A Mother s Heart Births A Worldwide Ministry

THE INSPIRING STORY OF CBN’S ORPHAN’S PROMISE

Imagine three orphaned girls in Ukraine. That’s how CBN’s Orphan’s Promise began.

The oldest child was willing to stay behind at the orphanage if it meant her sisters could be adopted. Hearing their story touched the heart of Orphan’s Promise Founder Terry Meeuwsen . “I had made a commitment that each time I would pray for my own children, I would pray for these three girls,” said Terry. “And as I was praying for them in the middle of the night, I felt like the Lord said, ‘What is the fast that I require of you except that you take care of widows and orphans?’ I was mystified. I thought, ‘But God, what do you mean by that?’”

Soon it became clear that Terry and her family were to adopt these girls.

One day, while leaving the orphanage with her daughters, Terry saw a heart-wrenching image. “I saw all these little noses pressed up against windows,” she recalled. “I knew that what they were saying was, ‘When is somebody coming for me?’”

Terry learned that less than one percent of these children would be adopted, and she was determined to help the ones left behind. “We started talking about doing School of Life,” she explained. The school would teach English classes, computer classes, and other life skills—and share the love of the heavenly Father. They started in Kiev, then went to Berdyansk, where Terry had adopted the girls, so their friends could receive help. That was the beginning of Orphan’s Promise.

Terry’s son, Drew, is amazed at the result of his sisters’ adoption. “It seemed a little crazy to me, to be honest, that we were bringing three more kids in a family of four kids already,” he shared. “But I don’t think any of us understood at the time what was happening.”

Drew eventually joined Orphan’s Promise, where he would become the director of marketing, something he referred to as coming home to the family business. Although he is now the Chief Operating Officer of CBN’s Operation Blessing , Orphan’s Promise remains close to his heart. “It’s a passion of Mom’s, and I’ve adopted it as my own passion as well.” Orphan’s Promise is operating more than 250 projects in 60-plus countries.

With the help of generous CBN partners, Orphan’s Promise is giving thousands of children here in America and around the world access to education and a safe, stable environment to grow and learn—children like

Chiva and Witness.

In Cambodia, Chiva spent his days fishing with his father or tending a garden so his family could have food. There wasn’t time for learning, and the public school was too far away for Chiva to attend. Orphan’s Promise heard about Chiva and helped his family through a local church partner and the School of Life program near his community. Now Chiva is receiving an education, and he has hope for the future.

Witness lives in Tanzania, where the devastating loss of her father left the family struggling to survive. Orphan’s Promise helped this precious girl by providing school supplies and a uniform so that she could go to class and begin learning. Because of compassionate partners like you, Orphan’s Promise also provided consistent, healthy meals for Witness and her family. “We don’t really know how things would have been if not for you,” said her mother.

Education, food, spiritual support, and more are changing the lives of at-risk children around the world. Caring CBN partners are committed to sharing God’s love with those in need, and Orphan’s Promise is just one way that lives are being transformed by compassion.