The Jones Family

In 2005, Brent Jones, husband of 4th grade teacher Ashley Jones, felt led to help out on a trip to Nicaragua through Thompson Station Church and Chosen Children Ministries. That simple trip to build a few benches and tables at an orphanage has turned into a trajectory change for the entire Jones family. Since his first trip, Brent has returned to Nicaragua about 25 times. More often than not, Brent takes a group of about 20 men to build a church from the ground up in a barrios that is without much of anything at all, much less a church. The men spend the week building the church, loving on and feeding the community, and helping a pastor draw others in to hear of HIS great love. There have also been a few visits along the way that have allowed the Jones boys to go and experience the culture, beauty, and needs of a third world country. Those trips usually take place around Christmas where the teams feed communities and present the gospel through the Christmas story.

During Brent's early visits to Nicaragua, a lot of time was spent in orphanages. At that time, the Joneses had sons Baylor, Callan, and Silas and were still growing their family and knew that God placed in their hearts the desire to adopt a child. Nicaragua is a country that is nearly impossible to adopt from, so they explored other countries in Central America. In 2006, God placed in their arms their precious daughter, Eliza, born in Guatemala. They met Eliza at five days old and spent nine months traveling through the adoption process in Guatemala. Eliza officially came home in June of 2007 and to know her is to know the joy of the Lord. A few years later, the Joneses would complete their family with son Cruz.

Brent has continued to grow his relationship with Chosen Children Ministries, and many of its board members and in-country staff members have become like family. Brent has brought the Nicaraguan staff to the states to speak at events and even share with our school and community. He has continued to foster some relationships that allow God to work and help the people of Nicaragua. Chosen Children Ministries’ reputation and love for its people makes it easy to find ways to support them. Mrs. Jones’s 4th grade class always focuses on Nicaragua during World Impact Week. It is a blessing to learn about the country and their culture and find ways that they can see their impact. For the past few years, they have participated in their Genesis Project and have sponsored Yellow Bags. Yellow Bags are the school supplies that all children in Nicaragua are required to have to attend school. Without these supplies, children are not able to go to school. Her class has been able to sponsor over 30 children to go to school in the last few years alone. These schools not only provide education for students, but also jobs in the communities for adults who make the school uniforms and shoes for students.