Five Loaves, Two Fish: What's In Your Hands?
In Week 4 of While I Breathe, I Hope, we welcomed a guest speaker: Katie Arriaza, President and CEO of Hope of Life International, and daughter of the ministry’s founders. Hope of Life is one of our mission partners in Guatemala, and this message, Five Loaves, Two Fish, grew out of a question Katie asked our church directly: what has God put in your hands?
The Scripture Behind Five Loaves, Two Fish
Five Loaves, Two Fish comes from John 6, the story of Jesus feeding thousands of hungry people with a boy’s small lunch. The disciples saw an impossible problem: too many people, not enough food. But Jesus didn’t ask the boy if he had enough. He only asked if the boy was willing to give what he had. The miracle wasn’t the size of the gift — it was that the boy was available and willing. That’s the whole heart of Five Loaves, Two Fish: God doesn’t ask us to solve the whole problem. He asks us to bring what’s in our hands.
Why "Five" Means Something Different
Katie shared that nearly 46% of children in Guatemala are diagnosed with chronic malnutrition by age five — a statistic that shapes everything about the mission of Hope of Life. The number five carries a double meaning in Five Loaves, Two Fish: it’s the age most children in Guatemala first face the effects of generational malnutrition, and it’s also the number of loaves a boy once handed to Jesus and watched become enough for thousands.
One Yes, Multiplied
Forty years ago, Katie’s father, Carlos, was 35 years old and gravely ill — his legs and hands no longer worked, and no doctor could explain why. Believing he was going to die, he returned to Guatemala. In a moment of complete poverty — stripped of his health, his family, everything but a little money in his pocket — Carlos made a promise to God: if He would heal him, Carlos and his family would serve God and the poor for the rest of their lives. Four days later, he got out of bed, walked a mile, and bought an acre of land.
That single “yes” has since multiplied into thousands of yeses — volunteers, donors, churches, and nearly half a million families reached over 39 years.
That’s Five Loaves, Two Fish in action: one small, willing gift, multiplied by God into something no single person could have done alone.
The Practical Gospel
Hope of Life operates on what Katie calls “the practical gospel” — meeting physical needs first so people have the capacity to hear about spiritual ones. As Katie put it, it’s hard to talk to someone about salvation when they’re starving. Five Loaves, Two Fish is a call to show up with both: food, medical care, clean water, and the love of Christ, lived out loud.
A Family Still Saying Yes
As Hope of Life approaches its 40th anniversary, Katie shared that Carlos’s wife, Sheryl, is currently facing her third cancer diagnosis this year, with surgery scheduled for October 26th. Even in that uncertainty, the Arriaza family’s answer remains the same one Carlos gave four decades ago: yes.
Next Steps After Five Loaves, Two Fish
- Ask: What’s in My Hands? Take time this week to consider your own time, talent, and resources — and bring your yes, even if you’re not sure yet what it looks like.
- Sponsor a Child or Give. Partner financially with Hope of Life’s work in nutrition, medical care, and education.
- Pray for the Arriaza Family. Join us in praying for Sheryl’s October 26th surgery and for continued strength for Hope of Life’s leadership.
- Read “Becoming,” Chapter 4. Our church book Becoming has a chapter dedicated to Skills. Pick up a copy at the Purchase Project (free if you can’t afford one) or listen on Spotify.
Did you like the message, Five Loaves, Two Fish? If so, check out more of our Sunday teachings here.