A Longing - Congressman Peter J. Roskam

I meet more people than most people based on my line of work. Every month I meet with hundreds of people in dozens of businesses, clinics, nonprofits, schools, and government offices. And a wide range of people, too—from factory workers to private investors, from local mayors to world leaders.

And lately the more people I meet the more I end up having some version of the same conversation. The people I’m meeting tell me that they are anxious and frustrated and they are longing for something that they don’t have and they don’t see on the horizon. They may articulate it differently—that is, looking for the right program to turn things around, the right leader to make it happen, or the right trend to carry them. But there is a deep longing among them that is palpable.

It could be that they are longing for significance themselves. It could be that they see larger issues beyond their control and they want to be a meaningful influence for good. It could be that they are nostalgic for a by-gone day when people were more deeply connected to one another. It could be any number of things, but they are longing for something.

The good news is that JOY provides a pathway for that significance, for that meaningful influence and that connection for which many people hunger. JOY invites people into a significant relationship with underprivileged communities abroad.

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less,” said C.S. Lewis. How refreshing. How refreshing indeed.

My experience is that the more people hear about JOY and its vision and mission the less anxious they are about the future.