Mexico
Magdalena
The Child Sponsorship Program has supported House of Life and Hope (Casa Vida y Esperanza or CVE) Children's Home from the beginning and continues to support a number of students in Magdalena. CVE is an Apostolic Christian Church outreach located in Northern Mexico.
CVE exists to: Mentor young lives with the truth, love, and hope of Jesus Christ for today and forever. This includes meeting their physical, mental, and spiritual needs through education, training, and the security and stability of a godly home life.
Juarez
The AMMAR School is located in Juarez, just across the border from El Paso, Texas. The students move in and out of the school in this transient area. Some stay for a short time until their parents, who come from the countryside, find work in a different area and other students stay for a longer time when the parents find work in the AMMAR area. During their time at the school, the students are exposed to the gospel message.
Located on the outskirts of the poverty and violence-stricken city of Juarez, the Lancaster School is associated with the LaVid (The Vine) orphanage which receives HarvestCall assistance.
As you enter and tour the Lancaster facility and visit with the staff and children, you sense a feeling of love and peace though the school is located amid much poverty and some of the children have first-hand experience with the violence that plagues the area. The school has a common area where the staff and children gather daily for devotions and guidance. The school is very well managed and we routinely receive notes of appreciation from the school director.
There are very few Christian secondary schools in Juarez, Mexico. The Encuentro School is a rare exception as it is managed by a very dedicated Christian staff committed to providing a spiritual and educational curriculum for the sake of the well-mannered students. This provides the opportunity for expanding the Christ centered education to a higher level.
The Field Office for the Juarez schools is managed by members of our Bluffton, IN Church.
Ixtlan
For a number of years, sponsors have supported the students associated with the Ixtlan church. A Christian School, with both primary and secondary students, has been built to further serve this community. Colegio de las Américas de Ixtlán is under the direction of a board of Apostolic Christian brethren. The Child Sponsorship Program only recently began providing individual child sponsorships and has the potential to serve about 174 students.
Isaiah 55
Instituto Isaias 55 is a grace-based mission that evangelizes the communities of Mexico through the education of deaf students in the border city of Reynosa, Mexico. Reynosa has a population of almost one million, and Isaiah 55 appears to be the only school designed especially for the deaf. The city faces problems of homelessness, crime, orphaned children, poverty, and drug trafficking. A typical deaf child in Mexico does not have access to language or education, resulting in a significant number of children largely unreached by the gospel.
Three primary goals for the students at the school are:
- Language, which will allow communication with their family, community, and church.
- Education, which will allow the students to pursue jobs and support themselves.
- The Gospel, which provides the students with the tools to be able to read His Word and learn about Jesus.
The sponsorship money is used for school operations – which include teachers’ salaries, school supplies, uniforms and maintenance; special events such as programs and field trips; and expansion – plans are being made to open a second school near the center of the city.