Beth Wofford and her husband Bill have been self-employed at ASEA® since 2010, and became Triple Diamond Executives a few years after that.* Beth has always loved to travel and has enjoyed many incentive trips with ASEA, but she says some of the fondest memories she and Bill have enjoyed as a couple have been made on humanitarian expeditions with the ASEA Advancing Life® Foundation in Mexico, Ecuador, and Cambodia.
“My deepest, most heartfelt desire is to leave the world better than I’ve found it,” says Beth. “But I had no idea how I could make a difference. ASEA’s Advancing Life Foundation was the answer to my prayers. The expeditions have given me so much more than I ever expected.”
Inspired By Kindness
Beth was especially inspired by the kindness and compassion of ASEA executives. When the company announced that Advancing Life was organizing a service trip to Mexico in 2016, she and her husband immediately signed up to join the expedition. In fact, Beth has been on five expeditions with the foundation, and she already has her tickets reserved for next year’s expedition to Cambodia.
“The best part of any of the five trips has been getting to know the indigenous people and their customs—being immersed in their culture,” says Beth. “As a global community, we are all so much more similar than we are different. It’s hard for me to describe the profound change these expeditions have made in my life. They are the focal point of every year, and I will participate as long as I am physically able.”
Making a Difference
For Beth, every trip has offered a unique opportunity to make a difference. On her first expedition, in Mexico, the work was physically challenging and the living conditions were difficult. Still, the impact of new water cisterns, outdoor ovens, and chicken coops was immediately evident in the lives of local families.
The three separate trips to Ecuador each provided a unique and poignant experience, as the new vocational school gradually became a reality over the years. The missions in Ecuador were quite physical, but living in the villager’s homes and sharing their daily life was the highlight of Beth’s trips. By the third year, the villagers made her feel like part of their family.
Cambodia offered the expeditioners much more comfortable and delightful living conditions, but the lessons learned there were heart-wrenching. To hear the horror stories of the Khmer Rouge Civil War and see its aftereffects still causing suffering to villagers 40 years later was humbling in a way Beth had never experienced.
“Seeing those sweet, smiling faces and remembering how happy people seem to be with so much less,” starts Beth, “how can I complain about my life? Witnessing the happiness that people with so little can have in their lives and contrasting it against the excessive materialism that can be found in developed nations like the United States is a sobering lesson every year.”
Sharing in the Experience
Beth cherishes sharing in these experiences with family. Working side by side with her husband and son and watching them interact with the local people are memories she will never forget. She is looking forward to sharing another experience with her son and his fiancée next year. Doing service work with your family members adds a precious dimension to the expeditions.
In Beth’s opinion, there is nothing we can do in this life that is more important than to ease the suffering of our fellow humans. The partnerships the Advancing Life Foundation has formed with other humanitarian groups and the money they’ve provided to service efforts have made an indelible difference in many lives across the globe. For Beth, it is an honor to be a part of the foundation’s efforts.
“I have been a very vocal spokesperson for ALF at many ASEA events,” says Beth. “The fact that every penny given is used for our worthy causes and all operating costs are covered by the ASEA® company is paramount. The rest pours out from the heart.”
*Results may vary. This is not a guarantee of a particular income. Please refer to the Income Disclosure Statement and chart of earnings at www.aseaglobal.com/opportunity.