About Us
Vince’s Story:
In the summer of 2004, I went to a barbeque church function. I sat next to my pastor, Dave Koop, who asked me if I ever though about going to Cambodia as part of my church’s upcoming short-term mission trip. I just shrugged and said, “No, not really”. So he started telling me about the upcoming trip and asked me if I would like to come along.
My first thought was, “Are you talking to the right guy?” My answer was, “Why would I even consider going to someone else’s back yard when there are so many problems in my own?”
So Pastor Koop started telling me his reasons why. To be very honest, I can’t even remember what they were. But as he was talking to me, I just kept thinking, “I need to go”. You may think that is odd but I know it was God telling me to go because I can’t remember a word my friend and pastor said.
I went home to see my wife and said to her, “Guess what Pastor Dave said to me today?” “What?” she said. “He said I should go to Cambodia”, I responded. “Well, do you want to go?” asked my wife, “Yes, I do”. And so, I found myself a short time later on a plane to Cambodia. I was thinking, “What am I doing? Is this just a holiday? I don’t want it to be.”
So as a man of faith I asked God, “If you are going to send me this far away, please don’t send me just for a holiday. I don’t want it to be just a 10 day experience that will end up being nothing more than a ‘look at me, I went on a missions trip’ story. Show me a reason why I am going. Help me to find a need while I am there.”
When I arrived, we did some trips with people who are less fortunate than us. That fact become pretty obvious when I looked at the modern hotel I was staying at, and I realized there were as many as 25 orphaned kids with 3 adults living on the street, just 3 blocks down the road. I had no idea how long they had been there and there is every chance that they are still there today – on the street!
When I met them, I could see my hotel just up the street and it didn’t feel very comfortable. I was thinking, “If somebody doesn’t help these people, who will?”
Then, I went with Asian Outreach to remote areas of Cambodia to provide medical assistance. My job of that day was to count pills. An accountant counting pills; what a coincidence!
I was working next to a young lady named Sopia, and I asked her, “How long have you been coming on these trips?” She replied, “Two years”. I asked her age and she was just in her late teens. “Do you like doing this?” I asked. “Yes”, she replied.
So I asked, “Are you going to become a doctor or nurse?” “No”, she said, “I can’t do that”. I kept insisting that she could and she kept telling me that she couldn’t. I finally realized that I needed to ask her a different question. “Is that because you can’t afford it?”, I asked, “Yes”, she replied.
So I just found another need. I realized that Sopia was in the majority in her country where money for education was hard to get. They don’t have what we have in Canada, and most can’t even consider education. The amount it costs for education in her country is peanuts in Canada. But to them, it is more than a life’s savings.
The second need I uncovered that day was that when these people are sick they don’t have anyone to go to like we do. So what happens in a country like Cambodia is that people like us help them, as full time missionaries, to provide medical assistance. The problem arises when the funding dries up, those same people who are helping, now have to leave their volunteer work to help raise funds back in their home countries.
These people in Cambodia need regular medical assistance, not just once in a while. Why is this so necessary? Well, they have the Me’ Cong river as their water source and upstream, there are others who use the same water source. Up river, cows defecate in the water, people wash themselves in the water, and all other kinds of cleaning that we would only dread pollute the water. All the refuse flows downstream. The result? All kinds of diseases.
So now I know another need, direct medical attention on a regular basis.
At this moment, we are supporting a medical coordinator who works in this region. This is made possible because of the way Reign Foundation is set up. Our goal is to raise enough capital to invest, so the income can support a project on an ongoing basis.
You may think, “Well, just the investment income is not enough”. Then you need to understand the power of a dollar in Cambodia. $25.00 is what a mother will be paid for selling their infant child. That $25.00 will support her and her other 2 children for 3 months. Is that a disparity? So when you go out to Earls like I do and blow $35.00, remember that same $35.00 can feed a family of 3 for 3 months.
What comes to my mind is that I could have saved a child with that money. I can’t get that thought out of my head—can you?
Vision
The Reign Foundation is God’s persona in action. By multiplying the abundance we are blessed with, we help those who are less fortunate, creating community, safety, freedom of choice and providing opportunity where there was none. Our givers are as special as our receivers because we meet each other’s needs with love. We are not the same as we were before because we give to release the love that we have inside.
Mission
We achieve change by channeling money from the giver to the receiver and actively involving ourselves in solving problems. All our projects become self-funding. We engage and affect our givers and receivers in our projects through the use of effective technology, communication and educating others to the benefits of giving in love.
Values
- We work to reflect God
- We do good work
- We grow beyond ourselves
- We guide others to succeed
- We give
- We make a difference in the world
- We are thankful for an opportunity to be involved
Constitution and Faith Statement: