Caroline's Promise News

This whole "7 Days of Celebration" idea came to me (Lisa) a few weeks before Erik & Samuel died in an accident.  I was so confident that God was asking me to use the last 7 days of 2017 to CELEBRATE all that He had done.  He had led me to readings on the Feast of Tabernacles, a time when the Israelites gathered to celebrate how God had provided and protected them during their 40 years in the wilderness.  It seemed like a great idea.  Share a story a day for 7 days, celebrating all that God had done in and through the ministry of Caroline's Promise.  Easy, right? And then I received the call that rocked my world.  It was a snowy, Friday afternoon in North Carolina and I was waiting to have a video conference with our partners in Guatemala.  I wasn't shocked to see Delmi's name pop up on my phone but I was shocked to hear her weeping hysterically on the other end of the line.  I'm not sure I have cried on that level before.  In the h...

During my second trip to Guatemala, I knew I wanted to find a child to sponsor through Caroline's Promise. Over the two weeks I was there, I prayed that God would reveal which child he wanted me to sponsor. One morning, I was praying for my sponsor child and asking God to make it clear which child he wanted me to sponsor. The same day we were giving out parasite medicine to all the kids at the school, which they absolutely hated.  I had been particularly drawn to one boy in the Prepa class, and we had bonded over the week. When we were giving out the medicine, I was with a friend in the Prepa class. All the kids were complaining about the parasite medicine and some were even spitting it out when we gave it to them. I gave the medicine to the child I had been bonding with over the week and he reluctantly swallowed the pills. He came back about five minutes later with a disgusted look on his face, took my hands, and threw the medicine up STRAIGHT INTO MY HANDS...

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...

Several years ago God gave me a dream of teaching welding to young adults in our partner communities in Guatemala.  You may ask "Why welding?"   Well, if you know me and my family, it makes sense. I'm the daughter of a welder.  My Dad, Kenneth Best was the son of a welder and both of his brothers are welders.  Through the years he and my Mom built a successful business that my brother, Brian now runs.  My Dad taught me what it means to have a strong work ethic and I watched his business grow, even in the toughest economy, making a way for him to pay for my college education and most of graduate school. Through the years I would see young men in Guatemala search for a job that paid decent money and over and over I saw them struggle.    If only they could learn how to weld.      In January my brother, Brian traveled with me to Guatemala where we met with the Director of the Welding Program at Intecap (technical sch...

Merry Christmas! Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus. What a special baby, to say the least. As we were thinking of stories from 2017 to celebrate, we immediately thought of a baby in Guatemala and how God spared his sweet life.  We didn't plan to take a medical mission team, but God made it clear that this was his plan. (You can read how that happened  here ) At the end of the first day of clinics, a mom showed up with a baby that was less than a year old. She didn't live in the community but was visiting a friend whose kids attend our Sunday afternoon Kids' Church. Dr. Smith and our Guatemalan doctor, Tiffany Quan, both realized that the child was near death. Tiffany jumped into the back of a truck with the mom and baby and took them to the nearest fire department where they were rushed to a local hospital. The mood was somber as we boarded the bus, each of us realizing that unless God intervened, baby Marvin would not live for very long.  Two days later,...

Merry Christmas! I, (Lisa), was reading recently about the Feast of the Tabernacles. This was a time of joyous celebration as the Israelites gathered to celebrate God's continued provision for them in the current harvest and remembered His provision and protection during the 40 years in the wilderness. It was a time of great celebration. Some theologians believe that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles.  While on Earth, Jesus kept the Feast of Tabernacles. In John 7:37-38 we see him standing in the temple and crying out:  "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38) I love this quote that I found from this  website : "This feast, like all of the feasts of Israel, consistently reminded the Jews and should remind Christians as well that God has promised to deliver His people from the bondage of sin and deliver them from t...

As many of you know, two of our boys in Guatemala lost their lives in an accident. Casita Adonai, the church in Guatemala, has helped with the cost of the funeral. However, there is still a financial need. In addition, Caroline's Promise would like to like to send a counseling team to Guatemala to help with this tragedy. Because this is an unexpected trip, we are asking for your support to cover airfare for a team of 4. The trip will take place in January, and the team will offer counseling to the family and members of Casita Adonai who have given so much of themselves to the family.  Our prayer is that in helping them, they can also learn ways to help others in the future.  You can view the donation page by clicking  here