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Dulce (30) is a mother of four — Gregory (18), Scarlet (15), Steisy (8), and Jesús (7). Gregory and Scarlet are both sponsored children. Through child sponsorship, Dulce participated in a parenting school led by Food for the Hungry, which empowered her to change the trajectory of her children’s future.

Dulce and her husband Juan are raising their four children in the community of Solares de Villa in the Dominican Republic.

In Solares de Villa, Dominican Republic, high school dropout rates and teen pregnancies plague the community. Dulce’s family was no exception. Her children couldn’t read and they struggled emotionally and academically.

Before her involvement with FH, Dulce’s home life was chaotic. The children were unmotivated to do household chores and were not doing well emotionally, physically, or in school. Most notably, the older children couldn’t read.

Although she gained solace through seeking the Lord and learning about salvation, Dulce felt powerless to help her children. She felt that her life lacked purpose, and she didn’t know what she could do to change it.

Dulce joined the parent school, which was established through the partnership between child sponsors and FH. The parent school equips and empowers parents and caregivers with training to improve their daily interactions with their children. This training also promotes children’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills which has a positive ripple effect in all areas of their life – academic, social, and interpersonal. Additionally, the parent school prepares children to become future leaders. This shows how child sponsorship can positively impact whole families and entire communities.

Dulce’s perspective on education and development notably changed from her training at the parent school. She eagerly applied what she learned at home and has witnessed an impactful change in her children’s academic and social development. She was able to apply this in her children’s reading skills through the “art of storytelling” and use of colorful illustrations. Remarkably, in a short time, Dulce’s children have made progress in their schoolwork and her teenage children have greatly improved their reading skills. And, her husband, Juan, and children now regularly do household chores and share more responsibility.

Dulce has also found a new purpose in life — she eagerly participates in a group for leaders who are mothers and is also a volunteer in a local mental health group.

Dulce hopes for a better future for her family. She dreams of her children becoming exemplary individuals who strive to please God. Now, she is eager to participate in more workshops and wants to see her family continue to learn and grow.

She has the dream for the Solares de Villa community to improve their youth engagement. She also hopes to see the community grow, offer technical courses, create job opportunities, and make new recreation spaces.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 states, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.”

Dulce’s story is a powerful example of how child sponsors help FH partner with local communities so parents have the skills to raise their children to reach their full potential. Child sponsorship opens doors to a better future for children, extending to their families and communities challenged by poverty.

FH. Child Sponsorship Opens Doors to a Better Future for Families. July 26, 2024.

https://www.fh.org/blog/child-sponsorship-opens-doors-to-a-better-future-for-families/

“I have learned so much from my daughter. I am embarrassed to say that I should be the example of how to grow with the Lord, but she is the one who is showing me.”

This statement was made, through tears, by a grateful (and proud!) mother at our intern celebration. She was referring to the fact that her high school daughter has made time alone with the Lord a daily habit, is practicing Bible study methods and is arranging to spiritually mentor younger children in their church. This young lady, who started with us at Juntos when she was six years old, also led one of our Kids Club classes and has become an example to her peers of what it looks like to enjoy a relationship with Jesus and share Him with others.

A second mom shared how her daughter has become a completely different person after participating in the internship the last two summers, part of which included one-on-one discipleship from a Juntos staff. “She has come out of her shell and been encouraged to try new things. She was really dealing with anxiety and depression. Knowing she could be honest and that her mentor would love her no matter what has given her confidence she never had before.”

Mid-July marked the completion of our second Juntos internship in recent years. We had three young leaders (aged 17-19) commit to an eight-week paid internship. They not only helped us with programming and spent time with kids, but they received extra training in basic spiritual disciplines. It was surprising to us that all three mentioned that learning to study the Bible independently was the highlight of the internship for them. They were surprised that they could learn so much from God’s Word on their own and the practical tools they received has made Scripture much more exciting and accessible to them.

One of our main goals at Juntos is “spiritual generations.” By this we mean that we not only want to lead kids to Christ and disciple them, but we want them to be able to do the same. You can imagine our joy when one of the interns told us that she had offered to start meeting with a middle schooler from her church to mentor her and show her how to read the Bible. As we praised God together, we were reminded that the plan for spiritual generations that Jesus laid out for His disciples takes a long time, but it really works!

We are grateful for this current season at Juntos. While God has always been at work, it appears that the “harvest” is more plentiful than ever! After many years of sowing and watering, He is proving his faithfulness to us in the form of these young people who have caught the vision to make disciples. He promises us that our labor is never in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58) and we are seeing, once again, that our God is a promise keeper!

Laura Jenkins has been involved with Juntos since 2005 and currently serves as the director. Juntos offers weekly meetings, summer programs, leader training, small group Bible studies, tutoring, and mentoring for kids in the International District of Albuquerque. If you’d like more information about serving with Juntos, call the Mountain Christian Church office.

In January, I embarked on a month-long trip to South Africa with the Fellows program by Impact 360 Institution. Fellows is a nine-month experience in which I learned about worldview, defending my faith, and what it means to be a Christian in modern-day culture, among other topics.

One aspect of Fellows is going international for one month in Brazil or South Africa. The purpose and title of this trip was not a typical mission trip; it was referred to as an international immersion trip. A journey in which the purpose is to see God's creation and people elsewhere. Through this, I got to work with a nonprofit called Living Hope.

My team worked with Living Hope the whole time we were in the country and got to experience and see how the kingdom of God works in different cultures. Living Hope nonprofit has many developed programs in which my team got to work together and dive into the work Living Hope does every week.

One of my favorite programs we worked with was the rehab center. The rehab center is where addicts, murderers, and alcoholics come and hear the Word of God and get to hear from their brothers and sisters who are going through similar trials. The rehab center was a very impactful experience. I sat next to a murderer and talked to a recovering alcoholic, and shook hands with a drug dealer. I heard their stories and how God brought them out of darkness. I learned that what they had done was not their identity, for that was now in Christ.

The other parts of Living Hope are farming, elderly care, nursing in close communities, and working with kids. Every part of Living Hope was so unique to see. I got to experience so much in the short time I was there. The Lord grew me significantly, and I loved serving the people there. I learned a lot in Cape Town and would love to return at some point in my life. I learned about abiding in and with Christ through the people in South Africa, and on my team, I learned how to rest and lean on Him.

I loved my time there and learned so much. I am so lucky to have been able to go, and I cannot wait for God's next thing for me.

It’s easy to agree with this lofty goal, but making it happen in the midst of our busy schedules can seem impossible! Thankfully, there’s a ministry giving us opportunities to serve the international community in simple, yet impactful ways. 

International Students, Inc. operates on college campuses throughout the United States and even internationally. According to their mission statement, ISI “exists to share Christ’s love with international students and to equip them for effective service in cooperation with the local church and others.” 

International Students, Inc. is thriving close to home at the University of New Mexico. Would you believe, UNM recommends that every international student connect with this Christ-centered ministry prior to their arrival? The value of the support ISI offers is undeniable!

Imagine you’re traveling alone to another country. You don’t know the language particularly well, and the culture is unfamiliar. Despite these challenges, you’ll need to assimilate quickly before your university classes begin. What a daunting endeavor! 

At the airport you are greeted, then welcomed into a home while you look for your own place. You are even offered donated furniture so you have fewer expenses to worry about as you get settled. 

Your new friends invite you to share meals, celebrate holidays and to experience local customs. Respectfully, you ask questions of each other and exchange ideas. 

These tangible expressions of Christ’s love, poured out over the course of your time studying abroad, would make quite a lasting impact! Especially as you return to your home country, a highly-educated leader in your field. 

Even for those of us who are not international students, ISI is invaluable because it breaks down into achievable steps that daunting goal of sharing Christ’s love with the nations:

Available during your lunch break to pick up a newcomer from the airport? ISI will put you to work! 

Willing to converse with someone practicing their English? ISI will invite you to the “English Corner” hosted at the Baptist Student Union. 

Got an extra seat at the table for holiday dinner? ISI will extend your invitation to students hoping to make relational connections. 

The first step to getting directly involved with International Students, Inc. is to check out isiabq.org. Contact director Joan Lasche and she’ll talk you through the steps to getting on their email list. Or, if that’s more than you’re able to tackle at the moment, be on the lookout for ways you can come alongside MCC’s Mission Team as we support ISI: 

Email mcc4missions@gmail.com if you’d like to donate furniture or household items to the cause. We’ll even pick up!

Drop off your food contribution at the church next time you hear the mission team is providing an ISI Welcome Meal. We’ll take care of the rest!  

You may choose to get involved with International Students, Inc. now, later, or not at all. Either way, I hope you’re excited to know that the Lord is working through this ministry. Thank you for lifting ISI in prayer! 

Genesis of Hope, one of our partners in ministry in South Asia, was created by the Landge family who has been working among the poorest of the poor since the 1980s. While meeting physical needs has value, they were driven to meet the spiritual needs, which has eternal value. They work in many different areas and engage people from Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist backgrounds. Genesis of Hope has eight children's centers focused on meeting the physical, mental, educational and spiritual needs of children and families living in the slums of a major city in South Asia. They employ engaged, creative, and caring staff to work in their own communities.  

Last October I traveled with a small team from MCC and was able to visit three of these centers and meet several of the teachers and pastors that work tirelessly for the children and their families. Several of these staff members I had met on previous trips five years ago, and some even more than 12 years ago. There is such joy from these men and women. They showed us some of the ways they are creatively teaching math and language lessons to the children and art projects they have done as a community. The centers provide a safe space for the children and the leaders provide care and emotional support. 

The first center we visited was Shahbad Dairy. MCC provides annual support for this center, which allows them to minister to approximately 80 children and their families. We were able to meet about half the students and were able to share a song, story and craft. The teachers at this center are amazing. We heard their testimonies and how Genesis of Hope has made a difference in their lives, even as staff. They were so excited to share how they are teaching the students in very creative ways.  

The second center was in a predominantly Muslim area. I was especially excited to visit this center because my family sponsors Sana, a 12-year-old girl that lives there. At this center we squeezed into a very small space. There were three connected rooms where maybe 60 kids crammed in and sat on the floor while we shared our song, story, and craft. I was also able to spend a little time talking with Sana and her mother and brother. 

The third center we visited is a new ministry that was begun by a pastor who noticed a growing slum underneath the metro lines on the floodplains of a major river near his home and asked if the ministry would be able to support another Genesis of Hope center. This center meets in a very basic open-air structure. This area receives food daily as a part of a feeding program from Amazon. It’s a rural area and gets flooded as the monsoons come every summer. 

Now imagine a super fun Vacation Bible School week at each of these centers. Genesis of Hope hosted six VBS experiences throughout their city this past week. What a sweet thing to pray about as we experience our own VBS. There were over 700 kids in attendance total. Kids had a chance to experience the hope that Jesus brings and have fun with their friends. Unlike many of the students attending MCC’s VBS, these children are from Hindu and Muslim backgrounds. Some are regular attendees of a Genesis of Hope program and for others this will be the first time they have ever had a chance to hear about Jesus. 

There are some logistics that make this VBS quite different from what our students experience in our church. While we may think it is hot here, they have experienced 110+ degrees with little or no access to air conditioning. They also managed to fit nearly 50-60 kids into spaces that we would only feel would comfortably hold 15-20 kids. The snack the kids receive may be the only nutritious food they receive that day. But there were volunteers and staff with smiles on their faces greeting each child, just like what happens right here. There was fun, there were songs, there were snacks, there were games and most of all, the name of Jesus was proclaimed. Those are the very same things that make our VBS special. 

Genesis of Hope will continue to meet the needs of children living in the poorest parts of this huge city. Our support enables them to pay their faithful staff, maintain their buildings, and provide materials needed to provide education and support for these children. Pray for all the staff of Genesis of Hope. The situation in their country is becoming more and more difficult for them to share their faith freely and sometimes even finding a space to meet together as believers is difficult. Pray for favor among their neighbors, and even with the government. When you pray this week, just remember Genesis of Hope. Please pray for each child to understand God’s love for them. Please pray the stories and lessons they learned will take root in their heart and that their families would come to know Jesus as well.