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Amazing Greats shares inspiring Christian testimonies and faith stories from professional athletes, actors, authors, musicians, and other remarkable guests. Each episode explores how Jesus transformed their lives, strengthened their faith, and worked through both success and hardship.
Host Ric Hansen goes beyond careers and accomplishments to uncover the defining moments when faith became real. Every episode explores hope, redemption, purpose, and the remarkable ways God continues to work through ordinary and extraordinary people alike.
Amazing Greats is building one of the largest libraries of modern Christian testimonies from influential people.
Amazing Greats: Crazy great Jesus stories.
Gen Z- a vision of hope? Isiah Lacombe
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With all the smack talk about the current crop of youth: the hip hop, rap, violent video games, phone addictions and social media....we had a chance to see the other side of that coin. In this episode of Amazing Greats we talk with 17 year old Isiah Lacombe. His vision of a better world is backed by an action plan that has made an impact on thousands of people on the other side of the globe. Is Isaiah an anomaly or is there something going on with this newest generation that is cause for optimism?
Hear how Isiah has teamed with World Vision to make a difference by providing clean water in Rwanda and how that grew into something even bigger including the initial formation of a young peoples initiative called the "Next Gen Network".
I was so encouraged by Isaiah's heart for caring and his diligence in following God's calling, I knew he had to be one of our AMAZING guests. Listen to his articulate story of giving in this episode of Amazing Greats!
Here are the names of all of the Next Gen members who participated in the Health Clinic project in Zambia:
Caleb Chung, Ellie Sytsma, Jared Fontenette, Brooke Smarick, Heather Smarick, Emma Howes, Emma Lee, Jaydn Beppu, Maddy Clawson, Claire Muscat, Haley Lilla, and Jackson Razwick. Lauren Bishop Borgogna is the group coordinated, and Missy Eck and Randy Haacke are World Vision donor reps who volunteer in the group as well.
If you would like to find out more about World Vision and how you might be able to help check them out at:
"Amazing Greats" is a library of interviews with highly successful people who have amazing career and life stories and who share how God has impacted their journey. Hosted by broadcaster Ric Hansen & produced by Klem Daniels. Available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Google and our YouTube Channel.
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Welcome to another episode of Amazing Great Tricky Hansen here this time around. We have the opportunity to experience the exciting and encouraging work of the next generation. It's not a moment to come up in Instagram and chat in the latest video game. In our conversation with Isaiah Lecombe, I think you'll agree there's a lot to be hopeful for from our young friends as they find their role in our future. We are here today to chat with a young man. As a matter of fact, Isaiah Lacomb, welcome to the show. You are the youngest guest we've ever had on the show. And that's exciting for me because you're going to bring some new, fresh ideas and some fresh perspective on not only your life journey, but on your faith journey. So welcome, Isaiah.
SPEAKER_02Well, thank you for the welcoming.
RicCool. What are we going to we're going to uh first of all, I think what just to kind of let our audience know right from the get-go, uh, what makes you such a great guest on this show, and that is your accomplishments. You have done some amazing things uh at such a young age, starting at like 14 years old, right? So at 14, you were called to do something. Tell a little bit about how you came to your first project.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Well, there was actually a previous guest on this podcast who kind of got me into this uh work that we're going to talk about, which is my grandma, uh Debbie, uh Maycomber, who you had on the floor. But um, she raised everyone in my family with a mindset of generosity and and giving. And so when I was um growing up, we always you know found opportunities to um give back to our community and and um you know a lot of that was through World Vision, which um I don't know if she talked about that, but that's kind of been my my avenue of of finding a route for generosity. And when I was 14, I uh went to World Vision's kind of national conference where they they talk about um what's going on in the world, um, just in extreme poverty, of people suffering from uh having no access to to clean water or health care. And what I really uh struck on with is what they're doing about it, because you know it's easy to hear about problems in the world, but um how to solve it is is um I think far more inspiring the story. And um, one of my now friends who runs World Vision's clean water program talked about how it just costs $50 to give someone access to clean water for the rest of their life. And so I know $50 changes someone's life forever. And so once I heard that, that really set me down this rabbit hole of collecting $50 as many times as I could, really.
RicSo, and so this was all part of what they call the the clean water project, right? And uh when you started out, you set a goal how much money you wanted to raise and and how that money would be spent. Uh, tell us a little bit about that. So at 14 years old, instead of doing a paper route and instead of doing a uh, you know, uh an after work or after school work at the grocery store, you engaged in this amazing um volunteer uh fundraising project, collecting money for clean water in Rwanda, yeah. Rwanda, yes.
SPEAKER_02So uh what's kind of special about Rwanda is part of uh World Vision's big plan is giving everyone everywhere they work clean water forever. And so that's a lot of people, and so part of that is doing it country by country so that you kind of knock off uh different goalposts along the way. And so back in I think it was 2018 when I went to this conference, uh, Rwanda was the first country they wanted to do this in. And they, you know, had to reach, I think, a million people with access to clean water. And so my um kind of idea of how to help was to raise $25,000, which uh would provide enough money uh to build one well. And I didn't know how I was gonna do that, and I never raised a dollar in my life, but I just uh felt compelled to do something because there was an avenue to do it.
RicSo, how did you go about doing that? It was it basically donations, or did you do car washes, or how how did you raise uh the money? And you just to kind of to to shed light on the story, you did raise the $75,000, right? And and and and how did you do it?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it started out as a $25,000 uh dollar goal and oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh grew out of grew out of that. But I had no clue how I was gonna do it when I started. I just you know, I just had this idea, and then I realized, oh, I actually need to do this. And so it it really just started out by telling people I knew about it and um kind of just like this, telling telling people about my passion for it and um how it's just fifty dollars per person. And then it grew to um using different networks. Um, we go to the same church, talking about it at church, um, sharing it on um my family, social media, just reaching as many people as I could with this message and um importantly how they can help. You know, it's just $50. It's it's it's a very simple um thing and an easy way to make an impact.
RicWe're talking with 17-year-old Isaiah Lacombe as he shares his story of contribution and faith. And I kind of jumped ahead, I kind of spoiled the the ending of this story because I said the $75,000, but your original goal was $25,000, which is amazing for a 14-year-old kid to try to try to do, but it did pivot into something beyond that, right?
SPEAKER_02Yes. So we yeah, like you said, we started out with $25,000. And one of the great things we found is that um a lot of people who were uh inspired by this passion for clean water, but didn't necessarily want to just um you know fulfill the campaign without any sort of journeys, um, said that they would come along and match it. And so we had two couples who um one early on before I raised a dime and and one part way through the campaign, who said, if you complete this, we're gonna match it in its entirety. And so once we hit that goal, it ended up tripling.
RicWow. So three wells in Rwanda, uh saving literally thousands of lives at that point. Um did and you ended up going to Rwanda, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so that was part of that was part of um the idea from the get-go because a lot of members in my family have gone on uh they call them vision trips, it's kind of their version of a mission trip. And um it's when I knew I wanted to get involved with work at World Vision, I knew I wanted to see it firsthand. And so in the middle of the campaign in around 2019, we got to go to Rwanda and visit villages that had access to clean water and villages that didn't have access to clean water and just see the difference.
RicYeah. What was that like? I mean, here you were, uh a kid from Gig Harbor, Washington, uh going to um just a real third world country. What were your first impressions? What did you think about being in the midst of all of that?
SPEAKER_02It made it made all the things I talked about on the campaign um very personal and real. Because it's, you know, I talked about people who were, you know, kids dying of disease and um suffering some of the worst things possible. And then I went to Rwanda and it was no longer kind of a talking point, it was a reality that I was facing. And there was a few um times where it it really got pretty emotional, people telling me their testimonies and what they have to go through on a daily basis.
RicAnd you uh ended up um being baptized in Rwanda, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so that's um the the faith aspect of of this is really pretty important, especially since I went into this not knowing how how to raise money. It took a lot of faith to um you know, hope that this was gonna work out. And you know, as the as the campaign was having success, it really just um and also just seeing the the impact that all of this work has um in Rwanda and across the world just solidified the fact that I wanted to be baptized. And um I thought there was no better place to do it than in Rwanda itself, you know, a place that it just so firmly strengthened my faith.
RicWho is it uh who and now you have a you've you've become quite close with a gentleman by the name of Randy Hake, uh who is with World Vision, and he was kind of your uh World Vision envoy, right? He's the guy that from World Vision that kind of uh helped put all this together.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, is that true? Yeah, Randy um Randy Hackey. Hackey, I'm sorry. Yeah, okay. Um he he um works for World Vision and I he's really um an incredibly inspirational person, just um a fantastic uh person to know, but he's really mentored me on this campaign and um just just showed me the ropes of of really world vision and and philanthropy. And so when we you know asked him, hey, can can I get baptized on this trip to Rwanda, he said, Well, yeah, but there's not gonna be any you know pastor on the trip or anyone to do it. And I said, Well, I want you to do it. You know, you're the person who's helped me so much in this. And um, so yeah, he he baptized me in Rwanda.
RicOh wow, that what that made it even even more special, I'm sure of it. What in what water body of water was it in a like a river, a lake?
SPEAKER_02Um yeah, so um one of the things that uh was kind of a realization for us was if you know we I wanted to be baptized in Rwanda, but um part of this is that it's you know dangerous to actually be in the water itself, bodies of water, you know, that's drowning and pretty dangerous creatures, um, you know, crocodiles and stuff. And so we actually instead of taking that route, we um kind of did a symbolic uh version, and I was baptized at a water kiosk, um, which is you know what we were providing uh money for in the campaign.
RicOkay. So that so these kiosks that you're talking about, basically that's a well with a spigot at the top, and the they pump the spigot, and that's the clut fresh, clean water comes out.
SPEAKER_02Is that yeah, that that is um that's what we're providing for, and that's what people are going to instead of getting water from basically just a hole in the ground.
RicWhat's interesting to me and what's kind of inspirational for me is that it didn't stop there. So many people would say, Well, I did it, done that, and uh and they move along with their lives. But um you were you were um called to do something even beyond that. And uh tell us a little bit about how that story came together.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well, the campaign ended right about when coronavirus uh virus started. Okay, and so there was kind of just this, you know, obviously giant shutdown, everything um changes, and uh, you know, I was didn't know exactly what was gonna happen, what we were gonna do. And as it progressed, um it just became apparent that um there wasn't the infrastructure in places like Rwanda and other countries around the world to handle um this pandemic. You know, not only do they not often have clean water, but they don't have basically any medical uh attention to to help with this. And so that was where um I got a text from Randy, and he said, Hey, we're gonna get this group together. It's gonna be um about you know 13 people all my age, and uh we don't know exactly what we're gonna do, but we want to try and do something to alleviate um these problems from coronavirus in in places like Rwanda. And so that kind of led me down this new uh journey and campaign at World Vision.
RicAnd that was to create uh healthcare clinics, but this time not in Rwanda. You it was another another country in Africa. Where was where were where was that project based?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so kind of going back a few steps, um we we spent on what this was was a we call it the Next Gen Network. And so it's just it's a group of, like I said, people my age, and we didn't know what we were going to exactly do and what we were going to focus on, but we just knew we wanted to have a group where we could come together and try to solve things because we'd all done certain things at World Vision or um just other groups on our own. And so when we got together, um we spent a lot of time just building the foundation of a group that can handle um certain problems throughout the world, and that that happened about last year in uh October. And once we had spent a good amount of time just building that foundation, we got um three options from uh the kind of leaders at World Vision who were helping us in this. And they said, for your first campaign, you can either do a $12,000 uh kind of hand pump well, you can do a $25,000 area development program, which is what I did in Rwanda, or you can do a healthcare facility in Zambia. And I think, at least for me, it immediately clicked that uh the Zambia program was gonna be the best option for us, and it was also the craziest option, and it's $125,000. Um, I don't even know how I got through the Rwanda campaign, how we're gonna do $125,000. And it just um, you know, we all kind of individually processed our options and thought about it, and we came together, and it was a unanimous decision that we were gonna do this $125,000 healthcare uh campaign in Zambia.
RicI know it was based on three criteria that you kind of were operating on, right? Um Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So uh what was important for me at least is I wanted to um make sure that whatever we did, it pushed us as a group. Um yeah, I didn't want to have a campaign that we could do in a week or um you know, I I wanted it to really force us to work together because that was what this was about. This wasn't about in people, you know, individually going and doing their thing. It was it was really a group project. And so to make that kind of have to happen, we had to do something outside of our reach. Uh, I also wanted to make uh make a statement to World Vision. You know, this is kind of a subgroup of World Vision, but they they didn't know, you know, is this group serious or is this something we really want to invest in? So I wanted to make sure that we got on their radar um so they, you know, they knew we weren't messing around. And then the last thing, which I think is probably the most important, is I wanted to pick a group or a goal, and I think everyone in the group agreed, that was um just so fantastic and so out there that even all of us combined weren't going to be able to do it without um, I think the quote was God filling in the gaps. And so um, you know, we were gonna have to put a lot of faith that he was gonna, you know, come in and help us complete this goal. And that was what the $125,000 campaign did.
RicOur youngest guest so far on Amazing Greats, this is Isaiah Lacomb sharing his story of contribution. And for those people that maybe are not real familiar with World Vision, just to to underscore, worldvision is huge. I mean, it is it's worldwide, they do wonderful things all over the world. So when you're saying you wanted to kind of break through and be seen by the fo by the folks at World Vision, that's it's kind of what you are you're working toward. And I love the the uh the glorifying God aspect of it, which was you know the the idea that uh we picked something that we can't do alone, we need to lean heavy on uh on the Lord to make it all come together. That's spectacular. So, how did that project go? So you you got uh now you got something that's a real challenge. Um, and you now have a group of folks together all working on the same thing. And this is all done on Zoom, right? Because of COVID?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so most of us have never met in person, it's just been through Zoom. And you know, it's difficult enough to uh work together as a group in person, and it, you know, it definitely was uh difficult just really connecting and getting to know people. But what was great about our goal is that it really forced us to. We didn't have an option of oh, you know, where we're gonna do this um effectively as a smooth team. We we really had to. And that's what ended up happening. We we formed into uh different committees and started campaigning and doing everything we really could. And I I think we really started off on a good note because even before uh we really started campaigning, we had a a couple who came along and said, you know, we really love what you're doing, and um said that they were going to match the campaign, which is you know a good sign because that's what happened uh with the Rwanda campaign. And so it was just really great to see that we had this fantastic motivator to get going. And but it also put on the pressure of now we really do have to do this, there's no backing out now. Um and so yeah, we really got into our groove and and started doing everything we could to raise money.
RicTell tell me a little bit about this group. The next gen group uh was is is it um folks your age from all over the state or all over the world, or are they mostly in your community, or where do they come from?
SPEAKER_02So the group is is national. So it's uh there's quite a few people in kind of Washington area, but it's all throughout the country. Um yeah, all over.
RicAre you meet regularly? Um, do you have other projects you're working on?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so we're kind of um in celebration mode because spoiler alert, we did hit our goal. Um we're we're in celebration mode, but we're moving on to kind of what's next for uh our group. And um, for me, um what was important about the goal, you know, getting on World Vision's radar is is my hopes for uh this next gen network, which is uh to really expand because we are a national group, but uh what you know that's great because we get people from all over the country. But my my vision is really uh a whole bunch of uh more local groups. And so that's what I'm trying to work towards is expanding this and localizing it so that it can be in person and it can be um just more community uh focused.
RicSo yeah, let's just jump back a quick. I I did get ahead of myself a little bit so that you you reached your goal, and that was just recently, right? Within the last 60 days.
SPEAKER_02September 30th.
RicSeptember 30th. Um, and and there was a period of time where um you were a little bit concerned uh that you may uh have a difficult time. Uh we thoughts about that.
SPEAKER_02I I had a moment where I thought we might have overstepped uh uh our boundaries with this goal. And I I I knew that was gonna happen, and even though I knew it was gonna happen, it still was pretty scary because we had to raise 125,000 and we had to do it, we really did have to do it by September 30th. Um it that was our deadline, and that was you know the last time where this couple would have been able to match it, and so it it wasn't an arbitrary deadline, it was real. And we got to like September 10th, and we had raised 106,000, which is great. Like I was really impressed with our group and just everyone, the fact that we did that was amazing, but it wasn't our goal, and so we kind of had a moment where we um, you know, got on the Zoom and said, we gotta kick it into gear and we gotta we gotta do something because we're not there yet. And um, at least for me, that was a moment where I started making those calls and make or sending out those emails where maybe I wasn't gonna, you know, ask that person because that might be awkward. Or I kind of just put that to the side and said, if they're interested, I gotta know. And so that was what happened for me, and that happened for a lot of people in the group where that was that getting out of our comfort zone and um putting our our faith in God and saying, Hey, please, uh, this is this is the time. There's no moment like like the present to to fill this in. We got 20 days to raise $20,000.
RicUm so is the last dollar raised on September 30th, or did you uh did you get ahead of that a little bit?
SPEAKER_02I think it was raised. Like five days before. So it really came down to the deadline. Yeah.
RicYeah, yeah. And so that couple um matched that. So now your 125,000, which was an amazing goal, became 250. And that wasn't the end of it either, right?
SPEAKER_02No. So we had kind of this crazy uh turn of events that happened all around September, where um we just had a whole bunch of people who who I guess you know heard the the urgency of our call and said, hey, we're gonna get involved. And uh we ended up raising actually in total around $420,000.
RicThat's so amazing. You you kind of pinch yourself now and say, What? How did we do that?
SPEAKER_02Right? Yeah, I honestly I still don't even know. I I don't even understand it. It is it's it's a pretty crazy, it's it's incomprehensible, really.
RicYeah, yeah. That is so cool. You know, the um the scripture verse that um I was kind of you know thinking about when we when we decided to get together to talk about this is is it was James 2, 14. It says, if people say they have faith but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. And James is kind of known for being pretty abrupt and pretty straightforward, and and that that kind of lays it lays it out pretty good. But you guys chose to do something to show your faith, and and what a what an encouragement for all of us to say, yeah, uh we can do this stuff. Um it just takes the motivation and God's grace. And um, so applause to you. I've celebration well deserved.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, to the group, and and and you know, all the glory to God on this, really.
RicYeah. I'm gonna, by the way, in our show notes here, I'm gonna list the the names of all of the group, and I think we're gonna we'll have a picture on the video version of this to show a picture of all the folks. Um, because uh uh you're our local guy and you're the guy that uh we know. Um, but I know that everybody put their heart into it and really it took a team to make this all come together. So we want to make sure and acknowledge them as well.
SPEAKER_02So I'm I'm representing a fantastic uh group, and and I mean it they they really um just inspire me in everything they do. It's they're incredible, yeah.
RicVery cool. So uh and now I know a little bit about your story, but I want you to share your story with your Christian story with us a little bit, because uh I know that you came from a really a solid foundation um uh of uh followers of Jesus, your grandma, like you talked about, uh Debbie Makomer and your your mom Adele and your dad all were a foundation for a great um uh love of Jesus. Um but I think everybody, even though they're kind of schooled at a young age to go to church and to learn to learn to read the Bible and all that, there's a moment uh that it becomes real personal, that there's a relationship with Jesus that develops. Can you share that with us?
SPEAKER_02I think there's there's kind of like two different Christian experiences, and there's you know, someone who was born into Christianity like myself, and then there's someone who discovers it. And when you discover Christianity, it seems like there's this moment where it clicks. Uh, but when you're born into it, it's kind of deciding, is this for me? And so that was really um my question growing up is I know you know, I was raised into a Christian family, and it was just, is this what I believe? Is this something I have faith in? And so that was really um what I had to think about throughout, you know, my years growing up. And I, you know, it's still growing up, but I I've pretty pretty firm in my faith at this point. Um but yeah, that that that's what um I had to struggle with and and you know, just going through schooling and and um facing all these questions. Yeah.
RicYeah. And there's so many distra at your age, there's so many distractions, uh, worldly distractions, you know, there's socialization, you know, making friends and being a part of clubs and all of those things that are that are human things. Um and sometimes, and in my case is the case, uh tend to put that as put your religion, your faith aside for all the things that are going on, you know, in your superficial world, if you will. Um so it's kind of special at your age uh to come to that realization and to and to mature in your faith at such an early age. So uh applause to that as well. Uh is there a is there times in your life where you felt God's presence um beyond these two campaigns, and I'm sure within these two campaigns as well. But can you share um God's um involvement, engagement in your life uh in a specific moment somewhere along the way?
SPEAKER_02You know, I don't know if I can point to a super specific moment, but there's and you know, maybe the campaigns are kind of that moment where um there is that. But I think maybe in other people I've met just seeing um their strength and um because of their faith through hard times, um, some of that was in Rwanda, you know, really there's there's no no people with stronger faith uh than the people of Rwanda um obviously went through a horrific genocide 25 years ago. And one of the things that uh I witnessed on that trip was um just this very um admirable reconciliation that's that's occurred there. Um you know, it it the what made the genocide really such a horrific thing is that it was often between family members and friends and neighbors, you know, divided on ethnic lines. And you know, what we saw when we went there is um people who had um said, you know, we can overcome this and we're we're going to overcome this uh and and reconcile with each other. And um it was just one of those things that is uh out outside of of you know just our human capacity. It just shows that there has to be something else in play. It was just too incredible to to overcome something that horrific with without um you know a little bit of of inspiration.
RicI'm talking with a young man who's found an inspiring way to contribute, Isaiah Lacombe. Then the the flip side of that question, uh sometimes is even more challenging to answer. And if you don't have an answer, it's okay too. Um, but is there times when you've prayed for something and it didn't happen? Something where it was a maybe a faith uh challenge for you? Is there any anything specific along those lines? Or at your young age, maybe not, but but do you have a thought there?
SPEAKER_02I think one of the things I've realized is that um it's not always that you know my prayers won't come true, but um what happens is better in a different way. I've had a lot of those moments, and you know, campaigns are a good example. I was hoping for 25,000 and you know, ended up with a $75,000 campaign, or I was hoping for $125,000 and ended up, you know, being a $400,000 campaign. And so I think just because I've had those experiences, I'm pretty okay with not getting what I want because I realize that there's kind of there's a bigger plan out there. And so um maybe what I'm you know looking for isn't necessarily what's right.
RicVery insightful. So are you um gonna uh uh do you have any plans to go to um uh uh experience the building of the care centers in Zambia?
SPEAKER_02So that's kind of what we're uh talking about as a group is we don't know if it'll be necessarily in Zambia, but we do want to travel um to the field just to experience it as a group. And I mean, before putting the cart before the horse, we really just want to meet together um in person because we haven't all met before. So um, but yeah, I think traveling to the field will will be part of that.
RicTell me what is if there's a vision or what the vision is for the next gen group.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, I mean, that's my vision. I don't I don't know exactly um what will end up happening, but um to get to that point, we really are are focusing on um just what is our our mission? You know, what are what exactly is is this group? Because we've you know done this campaign and and we've you know talked about it, but you know, what would this look like for for you know a community in you know whichever town that doesn't know any of us, what what is going to be the thing that um unites them and and makes um makes them a next gen group? And so that's what we're focusing on right now is just kind of setting this foundation for um a localized group of of next genners, as we'd say, um, to to spark some sort of change.
RicAre you the only one that's um local to your area or are there other folks that are that you knew uh prior to this group getting together?
SPEAKER_02I did know a couple of people in the group, but no one actually from uh our area. There's not there's not that many, uh there wasn't that many young, uh, you know, young kids at World Vision. So I knew most of them, uh, and a few of them were in the group, but uh a lot of the people I never met before.
RicAre you involved in um Young Life or any of the other uh Christian youth organizations yourself?
SPEAKER_02I'm not uh involved in in Young Life, though I have um gone with our church up to their their different camps before, but I'm not directly uh part of it.
RicOkay. Um so you personally are um uh you're now 17. I don't think we mentioned that earlier on. You're now 17th with the second campaign behind you. Um and you what's your personal your personal plans? You're you're going to school now and and you're planning on college?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so I'm applying to colleges right now, which um is the stress of applying to colleges has only been uh lessened by the the stress of the $125,000 campaign. It puts it into perspective. Um, but yeah, that that's um what I'm focusing on now um and figuring out where do I want to go.
RicGotcha. Do you have an idea? You know, kind of know where you are what what kind of field you want to be in or what you want to what do you want to be when you grow up?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so my my plan kind of um building off this this passion for uh change and what really is justice um has brought me to pursuing a career in law. So I I would like to become an attorney.
RicI'd love to see your to know your perspective of the people that's your age. What are the what are the what's the positive aspects of the next genners? And are there some negatives? Yeah, well, I I guess putting a lot on your shoulders.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um yeah, no pressure. Um I I'd say I have a lot of I have a lot of hope for my generation. I'm I'm kind of a natural optimist. Um kind of goes with the work I've gone into. But there there's a lot of issues that seem to coalesce right now in time uh that my generation is struggling with. And so I I think that really what I've seen just in my friends and and people my age, really around the world, is um lacking a purpose and not knowing, you know, what's what is our our role in this world. And so uh and lacking a purpose, but also seeing all this kind of chaos around us that seems you know unsolvable. And so um, you know, my hope and why I've partnered with World Vision and started this next or co-founded this next gen network is um to provide an opportunity um for purpose and and for change making. But I mean I really think that that is probably the biggest struggle right now is just is finding out um you know how how are we gonna going to alleviate all of these problems that just seem to keep piling up.
RicYeah. Can you can you explain to us um your uh uh your awareness or what what world vision um I guess the question is is how can how can the rest of us uh help facilitate the good work that world vision does? Is there is there a way we can acknowledge their work and and contribute as either a volunteer or financially?
SPEAKER_02I mean World Vision is a a giant um organization, so there's really an unlimited amount of ways to to help. But one of the things that I would say is probably best is um maybe, you know, if you have kids or grandkids, getting them involved with it somehow. That was you know, that was what helped with me. And so um I think you know, looking at um the different uh opportunities World Vision has, um, child sponsorship, or uh they have kind of a yearly gift catalog where you can pick out things to uh provide to people throughout the world, using those as an opportunity to uh get your your kids or grandkids involved, uh maybe sponsoring a child in their name or um letting them go through and pick something. Uh that that seems to be a pretty good way to um both you know benefit the work that World Vision does, but also get um the next generation thinking about philanthropy.
RicAnd is that of all it's all available on the website? You can just go to the website and find um ways to get involved. And I I'm sure they have a catalog. Um I'll put all this in the show notes too, here's uh with the show, but go ahead.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, um I mean I I couldn't necessarily point to it for you, but uh I think if you just went to worldvision.com, you'd you'd be able to find um or.org uh a whole bunch of different opportunities they have, and probably a lot of local um things. I've found that people um you know want to do things in their community because you know everyone's community is struggling, and there's a lot of opportunities to uh directly help um people who need it right around uh where you live.
RicVery cool. Uh I really appreciate the time you spent with us, Isaiah. You are a just a true inspiration and what a wonderful guy you are, and I love your family. And I thank you so much for taking the time. Is there anything that we didn't talk about that we should be talking about before we come to an end here? Anything that you'd like to share that uh I haven't asked about?
SPEAKER_02You know, we've already said it, but I'll just say it again. Uh the the people I work with at this Next Gen Network are uh they they are fantastic and and they um pushed me and and you know made me think about um philanthropy and and get outside of my comfort zone in ways that I haven't before. So I just want to thank them uh personally for helping me explore this um with them.
RicVery cool. All right. Well, thank you, Isaiah. God bless you. Keep on working, and next time uh around when we talk, maybe there'll be something else we can talk about, a new campaign. I know you don't want to talk about that right now, but somewhere along the line, I'm sure you're not gonna sit idle, you're gonna be doing something. So we want to know about that. Thank you, and God bless you, Isaiah. Thank you. Wow. Pretty exciting stuff to see this next generation emerge with a positive outlook, lofty goals, and of solid faith. Check out the show notes for the names of all of the next gen and group working on behalf of World Vision, and also a link to the World Vision website where you can learn more about how you can help make things better. Until next time, God bless.
