“ Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”

-James 1:27

About

As a nonprofit, we want to focus on each child’s situation and then work with them to provide the best possible path to a successful future. The reason we chose the specific boarding school in Malawi is to expose the kids to a higher level of educational standards and an environment that is more conducive for a successful outcome. Being in this controlled environment we remove barriers such as workload, long travel distances by foot each day, risk of being in situations that make them targets for early marriage and hunger. We also have access to tutoring and intervention with learning difficulties. Being so close with all our students allows us to identify needs quickly and address them before they become a barrier to a successful education. Being in a large community school or even some of the secondary community boarding schools these kids often get lost in all the difficulties that seem insurmountable and then they give up only to accept early marriage and a cycle of continuous poverty.

We were moved by the story of Esther in the bible. A beautiful story of how the orphan, Hadassah, becomes Queen Esther and chooses her people over her position as Queen to help bring them out of persecution.

“Hadassah” means Compassion. The name Hadassah is of Hebrew origin meaning "myrtle tree".

Myrtle is a branch that symbolizes recovery and the establishment of God’s promises.

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FAQs

Learn more about Myrtle House Ministries by exploring our Frequently Asked Questions Page!

Heather - Co-Founder, Vice President and International Operations Director

In 2017, I went to Ethiopia on a mission trip. On that trip, I felt a strong call to have something on the ground and kept praying for God to just spell out what He had in mind. After I returned home, I had a dream that I was in an African village and two men sat me down in the water looking towards a dry canal. When I sat down in the water and faced in the direction they were pointing a voice told me that the land had been in a dry spell, but the water was coming.

Later, realizing that “water” is the word of the Lord, I have been waiting for his word for my calling. In November 2020, God spoke the word “Hadassah” to my heart. I have never heard a spoken word before and started diligently doing research. The next week, Amy called and said we should name our nonprofit Hadassah Ministries. I could not believe she used the word “Hadassah” and knew at that moment that we were on our chosen paths.

Jim and I have four children and we also care for our niece. We have hosted and supported our host daughter for the last three years. We instantly fell in love with Mphatso and want the best for her and her community. Through Myrtle House Ministries (formerly Hadassah House Ministries) we will have that opportunity to help her and so many more girls that deserve to feel the love of God.

-Heather

Heather & Jim

Board Members

Amy - Co-Founder, President, Executive and Finance Director

I have always had a heart for children. We have three strong, healthy, beautiful children. However, in 2017 and 2018 we experienced two heartbreaking miscarriages. While healing from our loss, we talked to some friends at church and learned about hosting an orphan from Africa.

After much prayer, we went through the motions to host and fell in love with the experience, the culture, and most of all our host daughter, CC. CC had a huge impact on our lives and we have been advocates for her and other orphans in Malawi ever since.

CC came to America, never having traveled outside of her village and not speaking any English. She was so brave and strong. Her joy and smile impacted many people during her 6-week stay.

It was amazing to feel overwhelming love for a child, I had never met, from across the globe. I knew she had a lot of prayer surrounding her and I fell in love the moment I saw her.

After CC left we wanted to give more and do more for her and other vulnerable children in her situation. However, when asked what our mission was for helping in Malawi, we had no answer. With no answer and no direction, we sat idle. When we heard about the 120,000 girls leaving school our mission was made clear. Since forging ahead we have seen God’s hand on every part of this ministry.

-Amy

Amy & Tom

Board Members

MacDonald - Malawi Executive Director

In 1999, God called me into ministry. It was a very difficult situation because as a young man I knew ministry did not offer lucrative financial benefits. I was called into children and youth ministry with Scripture Union of Malawi. I realized later that it was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. With the help of many, I brought thousands of children to Christ. Consequently, I went into full time discipleship ministry the Bible camps, which has seen so many young people going into ministry themselves. Some of them are now leading big international ministries with astounding testimonies, which humble me every day. It gives me great joy that I yielded to the call.

In 2006, my wife and I had another challenging call from the Lord. We left the comfort of city life and went to serve under Giving Heart ministries in one of the most remote areas of Malawi. It is here where we came face to face with the abject poverty of people. Our hearts went out to the poor and we immersed ourselves into God’s work to bring people to Christ and become change agents in Health, Agriculture, climate change, and education. It was here where Linda and I were petrified by the attitude of community members towards the girl child education. A girl child was destined to reproduce and not to go to school and as such parents did not commit school fees to girls. Linda and I just had to start a school fund for girls. Our seven years’ experience in the rural areas is the birth of Total Community Transformers because we experienced the total transformation of lives in that community.

In 2019, I had an opportunity to lead a team of 10 orphans to the USA. I instantly fell in love with the hosting program. I met very kind people who had a passion for orphans and their hearts were just wide open. Myrtle House Ministries is built on God’s revelation through people that have a passion to serve the Lord. And I am privileged to join this bandwagon of gallant giants of faith to impact the girl child through Christ and education.

-MacDonald

MacDonald & Linda

Lead Coordinators in Africa

Christie

Board Member

Sponsorship Director and Administrator

Growing up I had a passion and interest in children and nonprofit organizations. I often thought about one day adopting a child from Africa and it had been in the back of my mind ever since. As life progressed, my husband and I had 3 healthy boys, and we decided I would be a stay-at-home mom. Life was busy with 3 young boys and I kept very busy with their activities and volunteering at their schools. Although I love my boys dearly and wouldn’t change a thing, I still wondered some days what it would be like to have a daughter of my own. Since this was not in God’s plans, when I learned about Myrtle House Ministries from Amy, I saw it as my sign to help a girl in need who may also fit that role of a ‘daughter’ in my life. When Amy hosted CC I became instantly drawn to CC and fell in love with her and her story. She really touched my life and sparked that passion I had growing up. After talking with Amy, Chad and I decided to sponsor Deborah who is an orphan from Malawi. We are getting to know her on a personal level through videos, and we already feel a strong connection with her. It is so fulfilling to know we are helping her and giving her a chance at a good life. Our whole family is being touched by her as we pray over her. She is filling that little place in my heart that was empty. Along with helping Deborah, I am at a point in my life where my boys are older and I feel I can do more for others. I have found my passion in helping with this organization and helping more girls like Deborah. I am honored to be working with Amy, Heather, and Myrtle House Ministries to hopefully make an impact on many more of these vulnerable girls’ lives.

-Christie

Myrtle House Ministries (NGO) Board of Directors in Malawi