Safely Home Children's Ministries

Safely Home Children's Ministries Safely Home Children's Ministries is an orphanage assistance ministry with a focus on helping childr

Last night was the orphanage anniversary. The whole church came and had their Sunday night service at the orphanage, fol...
09/26/2022

Last night was the orphanage anniversary. The whole church came and had their Sunday night service at the orphanage, followed by a meal of chicken and rice, cake and ice cream. Pastor José Guerra led the service, and Pastor Rafael Rodriguez was the guest speaker.

CALL TO ACTION! Camera needed... Bluebird came to the orphanage when she was very small. My mom first met her in 2012. ...
02/07/2022

CALL TO ACTION! Camera needed... Bluebird came to the orphanage when she was very small. My mom first met her in 2012. My mom remembers her as a really hyper preschooler. She used to call the other little kids together and they would hold hands to form a human chain. Then they would run screeching up and down the hall.
When I met Bluebird, she was nine years old. She had really calmed down a lot, and she had a sweet, fun-loving personality. She loved to pose for photos. I have a really cute photo of her posing with her toy guitar. In another photo she had my mom sit on the swing in the backyard and stood next to her. Another time we went to a park, and Bluebird climbed up on a life-sized plastic donkey so I could shoot her picture.
Bluebird used to love to take photos too. She took some photos of me that were really outstanding even as a nine-year-old girl. She had a good eye for centering the people and capturing their best smile. Her own sweet smiles made people relax and smile back at her.
Bluebird did well in school, but she had a terror of public speaking that went way beyond normal stage fright. She must have had a bad experience in public school. When we had the school at the orphanage, her fear of public speaking didn’t go away even though we were patient and gentle with her. If she had to stand up in front of the class, she would become temporarily mute, and she couldn’t speak for at least a half hour. My mom and I realized that all orphans living in an orphanage have special needs. Even if they never experienced abuse, the trauma of being separated from their natural parents and living in an orphanage creates special needs. Any other time I would describe Bluebird as being outgoing and cheerful.
The church secretary in Panama used to talk about her desire to adopt Bluebird, but the legal paperwork just made it too difficult. Perhaps Bluebird was not legally eligible to be adopted. When Bluebird was a young teenager, the government social workers placed her back with her mother. That didn’t last very long. It wasn’t a good situation, and Bluebird actually ran back to the orphanage. She preferred living at the orphanage.
Now Bluebird is 16. She is a beautiful, God-fearing young lady. She participates in all the church activities and does well in school too. I’ve been thinking it’s time to start a college fund for her, and then I got an inspiration…
Mr. Carl gave a talk about the benefits of being self-employed. He told the kids that he was self-employed most of his life. He said it’s better to start the type of business where you go and find your clients rather than the clients finding you. Then Bluebird said, “I still have the camera you gave me, but I lost the battery.” I had given her a broken camera to play with three years earlier because that was all I could afford, and she was still hoping I could fix it. That’s when I got my inspiration. What if I could get one of my supporters to buy her a really nice camera? Bluebird already has some natural skill with photography. She would have a good source of clients at her church, which is a moderately large church where there are weddings and baby showers every year. I could help her figure out what to charge. I could help her open a bank account and make an agreement with the house mothers how much she can spend and how much she needs to save. If she does really well, she might want to keep doing it as a career.

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST! This young lady is the first person who befriended me the first time I ever set foot in the orph...
01/31/2022

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST! This young lady is the first person who befriended me the first time I ever set foot in the orphanage. I’m giving her the fictional name of Mulan because her brave spirit and bright personality remind me of the Chinese girl who went to the battle to spare her aged father. Mulan came to the orphanage when she was very small. The orphanage may be the only home she remembers, and her church family is the only family she has ever known. Even though life was difficult at the orphanage at times, there were many people who loved her, and no one loved her more than me and my mom. Mulan was six years old when I went to work at the orphanage full time. Mulan “adopted” me and claimed me as “her” Wendy. She followed me like my shadow. In a short time, I found myself asking one of the other missionary ladies what she knew about adoption in Panama, and what would she think of me adopting Mulan. She said, “You can expect to be heart-broken. I mean, you can expect to be disappointed. First, you have to apply for residency. Then you have to get on a waiting list to adopt a child. The government children’s department will pick out who they think you should adopt. You don’t get to pick. Even if they did let you pick, Mulan might not be eligible for adoption.” Later I found out Mulan was not eligible for adoption, so it was a moot point. Mulan loved to lead me around by the hand and show me things. She took me by the hand to give me a tour of the orphanage the first day I was there. Another time we went on an outing and we were walking along a narrow sidewalk. Mulan was holding the hand of another grown-up, who was in the lead, and she took my hand and pulled me along behind. It turned out rather awkward when I walked face-first into the mirror of a double-cab truck that was parked too close to the sidewalk! Mulan really craved adult attention. When my mom was teaching her her ABC’s, my mom would go to her desk to help her with seatwork. Mulan would turn completely around in her seat to gaze into my mom’s face. Mulan’s eyes would be shining and she wore a huge smile. She was so excited that a grown-up was paying attention to her. My mom would laugh and say, “You have to look at the page if you’re ever going to learn to read!” Fast forward several years. I saw Mulan in June, and she was doing great! She seemed so confident, and she walked with a spring in her step. The photo was taken in June. Then I saw her a couple of weeks ago, and she was troubled and anxious about something. She has a situation that is beyond the control of anyone at the orphanage. Her case will come before the judge, and I don’t know the court date. But I am asking urgently for prayer that the judge will do what is best for her. Humanly speaking, we have no right to speak in this case; however, we can plead with a higher Judge. “A Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widows is God in his holy habitation” Psalm 68:5. God is our only hope, and we must believe that He loves Mulan enough to intervene.

Wendy cuddling a tiny baby… Well, this one is pretty self-explanatory. One of the little boys who lives at the orphanage...
01/25/2022

Wendy cuddling a tiny baby… Well, this one is pretty self-explanatory. One of the little boys who lives at the orphanage tried to give her away to me. He told me to take her to the States, but her mama was right there, and her mama wouldn’t agree. You might wonder why she lives at the orphanage if her mama is with her. Well, her mama is only 14, and her mama needs somebody to take care of her too. Her mama was pleased to get all the baby clothes and diapers we donated.

Presenting a sewing machine to Sophia… Here is her story. A couple of days ago, we had the privilege of presenting one y...
01/17/2022

Presenting a sewing machine to Sophia… Here is her story. A couple of days ago, we had the privilege of presenting one young lady with her very own sewing machine. Her name is Sophia, and she is 21 years old (name has been changed for her protection). She lives at the orphanage in Panama. She is old enough to leave if she wanted to, but she does not yet have a means of earning a living. Her younger brother also lives in the orphanage, and he is still in elementary school. If Sophia had a place of her own and a way to earn a living, she could become her brother’s legal guardian. Sophia could become an independent woman, and her brother could live with her without fear of going back to his relatives in the jungle who are not Christians and not in a good place. Some of the ladies from church have already taught Sophia how to sew. She was very dedicated to learning, and she dreamed of buying her own sewing machine. She worked at a baby-sitting job for several months and tried to save up enough money to buy one. For some reason, she wasn’t able to buy it, and the baby-sitting job fizzled out. Then my team and I went down on a mission trip a few days ago. My teammate, Christina Yates, has a neighbor who took an interest in helping the orphanage. She sent $120 to buy the orphanage a sewing machine, not knowing that there was an urgent need for it except that God put it in her heart. When we got there, one of the ladies at church said, “Don’t give the sewing machine to the whole orphanage. Give it to Sophia because she is the one who knows how to sew and she will take care of it and make good use of it.” So my mom and Christina went downtown and found a Singer for $200. We made up the difference of $80 with funds from Safely Home. You should have seen Sophia’s face when she found out the sewing machine was for her! This could be life-changing for her! The most important thing I learned about ministry in the past seven years is that we have to help one individual at a time. If we are not helping individuals, we are not helping anyone. It’s OK to stand up and speak to the whole group at once. But we need to have the mentality that we are reaching individuals. Otherwise, we miss the target and end up helping no one. Salvation is an individual decision. Discipleship is an individual process. Each of the youth at the orphanage has a different situation, and their practical needs are different. I'm figuring out their needs one individual at a time.

01/16/2022

It is snowing furiously here, and I am holding my breath for the power to go out. We got home from our mission trip at 2 a.m. Sat.

For my next trip to the orphanage, I would like to take only one other person with me and stay for six weeks… I need to...
12/27/2021

For my next trip to the orphanage, I would like to take only one other person with me and stay for six weeks… I need to spend more time with the children, and I need an assistant. I need a lady, not married with no children at home. She is willing to face hardships. That may mean taking cold showers and eating foods she doesn’t prefer. She is ready to do spiritual warfare. That means she will fight for the souls of children and youth. She must be wise and brave. She will face disappointments. She will come face to face with ugly situations and evil people. She will also meet beautiful and innocent people. She will learn to love, and she will feel compassion. She will start to care, and she will not stop caring when she goes home. She will see injustice, and she will feel angry and sad sometimes. She will learn many things, she will grow as a person, and she will not be the same person when she returns that she was when she left. Come and follow Jesus with me for six weeks! Contact me for an interview!
Young woman: “I hate confrontation, but you have one of my little ones under your claws.”
Dragon: “I would have let you go if you had passed by and pretended you hadn’t seen me. Now I will have to eat you up. ROARRRR!”
Jesus: “Do not fear; the battle is already won.”

Here are just a few of the new and used dresses and the Spanish Bibles we are taking to the girls at the Home of Beloved...
12/20/2021

Here are just a few of the new and used dresses and the Spanish Bibles we are taking to the girls at the Home of Beloved Children in David, Panama. If you saw everything we are taking, you would see a whole queen-sized bed in our spare room piled up with stuff. Paty (one of the workers) sent me a list, and we tried to get most of the things on the list. Delivering gifts is only one of our reasons for going to visit the orphanage. My mom and I want to reconnect with the kids. We want to get to know the new ones too. One of our goals is to the learn the names of all the kids that are new to us. All of our team members will be sharing their salvation testimony. It would be a privilege to lead some of the kids to Lord if there are some who aren’t saved yet. Please pray for us that God will be able to use us. Another goal I have is to find out if any of the older teenagers need sponsors to attend trade school. Brother Carl will be making some repairs to the orphanage facility, and Ms. Betty will be teaching the kids a little bit about sewing. Please pray that we can accomplish exactly what God wants us to do.

Address

P. O. Box 47
Reliance, TN
37369

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 9pm
Thursday 10am - 9pm
Friday 10am - 9pm
Saturday 10am - 9pm

Telephone

+14233380691

Website

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