history + impact

About US

Your giving shouldn’t feel like a guess. MAD Ministries connects you directly to children in Brazil, so you always know, and can see, exactly where your generosity lands. Here’s more about how we got our start and what we do for the children in Brazil.

How Making A Difference Ministries Was Founded

Making a Difference Ministries (also known as FAD “Fazendo a Diferença,” which is “Making a Difference” in Portuguese) began in 2006, when a group from a local church in Boulder County, Colorado traveled to Campina Grande, Brazil. What they encountered was hopelessness so pervasive that the children there couldn’t picture a future for themselves – basic necessities were so out of reach that dreaming beyond them felt impossible.

That trip became a turning point. Rather than walk away with a story to tell, the group chose to act. Making A Difference was founded to come alongside the children of Queimadas, a small village in Paraíba near Campina Grande, and to keep showing up for them; not as a one-time mission trip, but as a long-term commitment.

Group of men, women and children posing outside a small home in Queimadas, Brazil

woman in classroom with lots of kids sitting around her teaching and smiling

About Our Name

“Making a Difference Ministries” was named from the story adapted from “The Stary Thrower” by Loren C. Eisely. It goes as follows:

While walking along a beach, an elderly man saw a young boy in the distance who was picking up starfish off the sand and gently tossing them back into the ocean.
As he neared the boy, the man smiled and said, “Why are you throwing starfish back into the water?”
The boy replied, “The sun is up, and the tide is going out; if I don’t throw them back in, they’ll die.”
The man commented, “But, son, don’t you realize that many, many starfish have washed up along every mile of this beach? You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The boy listened politely. He then bent down, gently picked up another starfish, and tossed it past the breaking waves.

“Sir,” he replied, “I made a difference to that one.”

1000+

Children Sponsored Since
Our Opening

Kids Have Gone On To
Trade Schools or College

21+ Years

Serving the Queimadas Community

Board Members

Gary Mansdorfer
Executive Director and Corporate Secretary

Mike Faulhaber
Director and Corporate Treasurer

Mary Wagner
Director and Child Sponsorship Coordinator

Women with glasses and curly hair smiling at FAD center

Jessica Silva
Director

Staff Located In Brazil

Big group of people standing in front of a wall with a mural at the FAD center, smiling

Six people standing in front of a wall with a mural at the FAD center, smiling

Our Community Center

The FAD (Fazendo a Diferença) Community Center is located in Queimadas, Paraíba, Brazil, and has been serving children, teenagers, and families for over 21 years. In a community where many face poverty and difficult home situations, FAD exists as a place of safety, belonging, and opportunity.

The center is supported by 3 full time staff members and around 20 volunteers. Each day, children receive two meals, academic support, and opportunities for play, creativity, and personal development. FAD focuses on the whole child helping them grow in reading, school skills, confidence, and social development.

Beyond education and care, FAD also provides emotional and spiritual support through Bible teaching, prayer, worship, and family gatherings such as mothers’ prayer meetings and monthly services. The center also runs an English program with about 30 students and has helped several young people continue into higher education and college.

lots of kids in a white room with white chairs and tables wearing FAD gray tshirts

The FAD Community Center

A woman standing in the doorway of her home in Queimadas, Brazil

About the Region

Queimadas is located in Paraíba, in the Northeast region of Brazil. Like many communities in the region, families in Queimadas face economic challenges, including limited job opportunities, unstable income, and fewer resources for education and personal development.

These challenges can directly impact children, affecting their opportunities and future. FAD was created to respond to these challenges by offering a safe and supportive environment for children. Through education, care, and community support, the organization helps children develop their potential and build hope for a better future.

“All the good things I have learned and will learn. I thank God every day for FAD. I never imagined I would learn to speak English. I met Jesus at FAD. My family are not believers. FAD is my 2nd family.”

Joanna, sponsored child

“FAD is my 2nd family. I have support from my friends and the FAD leaders. I am thankful. God bless you for making it possible.”

Isabel, Sponsored Child

“The Americans mean a lot to me because they have traveled far to show me love. Thank you.”

Camila, Sponsored Child

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