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Cupcakes and Crop Marks

Cupcakes and Crop Marks

SPRING/SUMMER 2021    |    4 MINUTE READ
KENNETH HOPSON, MISSIONARY IN UGANDA


What’s your passion? Do you love solving math problems? Are you a sports fanatic? Do you like writing books? Can you imagine being able to use your passions to serve God and others? Kenneth and Delight Hopson once thought that their passions would never make much of an impact on the world, either. But God showed them that He had plans for the unique gifts and skills He’d given them. Hear their story from Kenneth below.

I’ve known what I was made to do since my junior year of high school. When our school offered a new printing class, my twin brother and I signed up to take it together. And from that first semester, we were hooked.

Two men stand in front of printers and a book-binding machine.

Kenneth Hopson and Leonard Katunda work in The Print Shop together.

My passion for printing didn’t turn into my ministry until many years later. I drifted for a while, working in print shops on and off, but I didn’t have true purpose in my life. At twenty-three and about the furthest from God a person could be, I moved back home—to a dramatically different family than I remembered growing up. Several members of my family had become Christians, and it was apparent that their relationships with God had changed them.

I resisted God at first, but He eventually won me over, and I surrendered my life to Him. It was then that He began to reveal the plan He’d had for me all along. He led me to Vennard College in University Park, Iowa, to grow deeper spiritually and for Bible training to be used in my calling to serve Christ full time. During my time there, I worked at a local print shop, while God kept nudging me to use the skills I was gaining for Him and for His glory, not just for myself.

Two men printing materials.

Kenneth and Leonard working in The Print Shop.

While studying at Vennard, Delight and I met and started dating. I became acquainted with David Kushman, a missionary from World Gospel Mission, and learned more about the organization. It seemed like a promising option, so I applied to WGM. When I learned that they needed a printer in Africa, I knew I’d made the right choice.

Delight was less thrilled at first. “You’re going to Africa?” she asked incredulously. But she married me anyway, and in 1997, we began serving overseas. Twenty-four years later, Delight and I are still finding new and creative ways to serve the Lord with the skills and passions He’s given us, including each starting our own ministries in Uganda. God led me to use my printing expertise to launch The Print Shop, while He gave Delight the opportunity to start a baking ministry called Delights—Homemade Goodness. We both agree that it’s been an incredible journey, one where we’ve had a lot of helping hands and been humbled again and again that God chose us to do this work.

A photo of a woman decorating a Barbie birthday cake next to a photo of the finished cake

Delight decorating a Barbie birthday cake.

There’s no doubt in my mind that God created me to print. I love it, and I love sharing it with others. When my assistant, Leonard Katunda, started at The Print Shop, he didn’t know anything about printing. I had the joy of teaching him different parts of the printing process, from the crop marks that show us where to cut pages to the machine that helps us bind materials together. But our passion for printing extends far beyond these technical aspects.

Every day, Leonard and I get to see portions of the Bible, Bible studies, and other educational materials roll off the press. We get to feel the thrill of knowing we’re helping thousands of people learn how to read through partnerships with SIL International (Summer Institute of Linguistics) and Pioneer Bible Translators in hopes that one day they will be able to read God’s Word. We’re also helping to print portions of the Bible in languages that have only ever been spoken up until now. What’s most exciting, though, is the realization that some of these books of the Bible we’re printing might be the very first that someone in Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, the Congo, or Rwanda gets to read in their heart language!

A pile of books in different languages

Ministry materials from The Print Shop

Delight is also getting a chance to use her passions and skills to serve others. Over the years she had been helping a local woman, Winnie, learn how to bake cookies and cakes and how to decorate the cakes with frosting. When COVID limited Winnie’s options for employment, Delight considered other ways she could help. In her administrative role at Heritage International School, Delight had had many opportunities to help students with bake sales, and she had truly grown to love it. When Winnie expressed a desire to begin her own baking business, Delight offered to help her get started, using her experience she had gained through all her years of baking at the school. Now Winnie and her children are all involved in what is starting to be a successful business, thanks to God’s provision! Delight saw she had a chance to turn something she loved into ministry.

A photo of a plate of cookies next to a photo of a woman holding a plate of cookies

Winnie now runs her own baking business!

God keeps showing us that His plans are so much bigger than our own passions. So many people are doing amazing things for Him here in Uganda, and we’re thrilled to be able to join them on this journey. Some of the ministries we’ve been blessed to partner with include Women’s Cycle of Life, Island Orphan Ministries, a local radio Gospel ministry, University Discipleship Movement, and more as the Lord has led. In all that we do, we are seeking to bring God glory, from each book that comes off the press to each baked good that comes out of the oven.

We’re just using what God has given us the ability to do for His glory. We never thought that cupcakes and crop marks could make a big difference in anyone’s life. But God keeps proving to us that He can use anything. We keep offering up what we’ve been given, and He keeps multiplying it.

Kenneth and Delight standing in front of greenery

Kenneth and Delight love seeing how God uses what they’ve given Him.

ACTION STEPS

PRAY: Lift up The Print Shop and ask the Lord for it to continue having widespread impact. Pray that the Holy Spirit will work through the materials they print to transform hearts and lives. Pray that Delights—Homemade Goodness will be given more opportunities to help others in building skills that they can use for His kingdom work.

GIVE: Do you want to support the printing of Bibles in new languages? Do you want to help support ministries throughout Africa through Delight’s baking ministry? Partner with The Print Shop or Delights—Homemade Goodness.

GO: What has God made you to do? What is it that He wants you to do for His glory? Whatever you’re passionate about, we can help you use that passion to serve others. Connect with WGM today.


Missionary Bio: Kenneth and Delight Hopson have served in Africa, primarily in Uganda, for twenty-four years. They love finding new ways to serve God and those He places in their path. You can follow their ministry journey on Facebook.

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