At the center of Experiencing Faith and Hope Ministries is a new church plant on the outskirts of Santiago, the second largest city in the Dominican Republic. Worship is the heartbeat of this new church, both through music and the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. As a skilled musician, Ismael is usually at his keyboard, leading the young congregation in robust singing and Scripture recitation before moving into the pulpit to deliver the Word of the Lord.

If worship is the heartbeat of this new body, education is the backbone. As the church began, dozens of children began to show up, presenting a wonderful new challenge: “What to do with all of these children?!” If these children were to be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, a school was necessary. Although space was limited, Ismael started two new classrooms for pre-K and K-1. With curtains separating the “classrooms” in the small one-room sanctuary, classes began for the 30 students. With several generous donations from supporting U.S. churches, the school was able to hire several women from the church to teach, administrate, and cook for the school. One year later, in 2024, a third classroom was added. Ismael and Emmania will often provide for the needs of the school (feeding children, providing books and supplies, etc.) from their own pockets. We are praying that we can gather enough people to provide some basic sponsorship to help offset the daily costs of running the school. Would you consider committing $30 a month to help these children go to school?