(LAOS) This month we are busy evaluating the progress made in the communities World Renew started working with five years ago — or in some cases, ten years ago.

Our permission from the Lao government to work in Xieng Khouang Province expires at the end of December. Organizationally, we review our progress at the beginning, middle, and end of each five-year phase.

What does an evaluation involve? A lot of work for everyone! In early and weight of all children under five years old and talking with village leaders at length about the changes they’d seen in that time. We have already heard about improvements in some of the communities that have worked with us for ten years: higher incomes, better health, quality education, more opportunities for women, and stronger leadership. 

Then, from October 8 to16, we will host a team of external evaluators from a third party (two former World Vision staff) and people from government ministries in Vientiane. We’ll visit a selection of villages that showed unusual or promising results in our first survey to discuss with groups of men, women, and youth the reasons behind the numbers and to listen to stories of the changes people have experienced.

Back at the office, we’ll present the results in a meeting with local government officials and community members to get their suggestions about how we can improve our work during the next five year phase.

After that, we’ll write our proposal to the government and donors, and then submit it around the end of November. We expect it to take three to six months before we receive approval to continue working in these areas.

James and Sarah's future plans

After seven years of working in Laos, we have decided to return to the United States in March 2014. We are grateful that God planted us here for the time being, and we are sad to leave friends, students, and this work behind us. We leave knowing that God has called us on to new things and that the work here will continue through coworkers, new advisors, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

James has long felt a calling to pastoral ministry and hopes to start his studies at Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in August 2014. Sarah hopes to work in a library or tutor elementary children.

Thank you for the faithful support we’ve received from churches, friends, and family over the years. From March to May in 2014, we plan to visit each of our eight supporting churches on a Sunday morning to share what we’ve seen God do in Laos through World Renew over these years. We also hope to meet with small groups of people in each of these churches, as well as friends and family across the US.

Please consider continuing to support World Renew in Laos. The Fennema family will still be here, and World Renew will be recruiting someone soon to work in James’ position.

Peace, 

James Zwier

Program Advisor 
World Renew Laos