I entered the following story in a contest sponsored by the Giving Tuesday organization. The contest rules specified that it had to begin with an individual's story of giving. So that's why I began with myself. But honestly, I want the glory to go to God for what He has done first of all. Second, my family has always been my rock and my main source of strength, next to God. We are ALL in this together and I thank the Lord for my husband and children every day. --Arlene
"My story of giving begins with a gift that was given to me. My parents adopted me when I was five days old, and gave me a beautiful life. They were always helping others and giving more than they could afford. Because of my blessed experience, I wanted to give back to a child through adoption. After raising our two older children, my husband agreed, and we submitted our paperwork to adopt a little girl from China in 2005. My husband took an early retirement in 2006, accepting an offer made to long-time employees of his company. We took several short-term mission trips to Guatemala through our church. Little did we know that our third trip would be life-changing.
On November 8, 2008, we arrived in Guatemala to learn that our missionary friends had brought a baby down from a poor mountain village that same day. She was 6 months old and weighed only 9 pounds! Her mother had died just after childbirth, and she was suffering from malnutrition and lung problems. We took care of the baby that week, and of course we fell in love! That began our long journey to adopt Gabby, which is still in the Guatemalan courts today.
During many subsequent trips to Guatemala to pursue Gabby’s custody and adoption, we worked with missionary friends in the mountain village where Gabby was born. On each trip, we met one or two women in particular who were struggling with desperate life circumstances of poverty, abuse, abandonment and unplanned pregnancy. Providing help to these women and hearing their stories really touched our hearts in a personal way. So in 2010, we purchased land on which to build a crisis pregnancy center for single mothers and their children.
We began construction of the mission house in 2011, and also obtained 501(c)3 non-profit status from the IRS. Thus, Life of Promise Ministries was born. We used my husband’s lump-sum pension and a family inheritance to fund the construction and our living expenses. Since we incorporated independently, rather than under the umbrella of a church or organization, fundraising was an uphill battle. Slowly we gained partial support from our home church, a couple of other churches, and some individuals with hearts for mission work.
Then came 2012, and the adoption of our Mae Mae from China became a reality! We really never expected to adopt 2 children. After all, I was in my early 50’s and my husband was in his early 60’s. But God obviously had other plans. By the fall of 2012, we were able to have enough of the first floor finished so that we could move into the mission house. Before that, we were renting a bedroom in a student dormitory that our friends built in the same community.
Over the years we have used just about all of my husband’s pension and all our inheritance money to fund the mission. We put a second floor on the mission house, which is currently unfinished. We also built a playground with high security walls next to the mission house. We minister in a very poor village next to the Zacapa town garbage dump, and our plan is to bring children who live in the dump to our mission for play time, lunch and Bible lessons.
We work with the local church in the village of Conevisa, providing food, medications and other emergency relief services. We are also helping single mothers and widows start their own home businesses, to give them the dignity of providing for their children. It breaks our hearts to see many of these mothers working in the landfill, digging through trash to search for recyclables to sell. Our goal is to continue to lift many out of these dangerous and unsanitary conditions.
Our adopted daughters are now ages 7 and 9. Honestly, they have such big hearts for the poor, and we are blessed to see their love for the needy grow each day. Our adult daughter is a teacher/school administrator, and our adult son is finishing medical school. They use every bit of vacation time they have to join us and work at the mission when their schedules allow.
I could go on and on, but I will end with my husband’s favorite quote -- 'We are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others.' There’s no joy quite like getting outside of yourself and your own needs and giving a better quality of life to those who have no hope."
“God is able to do immeasurably more than we dare to ask or think according to His power
that is presently at work within us” --Ephesians 3:20
"My story of giving begins with a gift that was given to me. My parents adopted me when I was five days old, and gave me a beautiful life. They were always helping others and giving more than they could afford. Because of my blessed experience, I wanted to give back to a child through adoption. After raising our two older children, my husband agreed, and we submitted our paperwork to adopt a little girl from China in 2005. My husband took an early retirement in 2006, accepting an offer made to long-time employees of his company. We took several short-term mission trips to Guatemala through our church. Little did we know that our third trip would be life-changing.
On November 8, 2008, we arrived in Guatemala to learn that our missionary friends had brought a baby down from a poor mountain village that same day. She was 6 months old and weighed only 9 pounds! Her mother had died just after childbirth, and she was suffering from malnutrition and lung problems. We took care of the baby that week, and of course we fell in love! That began our long journey to adopt Gabby, which is still in the Guatemalan courts today.
During many subsequent trips to Guatemala to pursue Gabby’s custody and adoption, we worked with missionary friends in the mountain village where Gabby was born. On each trip, we met one or two women in particular who were struggling with desperate life circumstances of poverty, abuse, abandonment and unplanned pregnancy. Providing help to these women and hearing their stories really touched our hearts in a personal way. So in 2010, we purchased land on which to build a crisis pregnancy center for single mothers and their children.
We began construction of the mission house in 2011, and also obtained 501(c)3 non-profit status from the IRS. Thus, Life of Promise Ministries was born. We used my husband’s lump-sum pension and a family inheritance to fund the construction and our living expenses. Since we incorporated independently, rather than under the umbrella of a church or organization, fundraising was an uphill battle. Slowly we gained partial support from our home church, a couple of other churches, and some individuals with hearts for mission work.
Then came 2012, and the adoption of our Mae Mae from China became a reality! We really never expected to adopt 2 children. After all, I was in my early 50’s and my husband was in his early 60’s. But God obviously had other plans. By the fall of 2012, we were able to have enough of the first floor finished so that we could move into the mission house. Before that, we were renting a bedroom in a student dormitory that our friends built in the same community.
Over the years we have used just about all of my husband’s pension and all our inheritance money to fund the mission. We put a second floor on the mission house, which is currently unfinished. We also built a playground with high security walls next to the mission house. We minister in a very poor village next to the Zacapa town garbage dump, and our plan is to bring children who live in the dump to our mission for play time, lunch and Bible lessons.
We work with the local church in the village of Conevisa, providing food, medications and other emergency relief services. We are also helping single mothers and widows start their own home businesses, to give them the dignity of providing for their children. It breaks our hearts to see many of these mothers working in the landfill, digging through trash to search for recyclables to sell. Our goal is to continue to lift many out of these dangerous and unsanitary conditions.
Our adopted daughters are now ages 7 and 9. Honestly, they have such big hearts for the poor, and we are blessed to see their love for the needy grow each day. Our adult daughter is a teacher/school administrator, and our adult son is finishing medical school. They use every bit of vacation time they have to join us and work at the mission when their schedules allow.
I could go on and on, but I will end with my husband’s favorite quote -- 'We are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others.' There’s no joy quite like getting outside of yourself and your own needs and giving a better quality of life to those who have no hope."
“God is able to do immeasurably more than we dare to ask or think according to His power
that is presently at work within us” --Ephesians 3:20
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