Hi, I’m Noelle Charles, and I have the joy of serving as the Parent Ministry Manager (in training, my predecessor Betty Means retires in August) at Adventures in Missions —where I get to come alongside the amazing parents of World Racers as they navigate their own journey of release, faith, and trust. My role is all about creating connection—between parents and the ministry, between parents and their Racers, and often, between parents and God as they discover what it means to let go and lean in.
From answering emails and hopping on Zooms to hosting launch events and coordinating Parent Vision Trips, I help parents feel seen, supported, and strengthened as their kids step into the mission field. It’s a role full of purpose, prayer, and a lot of real-life conversations—and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
But ministry isn’t just what I do—it’s also how I live.
After 16 years as a single mom raising two incredible daughters—Isabella (21), a nursing student and lacrosse coach, and Sophia (19), a fellow World Racer and art history major—I stepped into a beautiful new chapter. On Thanksgiving Day 2024, just one day before our one-year dating anniversary, Joe Charles proposed in front of our closest family and friends. With 2025 marking a year we’d both committed to full-time mission work, we decided to begin it rooted in faith and obedience. With just six weeks of planning, we hosted 150 of our favorite people in our backyard and were married on January 25th.
Then came our honeymoon… in the jungle.
At the end of 2024, Joe and I began fundraising to build a bridge in one of the most remote regions of Panama—a vital lifeline for seven indigenous villages whose people trek 18 miles through rugged terrain and cross a deadly river just to reach food, school, and church. Tragically, a life is lost to that river nearly every month. Joe, who engineered the bridge, and I began construction in early 2025. We camped in a tent, worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the villagers, and taught them how to build it—often explaining structural integrity in broken Spanish:
“más fuerte aquí… no, más cemento, sí?”
…with lots of hand motions and even more grace.
Oh—and with Joe came two amazing bonus kids. Grant (16) is a high school junior and absolute lacrosse phenom, and Mady (15) is a freshman rocking her first year of lax like a natural. We’re a wild, blended bunch and I wouldn’t change a thing.
And now… welcome to my “better late than never” blog! I’m officially four months behind on launching this space—because, well, honeymooning in Panama, back-to-back Parent Vision Trips to Guatemala and Eswatini, and then back to Panama will do that to a girl. But here we are. This little corner of the internet is where I’ll be sharing the wild, the holy, the chaotic, and the sacred—one random moment or reflection at a time from a life that’s been anything but ordinary. Thanks for being here. Truly.
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