Caroline's Promise News

After our day of travel, we arrived safely in Guatemala! Yesterday, we were able to sort our supplies and prepare for the week ahead. We were so thankful to arrive safe and sound. We appreciate everyone's prayers and would love for you to keep praying! Today, we woke up and were able to go to Casita Adonai to do some work projects. We successfully completed the painting in two classrooms, prepared the bottle for planting projects next week, and starting our sewing projects as well! Despite all the rain, we had a great day and were so grateful for the opportunity to begin to serve the community. Last but not least, we were able to celebrate Taylor's 15th birthday and enjoy some great birthday cake. Feliz cumpleanos a Taylor! Please continue to pray for our team's health and safety. We would also appreciate if you would join us in prayer for our host, Demli. She is still very sick and seeing the doctor daily. Please pray for encouragement, rest, and health for her. Buen...

carolinespromiseblog's photostream on Flickr. Family Team Saturday

Nine years ago today David and I were in Guatemala, returning to the city from a week of ministry at Lake Atitlan.  I knew that we were close to a referral of a baby girl from Guatemala and that Friday I could not get her birth mother off my mind.  My heart broke for this woman I did not know yet, understanding that she was probably close to delivery.  All I knew that day was that God was asking me to pray for her. Several days later after we had returned home we received the call from our adoption agency that our baby girl had been born!  When David asked "what day?" he was not surprised to learn that it had been that Friday, the day that we spent on that bus. We have always shared this story with Caroline as a testimony to God's timing.  He knew that she was our daughter and he had us IN Guatemala on the day she was born! That was nine years ago and we can't imagine life without her.   Today she will spend her birthday, celebrating in her bea...

What pure joy it has been to be a part of the very first missions team from Wilson Community Church!  I'm so thankful that the Lord has allowed Caroline's Promise the opportunity to share this experience with them.  In just a few days, these men and women  have their eyes opened, hearts broken and spirits set on fire with a passion for the work God is doing here in Guatemala City.  In just 2 days, this team has painted classrooms and worked on lighting at Casita Adonai, shared testimonies and helped with children's ministry at church and worked alongside local youth workers from Iglesia Adonai to minister to children at Herona (a church plant of Iglesia Adonai).  Those are all wonderful accomplishments, to be sure.  But the greater accomplishments, I believe, have been the things that cannot really be quantified, qualified or checked off a list.   These are the accomplishments of the Holy Spirit in each one of our lives.  For exampl...

carolinespromiseblog's photostream on Flickr.

This morning our first short term team of the summer boarded a plane to Guatemala.  We are thrilled to be partnering with Wilson Community Church in Wilson, NC as they embark on their first mission trip!  This outreach focused church has done plenty of mission work in their community.  For several years their pastor and members of the congregation have dreamed of serving in another country.  When they contacted Caroline's Promise and asked if we could take them we said "YES!!".  We are blessed to have Caroline's Promise Board Member, Tami Rumfelt leading this team. Our prayer is that their experience and the training they receive from Caroline's Promise will prepare them for years of international missions. Thank you Pastor Gary and team for allowing us to be a part of your first trip! You can see pictures of their commissioning service and hear a special song written just for their team here .

Saving the Adoption Tax Credit June 1st, 2012 | by Jedd Medefind |  "Many families that are willing to welcome a child into their home via adoption face a major barrier:  costs.  Even for families considering adoption from foster care, which typically costs very little, the expenses of caring for a new child can be a big hurdle.  So to help defray the expenses of adoption and get children into permanent families, the Federal government established the Adoption Tax Credit, which currently provides up $12,650. However, the Adoption Tax Credit is set to expire this year.  If it is not extended, although the credit would not go away completely, its size and applicability would shrink dramatically. The work of the Christian Alliance for Orphans does not center on government or lobbying.   But knowing that government policies like these can dramatically affect the ability of individuals to c...

  Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 5:19b-20 Dear Staff and Friends of Caroline’s Promise, By God’s sovereign grace and love, a precious three-year old little girl was transformed from Xia YangXue, abandoned orphan to Abigail Ruth Pawlowski, redeemed daughter.  She is accepted, loved, protected, adored, and valued for the beautiful child God created her to be. God’s mercy and grace are a common thread in Abigail’s story.  In His plan, God allowed many people to join in this journey showing Abigail how much He loves her and planned for her to be in our family.  Caroline’s Promise is an important part of her story.  At the end of December, we were praying for wisdom in how to finance the remaining $3000 of Abigail’s adoption expenses.  We were expecting Travel Approval from China within weeks, and we were patiently pursuin...