Summer 2008: Inside a Sponsorship Community - World Vision

fastfact » Last year, 86
percent of World Vision’s total U.S.
revenue was designated for programs
that benefit children, families, and
communities in need.
Acting on Hunger
A neglected play boosts the 30 Hour
Famine effort.
Budding playwrights Heidi and
Kari Brizendine from Bonney Lake,
Wash., spent a year working on
their first script, “The Mysterious
Anonymous,” but then hit a snag.
laura reinhardt/World Vision
Their family loved the sisters’ madcap
mystery tale set in the 1940s, but they
wondered when it would ever be staged.
“We didn’t really know,” says Heidi, 21. “A
year passed, and the script sat useless in a
folder, without any purpose.”
That changed when their church—
Bonney Lake Community Church—was
pondering how to help raise money for
World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine. Each year,
thousands of young Americans participate
in the Famine and raise millions of dollars
for hungry children.
The congregation considered the
usual suspects—car washes and bake
sales—but instinctively felt the need for
something more exciting. When Heidi
suggested they put on the play, there was
immediate enthusiasm.
Come opening night, there wasn’t an
empty seat in the house. Sales of tickets,
popcorn, and other treats raised more
than $1,000.
Says Heidi: “God blessed our performance
that night and helped us realize
he can use any talents to help those in
need—even when you don’t know where
and when they will be used.” ■
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8 | World Vision Summer 2008
www.worldvision.org