The Summit and the Mountains Still Ahead
After a year shaped by the word Endeavor, we now stand at Summit—the place we’ve been moving toward through twelve months of ascent. The peak is supposed to feel like relief, a long exhale after the slow burn of elevation. But standing here at the end of the year, toes pressed to the ridge line, we know what every climber eventually learns: no summit is final. Each horizon reveals another climb.
Haiti says it plainly and poetically: “Dèyè mòn, gen mòn.”
Behind mountains are more mountains.
It’s more than a proverb; it’s a worldview born from resilience. And it mirrors the story God has written for His people throughout Scripture. Moses reached Sinai only to be sent back down the mountain to lead a wilderness generation. Elijah, fresh off calling fire from heaven, climbed another mountain to hear God whisper courage back into his exhausted bones. Paul scaled spiritual peaks—revelation, mission, surrender—only to say near the end, “I press on toward the goal…” because the climb wasn’t finished.
And Jesus Himself stood on many summits—literal and figurative. On the Mount of Beatitudes, He cast a new vision. On the Mount of Transfiguration, He revealed glory. On Golgotha, He bore the weight of the world. Each mountaintop carried purpose, each ascent drawing Him deeper into the Father’s will.
This is the rhythm of Kingdom life:
We summit—not to stop, but to see what God is calling us toward next.
For 21 years, Hands & Feet Project has lived that truth. Every time we reach the top of one mountain—building a children’s village, strengthening a family, opening a daycare, launching new leaders—another rises before us. Not as defeat, but as invitation.
God doesn’t waste summits. He uses them to realign vision, expand courage, and strengthen our resolve for the climb ahead.
Leadership at Altitude: Introducing Our New Executive Director, Letty Vendrell
As we step into this Summit moment, we also step into a new chapter of leadership—one that carries weight, altitude, and hope. Letty Vendrell, our new Executive Director, is a woman who has spent decades serving vulnerable children and partnering with the Capital-C Church. From Compassion International to OneChild to Hands & Feet Project, her calling has always held the same compass heading:
Do ministry with people, never for them.
In our upcoming Project Red episode airing December 15 at 5:30 AM CST, Letty invites us into the moments that formed her—moments when the climb was steep, the air thin, and God’s voice the only steady thing. She talks candidly about the “false summit”—that place where leaders believe they’ve arrived, only to discover God is preparing them for the next mountain. It’s a warning, but also a mercy: arrival is not the aim; obedience is.
She unpacks the three paradigms of justice—
- Give a man a fish
- Teach a man to fish
- Fix the pond
—and explains why true transformation requires restoring the environment in which families live, work, learn, and worship. That’s why her vision for H&FP echoes Ephesians 3: systems as deep as God’s love, as wide as His mercy, and as high as His calling on Haitian communities.
Don’t miss this episode.
Lean in, meet Letty, and hear where God is calling H&FP next. Watch the full conversation on Project Red on December 15 at 5:30 AM CST.
The Summit and the Work Ahead: An Invitation to Year-End Giving
Summits are markers, not finish lines. The end of a year is not the end of the mission—it’s the vantage point from which we see the mountains still rising before us. And the truth is, we cannot climb them without you.
Your generosity fuels the next ascent. Your partnership is the rope that holds the mission taut.
When you give to Hands & Feet Project at year’s end, your gift stretches farther than you can imagine:
- $500 can fund 5,555 meals
- It can cover the full care of a child for 14 months
- It supports a social worker advocating for 47 families a month
- It provides 33 days of Montessori education for a child in Daycare
- It helps keep a family together—with education, spiritual care, and food support for 50 days
This is the kind of impact that doesn’t stop at the summit. It keeps giving. It keeps lifting. It keeps building.
As we close the chapter on 2025 with gratitude and awe for all God has done, we also look ahead—to the next mountain waiting to be climbed. And with your help, we’ll continue stepping into the work God began 21 years ago… one faithful ascent at a time.
Stand with us at the Summit. Sow into the climb ahead.
Your gift to Where Most Needed keeps us moving toward the work God has entrusted to us—climbing the mountains behind us and the ones still ahead.