Take a quick trip around the world with us and catch a glimpse of what God is doing through One Collective communities.

Vietnam - Neurodiversity in the Church & Leadership in Action

Empowering the Church to be Inclusive of Neurodiversity

Last month, One Collective staff led a workshop about neurodiversity and the church. Several leaders from local Vietnamese churches joined to learn how the body of Christ can become more welcoming by recognizing and removing barriers that unintentionally exclude people with disabilities. It was a beautiful time of learning, reflection, and conversation about how the church can better reflect God’s heart for inclusion.

Please pray that these seeds of understanding will continue to grow, and that more churches across Vietnam will become places where people of all abilities feel seen, valued, and fully included in the family of God.

LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

Minh was the very first person hired at the One Collective coffee shop in Vietnam. She began her journey as a barista. Through dedication and hard work, she soon became the manager of the coffee shop and later earned her certification as a professional coffee roaster. In her leadership role, she guides and supports our barista team as they grow in skills and confidence.

Minh has worked alongside a young man, our second longest-tenured barista, for more than seven years. He is deaf and also has a developmental disability. Their long partnership has helped Minh gain deep, hands-on insight into inclusive leadership. She has also supported many neurodivergent trainees and interns to gain food and beverage skills in our shop over the years.

Recently, the coffee shop hired a second deaf barista. Motivated to support her team well, Minh began studying sign language and learning about deaf culture. Today, she is conversational in sign language and has built meaningful relationships within the deaf community.

Minh embodies the heart of our mission by creating a workplace where every person is valued and equipped to thrive. Her leadership shows what inclusion looks like in action, one relationship at a time.

Costa Rica - Bringing Hope to the Hope House

Casa Esperanza (translated Hope House) in San Jose, Costa Rica is a place of refuge for individuals who have been exploited by the sex trade industry offering safety, support, and a pathway toward restoration. We provide:

Warm meals, clothing, and personal hygiene items
Access to psychologists and social workers
Classes like sewing and English that help open doors to financial independence
Partnership-driven resources for health, wellness, and personal development
A compassionate, judgment-free community where each person is treated with dignity
Programs that nurture spiritual well-being, emphasizing forgiveness, hope, and restoration

Every day, we witness stories of courage and transformation. These stories are made possible because people like you choose to stand with One Collective and support our work.

This summer Bri Allison interned with Casa Esperanza and shared her thoughts:

“Butterflies have followed me all summer, painted on the walls of Casa Esperanza, doodled on paper during art therapy, crawling on my face at the garden, and fluttering in the hearts of women in the Red Zone of San Jose, Costa Rica… reminders to us that healing takes time. The cocoon is dark. The process is arduous. But transformation is possible.

Through my internship with Casa Esperanza this summer, I’ve walked alongside a reality that is often misunderstood or uncomfortable for many people. Because in the Red Zone, you’ll find the women are formidable, brilliant, complex human beings who’ve lived through things most of us couldn’t imagine — abuse, trafficking, addiction, abandonment, exploitation, etc. These women are often labeled by their circumstances… judged by what they’ve done or what’s been done to them. Many have been sold, silenced, wounded, addicted, or denied care, not once, but over and over again. Many are still in the middle of that story, showing up each day, sacrificing more than most of us will ever be asked to. This kind of ministry isn’t flashy or fast. It’s not a rescue mission or a “fix it” strategy. Its presence. It’s a relationship. It’s slow, sacred, deeply human work.

It looks like giving women a safe place to talk, sleep, cry, create, eat, and breathe. It looks like being consistently loving in a world that is the opposite. You might assume we should be here to preach at them or pull them out, but the truth is, these women have heard enough shame in the name of God already. Yet, Jesus isn’t afraid of the darkness in those streets. He doesn’t hide himself while waiting for them to come clean or come close… He walks straight into the mess, into the noise, into the pain, and calls them BELOVED.”

Last month, the Casa Esperanza staff had the privilege of attending a powerful autobiographical play performed by several women from Casa Esperanza. Through raw storytelling and performances, they shared their lived experiences as survivors of trafficking, exploitation, addiction, and homelessness. Their courage, resilience, and honesty expressed not only the pain of their past but also their strength, growth, and hope for the future. Being present to witness their stories of perseverance and transformation was both moving and deeply humbling, reminding us of the importance of community, compassion, and the power of giving voice to lived experiences.

Central Asia - Business Development & Training

TRAININGS IN VILLAGES

This fall the team in Central Asia has been been going out to villages to meet with business owners and business-interested people (both men & women) to learn more about their businesses (or desires to start a business), business growth/challenges, and their communities and lives. Based on these conversations, the team has been putting together trainings on topics including: how to design a business plan, business management, and finance / budgeting.

Over the last month, they visited three different villages. They returned to one of the villages and did a training on the basics of business accounting & budgeting. The participants were very engaged and, upon their request, they will return to give another training!

DEVELOPING BUSINESS IDEAS

The business trainings have been a unique opportunity to build connections in villages, while continuing to develop business ideas for the long-term platform of our team. They are currently researching the viability of three ideas:

continuing business trainings
starting a greenhouse construction and/or rental business
partnering with a local believer to start a women’s university dorm / summer tourist hostel.

All of these ideas involve working with local believers & leveraging existing connections!

Please pray: For God to make it clear which of these business ideas He would desire them to pursue, and that He would open doors for them to take next steps. Pray also for their new hire, that this trial period would help everyone determine if she is a good fit & that they could support her well in her own goals.

NEXT STEPS

By the end of the year, the goal is to develop a preliminary proposal for each of the 3 ideas. In the New Year, we will choose the most viable and begin a 3-4 month pilot project to test out the business idea in “real life.”

Ukraine - Housing for Displaced Families

Stand with us at the construction site in Velyki Lazy, where something remarkable is taking shape.

You can see it rising from the earth. Concrete foundation laid strong in October. The floor poured smooth and level. Now, the frame is going up. The roof will follow. Each beam raised is a promise kept.

Walk through the blueprint with us. On the first floor, you’ll find warmth: a common kitchen where families will gather, aromas of borscht and fresh bread mingling as mothers cook side by side, sharing recipes and stories. The living room will echo with children’s laughter and the quiet conversations of healing. A laundry room, such a simple thing, yet how it speaks of normalcy returning, of daily life beginning again.

Four ground-floor apartments are designed specifically for families caring for loved ones with disabilities. You understand why: the growing numbers of wounded veterans need homes where wheelchairs can roll freely, where shattered bodies can heal surrounded by love, where heroes broken by war can rebuild their lives.

Climb the stairs to the second floor. Six more apartments await families who’ve lost everything but each other. Picture them: ten families total, perhaps fifty souls who fled their homes with only what they could carry. They left behind photo albums, grandmothers’ quilts, children’s toys, entire lifetimes.

This is happening because of a generous grant and because you care. Because you believe displaced families deserve more than temporary shelter, they deserve a home.

The walls are rising. Can you see them? By the time winter settles in, these walls will stand against the cold. By spring, families will move in. Children will claim bedrooms, hang posters, dream dreams again.

Ten families. One building. Countless fresh starts.

One apartment at a time. One family at a time. One future at a time.

The foundation is laid. The frame is rising.

Together, we’re building more than shelter.

We’re building hope.

Thank you for being a part of it!

These are just a few snapshots of what God is doing across the globe. Thanks so much for reading!

**Lindsey Vanzant**

Global Giving Advisor

Lindsey serves as the Global Giving Advisor for One Collective, where her primary focus is to coach financial supporters by connecting their goals, experiences and passions to the work God is doing on the front lines in communities where One Collective serves around the world.

Prior to joining One Collective, Lindsey spent 15 years in various business development and account management roles with Rubbermaid Commercial Products where she most recently led the healthcare division. For the past 11 years, Lindsey has led a local ministry support group for young moms with unplanned pregnancies alongside her local church.

Lindsey lives in Indiana with her husband and four children and loves to travel, explore new places, meet new people, cheer on Hoosier basketball, grow flowers, and spend time with family and friends.

Impact Updates from Around the World - December