Each month Karen gives between 15 and 20 hours to all things financial for Word & Deed's US board. Her duties as treasurer include sending receipts to donors, tracking receipts by donor and by fund (ie sponsorship, Malawi, Colombia, etc), paying expenses, monitoring cash balance, disbursing funds to partners, and reporting to and advising the board on all financial matters.

As treasurer for Word & Deed USA, Karen VanderSloot's job satisfaction level is pretty high. “It is exciting to be able to help those with funds connect with those who have such need,” says Karen. “Having been on mission trips and seeing much poverty and need in the developing world, this was a way for me to contribute. It is also very satisfying to help others exercise good stewardship of their God-given abundance by being part of the oversight and decision making regarding the suitability and accountability of projects.”

Balancing volunteer duties with daily life can seem difficult, but Karen makes it look easy. “Since I am single, I have a full-time job, so most of the work is done in the evening and on Saturday,” says Karen. This takes some careful planning, and sometimes foregoing desired activities. “Occasionally, I take a lunch hour to do banking or other items that must be done during business hours,” says Karen.

Being a part of Word & Deed has given Karen a greater respect for the time, energy, prayer, and thought that goes into properly running this type of organization. “It has also made me more aware of how richly blessed I am,” says Karen. “If I am ever tempted to feel sorry for myself or think I am sacrificing too much, I consider the many people in this world who struggle daily to merely survive.”

And six of those struggling people are very close to Karen's heart. Karen has six sponsor children; four in Guatemala and two in Colombia. On her many mission trips – she's been to Colombia three times and to Guatemala at least ten times – she has been able to visit each of her sponsor children. “One family in Guatemala I have seen every year but one,” says Karen. “This is truly a great blessing and joy.”

Karen VanderSloot with her sponsor children and their family

In addition to her treasurer duties, Karen also coordinates many of the US mission trips to Guatemala andColombia. She usually arranges flights, work projects, transportation needs and itineraries in the countries they visit, which can take many emails to accomplish. She also coordinates team members – including finding out who wants to go, what skills match the work to be done, and searching for people to fill the missing spots. And of course, she takes care of the finances.

There are several reasons why Karen coordinates these trips. “I really enjoy seeing it all come together,” says Karen. “Plus, with my work schedule I am limited to which time of the month I can go, so if I coordinate, I have a little influence on the timing. Besides that, no one else has taken me up on my offer to let them do it!”

Martha Markwat is a member of the Free Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan and one of the editors of this magazine.