Caroline's Promise News

It seems like so many blogs on adoption are written by moms. We love this blog written by Adoptive Dads, for adoptive dads. Check it out! http://adoptivedads.org/

Many of you have heard us speak about Summit, hosted by The Christian Alliance for Orphans. It is a yearly orphan and adoption conference for churches, agencies and ministries. David and I have been so blessed to attend these conferences. We always learn something new, connect with old friends and make new ones, and come away with a renewed passion and vision for orphans! Well, we’re excited to announce that there will be a Mid-Atlantic Orphan Summit November 5-6 in Hershey, Pennsylvania and we want you to join us! Of course, you can register and go on your own, but we think it would be fun if we went as a group! Either way, we don’t think you should miss it! Registration is open and is only $40 per person or $35 per couple. If you’re interested in traveling together and hanging out with the Caroline’s Promise team, contact us! We will depart Greensboro via air on Friday morning November 5 and return either Saturday night or Sunday am. Worship will be led by Meredith Andrews and guest ...

Thursday was emotional to say the least. We learned earlier in the week that the children at Casita Adonai were giving Caroline a Princess Party for her birthday. At first we were hesitant. We’ve never wanted Caroline to be in the spotlight when it comes to this ministry. But it was so obvious that the teachers and students had worked hard to make this happen and the party was for them as much as it was for Caroline. I talked to her the night before and tried to explain that there would be a party the next day for her. She was confused. Why would they give her a party? When reality hit she began jumping up and down and smiling. Then she said “Has Delmy been planning this?” “Of course” I said. “Well, I want to write her a note and tell her how much I love her!” And then Thursday came. The moment Caroline opened her eyes she began running to the bathroom. Bless her heart, she was so sick. We managed to get a shower and get dressed and thankfully we made it to the school without any accid...

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Monday was a great day at Casita Adonai. This school has about 70 kids and is in a depressed neighborhood. Many of these families were displaced after Hurricane Stan and made homes for themselves on a plot of land close to the church. The people are very poor and struggle specifically with alcohol and drugs. There are limited opportunities for the young people and many find themselves involved in gangs. Iglesia Adonai is a lighthouse in the darkness of this community. They are reaching people in many ways, but one of the greatest is through their school, Casita Adonai. There are five classes, preschool, pre-K, kindergarden, first and second. We learned this week that minimum wage in Guatemala is about $190 a month. These teachers make $127 a month and it’s a struggle to pay them most months. Caroline’s Promise is excited to partner with Casita Adonai. Our goal is to help them reach the children and families of this neighborhood in an effort to prevent orphans. Many of the children are ...

When we arrived in Guatemala City on Friday our translator, Juan Pablo told us that his brother got married in Kernersville, NC. Strange. It wasn't until a few hours later when Tami was talking to him that we realized his brother, Carlos married a girl from First Christian Church, Sarah Shah. They stopped by to visit with us yesterday and were able to chat with Blake and Ethan Wall who attend First Christian. The longer we do mission work, the more we realize that it really is a small world after all!!

The past few days seem like a blur. Our first team spent Friday in Antigua. What a beautiful city! One of our team members, Jordan, walked into an old church and was surprised to find her boyfriend waiting for her with a ring!!! They are such a sweet couple and the first to get engaged on a Caroline’s Promise team! We were excited to arrive in Guatemala City Friday night because our second team was waiting for us. We’re staying in a dorm style building across the street from Pastor Carlos Rivas and his wife, Delmy. They pastor Iglesia Adonai and he is the National Superintendent for the 14 Wesleyan Churches in Guatemala. Our first team spent the evening sharing what God taught them throughout their week in Guatemala. We were reminded again that it’s the little things that we do in love that make the biggest impact. In the middle of the night Friday a few of us went with Rick to a private hospital because he was having complications with a kidney stone. After several hours of tests and ...

It's Thursday morning and the sun is shining, Hallelujah! It looks like our prayers for an end to the rain have been answered. We've had several awesome days of ministry. We have so many uniquely gifted people on this team and it's been wonderful to witness the body of Christ at work in so many different ways. Our teacher team, Doris, Esme, Joanne and Lisa, conducted a full day of training for local teachers from the school and children's home at Eagle's Nest and from the Compassion International program. Topics included brain development, learning styles and how to create file folder games. Blake and Ethan taught self-defense. Another team headed up by our Children's Ministry expert, Chris, has done a great job working with the Manna feeding program that is hosted here at Eagle's Nest. The team has played games and made crafts with the kids. They've also shared Bible stories and face painting. Today we'll hand out the shoes that Amber collected. (Jo...