The pine-forested highlands and valley around Canillá, Guatemala, where Adonai International Ministries serves remote communities

Aid for Adonai

A four-person golf scramble in Edwardsville supporting a hospital and medical mission in the highlands of Guatemala.

Volunteer-run. Lean by design. Your gift goes straight to the work in Canillá.

Tim and Nicci Grotefendt in the pine highlands above Canillá, Guatemala
Tim & Nicci in the highlands above Canillá
Tim and Nicci Grotefendt at sunset in the Guatemalan highlands during a visit to Adonai International Ministries
Sunset over the highlands — Guatemala

Twenty-five years ago, I stepped off a plane in Guatemala for the first time.

I was eighteen. Duane and Leslie Ficker had only recently begun their work in the highlands, and it was my first time truly experiencing a third-world country up close. It put everything in perspective in a way that never left me.

Years later, Nicci and I started Aid for Adonai so we could keep that work going. We held our first event at the end of 2019, and in early 2020 we went back to see it for ourselves. What I saw stunned me — they had built an entire hospital from scratch, even sourcing the materials for the concrete out of the local river.

"Watching that come up out of the ground, in a place that once had almost no medical care at all, is something I'll never forget."

Aid for Adonai is run entirely by volunteers, and AIM operates as leanly as a mission possibly can. Your gift goes about as directly to care in Canillá as giving gets — funding the Widows Project and the Nurse Scholarship. Come be part of it.

— Tim Grotefendt

A hospital — built by hand — in the highlands of Guatemala.

Adonai International Ministries was founded in 2001 by Duane and Leslie Ficker, a registered nurse, after they had been living in Guatemala since 1999. What began as a single outpatient clinic with Leslie as the only nurse now sees more than 300 patients a week across five days of clinic — serving largely Mayan Quiché communities who historically had almost no access to healthcare.

2001

Founded by the Fickers

Marine, IL · 501(c)(3)

300+

Patients seen weekly

Across 5 days of clinic

2016

Hospital opened

Land purchased 2014

25 yrs

Serving Canillá

El Quiché highlands

Source: Adonai International Ministries — adonaiinternationalministries.org

"Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did unto Me."

Matthew 25:40 · AIM's anchor verse

Source: Adonai International Ministries, adonaiinternationalministries.org

From a river-stone foundation to a working medical facility.

A concrete pour for the foundation of the Adonai International Ministries hospital in Canillá, Guatemala
Before
Volunteers on a concrete mixer during construction of the Adonai hospital in the Guatemalan highlands
The Adonai hospital construction site with concrete mixer and water tanks against the Guatemalan mountains
The completed Adonai International Ministries medical facility with green roof and flowering courtyard in Canillá
After

300+ patients every week.

Five days of clinic. Stocked cabinets, a microscope, a working consultation room — care that simply did not exist here a generation ago. Your gift keeps the lights on and the door open.

Inside the stocked Adonai medical clinic, a staff member consults with a patient beside cabinets of supplies and a microscopeA nurse cares for a newborn under a warming lamp inside the Adonai clinic in Canillá, GuatemalaA young child during a medical visit at the Adonai clinic in Guatemala
The volunteer medical team — nurses and clinicians — gathered outside the Adonai clinic in Canillá, Guatemala
The team behind the week — nurses and clinicians serving Canillá

Two projects. One promise.

Aid for Adonai is run entirely by volunteers, and AIM operates as leanly as a mission possibly can. Your gift goes about as directly to care in Canillá as giving gets — funding the Widows Project and the Nurse Scholarship, not a layer of administration.

Mothers and children gathered with volunteers inside the Adonai clinic in Canillá, Guatemala

The Widows Project

Direct support for widows in the Canillá community — meeting practical needs that often fall through the cracks of formal aid. Routed through AIM's local team on the ground.

Give to this Project
A volunteer with a young patient inside the Adonai clinic in Canillá, Guatemala

The Nurse Scholarship

A two-year program that trains local women to become nurses — investing in the people who will care for their own communities long after the building is finished.

Give to this Project

The scramble, in nine holes.

On The Hill Golf Course — American Legion Post 199 — Edwardsville, IL. Two flights, food vendors on site, 50/50 raffle, and on-course golf games with cash prizes.

Get Directions →
Date
Saturday, September 12, 2026
Format
4-person scramble · 9 holes · two flights
Flights
10:00 AM and 12:30 PM
Awards
Following the second flight
On course
Food vendors · 50/50 raffle · cash-prize games
Venue
On The Hill Golf Course — American Legion Post 199, 58 IL-157, Edwardsville, IL 62025
Registration
No deadline — open until all team spots fill

Three ways in. One destination.

$200

Golf Team

Four players · 9-hole scramble

  • Cart, one meal & two drink tickets per player
  • Swag bag · on-course games · 50/50 raffle
  • Choose 10:00 AM or 12:30 PM flight
Register a Team
Most Popular

$400

Team + Hole Sponsor

Best value · save $50

  • Everything in the team package
  • Your business on a sign at a hole
  • Recognition announced during the event
Register + Sponsor

$250

Hole Sponsorship

Brand-only · no golfers required

  • Your logo / business on a course sign
  • Public recognition during the event
  • Repeat sponsors: we have your logo on file
Sponsor a Hole

Prefer to just give? Any-amount donations to the Widows Project or Nurse Scholarship are welcome below — no golf required.

How would you like to be part of it?

Choose your path below. No online payment — once you submit, Tim will personally reach out within one business day to confirm your spot and arrange payment.

Total: $200

Thanks — your info goes straight to Tim. He'll personally reach out within one business day to arrange payment (check, cash, or another option) and confirm your spot.

Prefer to talk now? Call Tim at (618) 910-4299. We'll only use your contact info to reach you about this event.

Seven years. One mission.

A look back at the scramble at American Legion Post 199 — the same course, the same crew, the same cause.

A golfer tees off beside the engraved American Legion Post 199 Golf Course marker at a past Aid for Adonai scramble in Edwardsville
Golfers gather at the American Legion Post 199 clubhouse after a past Aid for Adonai golf scramble
A golf ball on the putting green near the flag at a past Aid for Adonai event

A quick clip from the morning briefing — carts loaded, teams gathered, ready to roll. Eight years in, this is what it looks like.

Honest answers, before you ask.

Where does my money go?

Aid for Adonai is run entirely by volunteers, and Adonai International Ministries operates as leanly as a mission possibly can. Your gift goes about as directly to care in Canillá as giving gets — funding the Widows Project and the Nurse Scholarship, not a layer of administration.

What's included in the $200 team entry?

A four-person team gets nine holes of scramble golf with a cart, one meal per player from the on-site food vendors, two drink tickets per player, and a swag bag. Each golfer also has the chance to win cash through our on-course games and the 50/50 raffle.

What is a hole sponsorship?

For $250 you get your business on a sign at a hole, plus recognition announced throughout the event. A team-plus-sponsorship package is available for $400 (a $50 savings).

Can I help if I don't golf?

Absolutely. You can give a direct donation of any amount to the Widows Project or the Nurse Scholarship, or sponsor a hole. Every gift is routed to AIM.

How do I pay?

There is no online payment on this site. Once you submit the form, Tim will personally reach out within one business day to arrange payment — check, cash, or another option that works for you. Checks are made payable to Adonai International Ministries.

What's the schedule?

Two flights go out — the first at 10:00 AM and the second at 12:30 PM — with awards following the second flight. It's a nine-hole, four-person scramble at On The Hill Golf Course in Edwardsville.

Is there a registration deadline?

There's no set deadline, but spots are limited to the number of team slots available, so teams are reserved first-come, first-served until we're full.

Is my gift tax-deductible?

Yes. Adonai International Ministries is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Contact us for details.

The place your gift reaches.

Three Maya women in traditional Guatemalan dress at an Adonai community gathering near CanilláA street in the highland town of Canillá, Guatemala, with shops and motorcyclesMarket day in Canillá, Guatemala, with fruit vendors and families shoppingA team of oxen pulling a wooden cart loaded with river stone near Canillá, Guatemala

Help build the next chapter in Canillá.

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