This week, our hearts are holding two very different stories from Uganda — one heavy with grief and unanswered questions and one that reminds us why we never stop praying. Wilfred Rugumba, Executive Director of Mercy Childcare Ministry, shared with us, “This week has been one of the most difficult I have ever experienced.” He received a call from the police about a three-month-old baby girl who had been abandoned. Before she could be rescued, stray dogs attacked her, leaving

Mia Penrose served with CTL Romania in Bucharest for 10 months through CTL's internship program. She loved her time there, and reflects on the impression that her experience left on her heart and in her life. Looking back at my time in Romania, I am in such awe of the ways the Lord worked. My time and experience in Romania were far beyond anything I could have even imagined or expected. All I knew before going was that was where the Lord was calling me. I didn’t know why, wha

Children to Love Romania hosts an annual summer camp for children involved in the ministry, bringing together about 50 youth from the Homes of Hope, the Families Program, orphanages and other government-run centers where CTL Romania regularly serves. Each year, the Holy Spirit works in powerful ways and meaningful bonds are formed and strengthened. This year was no exception— many children experienced God’s love in tangible ways, some for the very first time! Maria's Journey

"My name is Lora Kendrick, and I just returned from a phenomenal mission trip with Children to Love in Ukraine. I was privileged to travel 6 years ago on CTL’s first mission trip to Ukraine and was eager to return in spite of the intensity of the war with Russia. I assured my friends and family that I was perfectly safe, in God’s hands and, besides, the war was still more on the eastern side of the country. Little did I know the full extent of this. I was really looking forwa

Hailey Hagerty, a student at Corban University, traveled to Thailand with a team of fellow students in May. She shared the ways God met her in Thailand, the relationships she formed and the lessons she has brought home with her. “I was immensely blessed with the opportunity to partner in ministry with Mae Sot Evangelical Church (MEC) and Grace Boarding House (GBH) in Mae Sot, Thailand for a two week mission trip with a team of students from Corban University.  During our time

Maxim was one of the first children to come to Future for Children in Ukraine when he began attending in 2016. For nearly a decade now, Maxim and his sister have been coming to the program at FFC nearly every day. 

Dolica's journey began in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, which neighbors Uganda to the West.  Dolica’s mother, Beya, lived with a disability and the father abandoned them, leaving Beya to face unimaginable hardship alone. Dolica never got to attend school. Years later, a man approached Beya, promising a better life for Dolica working as a caretaker for his baby. This was a lie and instead, he cruelly abandoned the girl in Wakiso, Uganda.  Human trafficking is a se

Mia Penrose, Children to Love Romania Intern 🛬 Arrival & First Impressions About three months ago, I moved to Bucharest, Romania to serve with Children to Love. In the beginning, I worked together with a team from Living Grace Church to support the ministry by sharing testimonies with the children, performing skits about God's mercy and forgiveness, and getting a glimpse into the impact of CTL’s work. That short time with the team made me feel excited and blessed for this op

God is in the business of bringing people together! We are celebrating this fact as the recent wedding celebrated at the children's home of our partner in India highlights this beautiful aspect of God's character. Through the woven together family of the children's home in India, Karthik and Ramya met. They were both orphans brought into the children’s homes and their lives have not been easy. They each have their own stories of pain and abandonment, but God has and is redeem

CTL's partner in Ukraine sends frequent updates as they prayerfully and faithfully continue ministry in the midst of a war. Seeing the...

Scott Rossi’s Testimony CTL Romania Team Member and CTL Board Member I went into this mission trip to CTL Romania with the mindset of completely letting go and letting God take me on this journey in any direction He deemed necessary. Once I allowed that to happen, He blew me away with His loving touches and filled my days with hope, energy and a better understanding of how much He loves all of us!  During our time there, we attended a two- hour church service, which was all

I'm Prabhudeva Akuri and I am from India.  It's been 20 years since my father left us due to pressure from financial debts and he has never returned. We have no clue if my father is still alive or not. We are a very poor family.  My mother did her best to raise me and my elder sister but we were very poor. We were destitute.  I was also affected by a severe speech disorder and my stuttering made it very difficult for me to speak, even today. When I was a kid, we didn't have m

My name is Dena Mojo and I went on a short-term mission trip to Uganda with Children to Love. We visited Mercy Childcare Ministry, which includes Mercy Village, the boarding school, the international school, the church and the medical clinic, as well as ministries outside of the town. I would say one of the most rewarding, fascinating, and just overall blessed events that we took part in was going out into the very primitive town of Pallisa where quite literally the resident

There are some things in life that happen in such a coincidental way that it could only have been God’s doing. My job at Children to Love (CTL) is one of those instances for me. Ten years ago when I was only 15 years old, I went on a trip to visit CTL’s children’s home in India with some of my family and a few others. This was my first concrete memory of CTL and the work they do, however at the time CTL only had three ministry partners (India, Romania and Uganda). After gradu

Gabi was born and raised in Romania in an unbelieving family that struggled financially, and at the age of six, her family connected with Children to Love. Her mother met Jesus and was baptized, leading the family to live differently. They went to Bible studies, camps, and activities that allowed them to hear the gospel and Gabi gave her life to Jesus when she was 12 years old and was baptized. She was encouraged by the CTL Romania staff in her walk with the Lord and to cont

Yesterday was a good day! By the grace of God, the day dawned, and He blessed me to engage with other followers of Jesus Christ at Laurelglen Bible Church’s Market of Hope in Bakersfield, CA. We celebrated 25 years of providing an effective way to bring life-changing necessities for the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable around the world in Jesus’ name . Walking through the various mission booths reminded me of days gone by when God called me and my husband Hank to s

My husband and I just returned from Ukraine. We spent a week visiting our CTL ministry partner Future for Children, spending time with the kids and loving on and encouraging the weary staff. The Lord opened the door for us to go and we felt His protection throughout the entire trip. We experienced three air alarms during our time in Lviv, a quite startling and unsettling dose of reality there. Not even two weeks after returning home, Russia attacked Lviv once again. This atta

Last September while on a trip to Mae Sot, Thailand, I met an interesting family that had recently been displaced from Myanmar due to the ongoing conflict there. They were different from many of the refugees that I had met so far on my trip – they were fairly well-educated. I shared a meal with them after Sunday services at Mae Sot Evangelical Church and the older daughter spoke pretty good English and interpreted for the other family members. They were very guarded in their

Written by David Inlow David is a long-time Children to Love volunteer and supporter, and he has traveled overseas countless times to serve with our partner ministries. On March 7, we celebrated Children to Love’s 30th anniversary and what a wonderful time it was. After it was over and everything was cleaned up, I began to realize how much it felt to me like a high school reunion I recently attended. Our CTL celebration was similar but even better because of the tie that bind

Jeremiah (top right) is a boy with special needs who lives at Mercy Childcare Ministry's Mercy Village in Uganda and was able to participate in Gift of Giving this year! He is deaf and mute, but his personality and sweet spirit touches everyone he comes in contact with. Jeremiah almost always has a smile on his face! He rarely leaves the village and the Mercy staff shared that this experience with him was "stunning" as he gave a Christmas meal to others. Many people in the co