Q&A: Chatting With TWR Women of Hope's New Leader

When Susie Pek was named this year to lead TWR Women of Hope, it was the culmination of her decadeslong passion for the vision that motivates the ministry.  

The Brazilian broadcaster, author and TWR Women of Hope regional coordinator was appointed in February to become the 25-year-old ministry’s global director. She’s the third person to serve in that role, succeeding founder Marli Spieker and Dr. Peggy Banks, who accepted a leadership role with another ministry at the end of 2022.

Pek lives and works in the massive metropolis of São Paulo with her husband, Douglas Pek, a minister of administration at Calvary International Church. Like Susie, Douglas has long been active in the ministry of RTM* Brazil, TWR’s national partner in the country.  

As Pek settled into her new leadership role, she accepted TWR Magazine’s invitation to sit down for an introductory interview.

 In 2003 Pek was participating in a friend’s wedding when she overheard another guest discussing Project Hannah, the original name for TWR Women of Hope.

What was it about TWR Women of Hope that drew you to the ministry?

PEK: I overheard Marli talking to someone about Project Hannah. And she said the words “prayer and compassion for women.” … Immediately in my heart, I felt, “Well, one day, I'll work with that project. Not right now, because I'm not mature enough.”

… [After being saved many years earlier], I was already in love with the fact that I could talk to God in prayer. But then to think that I could pray for higher things and join the Lord in changing the world and transforming the world – I felt, “OK, I want to be part of that.” So I started praying for higher things. And I prayed for the falling of the Berlin Wall. And months into praying for that, I see my parents are watching the news. And I see the news that the Berlin Wall had fallen. And, of course, in my mind, I go, “I brought down the Berlin Wall!”

I was so excited, and I was crying. I had read that [the prophet] Elijah was just a man. And he prayed and it rained. I said, “Well, he was just a man; I'm just a woman, so I'll pray.” I started praying for bigger things and seeing the Lord at work. And when I heard the words “prayer and compassion” – because of seeing people hurting and wanting to change them, to transform them, to help them find hope in Christ and find transformation and find healing – those things are fascinating to me. When I heard those two words put together for women, that's what caught my interest in working with the ministry.

I see that your resume includes a variety of activities – teaching English, working as an English-to-Portuguese interpreter, training to be a missionary, studying theology in seminary, taking part in a prison ministry, serving in various capacities in churches. How did you go from that first overheard discussion of Project Hannah to finally joining the ministry?

PEK: Five years later, my husband and I were going through different things, and I was still helping with the church, but I felt like the Lord had something else for me. So I said, “Lord, either I'll go join a different organization or I'll just have a change in my career in teaching or whatever.” I had just received a job proposal, and my husband, who never sees my email, said, “Well, before you talk to this person about this job proposal, check your email.” And I checked and it was an email from somebody in my church who had gone to RTM Brazil* to give an interview. And when she was there, somebody said, Project Hannah is looking for someone to work with them as an assistant and producer. … And she asked, “Do you know somebody that would be interested?” She had no idea that I had been praying for five years! So we put together a resume, and my husband and I invited some people to pray for us. I sent the resume, and I didn't think that they would be interested. … But the national coordinator at the time wrote back and set up an interview, and in the interview, she told me that as soon as she saw my resume, she knew I was the person the Lord was calling. We broke into tears.

What is the overall message of hope that Women of Hope brings to women around the world? And why is it so important?

PEK: TWR Women of Hope’s overall message is simply the message of the gospel. We tell women that God, the creator of the universe, loves them and sees them, and the creator of the universe provided a way for us to be reconciled to himself through Christ, who is our living hope. And we tell them that in Christ, there's peace, there's love, there's joy, there's direction, abundant life here, and eternal life. They are not alone. They don't need to do life alone, because Christ loves them and wants to have a relationship with them.

You emphasize the word “alone.” Is there something about feeling alone that this message speaks to in women?

PEK: This is a very good question that you ask. Women, no matter how old or poor or wealthy they are – I call it the invisibility crisis. It's very common for women to feel invisible, to feel unwanted, to feel unloved. And when they know that, when you tell somebody that the God of the universe loves them, and sees them no matter what, and cares so much for them, that they sent to Christ to die for them, you know, For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. That is a very transformational message. It's the power of the gospel is amazing. In my conversations with women around the world, quite often I hear, “Nobody sees. Nobody cares. I'm alone. I'm desperate. I don't know what to do.” And there's no hope. And we say the message of hope in Christ Jesus makes the whole difference.

When there’s a big transition in leadership, people sometimes worry that the organization they know and love will undergo drastic change as well. Are you contemplating major changes in the ministry?

PEK: I love the foundation that Marli laid. I think it was a very solid foundation. And I love what Peggy has done building on that foundation. And I intend to – as Women of Hope’s [focus] word of the year in 2023 is “grow” – to continue to build on that and grow the ministry. Now, if I tell you, there will be no change, I'll probably not be telling the truth, because naturally change will come simply because I'm a different person. And I have a different style and personality. So the idea is to continue building on what has been built so far. But we don't need to be worried. We're not changing the focus. We're growing.

People say that Marli Spieker’s main emphasis as director was prayer and that Peggy Banks had a special interest in leadership development. Do you expect to concentrate on one of these areas or on something different?

PEK: I would say that I'll be more into the teaching and equipping, you know, not only our teams but the women we minister to, equipping them to grow in their faith. And I love programming. Content is in my blood. Any kind of content, you know. I hope that we develop many programs, I hope that we have different blog posts, I hope that we have content in different formats. That's my dream, to have content in different formats to offer to our women and to our teams on the ground and to the women that we serve, so that they can continue to grow in their faith and learn about Christ. So I think I'm a combination of all these things. I love the prayer, I love the teaching, the equipping, and I love the content, as well as the encouragement.

You’ve mentioned growth. What opportunities do you see for growth in the ministry?

PEK: We want to encourage our women to grow in their production of Women of Hope programs, hopefully producing their own for their own countries according to their own needs. Also, of course, [the new program] Precious & Beloved is being produced. And we're excited about that ministry specifically. And we're working on what we're calling Hidden Treasures Part 2 for now. So there are many opportunities out there. There are also opportunities in ministry to women through social media, and there are a lot of opportunities for girls and for encouraging the use of our prayer calendars.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us as you embark on this new adventure. Are there any words you would like to leave us with as we close?

PEK: I just feel very humbled that the Lord has called me to this position. I pray that I will honor him, honor his calling, and I promise to look to him for guidance for the ministry. And it is my desire that women around the world and across generations find this hope in Jesus, that they find healing, that they know we can have life eternal and abundant life because of Christ despite our circumstances. And it's a real thing. It's not only something so distant. It's real. Relationship with Christ transforms us and transforms our lives, and I just pray that I'll be able to communicate that message very clearly and that our teams will do the same. So pray for me as I lead our teams, and pray for our teams.

* RTM is the Portuguese equivalent of TWR.