About

Our mission is to reunite broken people living on the Cycladic Islands of Greece

—people who have been
separated from God by culture, authority, and tradition;
traumatized, afraid, or abused;
rejected, ashamed, or forgotten;
sorrowful, grieving, or hopeless—

with the One who truly loves them by releasing hope and healing in the name of Jesus.

Boutique Ministry

Our simply elegant ministry design, which is distinct from other ministries, makes use of a boutique business model in a mission setting. We emphasize simplicity, elegance, and the exclusivity of Christ in creating relational ministry experiences At the Table with people living on the Cycladic islands of Greece.

Paros Island

Mountain peaks largely made of the distinguished Parian marble rise out of the southern Aegean Sea forming a circular group of islands called the Cyclades (SI-kluh-deez), which include a smaller grouping known as the Lesser Cyclades. Naxos and Paros, the largest two of this subset, hug to their coastlines several smaller and less inhabited islands. Drawn to this grouping, by a word from the Lord, our little table sits on Paros Island and our ministry extends to her neighbors.

Surprised by Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious and charitable organization. Our volunteer board of directors manages your gifts biblically, ethically, transparently, responsibly, and accountably.

Yes, I want to help
reunite broken people
with the One
who truly loves them!

_{See the Donate page for more options.}

Our Faith

We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Exodus 3:14, Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 48:16, Matthew 28:19, Luke 3:22).

We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, in His future bodily return to this earth (Matthew 1:23, John 5:22-23).

We believe the Bible is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative written Word of God (II Timothy 3:15-17, I Thessalonians 2:13, II Peter 1:21).

We believe that the only means of personal salvation is by faith in Christ, and in Him alone (Romans 10:9-10, Galatians 3: 1-9, I Corinthians 2:1-5, Ephesians 2:8-10).

Our History

One wintery morning in late November 2008, a knock at the door would change the course of history. A police chaplain informed our founder that her husband of 20 years died unexpectedly while driving home after a morning of cross-country skiing. In seeking God’s will for her future, she left her adult children in America and went to Uganda on a short-term mission trip. That experience quickly revealed itself to be a divine appointment, as did the series of events that followed.

Our founder lived and served in East Africa from 2010 to 2022 and used this experience along with her education and work experience to lead Surprised by Hope and its team of national facilitators in providing Christ-centered business education and fostering personal encounters with the love of God.

Surprised by Hope finds itself in Europe because of a surprising but clear call from God. The overwhelming sadness our founder experienced on the Areopagus in Athens, Greece during a 2021 holiday filled her with compassion for people separated from God. In 2022, she established a home in Greece and began ministering spiritual freedom.

Our Founder

Our founder holds a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree, a Master of Science in Management (MSM) degree, and a Bachelor of Science in Ministry Leadership (BSML) degree. She is an ordained reverend and an ordained chaplain, possesses a Project Management Professional (PMP) credential, has 20 years of operations management experience, and has served as adjunct faculty at a Christian university since 2008 teaching both traditional and adult students both on-ground and on-line.

While these credentials strengthened her welcome in providing Kingdom Business education in East Africa for 12 years, their value shifts dramatically in the Greek environment. Here, soft skills derived from those experiences—such as spiritual maturity, spiritual disciplines, interpersonal relationships, communication, problem solving, adaptability, and critical thinking—become paramount in navigating the cultural and religious environment as well as in developing authentic relationships that reunite people with Christ.

[Our founder’s identity has been concealed for her protection and for the protection of this ministry. Send an email if you’d like to meet her.]

Surprised by Hope
464 Adaway Ave SE
Ada, MI 49301
United States

info@
surprisedbyhope.org

About Us
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Our Faith
Our History
Our Founder
Our Little Island

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