The Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Ore., was filled with more than 400 vendors for the 2019 Portland Women’s Expo on March 2. The event is hosted as part of the larger Portland Women’s Expo Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the ultimate goal of helping women receive training and resources to successfully sustain themselves and their families. The campaign is called “Building Hope."
Women attending this year’s Portland Women’s Expo received a bit of hope and free Bibles thanks to Oregon Conference (OC) women’s ministries. The fuchsia covers of the beautiful Bibles were imprinted with “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13).
When volunteer Jann Biegel gave a passerby the pretty Bible, the woman said, with tears in her eyes, “I have never had a Bible of my very own.”
Biegel was equally touched. “Because of my positive experience at the Women’s Expo, now more than ever, I believe that it is important to go where people are gathering, not wait for them to come to me,” Biegel shares.
Angela Whitbeck, Gladstone (Ore.) Park Church women’s ministries leader, said she loved to see their eyes light up when the ladies found out the beautiful Bibles were free.
For this event, women’s ministries partnered with Laura Pascoe, OC’s Adventist Community Services Disaster Relief (ACS DR) coordinator, who gave out LED flashlights and flyers on being prepared for a natural disaster. Combining the ministries turned out to be a great idea, as disaster relief was a topic of interest for many of the women attending.
God blessed our efforts in reaching out to the women of Portland by meeting them where they gather. Have we made a difference? Yes. And when we get to heaven, we hope to meet the women who received these beautiful Bibles.
Oregon Conference women's ministries handed out God's Living Word and Light at the Portland Women's Expo.
Oregon Conference women’s ministries volunteers staff a booth at the Portland Women's Expo.
Oregon Conference leaders helping at the expo included Laura Pascoe, Adventist Community Services Disaster Relief, and Terrie Leen Griebel, women’s ministries.
Terrie Leen Griebel offers free Bibles during the Portland Women's Expo.
