Working for Hosanna is not a job. Yes, the mission workers get paid – we need to be able to pay for food and utilities, mortgages and taxes just like everyone else – but working for Hosanna is really not a job. It’s truly a calling. For each of us at Hosanna, we know that for one reason or another, this is where we are meant to be. For me, it’s the people we help, many of whom would not be able to stay in their homes if it weren’t for the mission workers of Hosanna Industries. When a single mother’s income is less than $10,000 a year and her roof leaks so badly that her ceiling is caving in and her electrical system is compromised, how long will it be before she must look for a low-income rental unit? When an elderly widow’s furnace is red-tagged, how long will it be before she must move in with her children? When insurance no longer permitted the ambulance driver to carry Lillian Mike from her home so he could transport her to her dialysis appointments, how long could she have stayed in her home without the loving support of Hosanna’s mission workers? Hosanna is not a job. You can’t walk away at the end of the day and leave your work at the office. You keep hearing the Hosanna cries, “Rescue me now!” You know that this labor of love will not be complete in your lifetime but you commit your life to it.

It’s not just the clients we help, though. It’s the young man who is a little lost. He’s struggling through high school, trying to find his way. He may be bullied. He may have a difficult situation at home. He’s not sure of his place in life or his value. He comes to volunteer with Hosanna. He works hard, side-by-side with our mission workers. He changes the life of a household in need. He’s an important part of the work that gets done. He suddenly recognizes that he is valuable, capable. Our work is so much more than just a job. We are transforming lives every day.

And it’s not just the clients or the volunteers. A while back Hosanna was replacing a roof for an elderly widow with a great group of volunteers. We were in a nice neighborhood. It was a gorgeous sunny day. Everything was going smoothly. I was working down on the ground when the mailman walked up to make his daily delivery. As he came to the house we were working on, he paused. Just stopped to soak everything in. I wandered over. He asked about what was happening and I told him. It was a conversation that lasted less than a minute. He turned to walk away saying, “So God is still working here, huh?”

Yes, God is still working here. He is not dead. He’s working through you and me. He’s working in the lives of our clients, our volunteers, and others who observe our work. There’s no question that working for Hosanna is a calling. And for me, there is no job that could provide more value or meaning than this vocation of service.

-Julie Wettach, Financial Steward