From Buddy's Heart:

After years of traveling across America with my family in ministry, my parents were called to the mission field of Albania.  This is where Hope for the World was born.  They began to raise funds and provide for the extreme needs of the orphans of Albania in 1994.   They provided much better living conditions, better food, HFTW staff that would really care for the emotional and spiritual needs of the children.  

10 years later, I made my first trip to visit their mission work there.   Wanting to be involved with their ministry, Kerri and I sponsored a little 2 year old boy from the Shkodra orphanage.  I will never forget the first-time meeting Ergys.  It brought up so much emotion in me to realize that we had been helping to make a difference in someone’s life halfway around the world and then, to be able to meet and see that someone, feel his hugs of thankfulness, and he wouldn’t let me go…. it was truly life changing!  

Over the next ten years, Kerri and I, as well as my two daughters, would make a few trips back.  Each time feeling more and more attached to the staff, the kids, and to the ministry of Hope For The World.  

In 2014, God moved us into working with Hope for the World and in 2015, we took a step of faith away from my worship pastor position to go full time with HFTW leading short-term mission trips and traveling around the United States representing all that Hope for the World is doing and encouraging others to get involved beyond themselves to reach the “Least of These” as Matthew 25:31-46 so clearly states.  

Over 26 years and over ten thousand orphans’ lives have been touched by Hope for the World.  

HFTW continues to grow and expand its outreach that now goes well beyond orphanages.  We have a feeding/outreach center for the gypsy community and the poor.  We help educate the gypsy children by helping them with their homework after school. We have a new church plant at our Hope Center for teens which is now reaching the community of Marikaj.  We help 5 orphanages in Shkodra, Korce, Tirane, and Sarande with various needs and we love and teach the kids bible lessons and mentor them.  We help a handicapped facility and an elderly facility, plus our Hope Center for teens moves kids that have aged out of the orphanage into our teen center so they can finish their education and either enter college or find a good job.  100% of the teens that have gone to our Hope Center have accepted Christ and have a relationship with Him.  All praise to God our Father! We have a wide-open door with the government of Albania to continue to reach the country of Albania because Hope for the World has always done what they said they would do.  We praise God for all of the supporters of Hope For The World that have been so faithful to give through these 27 years of ministry.