4th of July, Bowling, Girls and Boys Night, and Camp Shelby

Well, I have to apologize for not updating the last couple of days, but we have been quite busy. My last post told you about our Olympic Day last Saturday, it was truly a day to remember. Video will be up soon.

On Sunday, July 4th, the kids attended Temple Baptist Church West Campus. Dr. Tony Merida delivered a powerful message, and Paul Koonce and the music ministry provided great music as always. If you have ever attended 4th of July service at TBC, you know that it is an awesome exprience of God and Country. At the end of the service, all branches of the Military are honored, and then from the ceiling hundreds of red, white and blue balloons fell in to the congregation, and streamers shot out to the crowd as well. I would have to believe that the kids really enjoyed that part of the service. Sunday night the kids attended the Celebrate America show on the front lawn of TBC, and then the incredible firework show provided by the church. I would have to guess that there were 3000-4000 people in attendance.

On Monday morning the kids loaded up and made a visit to Champion Bowling Lanes. We had about 50-60 people come out to knock down the pins. They had a great time bowling and eating pizza. After bowling it was time for boys/girls night out. The boys headed out from the bowling ally to Brooklyn to conquer the Black Creek in their canoes. Everything was going well, but as we approached Brooklyn, the bottom fell out of the sky, and we had the pleasure of a constant rain as they put in and headed out on the 5 mile trip. At the end of the trip, the guys enjoyed telling stories of their trip while woofing down several hotdogs and bags of chips. I think that everyone was completly waterlogged and needed some rest. Some crashed on the way home. When they arrived back home, hot showers rejuvinated the boys, so they headed out to eat some more at Pizza Inn and then to the church to play some games.

During the evening, the girls had a night of getting all dolled up! First, the girls got to experience a pedicure/manicure! They really enjoyed this and were very excited about getting to paint their nails! They also loved all of the special attention! Next, the girls got their hair done in all kinds of pretty styles and updoes! To complete the ensemble, dresses were laid out and our little Cinderellas were able to pick out a dress to wear! The girls and their friends all enjoyed modeling a fashion show and spending time together! It was a great night of fellowship and pampering!

Tuesday morning the kids made a visit to Camp Shelby. The group enjoyed a tour of the Armed Forces Museum and then headed over to see a tank demonstration! The kids were WOWed when the tank flew by at 40 miles per hour and then came to a complete stop in front of them. The kids were then allowed to climb on and go inside several tanks on the base. After viewing the tanks, the crew headed over to the mess hall to have some grub! It was a lot of fun to get to eat with the soldiers! For the last tour, the kids got to visit the fire station at the air strip at Camp Shelby! The firemen showed everyone the ins and outs of the equipment, including dressing up in the fireman suit and shooting water from the truck! After leaving Camp Shelby, the kids, Irina, Natalia, Sergey, and some P139 members took a quick trip to the coast as the Ukrainian crew were very interested in seeing the coast. They visited the beach and saw some of the effects from Hurricane Katrina.

On Tuesday night, the kids and several guest got to enjoy a good ole southern fish fry. The University of Southern Mississippi catering group provided a wonderful meal of fried fish, chicken strips, hush puppies, cole slaw, potato salad, mac and cheese, and baked beans. It was great. After dinner, the kids and others went up to the pond for a late evening fishing trip. They LOVE to fish. The smiles that you see when one of the kids catch a fish is a sight to see. I think that they could do it all day long.

Promise139 Olympic Games

Today was a great day. We had the inaugural Promise139 Olympic Games. Once we all composed ourselves after one of the torch runners fell, the games began. The first activity was the introduction of the flags, followed by the US National Anthem and thent he Ukraine National Anthem. There were a total of six games played. I am pretty sure that there will be no accusations of drug enhancement in any of our contestants, but I do think that we may need to look at some replay footage for some of our players who might have bent the rules.

All in all, the kids had a great day. They spent some time earlier in the day swimming and some rest time in the afternoon.

Tomorrow they will be attending the morning services at Temple Baptist Church West Campus and then gathering back there that evening for 4th of July Celebration. If you are there, please come and introduce yourself.

Day 2

Well, day 2 is in the bag.

Today was the first time that visitors were able to come out and meet the children. They had a great time just hanging around the pool getting to know each other.

Today was also Thanksgiving for our guest. They were treated to a traditional Thanksgiving lunch that included turkey, dressing, corn, and pecan pie. Due to a trip that I had to take, I was not able to be there, but I am sure that each one of them loved this traditional meal as much as we do on during that day in November. I guess the only thing missing was a lazy time on the couch watching football. A special thanks to board members, Misha and Ronnie Blackwell, for that Thanksgiving lunch.

During the afternoon time, the kids were able to have some rest time before heading back outside for some fun activities and games. I sure hope that all of the old people that were playing soccer have a working heating pad, you may need one.

As the evening approached, the kids, and the visitors, were once again able to cool off by spending an hour or so swimming in the pool. I have to admit, that it amazes me how well the kids from this years camp, and the ones from last year, can swim. I am not sure, but I would guess that with Sevastopol being on the Black Sea, that these kids are giving the opportunity from time to time to go have play time and swim at the Crimea Peninsula.

If you would like to know what the kids will be doing each day, you may see the camp schedule by going to http://www.promise139.org, and clicking on camp schedule.

First Day

Yesterday was the first full day that the kids were here, and let me tell you, they are having fun. Yesterday was just a day of relaxing and getting to know the kids and their caregiver. We spent yesterday morning getting the kids familar with the house and where everything was and what was available to them.


Yesterdays theme was Christmas. They spent the latter part of the morning making their very own Christmas ornaments, that would later be put up on the Promise 139 Christmas tree. After some rest time in the afternoon, the kids and several of the board members walked over to the pond for a late afternoon fishing trip. I wish you could have seen the face of these children when they would reel in the fish that they had caught. It was such a delight. You can tell that they thoroughly enjoyed their time by the pond. But as you residents of South Mississippi know, you are never sure when Mother Nature is going to bring in one of those wonderful summer thunderstorms. Well, one decided to come in around 5:00, so we were all forced to head back to the house.


That evening the group ate a good ole hamburger and then each child was able to experience what our children do on Christmas morning, they got to open Christmas presents. But that was not the highlight of our day. The best part of the day was when board member Denise Morton read the Christmas story, while interpretor Natasha translated the good Word to our six visiting children. Thanks to you both.

Please come back tomorrow to learn more about the events of our Promise 139 Summer Camp.

Today is the day

Today there will be 6 wonderful kids from an orphanage in Ukraine flying in to Gulfport and then traveling to Hattiesburg for our Promise 139 Summer Camp.

Please pray for safe travel for these kids and their caregiver.

We will hopefully update this blog on a daily basis to inform you of the events that are going on. Please sign up to follow these blog post.
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Greetings everyone!!

It is camp time again!! We are so excited that 9 children will be traveling to come to Hattiesburg for camp. There are 5 girls and 4 boys, ages 8 to 13.

Our projected Dates for camp are June 17 - July 1. As you may remember from last year these are subject to change a little due to time for travel visas to be completed. Please pray that this process will go smoothly and that they will be issued in a timely manner.

We would love for you to come and be a part of this event. If you would like to volunteer to help with activities, provide meals, clean, help with craft activities etc. please email us and let us know.

We will be having 2 volunteer training meetings. These are required if you will be spending any time with the children. You only need attend one meeting. If you are unable to attend but want to volunteer contact us and we will make some arrangements.

The training dates are Thursday, June 3rd 6:30 pm at Temple Baptist Church West campus in room WC130
Sunday, June 13th, 4:30 pm at Temple Baptist Church West Campus in room WC130



If you have any questions please email info@promise139.org or camp@promise139.org

If you are wanting to help with meals, whether that is helping to serve or provide food you can email meals@promise139.org

Ways you can keep up with us:
Our Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=897#!/group.php?gid=45191214783&ref=ts

Our blog at www.promise139.blogspot.com

Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/promise_139

Feel free to share this information with anyone you feel may be desiring to help with this ministry.

Most importantly we need your prayers for these children. Prayer for safe travel and that while they are here they will truly experience the love of Christ.



Thank you so much for your support in many ways!!



God Bless

Nina Mixon, President

Promise139 Orphan Hosting Program

www.promise139.org

Latest News

WOW!!!! It is that time again, and there is excitment in the air.

For those that are reading this blog and are new to Promise 139 Orphan Hosting Program, let me give you a quick recap of what Promise 139 is all about. Promise 139 is a non-profit organization in Southern Mississippi formed by people that are passionate in helping orphaned children. Our organization consists of adoptive parents and others concerned with the well-being of the fatherless. Our mission is to reach out to the fatherless and make a difference in their future. Promise 139 exists to provide a cultural exchange for underprivileged orphans living in foreign countries. The cultural exchange will be a camp-like experience, which will coincide with their summer breaks from school.

This past summer, we had the honor to host 6 wonderful kids from Sevastopol, which is located in the southern part of Ukraine, and man we had a blast. Each and everyone that had the opportunity to meet these children will, without a doubt, tell you how blessed they were to have time with these kids. Just ask Jim Bob and Crystal Mills. Not only did they fall in love with the children that were here, they had the honor to make two of them part of their forever family. If you haven't had the opportunity to meet them, let me introduce you to Katia and Oleg Mills.

Now on to what we have coming up. The Promise 139 team has been gearing up for this years summer camp. First thing on the agenda, fundraising. We love the opportunity to bring orphans here for summer camps, but lets be honest, it takes money to do it. So, with that being said, we have scheduled an informative Luncheon/Dinner for all to attend. On March 11, we will be hosting a Luncheon for YOU to attend to learn more about who we are and why we are doing what we do. If you are always asking yourself, "what are we going to do for lunch today", well on March 11, I have your answer. Please come and hear more about this wonderful opportunity and Promise139.

Now some are saying, I just can't make if for lunch. Don't worry, we've got you covered. That same night we will be having a dinner for you and your family to come hear and experience our journey as we prepare for this years camp. This event will be geared for the whole family with activities for all ages. If interested, please let us know by sending an email to info@promise139.org.

Our other fundraising activity will be our 1st Annual Promise 139 Golf Tournament. It will be played at the Canebrake Country Club on March 22. If you just want to come out and play, come on out. You can form your own team, or join up as an individual, and we will pair you with a group. Or maybe you want to do more (and I know you do), there are several ways to advertise your company buy purchasing a sponsorship. There are many different levels to choose from, and we would be happy to come talk to you about what would be best for you. Again, you may contact us at info@promise139.org or at russell@promise139.org.

Well I could go on forever, but I will stop here. Please be thinking about how you could help this year. Volunteer, Meals, Financial, etc....