“You’re part of a much bigger group.”

by World Vision Staff

Workplace chitchat doesn’t often lead to gaining a new purpose in life, but in 2014, when Dr. Diana Weber’s colleague spoke about his wife’s volunteer work with World Vision’s Women of Vision, Diana was immediately interested. Diana, a physician executive who previously worked as a surgeon, soon attended her first chapter meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she and her husband, Tom, an engineer, were building their life. She knew instantly that she wanted to build community with the other women in the chapter.

“As a woman, as a professional, and as a Christian, it’s been very difficult in my life to find a group of women that I could really relate to and serve with,” Diana says. “And so the first time I was at a Women of Vision event, I thought, Oh, this is my tribe. These are people who are like me.”

Since that time, she’s become a leader within Women of Vision and has even traveled to Ethiopia to see World Vision’s work and meet the child she and Tom sponsored. The couple has grown into passionate World Vision supporters and, in 2020, joined World Vision’s Visionaries, a community of like-minded, compassionate Christians who strive — in the name of Christ — to empower children, families, and communities to transform their lives, recognizing that in doing so, their own lives are also transformed.

“With World Vision, there’s a real focus on making things that are going to have a lasting impact for decades or generations,” Tom says.

That lasting impact really motivates them. Diana says World Vision’s proven record of impact, combined with incredible stories of transformation, should inspire anyone and make even the most skeptical person excited for the work God is doing around the world.

“[Hearing a] story can change people from hopelessness to hopeful: Okay, you know, I can be part of something much bigger, and I can trust that the investment I’m making is [globally impactful],” she says.

The couple has been particularly moved by World Vision’s work in Central America.

“I’ve never heard of a story of such transformation as I’ve heard from some of the work that we’re seeing in the Christian discipleship [work] in Honduras and Central America, El Salvador, and Guatemala,” Diana says.

They’ve also been inspired by World Vision’s Kenya Big Dream program, which works to eliminate the harmful practices of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage. Learning how different sectors and programs work together, such as education, clean water, and gender equality, has helped them understand how World Vision’s holistic model equips communities to create lasting change.

Beyond the program work itself, the organization’s Christian identity led them to partner with World Vision. Tom says, “Everything that World Vision does is motivated by faith.” A few years ago, they heard World Vision President Emeritus Richard Stearns speak about the organization’s work as the intersection of the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, which resonated with them and continues to inspire them today.

“I love the phrase ‘Life in all its fullness,’” Diana says. Fullness of life — an incredible gift Jesus brings — is World Vision’s desire for every child, something that is experienced when all spiritual, emotional, and physical needs are met. Our part is to help pave the way for people to experience this by helping them overcome obstacles that poverty places in their way. As Diana says, our part is “recognizing that all these other pieces have to be put together” so people can experience “that abundant life that Jesus came to bring us.”

They have also been impressed with World Vision’s transparency and the high level of accountability involved in the work as well, and they know that God is multiplying their investment for His purposes.

“When people are wondering, What is their purpose? Why am I here on this planet? ... We’re all here to leave something better than when we arrived or to leave a legacy of some sort,” Diana says. “[With World Vision,] there are so many opportunities to find something that moves you and to invest in it so that you can see a tangible impact of your investment.”

Seeing the impact motivates them to continue partnering with World Vision. Just as Diana initially found community through Women of Vision, the couple continues to find that through Visionaries today.

“It’s part of a community with all these like-minded, passionate people,” Tom says. “It’s making a big difference in the world.”

Corey Grant and Kristy J. O’Hara-Glaspie of World Vision’s U.S. office contributed to this story.

Dr. Diana and Tom Weber story is one of 6 Visionary donor profiles. You can explore the other stories below. Read about how their contributions are helping to end extreme poverty.