“Linda vista” is the Spanish term for “beautiful view.” The Linda Vista Latin America ChildCare school in Costa Rica certainly lives up to its name … not because of the actual view, looking out on a large slum outside San Jose …

But because the school is giving children in need the gift of a beautiful outlook on the future. Joel is just one example. His dad had gone to prison, and his mom deserted him. He was left with his grandpa, who loved him and helped get him enrolled at Linda Vista.

Then, tragedy struck. Joel’s grandfather passed away. The grief stricken boy withdrew into himself, stopped eating, and rapidly lost ground in school.

Thankfully, his teachers, church, and the other students at Linda Vista wouldn’t let Joel’s hopes die.

They surrounded him with love and support, and helped carry him through his grief.

“I don’t feel alone at school,” Joel says now. “I know I’m loved here.”

Samuel, a second-grader, understands Joel’s story. His dad is in prison, too. And when he first started school at Linda Vista, Samuel was hungry, sad, and mistrustful. He cried often and only really seemed happy on those rare occasions that he was allowed to visit his father in jail.

But Samuel’s new friends and caring teachers reached out to him with such love, that slowly things began to change. He warmed up to his classmates … and soon began to achieve academically, too.

“It is God that helped me through,” Samuel says today. He enjoys a daily nutritious meal, is learning in school, and is growing in his faith every day.

Thanks for opening your heart in compassion to girls and boys like Joel and Samuel. Your faithfulness as a LACC sponsor is life-changing for children just like them!