I have been passionate about Hope for the Island since my first visit in 2003. After marrying my husband, Shawn, in 2008 I talked about it enough to convince him to take a look for himself. In 2009 the two of us traveled to the Philippines for 3 weeks. Shawn is passionate about surfing and was delighted to surf with the local guys and even with Derek. I believe he was in the water so often that his neck needed some serious chiropractic work when we got home! His passion for Hope for the Island was ignited and we were now stronger together.
When we returned home we had a group of friends and family over to talk about our trip and some needs of the ministry there. A generous friend was able to buy a new truck for Hope for the Island and others have become very committed to helping us ship boxes of supplies. My husband was never very excited about shipping food, school supplies or other necessities. His heart was still with the surfers and he wanted to find a way to pour into them.
My husband is a wonderfully generous man, but he is also a very frugal German man too! He loves to save money and deeply values that which we have and wants to be sure it is being used to the fullest. He began noticing on his bike ride to work that many people in the city were throwing away their recycling. In Calgary we pay a deposit on every beverage container that is purchased, not just alcohol. He began slowly picking up bottles and eventually it became a huge obsession and our garage is now a bottle depot!
The bottles provide extra income that my husband uses for a “gear fund” to buy things we don’t need, but that he’d like to have. He felt God calling him to make his bottle business more meaningful a few years ago. He now donates a large portion of all that he makes to Hope for the Island. Some time I use the money to buy food for the rainy season to send in our boxes, but most of the time it goes into surfing! Shawn has taken up a new hobby of hunting for board shorts in the small sizes they need at a good price. Each box is now sent with new board shorts for the surfers and for the young people that come to Hope for the Island. It allows Derek and Jenn to use them as gifts or prizes and it gives Shawn such pleasure to work for the money, find the shorts and ship them over.
As a woman with extremely obsessive tendencies, I find the massive pile of dirty bottles in my garage irritating. In the beginning I tried to put a stop to the new hobby as it was smelly and often in my way. Seeing the joy that Shawn experiences through helping Hope for the Island and the amazing things he’s able to send has truly softened my heart. I see the value of his side business and have even been known to help take them to the depot from time to time. The pile is often so large that the people at the depot assume we own a restaurant.
Shawn has found a way to give above our means. Wanting to do more for others, he found an income source to do it and a way that he can give his time digging through trash to make an impact on the other side of the globe. I’m sure he’s mistaken for a homeless man from time to time, but I’m still proud of him.
Amy Koslowski
