Volunteer Spotlight

Sandra2Women in the Window International is delighted to introduce our featured volunteer, Sandra Spiegelhalter! Sandra first got involved by attending last year’s Evening in the Courtyard, our annual “friend-raiser” event designed with newcomers in mind. From there, she signed up to volunteer and eagerly helped plan our inaugural Spring Luncheon. Her enthusiasm and commitment to the luncheon – but moreover to the ministry itself – led to an invitation to join our Servant Leader team of volunteers.

As a Servant Leader, Sandra serves as one of our excellent Prayer Coordinators.   She and her co-leader work closely with our Executive Director to oversee our prayer strategy for the entire ministry, both here and overseas. And we are also thrilled that Sandra will be traveling outside the country for the first time when she travels with WiW in just a few months!

We hope you will enjoy learning more about Sandra in the brief interview below.  If God is leading you to serve with WiW, please learn more about our volunteer opportunities and contact us!

What compelled you to serve with Women in the Window?
I met Kim Kerr a few years earlier through a mutual friend. Kim was offering a pilot of the inductive Bible study she had written and I was fortunate to be part of that group. Little did I know that God was at work planting seeds for where He would later lead me. Last fall, the same mutual friend invited me to WiW’s Evening in the Courtyard event where I learned about the many opportunities to serve. Sensing God leading me to be involved in the ministry, I started serving with the registration team for the 2015 Spring Luncheon, volunteered in the office, and most recently accepted the invitation to co-lead WiW’s prayer strategy.

What has been the most enjoyable aspect of your volunteer experience so far?
I absolutely enjoy the women I serve with. Each one brings an incredible dedication and passion that is inspiring and uplifting. They are genuine in love, service, and prayer for one another, as well as those they witness to and partner with overseas.

What’s one of the most interesting things you’ve learned about WiW’s ministry?
I did not realize that the 10/40 Window referred to the equator lines in the hemisphere, or that it is an area reported to have the the highest level of socioeconomic challenges and least access to the Christian message. I was most impressed that WiW is not ministering in that region to give a handout but to offer a hand up through training women leaders.

Soon you will be taking your first trip with WiW! How do you think God will use this experience to change you?
My very first trip with WiW is scheduled for November.  I will be traveling to a location overseas to serve our North African and Middle Eastern sisters. Many of the women we minister to come from cultures where they have little to no value in their society.  I have been brought up in a country where I can worship with freedom, have rights as a woman, and opportunities to have my voice heard.  I am so excited and eager to view the world through the eyes of the women I will be meeting and praying for.

What is a passage of Scripture that has special significance for you?
Everyone knows the most popular Bible verse, John 3:16. But my favorite verse is actually the one right after it, John 3:17: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” While most of us can understand that God loves us, many of us struggle to truly understand that Jesus did not come to condemn us. As sinners we feel the guilt and shame which makes us feel unworthy to accept this gift. However, it is actually very simple. There is nothing you have to do except to accept it.