Caroline's Promise News

  Our last team to Guatemala was in November of 2019.  That seems impossible but it's true.   The primary focus of the team was a pediatric medical clinic that was hugely successful.  However, that wasn't the only seed that was planted that week in the community of San Nicolas.   Wanda King has been going to Guatemala with Caroline's Promise for years.  We can always count on her to bring hand sanitizer, goodie bags that she and her sister make for everyone, and lots of love!  One of the things I love most about Wanda is that she is willing to step in and do anything that is asked of her.  A few weeks before this trip she asked if she could bring a set of hair cutting supplies.  I didn't know if there was a need, but I knew that Wanda felt strongly that she should bring them and so I said "of course!"  Little did we know the impact that one idea would make.   Wanda spent most of that week teaching our partner, Monica how to cut...

Over the next few days we will share stories of how your partnership in 2018 has helped us live out the core values of Caroline's Promise.  Today's value is: "We value sustainable programs rather than handouts" Isaiah 61:3 "to bestow on them a crown of beauty      instead of ashes, the oil of joy      instead of mourning, and a garment of praise " A few years ago, after implementing two entrepreneurial business trainings in Guatemala, we learned that the major obstacle to expanding any small business within and around the city is extortion by gangs. If you pay, you’re in danger. If you don’t pay, you’re in danger. (Read Maria's story of extortion) Therefore, most of the women don’t even try to open a store front . It doesn’t stop them from dreaming though. When we learned of their dreams (and the necessity of the income it could provide) and their obstacles to actually making a small business profitable, we began to dream too. We a...

As we continue our 7 Days of Celebration we want to share the story of our friend, *Maria*.   Extortion is a major issue in Guatemala.  It's not unheard of for gang members to go to people who own businesses and demand that they pay them or they will be killed.  Extortion was a part of every day life for Maria.  She owned a small cafe and for 10 years she gave the same extortionist $4 a day.  For 10 years.  Every day.  10 years.   One day in September Maria didn't have the $4 so the man shot her.....7 times.  It was a miracle that she survived and we were blessed to meet her in October when we visited a neighborhood Bible Study in her community.  The people that our partners had been investing in for several years had started investing in Maria.  They took her in, helped her, and loved on her.  And that night she asked Jesus into her heart.  It was a beautiful moment.  We saw her a few weeks later whe...

We don't just take short term mission teams to be taking them.  We try to be purposeful in our planning, making sure that we are doing projects and ministry that our Guatemalan partners need and request.  We are constantly reminded that God puts the people that He wants on each team.  It's a privilege to serve with them and watch God work in and through them. One of our teams was led by Kaitlyn Armstrong, Ruth Edward, and our amazing interns. "During our week in Guatemala, we were able to partner with church members and school staff to provide a variety of ministry opportunities. While working with the women, we were able to share our personal testimonies and encourage the mothers to be unified with their daughters. We were able to partner with Casita Adonai and chaperone the sixth grade trip, serving the students and providing devotional time. Throughout the remainder of the week, we teamed up to provide English classes and partnered with the school to updat...

Our Business Training Team is headed to Guatemala tomorrow morning and will begin teaching a 5 day training on Friday.  We still lack funding for 13 participants.  That's $2600.  If you have been thinking about partnering with us please donate today!  You can read more about this life changing training here.  Donate here

Last February we partnered with  Yobel International , a Colorado based ministry that empowers communities to eliminate extreme poverty, unjust labor and human trafficking through business training and consumer education.  Yobel has developed an interactive, discussion-based Entrepreneurial Training Curriculum and we loved sharing it with our friends in Guatemala! We continue to hear how God used the training to help women start a business or expand an existing business!  You can read about the February training here.   Our plans are to conduct our second training in October. The cost for each woman to attend the training is $200.  We are looking for 35 sponsors or a total of $7000 to make this training a reality .  Will you consider joining us?  Any donation is greatly appreciated!  Follow this link to join us! You can see photos of men & women who want to attend this training here.  

One of the most exciting things we do through Caroline's Promise is connect with women who have dreams!  This is Brenda.  She lives near Iglesia Adonai and attends an Assemblies of God Church that we partner with.  When she graduated from our Threads of Promise sewing program she had been making these doll clothes by hand and was praying for a sewing machine.  Her hard work paid off and she used her new machine to continue her business.  In February she completed the Business Training that Caroline's Promise provided through Yobel International.  We quickly learned that God had given Brenda even bigger dreams.  She hopes to use the profit from the sell of her Barbie dresses to buy a commercial sewing machine and make dresses for girls, teens, and women. We believe in Brenda and love her heart to serve Jesus so we are going to help her this summer by providing a way for you to purchase these dresses!  Follow the link to place your order....

Today is Tuesday, March 15 th .   How does time move so quickly?   Three weeks ago today I was double-checking my packing list to be sure I had all that I needed to leave the next morning for a week in Guatemala City with my friends Lisa and Stephanie.   I had read the Facilitator’s training guide from Yobel International for the business skills program we would be teaching. I had attended my training meetings with Stephanie and Lisa.   The supplies were packed.   This was to be like no other short term mission team I had served with before.   There would be no reading to children, no camps, no retreats, no painting walls (glory!), no interpretive dance, and no children’s home tour.   On this trip we had the awesome privilege of sharing the very terminology and skills that I had trained for in college and used to varying degrees over more than 20 years in the business world.   In my mind, this would be a very factual mission.   I ha...