(NEPAL) In 2007, Mike and Colleen Hoyer read a church bulletin announcement about an informational evening being held for those interested World Renew’s International Relief Manager (IRM) program. The retired couple, who belong to New Westminster Christian Reformed Church in Burnaby, BC decided to attend, and their life hasn’t been the same since.

In 2007, Mike and Colleen Hoyer read a church bulletin announcement about an informational evening being held for those interested World Renew’s International Relief Manager (IRM) program. The retired couple, who belong to New Westminster Christian Reformed Church in Burnaby, BC decided to attend, and their life hasn’t been the same since.

“We were deployed as IRMs to Mali in early 2008,” Mike recalls about their first assignment serving with World Renew. “The learning curve was steep in our work there.”

Since then, the Hoyers have been taking part in approximately one IRM assignment and one domestic Disaster Response Services assignment with World Renew each year.  They are grateful to be part of the team of dedicated and skilled IRM volunteers who make themselves available to respond quickly when support is needed for projects in communities affected by natural disasters and disasters caused by civil unrest.

“It is our way of serving God, fellow humans, and staying active and enjoying retirement,” says Mike.

On June 3, Mike and Colleen will be heading to the airport once again.  This time they are heading to Nepal, to assist in World Renew’s response to the catastrophic earthquake that struck on April 25, killing over 7,000 people and injuring thousands of others. 

World Renew provided an initial distribution of vital food assistance in five severely affected districts and has now decided to focus its next wave of assistance on three under-served but highly-affected districts: Gorkha, Nuwakot and Sindulpalchowk.

Senior Program Manager Grace Wiebe and World Renew IRMs Harry and Annie Bergshoeff and Peter Diepersloot are already in Nepal setting up World Renew’s Disaster Response Team office, assessing needs, and preparing for additional programming. Mike and Colleen will have a ten day overlap with Harry and Annie, and will be in Nepal until August 16.

During their previous IRM experiences, Mike and Colleen have sometimes taken language classes help them communicate locally. In Nepal, however, they will have to rely solely on translators. To prepare, they have been researching the country and reading books, spending time in prayer, and reflecting on their past experiences.

“God uses most of our life experiences to prepare us for what lies ahead,” Colleen said. “My first experience serving overseas came in my twenties, when I taught English in Japan with the Mennonite Brethren Missions and Services. In the past few years, we have also been working with a church partnership in Honduras. These experiences help me remember a few important facts about overseas service. First, God is always there long before we arrive. Second, it is always God's work, and we only walk beside God and the people to accomplish what God has already put in motion. And lastly, based on the first two, I am only a small piece of the project so am entirely dispensable, though my piece is still important.”

Not only has prayer helped them to prepare for this trip, Mike and Collen also recognize that the power of prayer will also help carry them through their time in Nepal.

“We would appreciate prayers for our health, safety and adequate rest so we don't become exhausted. We sometimes tend to take on more than we should,” says Mike.

“We also appreciate prayers for the people we will be working with and the beneficiaries. We hope we can have an easy time with them, able to communicate and share the love of God. We consider ourselves blessed to be able to represent Canadians and Americans who support these people but who cannot be there themselves.”

Your prayers and financial gifts are urgently needed. Donate online today.

Or mail your check made out to “World Renew” and marked “Nepal Earthquake 2015” to:

World Renew US
1700 28th Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
Tel: 1-616-224-0740

World Renew Canada
3475 Mainway
PO Box 5070 STN LCD
Burlington, ON  L7R 3Y8
Tel: 1-800-730-3490