"An Amazing Time" in Lansdale, Pennsylvania

The recent Reservist training in Lansdale, PA was described as "an amazing time" as 34 new trained disaster responders completed their Hope Force course and are now ready for deployments around the world. Hope Force Co-Founder, Cherie Minton, writes "In spite of doing this relatively often, there are just those 'special' groups that stand out -- and this certainly was one of them! We talked with them about how we have seen disasters come through shortly after one of our Reservist training events and this one was no exception. In fact, we are using the host church in Lansdale right now as our staging area for our Hurricane Irene response efforts."

Participants from four states and nine different churches came for the three-day Training Intensive seminar. "The training had a huge impact on me," explains Patricia Mosesso, President of Morgan Wentworth LLC -- a Pennsylvania-based agency specializing in attorney and legal staff placements. "Before attending the two and a half day seminar, I seriously doubted that I could be involved in such a challenging ministry. I was drawn to the training because of my feeling of helplessness when hearing and seeing the tragedies taking place around the world as a result of so many natural disasters and the suffering that followed. I wanted to do 'something' but other than financial contributions, I didn't think I could be of assistance."

"The Hope Force training stresses who we are in Christ," Pat continues. "It points to the fact that we are unable to take on this type of ministry to such desperately needy people in our own capacity, but only through our identity in Christ. It's only through and by His strength we can do this. For the first time I felt the confidence that I could not only minister in this way, but in any way that God called me to "be there" for the hurting in the world. This training is valuable not only for a Reservist in Hope Force International, but for any other ministry to which God calls us as His servants. We don't need to be 'perfect Christians' -- only submitted imperfect redeemed children of the King to be part of His worldwide Mission."

Heidi Beers from Philadelphia also found the training to be a life-changing event: "I want to commend the Mintons and the rest of the HFI crew for an excellent time of training. They all did a great job planning and facilitating the training, as well as sharing the Hope Force vision. It was an excellent time of learning and confirmation. The training was very well planned and explained some things that I never really truly understood before about both God, people, and yes even myself. It was a privilege to get to meet all of the staff and I am excited to see what God is going to do both in Haiti and domestically though the organization."

Hope Force is founded on the premise that followers of Christ have a mandate to respond to those who are suffering from disaster or chronic need. HFI has been a national partner with The Salvation Army since 2005 with a focus on training and volunteer deployment. According to Jack Minton, HFI Founder/President, "As a Christian disaster response agency, we specialize in training volunteers so they are prepared and allowed to respond, often in restricted areas, when disaster strikes. Our three-day Reservist training focuses on the grief and trauma cycle, personal wholeness and healthy team dynamics. Right now, nearly 1,000 Hope Force Reservists stand ready to deploy to crisis areas."