Reclaim!

One of my favorite lines in our work in Discipling Marketplace Leaders is to "reclaim the redeemed marketplace."  I love the line because it reminds us that Jesus has redeemed all things - we are not in the business of redeeming the marketplace.  But we do have to reclaim it. Jesus is in the marketplace, beckoning for us to reclaim it for Him.

This line seems to have resonated with our partners in Southeast Asia who just started a business called "Reclaim"!

Since going through the DML training, one of the partners has launched a "Discipling Marketplace Leaders Institute, where they have been training leaders in understanding the God of Business.  But they have also launched a business called "Reclaim" and so far have two products under it:  laundry detergent and baked goods.  These two products are being made by very poor women who are often called "ragpickers" as they live right next to a massive landfill, and they typically spend each day going through newly dumped trash for anything salvageable.  When we visited them, we learned that the men often feel so hopeless that they "pick" enough to buy alcohol and leave the rest for the women and children to "pick" for survival.

This partner is helping to change that narrative by providing businesses and trainings for these women.  In addition, they provide a school for the children and a church for the families.  

But the products in this business are called, "Reclaim."  There are many things that they are reclaiming:  The marketplace for Jesus.  The dignity of the women.  The fruitfulness of the work of our hands.  The ability to contribute to the flourishing of society by providing soap for clean clothes and bread for healthy eating.

This week, I leave for Tanzania, where I will be joined by 35 members of the DML team for our DML Global Summit.  This is a rich time where we gather as the DML family to laugh, learn, share, pray, and celebrate what God is doing in His church and how we get to participate in that work.  Every partner will share their best practices that have been learned thus far, and it is a time of iron sharpening iron.  

We have not been able to meet in person since 2019, so we are very excited to get together!  It is no small feat to gather people from thirteen countries and so we ask for your prayers for flights to arrive on time and for no problems with immigration.  

It is also a meeting that comes with a high financial cost, and we are so thankful for two amazing business sponsors who help to make it possible:  Alsum Farms and Produce and Belstra Milling.  We thank God for you!

We still do need additional funds for this meeting, so if you would like to contribute, please click here.