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Chosen – At Last!
Daniel Reed's Story of Adoption
“Uncle, where are you?” (Screaming, crying)
Daniel screamed as he searched the shack he and his brothers lived in. “¿Adonde esta?” – “Where is he?” (Shouting, weeping)
“No esta aqui!” – “He is not here!” (Crying)
The realization of abandonment pierced Daniel like a knife. “We’ve been abandoned.” At ages seven, eight, nine, and ten years old, being four orphaned children in the slums of Guatemala meant street begging, malnutrition, and possibly death.
In 1980, there were 250 million orphans worldwide, and Daniel and his brothers were four of them. How were they going to survive? How would they be able to live meaningful lives?
This is Daniel Reed's early childhood story. Today, Daniel is a successful family and business man. Daniel is so resilient, he is able to reach back into his past and share his story with us.
“My mother and brothers and I lived in extreme poverty in Guatemala,” said Daniel. “My father got involved in illicit activity and eventually abandoned my family. My mother worked hard to try to support her children, but the fireworks company she worked at killed her. The powder she worked with got into her lungs and she died at 29 years old. My siblings and I were sent to live with a relative where we stayed until we discovered that we were unwanted.”
“I need to get my clothes together. Where can I put it?” (Here, in this plastic bag.)
“¿Niño, qué estás haciendo?” – "What are you doing?" (Frustrated.)
“I am collecting my clothes so that I can leave. I don’t think you want me here, do you?” (Crying)
“Niño, do what you need to do.” (With that she left.)
That was all she said. Heartbroken, Daniel picked up his bag and walked to his uncle's house where his siblings were already. But there was no loving welcome there, either.
That night, the same terrible reality replayed itself to Daniel and his brothers. Their uncle decided to go to a prayer meeting... except that he didn’t go to the prayer meeting. He went to rent a truck, came back, and took out all of his belongings from the shack where they lived. Their uncle moved out and abandoned them.
“Oh Dios – Oh, God, help us! What do we do?”
Not knowing what else to do, Daniel and his brothers sought help from friends. Their friends had no place for them to stay, so they took them to the government courthouse. The officials called three orphanages for help. Only one showed up: International Children’s Care. An ICC worker talked with the official and with the children, and decided to bring Daniel and his brothers to ICC’s children’s village.
“¿Adonde vamos? – Where are we going?”
“We are taking you to Los Pinos Children’s Home. There are 70 other children there who call this loving place their home. I’m sure you will love it there.”
After hours of driving, through the dust from the road, Daniel saw a gate that said “Los Pinos.” This was to be their new home for a time. As Daniel and his brothers settled into Los Pinos, they began to bond with their new local and global family. But that was not the end of Daniel’s story. Something more astounding and more beautiful was about to happen.
David and Janet Reed, from South Haven, MI, had been praying for months about adoption. They began to process their wishes with ICC (which handled adoptions back in the 80’s). ICC told them about the plight of Daniel and his siblings. After sufficient prayer and thought, David and Janet headed down to Guatemala to finalize the adoption and joyfully take their new children home.
With the passing years and ongoing family experiences, Daniel Reed is now greatly loved by his family, friends, employees, and church. His story is one of success – one that you can claim as your success as you help children in need. Daniel is one of many children that people like you have helped release from family brokenness into freedom to be all they can be through Christ. Thank you again for loving, caring and giving to God’s beautiful children!
CAPTION: After being twice abandoned, Daniel never thought God would bless him with a beautiful new family. Yet, thanks to the support of people like you, he was able to embrace one as his own.
Matching Grant
AMAZING Gift of Love
I think that most, if not all of you received and read our “Summer of Hope” letter last month. This was an extremely important letter regarding the vital need for summer funds in order to help relieve the tremendous strain on the children’s budgets in these months we are experiencing right now.
Well, God is using a very special couple in an amazing way to provide for His kids! I had the honor to visit with a wonderful married couple last week who decided that they want to create a matching funds challenge to everyone in order to provide for His kids today.
These folks have offered $50,000 as a dollar-for-dollar matching grant for the children! This means that any donations you give today, up to a total of $50,0000, will be doubled in value and will go to the children’s budgets. Your gift of $20, $50, $100, whatever it is, it is going to increase 100%. Now that is an amazing interest rate!
Please prayerfully consider giving to this most urgent need for the kids, and when you do, the increase on your gift will be multiplied like the “loaves and fish.”
Please mark your gifts – “Matching Hope.”
Thank you my friends for answering His call.
Doug Congleton
Executive Director
Part 2: Close Calls, Near Misses and God's Protective Care
Volcano Relief Efforts in the D.R. Congo
Recently, we shared about the relief efforts of our ICC project in the DR Congo in the aftermath of the eruption of Mt. Nyiragongo. Several of our older ICC children in Congo live in the city of Goma and had to evacuate. Désiré, Patmos Children’s Village Director, recruited several of these older children to help in the relief effort. Along with these young people and PROLASA workers who live in Goma, an additional 203 families received assistance.
According to Désiré, “life is still complicated in town thanks to the shortage of food, and the price for available food is very high.”
Thanks to your support, our ICC family in Goma has been able to assist one another and a wider circle of individuals during this time of crisis. Thank you!
COVID Near Miss AND Direct Hit
In July’s Que Pasa, we shared that the India project has been spared from a COVID outbreak. Unfortunately, the Los Pinos Children’s Village in Guatemala has suffered a direct hit. It’s likely that one of the children who attends the ICAP secondary school brought it to the Los Pinos campus.
Initially our administrator, Joel Carpio, took a group of children into the closest village to be tested. In time the health department came to the campus to test everyone. Though over 40 of our Los Pinos family on campus have tested positive, we praise the Lord that as of now, few have severe symptoms.
Please pray for our Los Pinos family during this health crisis!
El Oasis Farm Flourishing, Another Near Miss to Report
Thanks to God’s protection, and wise planning from our El Oasis farm manager, the El Oasis pepper farm was spared of catastrophe when a violent storm blew through the valley bringing with it hail and leaving in its wake a path of destruction. Since this close call, the small pepper plants have grown to maturity, and the first picking, also known as “heating up,” has taken place.
It is so named because after the first picking of a few peppers on a pepper plant, the plant’s growth “heats up” and fruit production expands dramatically. We praise the Lord that, thus far, we’ve been able to sell the peppers for a higher price than projected. Please pray that the harvest will be bountiful and that the prices we can sell the peppers for remain high.
One other blessing from the Lord is water. This could be considered a “near miss” because we are renting adjoining land AND the water that comes with it. This is critical because our own agriculture well is becoming unstable. More and more sand is showing up in the water being pumped from the well, and it’s likely we’ll need to dig the well deeper or develop an entirely new well.
You can imagine how this would impact the current harvest if it weren’t for the well on the adjoining property! Again, we praise the Lord for his providential care! If you’d like more information on what it would cost to improve or dig a new well, please contact our office.
God's Protective Care Over Three New Children
We recently received exciting news from Samilin, director at Las Palmas in the Dominican Republic. She informed us that three brothers have joined the ICC family there. They are ages four, five, and seven. In the September Que Pasa, we will introduce our ICC family to these boys.
Even in the midst of close calls, near misses, and direct hits, we continue to experience God’s providential care and generous support from ICC family members like you. Please pray for the children and participate in the matching challenge featured on the back page! Thank you!
CAPTION PHOTO 1 (PATMOS): Your support helped ICC’s older children and Prolasa staff to bless others and be blessed themselves during the recent crisis in Congo. Thank you!
CAPTION PHOTO 2 (LOS PINOS): Thanks to your prayers and support, Joel Carpio, ICC Administrator, was able to act fast when students of ICAP became sick. He took the exposed ICC children to be tested, and then those families with children who tested positive were put into quarantine. Please pray for the children and staff of Los Pinos to be safe and healthy!
In Remembrance of Michael Nyarko-Bassi
This summer, we mourn the loss of Michael Nyarko-Baasi, a dear father figure and the leader of ICC Ghana. He lived a life of service and love that, no doubt, will continue to inspire others for years to come.
Michael took an interest in service very early in his career, working for ADRA as he attended college. He also consistently served at church on both a district and conference level. His heart for service transferred to the care of children when Michael began to realize the deplorable plight of many young ones in his hometown of Agona-Abodom.
One day, Michael spotted a young boy arriving at school dressed in an extremely worn school uniform and bare footed. Rather than ignoring the child’s condition, Michael felt called to investigate. He discovered that this boy was an orphan with no means to survive. Michael felt so touched by the boy’s story that he decided to find help. This is just one example of the type of special care for others that Michael exhibited.
That is why on December 4, 1998, Michael contacted ICC. He requested help to sponsor that little orphan boy in Ghana. That was the start of a small but impactful project only made possible because of Michael’s compassion and the generosity of ICC family members like you. Now, as we mourn Michael’s passing, the children he cared for will continue to carry on his legacy of love.
Read more about Michael’s life by visiting the following link:
Please pray for Michael’s loved ones and the children in ICC Ghana. While the project will continue without the special care of its founder, his presence will be missed. Meanwhile, we celebrate Michael’s life and look forward to the day when all will be reunited in Heaven!
With love and blessings!
The International Children's Care Charity - August 2021