CARING FOR THE WHOLE WORLD
Douglas and Wanda LeRoy
Lillian Trasher grew up as a Roman Catholic in Georgia. Personal Bible reading and the influence of a friend led her to follow Christ during her teen years. She received her Spirit baptism while attending God’s Bible School and Missionary Training Home in Cincinnati, Ohio—a holiness school committed to evangelism and social outreach, including rescue work in the slums along the Ohio River. She later worked at Elhanan Orphanage in Marion, North Carolina. Engaged to marry a young minister, she felt the call to go to Africa as a missionary. He did not share her call, and their engagement was cancelled.
After ministering in a Church of God congregation in North Georgia, Lillian and her sister sailed for Asyut, Egypt, in 1910, with $100 in their pockets. Unsure of how she would minister in a strange country, one day a dying mother requested Lillian to care for her infant. A few months later a man asked her to care for his child. The Lillian Trasher Orphanage was born as the Church of God’s first international benevolence ministry. The Church of God did not yet have organized missionary support, however; and as needs of the orphanage increased, Trasher found greater support in the Assemblies of God. She soon became known as the “Nile Mother,” and her orphanage continues today with more than 400 children.
Although it would be some time before the Church of God had an organized international outreach, the Church has demonstrated a spirit of caring and obeying the Lord’s command to minister to the poor and needy throughout the world. Today, communities outside the United States support orphanages, medical clinics, hospitals, feeding programs, centers for widows, and disaster recovery efforts. This chapter reveals a few of the remarkable stories of our international benevolence ministries.
After ministering in a Church of God congregation in North Georgia, Lillian and her sister sailed for Asyut, Egypt, in 1910, with $100 in their pockets. Unsure of how she would minister in a strange country, one day a dying mother requested Lillian to care for her infant. A few months later a man asked her to care for his child. The Lillian Trasher Orphanage was born as the Church of God’s first international benevolence ministry. The Church of God did not yet have organized missionary support, however; and as needs of the orphanage increased, Trasher found greater support in the Assemblies of God. She soon became known as the “Nile Mother,” and her orphanage continues today with more than 400 children.
Although it would be some time before the Church of God had an organized international outreach, the Church has demonstrated a spirit of caring and obeying the Lord’s command to minister to the poor and needy throughout the world. Today, communities outside the United States support orphanages, medical clinics, hospitals, feeding programs, centers for widows, and disaster recovery efforts. This chapter reveals a few of the remarkable stories of our international benevolence ministries.
Africa
Initially unable to sufficiently sustain the Lillian Trasher Orphanage, today the Church of God ministers in 39 African countries and operates more than 50 benevolence ministries in 30 of these countries. Paul and Ellie van Zyl and S. E. and Joyce Arnold were among those missionaries who pioneered benevolence ministries on the continent.
Paul and Ellie van Zyl from South Africa moved to Swaziland in 1956 and founded the Eketweni Mission. Paul evangelized, planted churches, and built church buildings. Ellie delivered babies and started a clinic, which provided clothes and free preventive medicine. During their 30 plus years of ministry, the van Zyls built two clinics, saw more than 40,000 patients, and delivered 3,200 babies.
In 1966, S. E. and Joyce Arnold left England to serve as missionaries in Ghana, where they became burdened to minister to physical needs. Worms and malaria were very prevalent. Joyce returned to England and raised money to build a medical clinic, which opened with approval of the Ghanaian government. Today, the Church of God Hospital and the Church of God Health Center minister to hundreds of citizens.
The Arnolds were appointed to Nigeria in 1976. One evening God spoke to S. E. and instructed him to build a medical clinic for the people. Joyce, a trained nurse and midwife, directed the founding of the Uduak Abasi Clinic with monies raised by Nigerians and the New Testament Church of God Ladies Ministries in England. Later, Church of God International Women’s Ministries funded the addition of a maternity wing to the clinic.
Emma’s Kids
Rodger and Saundra Wikelund founded Emma’s Kids as a ministry to street kids in Mufulira, Zambia, in 1997. They desired to remove children from the streets, provide a place to educate, feed, and shelter them, and introduce them to the love of Jesus Christ. The ministry has reached thousands of children and now includes an orphanage, the Harvest Community School, a farm, an agricultural school, a poultry school, a church, and a missionary training center.
Collins was a street kid in 1998 and had osteomyelitis, a rare, but serious bone infection, in his lower leg from being stoned. He desired to receive an education, but there was no chance for him. He was picked up from the streets. Today, he is completing an aeronautical engineering degree at the University of Zambia. He has already received a diploma in aircraft mechanical engineering. Emma’s Kids has sponsored him through a donor. His leg remains a reminder of what God brought him from.
Ilanga, from the Congo, was left on the street by his family. Emma’s Kids found and helped him. Today, he is a board member with a great job in the Mopani Copper Mines. He is also a walking, talking Bible, ministering to people on the street and in the hospitals.
The Widow’s Community began in 2006 on Emma’s Kids farmland. Crops harvested on the land are called the “Widow’s Mite,” and are used for widows, orphans, and the poor. The Community is a place where widows look after orphans and become empowered for ministry as opportunities open to them.
Initially unable to sufficiently sustain the Lillian Trasher Orphanage, today the Church of God ministers in 39 African countries and operates more than 50 benevolence ministries in 30 of these countries. Paul and Ellie van Zyl and S. E. and Joyce Arnold were among those missionaries who pioneered benevolence ministries on the continent.
Paul and Ellie van Zyl from South Africa moved to Swaziland in 1956 and founded the Eketweni Mission. Paul evangelized, planted churches, and built church buildings. Ellie delivered babies and started a clinic, which provided clothes and free preventive medicine. During their 30 plus years of ministry, the van Zyls built two clinics, saw more than 40,000 patients, and delivered 3,200 babies.
In 1966, S. E. and Joyce Arnold left England to serve as missionaries in Ghana, where they became burdened to minister to physical needs. Worms and malaria were very prevalent. Joyce returned to England and raised money to build a medical clinic, which opened with approval of the Ghanaian government. Today, the Church of God Hospital and the Church of God Health Center minister to hundreds of citizens.
The Arnolds were appointed to Nigeria in 1976. One evening God spoke to S. E. and instructed him to build a medical clinic for the people. Joyce, a trained nurse and midwife, directed the founding of the Uduak Abasi Clinic with monies raised by Nigerians and the New Testament Church of God Ladies Ministries in England. Later, Church of God International Women’s Ministries funded the addition of a maternity wing to the clinic.
Emma’s Kids
Rodger and Saundra Wikelund founded Emma’s Kids as a ministry to street kids in Mufulira, Zambia, in 1997. They desired to remove children from the streets, provide a place to educate, feed, and shelter them, and introduce them to the love of Jesus Christ. The ministry has reached thousands of children and now includes an orphanage, the Harvest Community School, a farm, an agricultural school, a poultry school, a church, and a missionary training center.
Collins was a street kid in 1998 and had osteomyelitis, a rare, but serious bone infection, in his lower leg from being stoned. He desired to receive an education, but there was no chance for him. He was picked up from the streets. Today, he is completing an aeronautical engineering degree at the University of Zambia. He has already received a diploma in aircraft mechanical engineering. Emma’s Kids has sponsored him through a donor. His leg remains a reminder of what God brought him from.
Ilanga, from the Congo, was left on the street by his family. Emma’s Kids found and helped him. Today, he is a board member with a great job in the Mopani Copper Mines. He is also a walking, talking Bible, ministering to people on the street and in the hospitals.
The Widow’s Community began in 2006 on Emma’s Kids farmland. Crops harvested on the land are called the “Widow’s Mite,” and are used for widows, orphans, and the poor. The Community is a place where widows look after orphans and become empowered for ministry as opportunities open to them.
LIGHT IN THE WINDOW
Cambodian boat children being taught on Tonle Sap Lake in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
“Inspiring hope … empowering potential.” This slogan identifying the goal of People for Care and Learning (PCL) spotlights their care for children, widows, and the impoverished.
In 2000, entrepreneur Bob Pace envisioned a humanitarian, care and learning organization to assist the poor in Third World countries. A group of men—Bob Pace, Hugh Carver, Bill Tolia, Ken Pilgrim, Lovell Cary, Roland Vaughan, and Douglas LeRoy—met to pursue the dream and to develop a ministry in Cambodia. The organization would work under the umbrella of World Missions but be registered as a non-governmental organization (NGO) to make it possible to enter Cambodia and do humanitarian work. PCL purposed to provide homes for children, deliver medical services, offer job opportunities, allocate resources for human development, create better living conditions, and advance education. Their goal was to use every means possible to lift people out of poverty. Today, the ministry exists in Cambodia, Myanmar, Bhutan, Albania, and Sri Lanka.
PCL constructed a large boat to serve as a floating medical clinic on the Tonle Sap Lake in Siem Reap and began its operation in 2007. They also developed a business/vocational center in downtown Siem Reap. A four-story center houses a coffee and internet cafe, classrooms, and Khmer business training.
The orphanage is blessed to have widows as staff members. They earn their living at other jobs, while work at the orphanage gives them a sense of belonging. Soth Mao, a widow, declared: “I lost my husband, but now I am happy. I live in a place with a big family.” The orphans receive vocational training such as air conditioning repair, so that they can support themselves as adults.
A leadership school prepares leaders for Cambodia. PCL operates the Takam Integrated Farm, which includes pigs, chickens, a fishery, soy plants, and numerous fruit trees. Growing mushrooms provides employment for women in the community.
Under the direction of Fred Garmon, PCL built the city of Andong to provide housing for the poor. It includes roads, sidewalks, soccer fields, a market, playgrounds, a medical center, a school, an amphitheater, a music building, and a church. The city’s 1,000 homes have electricity and water.
Travis Johnson now leads this expanding ministry along with Buy a Tree. Change a Life., which is a growing funding source for children’s benevolence ministries.
In 2000, entrepreneur Bob Pace envisioned a humanitarian, care and learning organization to assist the poor in Third World countries. A group of men—Bob Pace, Hugh Carver, Bill Tolia, Ken Pilgrim, Lovell Cary, Roland Vaughan, and Douglas LeRoy—met to pursue the dream and to develop a ministry in Cambodia. The organization would work under the umbrella of World Missions but be registered as a non-governmental organization (NGO) to make it possible to enter Cambodia and do humanitarian work. PCL purposed to provide homes for children, deliver medical services, offer job opportunities, allocate resources for human development, create better living conditions, and advance education. Their goal was to use every means possible to lift people out of poverty. Today, the ministry exists in Cambodia, Myanmar, Bhutan, Albania, and Sri Lanka.
PCL constructed a large boat to serve as a floating medical clinic on the Tonle Sap Lake in Siem Reap and began its operation in 2007. They also developed a business/vocational center in downtown Siem Reap. A four-story center houses a coffee and internet cafe, classrooms, and Khmer business training.
The orphanage is blessed to have widows as staff members. They earn their living at other jobs, while work at the orphanage gives them a sense of belonging. Soth Mao, a widow, declared: “I lost my husband, but now I am happy. I live in a place with a big family.” The orphans receive vocational training such as air conditioning repair, so that they can support themselves as adults.
A leadership school prepares leaders for Cambodia. PCL operates the Takam Integrated Farm, which includes pigs, chickens, a fishery, soy plants, and numerous fruit trees. Growing mushrooms provides employment for women in the community.
Under the direction of Fred Garmon, PCL built the city of Andong to provide housing for the poor. It includes roads, sidewalks, soccer fields, a market, playgrounds, a medical center, a school, an amphitheater, a music building, and a church. The city’s 1,000 homes have electricity and water.
Travis Johnson now leads this expanding ministry along with Buy a Tree. Change a Life., which is a growing funding source for children’s benevolence ministries.
Asia
The Church of God ministers in 26 Asian countries. Thirteen of these nations have benevolence ministries.
Gereja Bethel, the Church of God in Indonesia, has a wholistic approach to ministry for the total individual. In 1986, they established the Department of Community Development to assist church members in learning a skill, such as healthcare, agriculture, husbandry, and carpentry. Orphanages assist children in need. Congregations are involved in ministry to the elderly, pastors, and widows, and the development of human resource projects. Poppi’s Kitchen feeds hundreds of children each day and annually provides Christmas for needy children. A Conference on Care was conducted in 2011 for more than 7,000 delegates to train for benevolence ministries.
Lighthouse Children’s Outreach Program in Manila, Philippines, serves 2,000 needy children. Many of these are from a large dump. Samaritan’s Place, founded by Marc and Marilen Morris, is building a hope and a future for orphaned, abandoned, and neglected children. It also has a ministry of adopting children to loving homes.
Extending a Gentle Hand
Missionaries Denie and Dennis Heppner saw a need to help the urban poor of Manila, Philippines. In August 1990, the sounds of a newborn baby girl’s cries echoed through their house as they started a birthing clinic in the lower level of their home. Other births followed as mothers came to the Heppners because they knew they would receive love and care. In her living room, Denie shared the story of Jesus with mothers as she taught them about good nutrition, natural childbirth, and breastfeeding. Their ministry evolved into the non-profit organization Gentle Hands, Inc. The free services of Gentle Hands have blessed thousands who have been victims of poverty and abuse.
In 2000, the Heppners’ oldest daughter, Charity, and her husband, Evan Graff, expanded the ministry to reach street boys. Teaching them in the garage of their home and under bridges where the poor live, the Graffs tutor ten- and eleven-year-olds to read and write in their own language.
Leading Gentle Hands as a child and youth welfare agency, they are rescuing children and youth on the front lines of poverty and abuse. They take children with medical needs and at-risk children, providing them with love, food, education, medical service, and the love of Christ. They have a paid and volunteer staff of more than 30 who minister to more than 50 babies and children in various stages of rehabilitation, legal paperwork, adoption, and reunification.
The Church of God ministers in 26 Asian countries. Thirteen of these nations have benevolence ministries.
Gereja Bethel, the Church of God in Indonesia, has a wholistic approach to ministry for the total individual. In 1986, they established the Department of Community Development to assist church members in learning a skill, such as healthcare, agriculture, husbandry, and carpentry. Orphanages assist children in need. Congregations are involved in ministry to the elderly, pastors, and widows, and the development of human resource projects. Poppi’s Kitchen feeds hundreds of children each day and annually provides Christmas for needy children. A Conference on Care was conducted in 2011 for more than 7,000 delegates to train for benevolence ministries.
Lighthouse Children’s Outreach Program in Manila, Philippines, serves 2,000 needy children. Many of these are from a large dump. Samaritan’s Place, founded by Marc and Marilen Morris, is building a hope and a future for orphaned, abandoned, and neglected children. It also has a ministry of adopting children to loving homes.
Extending a Gentle Hand
Missionaries Denie and Dennis Heppner saw a need to help the urban poor of Manila, Philippines. In August 1990, the sounds of a newborn baby girl’s cries echoed through their house as they started a birthing clinic in the lower level of their home. Other births followed as mothers came to the Heppners because they knew they would receive love and care. In her living room, Denie shared the story of Jesus with mothers as she taught them about good nutrition, natural childbirth, and breastfeeding. Their ministry evolved into the non-profit organization Gentle Hands, Inc. The free services of Gentle Hands have blessed thousands who have been victims of poverty and abuse.
In 2000, the Heppners’ oldest daughter, Charity, and her husband, Evan Graff, expanded the ministry to reach street boys. Teaching them in the garage of their home and under bridges where the poor live, the Graffs tutor ten- and eleven-year-olds to read and write in their own language.
Leading Gentle Hands as a child and youth welfare agency, they are rescuing children and youth on the front lines of poverty and abuse. They take children with medical needs and at-risk children, providing them with love, food, education, medical service, and the love of Christ. They have a paid and volunteer staff of more than 30 who minister to more than 50 babies and children in various stages of rehabilitation, legal paperwork, adoption, and reunification.
Caribbean
The Church of God has active benevolence ministries in 12 of the 22 nations in the Caribbean. The first was a school and orphanage opened in Haiti in 1938. The orphanage was located in the Petionville home of Dorris Burke, a Jamaican, and served 32 children. After operating several years, the home closed and pastors adopted the children. Today, other orphanages are in operation, plus a school of nursing, feeding programs, and medical clinics.
Through the years, hurricanes have caused major devastation in Haiti. The 2010 earthquake destroyed the island’s infrastructure and created an economic problem for the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. During these disasters, the Church of God mission compound served as a place of refuge for Haitians to find food, shelter, and medical assistance.
The Yadel Home for Girls was established in St. Catherine, Jamaica, in 2001, for girls 10 to 18 years of age. The 21 girls residing there have become believers in Christ. The Home is an outreach of the Women’s Ministries of the New Testament Church of God.
Operation Smile Home for Children serves orphan children in Trinidad. Bless the Children Home in Guyana was begun by Surujnauth and Sheila Surujpaul in 2005. It is a place where children can find safety and be fed, clothed, educated, and introduced to Christ. An adoption program is also available.
The Church of God has active benevolence ministries in 12 of the 22 nations in the Caribbean. The first was a school and orphanage opened in Haiti in 1938. The orphanage was located in the Petionville home of Dorris Burke, a Jamaican, and served 32 children. After operating several years, the home closed and pastors adopted the children. Today, other orphanages are in operation, plus a school of nursing, feeding programs, and medical clinics.
Through the years, hurricanes have caused major devastation in Haiti. The 2010 earthquake destroyed the island’s infrastructure and created an economic problem for the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. During these disasters, the Church of God mission compound served as a place of refuge for Haitians to find food, shelter, and medical assistance.
The Yadel Home for Girls was established in St. Catherine, Jamaica, in 2001, for girls 10 to 18 years of age. The 21 girls residing there have become believers in Christ. The Home is an outreach of the Women’s Ministries of the New Testament Church of God.
Operation Smile Home for Children serves orphan children in Trinidad. Bless the Children Home in Guyana was begun by Surujnauth and Sheila Surujpaul in 2005. It is a place where children can find safety and be fed, clothed, educated, and introduced to Christ. An adoption program is also available.
REACHING THE ISLAMIC WORLD
Dr. Luis Solis leads The Good Samaritan Clinic in Ceuta, Spain.
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My work was intense. Appointments at my Argentina medical clinic were numerous. Sick people demanded my days and nights. My family was suffering from a missing, working father. The tense situation in the family called us to reconsider our priorities. The Lord started a work in our family that filled us with awe.
We had practiced medicine for seven years and had plans to inaugurate a new medical center. Carmen and I had two children--Gustavo and Romina (Jorge was born later). Through the mission emphasis of our pastor, we understood that God was calling us to reach the nations of the world, particularly the Islamic world. One of my patients shared a dream of heaven and hell that provoked me to think about eternal values. After discussion with church leaders, we renounced our personal, family, and medical aspirations and started our journey. On June 16, 1990, we arrived in Ceuta, Spain, the gateway to North Africa. We were welcomed by Pastor Alfonso Medina and started working with the Red Cross Hospital. In May 1991, I was hired as a part of the doctor staff in the intensive care unit of the hospital. This allowed me to interact with the highest military and civil authorities in the city. |
In 1992, we bought an old boarding house with funds from the 1991–92 YWEA Project. The property had three floors; the sublevel had room for Sunday school classes, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The first floor became the church sanctuary. The second floor had a separate entrance and became the medical clinic. A Men and Women of Action team from Yakima, Washington, assisted with the repairs.
In September 1993, we received our first patient, a six-year-old girl. Her mother brought her to the clinic because she had a persistent intermittent fever. After multiple doctor visits she had received no healing. On the first day, without medication, the fever disappeared. This spontaneous healing showed that God was with us.
We named our medical foundation The Good Samaritan, after the parable in Luke 10. In 1995, the foundation was officially recognized by the Spanish government Social Matters Department. The door was opened for us to reach other countries with medical and social ministries. What a journey! Every day we are seeing lives changed.
—Luis Solis
In September 1993, we received our first patient, a six-year-old girl. Her mother brought her to the clinic because she had a persistent intermittent fever. After multiple doctor visits she had received no healing. On the first day, without medication, the fever disappeared. This spontaneous healing showed that God was with us.
We named our medical foundation The Good Samaritan, after the parable in Luke 10. In 1995, the foundation was officially recognized by the Spanish government Social Matters Department. The door was opened for us to reach other countries with medical and social ministries. What a journey! Every day we are seeing lives changed.
—Luis Solis
Europe and Middle East
The Church of God ministers in 52 European and Middle East countries. Twenty of these nations have benevolence ministries reaching needy people.
Adolf Zinser initiated Samaritan Ministries as a channel for the churches in Germany to assist Eastern Europe. Thomas Strenkert currently directs the ministry, and more than 100 volunteers collect food, clothing, fireplace fuel, and supplies from throughout Germany. These items are transported to Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Northern Iraq for distribution.
Samaritan House and Day Care Center is an outreach ministry that offers food, clothing, shelter, counseling, and education to the street children in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. More than 80 children have been rescued from the streets.
Bethany House in Calarasi, Romania, is a home where teenage, orphaned girls receive healing for their emotional scars and learn a trade. A farm provides food and an opportunity for the girls to learn farming and canning. Other Romanian ministries include the Maranatha Home in Hunedoara, the Deborah Home in Neudorf, and the Tabitha Home in Arad. These homes strive to raise children in a family-style atmosphere. In 2010, a combination medical clinic/benevolence outreach/chaplaincy training center was built in Oradea.
Many other benevolence ministries in Europe and the Middle East could be described at length. Pastor Ferdinand Karel in Poland began an alcoholic rehabilitation ministry to transform the lives of men addicted to alcohol. Dr. Luis Solis went to Spain in 1990 as a medical missionary and founded the Good Samaritan Medical Foundation in 1995. The foundation provides medical care and spiritual help to thousands, particularly to Moroccans. Women in Italy, Spain, and Portugal reached across the world to minister to the people of Islas Marias Federal Prison off the coast of Mexico—home to hundreds of prisoners and their families. There they planted a church and provided food, clothing, medical supplies, as well as funds.
The Church of God ministers in 52 European and Middle East countries. Twenty of these nations have benevolence ministries reaching needy people.
Adolf Zinser initiated Samaritan Ministries as a channel for the churches in Germany to assist Eastern Europe. Thomas Strenkert currently directs the ministry, and more than 100 volunteers collect food, clothing, fireplace fuel, and supplies from throughout Germany. These items are transported to Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Northern Iraq for distribution.
Samaritan House and Day Care Center is an outreach ministry that offers food, clothing, shelter, counseling, and education to the street children in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. More than 80 children have been rescued from the streets.
Bethany House in Calarasi, Romania, is a home where teenage, orphaned girls receive healing for their emotional scars and learn a trade. A farm provides food and an opportunity for the girls to learn farming and canning. Other Romanian ministries include the Maranatha Home in Hunedoara, the Deborah Home in Neudorf, and the Tabitha Home in Arad. These homes strive to raise children in a family-style atmosphere. In 2010, a combination medical clinic/benevolence outreach/chaplaincy training center was built in Oradea.
Many other benevolence ministries in Europe and the Middle East could be described at length. Pastor Ferdinand Karel in Poland began an alcoholic rehabilitation ministry to transform the lives of men addicted to alcohol. Dr. Luis Solis went to Spain in 1990 as a medical missionary and founded the Good Samaritan Medical Foundation in 1995. The foundation provides medical care and spiritual help to thousands, particularly to Moroccans. Women in Italy, Spain, and Portugal reached across the world to minister to the people of Islas Marias Federal Prison off the coast of Mexico—home to hundreds of prisoners and their families. There they planted a church and provided food, clothing, medical supplies, as well as funds.
THE UKRAINE/RUSSIA CONFLICT
With the assistance of Church of God members and friends throughout Europe, Pilgrim Republic Safe-house for Children was relocated from Ukraine to Germany. SOW’s Field Coordinator Coleman Baily (right front) and orphanage children and staff express their joy near European Theological Seminary.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a military invasion into Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people and displacing over 12 million citizens. Three Church of God orphanages have been evacuated. The Pilgrim Orphanage in Mariupol moved to Germany; the Pearl Orphanage in Alexandria went to Lithuania; the Sails Orphanage in Slavyansk transferred to Western Ukraine. Serving Orphans Worldwide, a parachurch group in partnership with the Church of God, assisted in their relocation plus the resettlement of two other orphanages: Native Home to Spain and Father’s House to Germany. Samaritan Ministries, a Church of God relief agency in Germany, has sent numerous containers of supplies to Ukraine along with Operation Compassion.
NO FUNDS AVAILABLE
Casa Shalom cares for needy and abandoned children near Guatemala City.
While missionaries Rick and Jan Waldrop were on furlough in 1986, Rick taught at Lee College and took a group of students to Guatemala and Honduras. The group stopped at a large, famous Catholic shrine located on the border of Guatemala and Honduras where countless devotees took a yearly pilgrimage to pay homage. As the students were leaving the shrine, Rick noticed three or four children huddled together in the ascending stairway, surrounded by curious onlookers. He inquired about the situation and learned that the children had been abandoned. God birthed in his heart a desire to build an orphanage. After the trip, Rick discussed the idea with World Missions Director J. Herbert Walker. Walker was supportive but told Rick that no money was available. Rick asked for and received permission to raise funds and establish an orphanage. The Waldrops spread the word and began taking orphans into their home in Guatemala. They located a farm 30 miles outside of Guatemala City and negotiated with the owner to accept rent payment as the down payment. They built an orphanage and named it Casa Shalom (House of Peace). Casa Shalom was started with three children. |
Latin America
Latin America is a fertile field for the Church of God where the Church ministers in 18 countries. Each of these nations conducts a variety of benevolence ministries representing our care for the whole person. In Formosa, Argentina, the Church of God operates a center for victims of drug abuse. The purpose of the center is to rehabilitate and restore people to a meaningful life. The Mar de Plata Feeding Center was started in 1997 by a local church to feed poor families and children. Every Saturday they feed more than 100 and distribute clothing and food items along with a hot meal. The House of Hope Orphanage in Bolivia was begun in 2004 in answer to ten years of prayer by a Bolivian pastor. The government required the orphanage to accept children who were living with their parents in the La Palmasola prison, and this opened the door for ministry to their parents. Orphanages are needed throughout Latin America. Brazil has 5.7 million orphans, and half of the street children die before 18 years of age. Girls as young as 11 are involved in prostitution, and drug-running for profit begins at age 8. The Brazilian church operates five orphanages. Safe Haven Home opened in Cota, Colombia, in 2002, under the direction of Rosalba Perez and cares for girls rescued out of sex trafficking and abusive or negligent homes. Casa de Amor Children’s Home located in San Pablo, El Salvador, began in 2001 to care for orphans left from an earthquake. It offers a loving, caring, spiritual environment to children from abused homes. The Morgan Bell Center is an orphanage for children in Laguarija, Venezuela. Rick and Jan Waldrop founded Casa Shalom to care for needy and abandoned children in Guatemala. Joshua and Jessica Hanson now direct the home which ministers to 120 children. The national church in Guatemala continues to develop ministries such as Hearts for the Children Home to meet the needs of the unfortunate. There are six medical clinics, water purification programs, a wheelchair ministry, and a trade school. A chaplain’s program and a social action committee give support to those affected by disasters. For almost 20 years, Lee University has sent medical teams to provide hands-on medical care to deprived persons in underprivileged areas. |
Ecuador is among the least developed countries in the world. Almost half of the population lives in poverty. The church offers a variety of ministries to assist children in need. Mi Tambo Orphanage in Ambato ministers to orphans whose parents are unknown or unable to care for them. In Quito, the Pan de Vida project serves more than 300 children who are helped through academic programs, given nutritious food, medical attention, counseling, workshops, and spiritual support. In other parts of the country, the church operates feeding centers and child support programs. Dan and Teresa Susong started FACES (Fighting Against Child Employment Services) in 2003. This social project works to eradicate child labor and offers nutrition, health, and education programs to the participants.
In 1980, the church in Honduras was active in ministering to refugees from Nicaragua and operated a hospital in Rus Rus. Missionary aviators Jack Dyer and Ken Anderson assisted thousands in need. Several medical doctors have devoted their lives to ministering medically and spiritually, and medical clinics have been built for ministry to the needy. Caring Pastor’s Children’s Home, Hogar Esperanza, Hope House, and Carmen Christian Center are some of the orphanages ministering to hundreds of needy children.
In 1980, the church in Honduras was active in ministering to refugees from Nicaragua and operated a hospital in Rus Rus. Missionary aviators Jack Dyer and Ken Anderson assisted thousands in need. Several medical doctors have devoted their lives to ministering medically and spiritually, and medical clinics have been built for ministry to the needy. Caring Pastor’s Children’s Home, Hogar Esperanza, Hope House, and Carmen Christian Center are some of the orphanages ministering to hundreds of needy children.
Casa Hogar Alfa Y Omega in Poza Rica, Mexico, serves 52 abused children in residential care. The children are from critical moral and emotional isolation, physical abuse, and drugs. STEP Teams led by Tony Lane contributed greatly to this ministry during the past 20 years. New Life House for Children in Nogales houses 43 children and provides total care. Maria Rivera Atkinson Orphanage operates in Cajene. The Center for Women and Family serves people in Hermosillo, assisting families in recovering self-esteem and autonomy with a life free of violence. Most of the children have been victims of broken families because of abuse.
Much of the population of Nicaragua lives in impoverished conditions with little medical care. The Center of Hope Medical Clinic in Loma Linda provides health care for several communities. The onsite pharmacy provides medications at a low cost. Other medical clinics provide help to children with limited resources. These include Chosen People Ministry, Christ is the Answer Ministry, Hosanna Ministry, Jesus Bless the Children Ministry, and Fountain in the Desert Ministry. Tearing Down Fortresses, Celestial Ministry, and Forming Prophets for Ministry each serve more than 200 children monthly. Altogether 27 ministries in Nicaragua serve poor or orphaned children. Casa Hogar Canaan in Panama has developed an agricultural program to assist the ministry in becoming self-sufficient. They farm their own land and raise chickens. They use the harvest to provide food for the children, and they sell other crops to generate a profit for the support of the home. Several Panamanian churches operate food distribution programs and counseling services to help the needy, particularly the abused. Casa de Misericordia in Paraguay empowers the survivors of domestic violence to reclaim their lives by providing counseling, a safety plan, and basic necessities. The Peruvian population faces a daily challenge of survival because of wars, natural disasters, and poverty. Churches have opened feeding centers for abandoned children and for those whose parents are unable to provide one hot meal a day. The La Ensenada Ministry in Lima has a daycare, school, feeding station, and widows’ ministry for the poor. They also run a small business where older teens and adults receive training for a profession, with the profits benefitting the children’s feeding program. The Melo Children’s Feeding Center in Uruguay is making a difference in the lives of thousands of street kids who are exposed to violence, hunger, and crime. Centro de la Mujer is a center dedicated to serving the needs of women, particularly those who have been abused. |
THE DUMP AND THE DANGER
Hundreds of small shacks litter the edge of the dump in Asunción, Paraguay. Only the poorest of the poor live in the smelly, ugly, depressive place where the average temperature is 95° F in the shade. The children live a life of neglect and desperation. Often, their mothers are unwed teenagers living with alcoholic or drug-addicted men. They suffer from emotional and physical abuse. There is a high infant mortality rate and the noxious gases cause illness. The children get parasites from walking barefoot in sewage. The dump is a hideout for criminals and a place of assaults, sexual attacks, and homicides.
In 1995, missionary Rhonda Stockard, Marcos Vergara, and a group of teenagers began a “Kids Club” for the children in the dump. They evangelized the children with mime, drama, clowns, visuals, Bible stories, and activities. The ministry to children opened the door to minister to the mothers. After three years of this ministry, God opened the door for a daycare center, a school, and a feeding program. This led to an opportunity for medical care and providing clothing. Rhonda Stockard teaches children who live on the edge of the dump in Asunción, Paraguay.
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World Missions Director Gene D. Rice partnered with Benevolence Director John D. Nichols and the Lazarus Foundation to inspire a $5.2 million offering to care for children of the world.
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A MIRACLE IN THE MAKING
For many years missionaries and national churches had established orphanages and raised funds for their support. In 1998, World Missions Director Gene D. Rice and Benevolence Director John D. Nichols saw a need to raise funds for orphanage capital improvements and expansions. They realized the need for an international outreach to assist the homeless and destitute around the world. They contacted local churches, state/regional offices, and potential donors, and asked them to bring an offering to the 2000 General Assembly World Missions Service in St. Louis, Missouri. That night $2.7 million was given, the largest General Assembly offering in history. The Lazarus Foundation, a private charity managed by the John Gregory family of Bristol, Tennessee, added a gift of $2.5 million. The $5.2 million was distributed among 60 orphanages in 27 countries and 9 states in the USA, primarily for capital projects.
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With the unprecedented global economic crisis in 2008, contributions to support ongoing operational costs of orphanages declined while the number of orphans worldwide increased to 147 million. In early 2010, Dr. John Gregory began exploring the possibility of reviving the name “Children of the World,” which had been used at the 2000 General Assembly. He established a 501(c)(3) organization to assist 15 covenant orphanages. Later, the ministry was renamed—Serving Orphans Worldwide (SOW). SOW currently partners with 60 orphanages to enable them to do their ministry. Many of these are part of the 130 orphanages supported by Church of God ministries. |
Orphanages in Africa
Peter Thomas, Field Director Kibera Kids Center – Kenya Turkana Orphanage – Kenya Ethiopia Center – Ethiopia Emma’s Kids – Zambia Phebe Grey Memorial Orphanage – Liberia Rwanda Feeding Station – Rwanda Burundi Orphanage – Burundi Catherine’s Treasures – Uganda Seeta Orphanage – Uganda Pas Paul - Kenya Jabez Missions – Kenya Hanover Park – South Africa Durban Children’s Home – South Africa Agape Home – South Africa Children’s Home – Madagascar Malvern Children’s Home – Mauritius Orphanages in Asia/Pacific
Andrew Binda, Field Director Children’s Home – Pakistan Do Chon Orphanage – Korea Lighthouse Children – Philippines Samaritan Place – Philippines Gentle Hands – Philippines Children’s Home – India Open Arms Orphanage – India Mt. Carmel Children’s Home – India Son Trust Orphanage – India Children for Christ Orphanage – India Destiny Village – India El Shaddai Children’s Home – India Children for Christ Orphanage – Myanmar House of Hope Orphanage – Thailand Bob and Clara Pace Orphanage – Cambodia Hope Orphanage – Cambodia Love of Emmanuel Orphanage – Indonesia City of Hope – Sri Lanka Center of Hope – Vietnam Himalayan Home for Children – Nepal |
Orphanages in Caribbean
Ishmael Charles, Field Director Operation Smile Children’s Home – Trinidad Dufaily Orphanage – Haiti Destiny Village – Haiti Angels-Broken Wings Orphanage – Haiti Good Samaritan House – Jamaica Yadel Home for Children – Jamaica Bless the Children Home – Guyana Orphanages in Europe & Middle East
Stephen Darnell, Field Director Samaritan House – Bulgaria Tabitha Children’s Home – Romania Maranatha Home – Romania Bread of Life Orphanage – Romania Bethany House – Romania Nova Nakhovka Orphanage – Romania Deborah Home for Children – Romania Nadeshda Home for Children – Ukraine Perlinka Home for Children – Ukraine Fountain Home for Children – Ukraine Sail of Hope Home – Ukraine Pilgrim’s Republic Home for Children – Ukraine |
Orphanages in Latin America
Ángel Marcial, Field Director Mar de Plata Home – Argentina Santorem Orphanage – Brazil City of Refuge – Brazil Rebecca Jenkins Home – Brazil City of Hope – Brazil Cuiba Children’s Center – Brazil Haven of Hope – Bolivia Association Jireh – Colombia Safe House – Colombia New Life Orphanage – Chile Casa de Armor – El Salvador Chinameca Center – El Salvador FACES – Ecuador Mi Tambo Orphanage – Ecuador Ninos con Distino – Ecuador Casa Shalom – Guatemala Hearts for the Children – Guatemala Caring Pastors Children’s Home – Honduras Hogar Esperanza – Honduras Hope House – Honduras Carmen Christian Center – Honduras New Life Children’s Home – Mexico Obregon Orphanage – Mexico Alpha and Omega Home – Mexico Hogar Agape – Nicaragua Casa Hogar Canaan – Panama Children of the Dump – Paraguay La Ensenada Orphanage – Peru Ancon Home – Peru Melo Children’s Center – Uruguay |
CUIDADORES DEL MUNDO
La Iglesia de Dios tiene ministerios de benevolencia en la mitad de las 185 naciones en las que ministramos. Estos incluyen ministerios en treinta naciones africanas, trece asiáticas, doce caribeñas, veinte europeas y Oriente Medio y dieciocho en Latinoamérica. Este capítulo cuenta algunas de estas historias notables e internacionales.
Lillian Trasher comenzó nuestro primer ministerio de benevolencia cuando en el 1911 estableció el Orfanato Lillian Trasher en Asyut, Egipto. Muchos de los ministerios de benevolencia en el África incluyen clínicas médicas, hogares de niños y comedores. La iglesia Gereja Bethel Indonesia tiene un ministerio holístico. En el 1986, estableció el Departamento de Desarrollo Comunitario para impartir talleres de atención médica, agricultura, ganadería y carpintería; el Comedor de Poppi alimenta a cientos de niños cada día. En Camboya, la agencia People for Care and Learning sostiene un hogar de niños, una clínica médica, un huerto, una piscifactoría y un centro comercial y vocacional. La Iglesia de Dios Nuevo Testamento, a través de su ministerio de mujeres, sostiene el Hogar Yadel para Niñas en St. Catherine, Jamaica. Alemania socorre a personas en Europa del Este a través de los Ministerios Samaritanos. La iglesia en Formosa, Argentina, opera un centro de rehabilitación para adictos a las drogas.
Lillian Trasher comenzó nuestro primer ministerio de benevolencia cuando en el 1911 estableció el Orfanato Lillian Trasher en Asyut, Egipto. Muchos de los ministerios de benevolencia en el África incluyen clínicas médicas, hogares de niños y comedores. La iglesia Gereja Bethel Indonesia tiene un ministerio holístico. En el 1986, estableció el Departamento de Desarrollo Comunitario para impartir talleres de atención médica, agricultura, ganadería y carpintería; el Comedor de Poppi alimenta a cientos de niños cada día. En Camboya, la agencia People for Care and Learning sostiene un hogar de niños, una clínica médica, un huerto, una piscifactoría y un centro comercial y vocacional. La Iglesia de Dios Nuevo Testamento, a través de su ministerio de mujeres, sostiene el Hogar Yadel para Niñas en St. Catherine, Jamaica. Alemania socorre a personas en Europa del Este a través de los Ministerios Samaritanos. La iglesia en Formosa, Argentina, opera un centro de rehabilitación para adictos a las drogas.
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Douglas LeRoy, D.Min., and Wanda LeRoy are retired missionaries who continue to research and write.