Canadian women are working together to empower others overseas
BRANTFORD, ON—Sometimes the seeds that God plants in our lives take decades to grow, says Margaret Gibb, founder of Women Together.
While fulfilling many different roles during the course of her life—including pastor's wife, mother and CEO of Women Alive—Gibb says she had felt a still, small whisper in the back of her mind telling her that "someday I would be focusing on both Canadian women and women in the developing world, and that I had to wait for the right time to unfold."
The new ministry aims to equip Canadian Christian women to go overseas to then encourage, instruct and empower women in developing countries.
"Here's how I see it," Gibb says. "I have lived my life. I have discovered my gifts and my gift-mixes. They have been used, refined and honed. I've had to face many challenges, and there have been times in my life when I was in a situation where I was working against my gifting. Now I'm in a stage of my life when I can operate totally in my gifting, in my calling, in my purpose, and I'm doing things which energize me."
Looking back, she can see the transformations in her own life which enabled her to take on this new work. Growing as a public speaker from someone who says she was so shy she could barely look up at people. Going from someone who was so "horribly insecure, I was afraid of my own shadow" to one able to lead a mission team overseas.
Gibb first went to Africa with World Vision in 2003, where she visited single-mothers, child-headed households, and grandmother-headed households. She was in Africa with her grown children in 2007 when her husband passed away.
She resigned from Women Alive in 2010.
"I literally said, 'I think I've done everything here I need to do.'"
In the months that followed, God used various women to encourage her and support her in creating the new ministry.
She describes Women Together as "a global community for Christian women who love Jesus and want to learn from each other."
This summer, she will be taking a team of Canadian women leaders and nurses to Uganda. The goal is to help empower women and girls, and to facilitate healing in an area "where the Lord's Resistance Army has done incredible damage."
"When we go over there," she says, "we come with humility to serve them, listen to them and provide tools where they need them. The Canadian women who come over with me gain more than they give, because you see these women living out for Jesus in their culture. How they do it, when there is so much against them, more negatives than positives. How they retain so much joy."
Women Together's initial focus will be on Uganda and Ukraine, although Gibb is also looking to engage in other parts of the world as well.
"Ukraine is very significant because it's part of my heritage," she says. "My grandfather served three years in prison in the Ukraine for his faith."
She plans to visit Ukraine once a year, to work with women there to establish their own women's ministry.
"There are some wonderful things happening there," she says, "and my heart is to empower their leaders."
Gibb has begun posting stories on the Women Together web site of "amazing women who have said 'yes'" to fulfilling their God given purpose. She is looking for more Canadian female leaders to rise up and join the work.
"Women everywhere need to be empowered and encouraged to do what God has called them to do," she says. "The heart of a woman is the same whether she lives in Africa or Canada. Every woman wants to belong. Every woman wants the best for their children. Every woman wants the best for their community. Every woman wants to not be put down to where they are unable to do what God is calling them to do.
"They want to achieve. Sometimes they need a friend. Sometimes they need a tool. Sometimes they need training. And when you tell them they have a purpose, their whole being lights up."
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