For 60 years, Holt International has continued our mission, always remembering our Christ-centered history and always in prayer for the children and families we serve.

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending our city’s prayer breakfast, a time for citizens of our community to come together in prayer for our nation, our city and our respective organizations. As president and CEO of the largest international adoption and child welfare organization in the world, I recognize the overwhelming power of prayer in the work that I am honored to be a part of. Without continual prayer and our Heavenly Father’s guidance over the past 60 years, Holt could not have impacted the lives of so many of the world’s most vulnerable children and families. Holt International began when a couple from Creswell, Oregon prayerfully decided to come to the aid of children left orphaned or abandoned in the wake of the Korean War — a mission deeply rooted in following Christ. And today, we continue the legacy of our founders by serving as the hands and feet of Jesus in 13 countries around the world. While we have expanded our work and will continue to seek new ways to help vulnerable children, our organization will never lose sight of how we began — as an organization built on prayer and the Lord’s guidance.

I’m thankful that throughout our six-decade history, it has never been hard to find the Lord’s hand in Holt’s work.

One night in Korea, 1955, after Harry Holt had traveled the long journey from Oregon to bring home eight children through adoption, Harry lay awake — seeking further confirmation that he and his wife, Bertha, were, indeed, on the right path. As he had done many times before, he prayed. Shaking his Bible open, he closed his eyes and pointed his finger on a Bible verse. He then turned on the light and lifted his finger. There, before his eyes, was Isaiah 43:5: “Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you”— a visionary verse that reminded Harry Holt that they were, undeniably, doing the will of God. A year later, feeling led to help more homeless and vulnerable children, Harry traveled to Korea once again — this time to set up the Holt adoption program.