What makes ChildHope so important? Many things factor into the powerfully effective way ChildHope moves children toward a bright future — Maria’s story demonstrates this …

Maria’s mother wanted to enroll her in the ChildHope school in their home city of Torremolinos in Costa Rica — her mom wasn’t a Christian, but she knew Maria would get the best education there.

The public school in their impoverished community was overcrowded and under-resourced. Maria’s mom knew an education was the key to her daughter’s future, and wanted her to get the best. She didn’t know what Maria learned at her ChildHope school would change the whole family’s future!

It was at her school, in a chapel service, that Maria fi rst heard about new life in Christ — and chose to follow Jesus. Day by day, encouraged by friends and teachers, she grew in her newfound faith — even as she excelled in school.

As a teenager, she was in discipleship programs at school … and through these classes, her parents, too, came to know Christ as Savior!

Today Maria has graduated from college, served as a teacher, and then became the director of a small school in the mountains outside San Jose.

“I love my job and know that I am working in the area God wants me in,” she says. “I also serve God in my church, having helped with the youth group. Each day I strive to know God even more, and to do His will.”

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