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Project Spotlight: The Exodus Ranch

The Exodus Ranch officially became a non-profit in 2012, but the need to help children appeared years before for Shelley and Joe Tufts. The family moved to Opelika, Alabama in 2005 with four children, their fifth would be born less than a year after they moved. Shelley had been staying at home with her children, but with four in school, she started asking God what she should start doing next. It was at a women’s retreat through her church that God started her on the path that would lead to The Exodus Ranch.  “I went to a women's retreat with our church and met this lady that had been in some programs and stuff with drug recovery and everything,” Tufts said. “ I came back, and several months later, she showed up at my door and asked me if I could watch her little boy. And so we ended up, after some time of trying to help both of them, she ended up asking us if we would take custody of him. So as the years went on, the Lord just brought more and more situations across our path … [Read more...] about Project Spotlight: The Exodus Ranch

Project Spotlight: P.E.S.T. Relief International

In 2015, Andrea Hancock officially founded P.E.S.T Relief International, a non-profit with a focus on bringing Pest Management professionals together to provide comfort and relief to orphaned, abused and at-risk youth through safe shelter, nutrition, education, physical and emotional health and spiritual enrichment.  The seeds for the organization were planted when Hancock learned that so many people in the world live in homes that have bed bugs, because they cannot afford to get rid of them. Back in 2004, Hancock had started Mattress Safe, Inc., a company that manufactures mattress covers.  After learning about the people all over the world suffering from bed bug infestations, she began donating mattress covers to various shelters in the United States. In 2012, she went on a mission trip to Honduras, and she brought mattress covers with her to give to three orphanages.  “I started taking mattress protectors to orphanages down in Honduras, and I caught a … [Read more...] about Project Spotlight: P.E.S.T. Relief International

Partner Spotlight: Hines Ugandan Ministries

Katherine Hines first visited Uganda in 1994, and during this trip she found the place that would become the home for her ministry. Kamonkoli is located in the Eastern region of Uganda, and in 1999 she started Hines Ugandan Ministries in the village. “Well, it's changed a lot since 1999,” Hines said. “Because when I first came here there were very few vehicles. Most of the roads weren't paved. They're paved now, but they're all messed up. But it's changed a lot since those days. Then there was no running water where I am, Kamonkoli, and electricity was really often on and off and on all the time, there wasn't hardly ever electricity.” Kamonkoli is home to around 18,000 and was just recently named a town. Ten kilometers away is Bali, which is in the process of growing into a city. Uganda is a country of children with 51 percent of the population being under the age of 15. HUM has 67 employees, several of which came from Kamonkoli. Henry Olupot, the manager of Kamonkoli … [Read more...] about Partner Spotlight: Hines Ugandan Ministries