On March 2nd, the Oregon Convention Center was filled with more than 400 vendors for the 2019 PDX Women’s Expo. The event is hosted is part of larger Portland Women’s Expo Foundation, non-profit organization with the ultimate goal of helping women receive training and resources to successfully sustain themselves and their families. The campaign is called “Building Hope”.
Women attending this year’s PDX Women’s Expo received a bit of hope and free Bibles thanks to Oregon Conference (OC) Women’s Ministries. The covers of the beautiful fuchsia Bibles were imprinted with “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” Philippians 4:13.
When volunteer Jann Biegel gave a passerby the pretty Bible; the woman, with tears in her eyes said, “I have never had a Bible of my very own.”
Jann was equally touched. “Because of my positive experience at the Women’s Expo, now more than ever, I believe that it is important to go where people are gathering. Not wait for them to come to me,” Jann shared.
Angela Whitbeck, women’s ministry leader for Gladstone Park said she loved to see their eyes light up when the ladies found out the beautiful Bibles were free.
For this event, Women’s Ministries partnered with OC’s Adventist Community Services/Disaster Relief coordinator, Laura Pasco, who gave out LED flash lights and flyers on being prepared for a natural disaster. Combining the ministries turned out to be a great idea, as disaster relief was a topic of interest to many of the women attending.
God blessed our efforts in reaching out to the women of Portland by meeting them where they gather. Have we made a difference? Yes. And when we get to heaven, we hope to meet the women who received these beautiful Bibles.
