Thursday, February 4, 2010

A sad day for Hopebuilders..

CASEY VANDERZAAG - 14th January 1957 - 31st January 2010

Today was a sad day for HopeBuilders International as we said goodbye to our friend Casey Vanderzaag. Our sincere and deepest sympathies go out to his lovely wife Sue and his children Katie, Andy and Amy and also to the rest of his amazing family. Casey was a member of the very first team to go to Uganda and he was a huge part of the successful building of the first of our homes in the Village of Hope. Casey will forever hold a special place in the history of HopeBuilders. Casey lived out the essence of what HopeBuilders is right through his struggle with cancer, always instilling hope in everyone and challenging even the nurses and staff as to where their hope lies.

The HopeBuilders logo shows a ladder rising up with the cross as the foundation. Our dream is to allow orphans and widows to rise up/climb up out of the current situation to a new hope and future which is founded in the cross and Jesus. Casey was a testament to this dream throughout his whole life - his generosity and love for those less fortunate was a blessing. His ability to give time to almost anyone and to make them feel like they were the most important - a VIP - at that moment when he was talking to them was a gift.

The HopeBuilders International board together with our friends in Uganda and all the children and mothers from the Village of Hope we THANK God for you Casey. We thank your wonderful family for continuing to support us. We will always remember Mister Kesh - The HopeBuilder - we will see you again soon in GLORY!

1 comment:

ivan said...

casey you will be missed by everyone you blessed in a special way!!! thanks for being a blessing to us and the whole world.. you will be trully missed!!! the house you helped build will always be a standing monument for the great work you did! frim the team back here,we shall miss you.