: to save the spirits of the people he has created, heal their bodies, soul and emotions, building them from inside – out and afterward use them for rebuilding of the nation spiritually and physically, to bring people into His glory.

Since The Lord Jesus Christ is absent on the planet Earth physically but present spiritually, He can only continue His mission through those among his children, who says like Isaiah “Here am I. Send me!” Lord.

Therefore, the Light of Hope is made by men and women who have said yes to the Lord and to His noble mission.

They are united in one (social and spiritual) family. Social because the moral and ethics that characterize it : unconditional love in accepting a new belonging, kindness, humility, godliness etc; and spiritual because they belong to God’s family through Jesus Christ.

How does The Light of Hope work

As a family, The Light of Hope has discovered that the effective way to bring the answer to the sufferings of people is to show them The Lord Jesus Christ who is the true Light of hope h( that set free from all kind of darkness and bondage), The way ( to a meaningful life on earth) and

The life (everlasting life) to them. The strategy is not using only words but combining words and actions. Therefore, we use whatever we are, have and whatever we can.

Consequently, the Light of Hope offers

  1. – Practical help (house holding cleaning, giving a shower, cooking, shopping, cleaning clothes, repairing furniture etc.) activities like giving a walk with a person, sports, culture activities like gathering around different activities, the food, music, dances

  • Spiritual help (sharing the word of God, a prayer, a song, counseling, prayer for the sick, conferences and seminaries of evangelization).

  • Materially and financial help (buying food, dealing their burden of bills if its hurts and handicap emotionally their lives etc…), according to the importance of the need and the availability of the funds.

  1. Paying friendly visits to the institutions like nursing homes, hospitals, prisons, schools, and to private individuals who need them.

Motivation to start The Light of Hope

Through a qualitative interview research conducted in 2009 in the Vejle City, Gaudence Nyantore Bukuru, a devoted woman Christian and the main founder of the Light of Hope -as a new comer in the Danish society- was curious to know the reason why many people don’t attend the Church in Danmark. She could not understand why some generations, mainly youths, are missing in the Church. So during 3 days on the streets of Vejle, she took many hours each day and came in contact with almost 80 individuals who accepted to give their time and talk to her.

The result was astonishing:

In few words, people lack love, pastor care, family’s relations, good healthy, joy, peace, a meaningful life and a hope for the future.

From this research and observation, Gaudence burst into pain and cry such as a pregnant woman in labor. Through prayers and fasting, she supplied the Lord for help and then, the Lord God put a burden into her heart.

In consideration of what she heard as if spires were piercing and cutting her heart into pieces

She began crying and weeping for many months, until the Lord took the burden through prayers and released her heart.

After a while from the talk on streets, Gaudence went to a school related to social and health care helper. Through this education, she was in contact with some people in elderly Nursing homes, and others in their own homes, where she realized how much loneliness is devastating the people and how huge needs they had – either practical, emotional, spiritual or material needs.

Adding to the above personal investigation, Gaudence while she was taking a professional bachelor in Communication Christianity and Culture at Via University College, she came across the following texts that reinforced her motivation to implement officially the Light Of Hope as a ministry:

Statistics from State Church articles state thatIn Denmark every year, about 55,000 people die. In 2013, 605 suicides were registered in Denmark. This corresponds to 1.1% of all deaths or on average of almost 2 suicides a day. In relation to the number of car accidents death, it dies about 3 times as many because of suicide. On the basis of a register of suicide attempts, which have detected suicide attempts at Fyn area, since 2011, there are approximately 6,500 suicide attempts annually in Denmark. In addition, to an unknown number of people with self-harmful actions or serious suicidal thoughts”1.

Moreover, Loneliness is a complex size in Danish society and loneliness often goes hand in hand with other problems,” says psychologist and loneliness scientist Mathias Lasgaard. There is a strong link between loneliness and low self-esteem and between loneliness and signs of depression and depressive tendencies.

If we take a short moment with economical glasses, loneliness is a bad business because people who have depressive tendencies and generally are sick, more often sick or completely absent from the labor market. The price of loneliness is very high: 7 Milliard and 800,000 sick leave in the spring, the cost of loneliness is high for both the individual and the community. In fact, the National Board of Health has stated that loneliness is blamed every year in 770 cases of premature death in Denmark2.

Finally, Christ’s love is both the starting point, the model and the driving force in our work. We assume that every person is created by God and thus unique and that God wants to meet the individual with his love and care in giving to each one hope

.

The Light of Hope compared to the other existing social institutions or charitable organizations

The difference is the one between the body and the spirit and soul. They are many who take care of the needs of the body (shelter, food, clothing, activities etc.). Their approach is to save a person on the out – inside perspective, and it seems perfect but on a long term, is not an effective tool. Because still people are hurt and wounded inside, stressed, depressed, sick, without peace, joy or hope, lonely and some even commit suicide.

There are few who remember the needs of the spirit and souls (spiritually and emotionally needs)

Therefore, the Light of hope considers that since a man is a triune being (spirit, soul and body) as it stands in 1 Tess 5:23, the needs of these tree areas have to be met, if a person has to be restored and get balance. So to say, a healthy body, joy in the spirit and peace in the mind.

This approach is inside- out and has been proved to be effective.

We witness example where

  • One who attempt to suicide, after, an approach, and being there with and for him, repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Jesus’ forgiveness, recover emotionally and go back to his duties with new energy, new identity and new hope.

  • One who repent and get salvation on the bed of death and we get confirmation that that person get eternal life.

  • One who through prayers, get rid of pain in the body.

  • One who get an orientation through our counselling and finds the meaning of life.

  • One who was hurts for all his projects couldn’t come through, and hurt in the heart after receiving the lord Jesus trough repentance and confessing, got a success in his enterprise and able to move forward in life with joy and hope.

  • One who get encouragement for his faith, in the very last moment of this life on earth. By hearing and seeing us coming to him became amazed to see how great the love of God is in a critical moment.

These are of the kind of example out of many, where by Gods grace with were able to be there and witness the life’s transforming moment. It is amazing, sweet more than honey and beautiful more than gold.

Where the Light of Hope gets its economic resources?

So far the Light of Hope relies on the contributions of each member of the Organization, for making possible what we have already done and still going on.

Our target group

Loneliness and suicide affect all the people without distinguishing neither of age nor gender. Therefore, the Light Hope is opened to everybody without distinction of age, race, ethnicity or social statute. Anyone who is in any kind of oppression and in need of help is welcome.

Challenges

The Light of Hope faces some challenges

  • Lack of working place to gatherings for activities and prayers

We always pay the place where we gather without being allowed to take our own food or coffee, being obliged to buy from the owner, as consequence becoming more expensive.

We sometimes rely on Churches around but, very often we have activities at the same time when the Church starts, and then we are obliged to stop ours.

  • Lack of the full time commitment of the people who are most needed in the Organization

On one hand, we need to train the volunteers, to contact the institutions and visit them to show our offer. On the other hand, we need to make some project proposals for the activities we do but the coordinators of public relations, of volunteers and the chairman, cannot always give fulltime work in these activities because they have to work to earn their life and also support financially this work.

This situation limits and delays the number of achievement we can make per week/month and year.

Lack of enough materials

Cleaning materials, projectors to use in conferences that we borrow without always sometime getting them. We also borrow the music instruments whenever we have a conference.

  • Limited economic support to provide to the need of the people we minister to.

Our wishes

The Light of Hope wishes to work in partnership with Churches, Organizations, Foundations and people who are interested in our mission statement.

What is the Long term project

In a lawful secular Country, though theoretically fundamentally Christian, The Light of Hope as a long term project, will build an elderly nursing home where God is the Center.

It gives sorrow and sadness not to get permission to help and pray openly with someone who is dying because the rules and laws.

Our brothers and sisters who love the Lord, deserve to get old in the same spiritual environment they were used to be. Where they gather for prayer, loving one another, and feel accepted, respected, and feel a unity as belonging into God’s family; not being lonely and hopeless at the end of their lives as it is today. Some seek to end their life quickly by suicide because life loses its meaning.

There should be an opportunity for the old who are not believers to hear about the Gospel so that they choose or not since faith comes by hearing following the Apostle Paul asking how can people believe if no one tales them!

We will work in the harvest for the kingdom of God.

Approaching planned activity

The Light of Hope is planning to hold a Christmas feast on 24th December 2017, for people who have no families to gather with (lonely people) and homeless people.

It is also a time, where we will explain why there are many lights in the streets during Christmas and what can be the meaning of those lights in one’s life? And eventually we will lead people to faith by the Grace of God.

Composition of the Light of Hope

The Leadership is made of six people and 13 members registered. We have also many members that are not registered, there are the volunteers, and are in a growing number.

Sources: