“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” // M A T T H E W 1 8 : 1 2 - 1 3
In a tucked-away corner of the main market past stores and small restaurants, through a maze of clothes hanging from the rafters, there’s a small group of TOLI entrepreneurs running their businesses side by side.
One of them, Miriam, has a small restaurant where she cooks chicken and turtle meat. “How do you cook turtle meat,” you ask? “However you like,” she says.
Another client, Segunda, owns a tailoring shop next door. She works for hours a day at her machine, sewing pants, skirts, and school uniforms from scratch.
When the US team visited last month, we met with these women, celebrated and prayed for them – for their businesses, families, and futures.
But TOLI clients are just a fraction of the people working in this market. Here, people sell sodas, hop on and off of buses, sort clothes, and wait for food.
During the visit, Orlando – a TOLI Social Worker with a soft voice and a wise spirit – took notice of another woman sitting on a bench nearby. She's a friend of the TOLI clients, and was familiar with Orlando. She saw how he frequently visited and prayed for her friends. She knew he was steady, safe, and trustworthy.
So this day Orlando looked into her eyes and asked her her story.
“Can you pray for me?” the woman asked. She shared how her daughter with cerebral palsy can’t get out of bed. Tears streamed down her face, and Orlando was quick to intercede for her in prayer and bring her pain to the Father. Slowly, the rest of the team circled around her and prayed for her too – for healing, community, and peace. God was present, His Spirit filled her, and she prayed to believe in Jesus.
And that’s what makes TOLI Social Workers different. More than just ‘loan officers,’ they're missionaries. As Miguel, another TOLI Social Worker here said, “I learned not just how to serve, but how to really listen to people with the heart of trying to help this person. I used to just be a (loan) collector, but this is a ministry.”
So while these servants act as business coaches and microloan officers, they soon become counselors, friends, and spiritual mentors. Trustworthy and relational, they look for ways to go deeper with clients and to point people to Jesus. And their sphere of influence stretches beyond microloan clients, and into whole communities.
Would you pray specifically for TOLI Social Workers and Field Staff today? That they would continue to be a light for people who are lost and hurting. That they'd be filled with the Holy Spirit, protected, and empowered to minister to those in their path who need the help and hope of Jesus.
– Audrey Putney, Communications Associate
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