A Long Overdue Update- So Far In 2025!

To say the last six months have been full would be an understatement. In both work and life, this season has been incredibly rich—overflowing with growth, joy, and new adventures.

Regular Rhythm of HFL

This year has brought continued growth across all departments at Hungry For Life. Our office feels more full and bustling than ever—we’ve now reached 30 staff members, and we’re constantly creating more capacity to support the work we're committed to do.

At our core, HFL exists to connect Canadian businesses, churches, and groups with 29 international partners across 15 countries. We work closely with these partners through every step: from the initial consultation, to co-designing sustainable and impactful projects, strategic implementation, regular monitoring, and coordinating short-term team trips, including travel logistics and cross-cultural preparation.

So far in 2025, we’ve facilitated 18 short-term trips with Canadian partners to visit our field partners in 9 countries. We've also helped facilitate $1.22 million dollars in project funding that goes directly to our international partners. It's been beautiful to hear stories of lasting impact from both Canadian teams and international communities. We still have 9 more trips planned for staff and partners in the remainder of the year.

Recently, our communications team visited Beach Corner EFree Church in Alberta and created a video highlighting their upcoming trip to Peru. It captures the heart of long-term partnership and its lasting impact.

Our Local Partner Update On BeachCorner Church As They Partner With Atek in Peru

My Role 

This past January marked one full year since I joined the HFL staff. I’ve settled into my role and continue to take on more responsibility. My work includes preparing reports and documents for our board of directors, participating in leadership team meetings and supporting our directors, assisting our Executive Director Dave, organizing all travel logistics for staff trips, and managing administrative tasks for Fullwell Leadership, our social enterprise, which includes coordinating coaching and consulting contracts. Some days feel like I’m jumping between tabs in my brain, but this season has reminded me just how essential operations support is to making our global work possible.

I was responsible for leading 'brain break' games during the ILD conference!

One highlight this spring was traveling with our staff to the Dominican Republic to facilitate our first International Leadership Development (ILD) Conference. For over 22 years, HFL has focused on partnerships and project facilitation, but we've recently shifted focus to include intentional leadership and people development among our international partners. After Dave completed his Doctorate in Ministry Leadership last year, he identified this need as a crucial element for long-term sustainability. That vision launched a two-year leadership program, beginning with our first cohort in the DR.

I had the opportunity to attend the launch, as I’m supporting the admin side of the program. Experiencing it firsthand was extreamly valuable for me continuing to work on this program. We invited 25 leaders from across the country to join us for training and a time of rest. The content focused on inner spiritual transformation and personal development. One participant, Dario—a ministry leader at Fudesa, a private Christian school with over 450 students—shared about his experience in this short video.

Our Partner Dario Sharing About The ILD Program In Dominican Republic

I'm excited to see how these leaders grow over the next two years. Our next leadership conference will take place in Cambodia in partnership with Tenth Church in Vancouver. I’ll be joining again to support the rollout and look forward to continuing to see this program expand.

Personally 

On a personal note, life has been incredibly beautiful lately. Caleb and I got married at the end of May, surrounded by our closest friends and family. Despite the rain, the day was filled with love, simplicity, and joy. Our community truly came together to help make it unforgettable and let me tell you, we partied hard!

We spent our honeymoon at a spa and resort near Vernon, a restful time to unwind after the wedding. Since returning, life has looked like settling into our new home, assembling furniture, and spending time with loved ones. We feel deeply blessed in this season and are excited for a summer of camping trips, lakeside days, fires with friends, and rest.

Wanna Partner With Me? 

As part of the HFL team, I raise support for my salary and the costs associated with my role so that 100 percent of project donations can go directly to the field. This is a value we deeply believe in. God has been so faithful in providing generous people who feel called to support HFL’s mission through my work. I'm currently raising additional support to increase my salary, and if this is something you're interested in—whether as a one-time gift or ongoing monthly support—I’d love to connect. Around 40% of my salary is made up of many donations $100 or less on a monthly basis. I share that to encourage you that any amount truly helps! HFL matches all staff donations by 20 percent, and all gifts are eligible for a tax receipt at year-end.

Thank you for continuing to invest in me, in HFL, and in seeing thriving global communities—both here in Chilliwack and around the world.

Char

Here Are Some Photos Of HFL Around The World So Far This Year!