My name is Zarifé, and my story begins in La Revancha, a neighborhood in the city of Manta, in the Manabí province of Ecuador. I am 11 years old, but I met Jesus just last year.

It all started on a sunny school day at my school in the Urbirríos neighborhood. As I was walking across the playground during recess, I overheard my cousin and a friend talking about a special school where they were learning not only English, but also the Bible.

My ears perked up. I’d never been taught from the Bible, and I wanted more than anything to know about God.

“Do you think I could go, too?” I asked, walking over to them.

“Just talk to the Hope Foundation,” my friend replied, scribbling down a phone number on the back of my notebook.

That evening, I rushed to my mother, Verónica, who owns a small hair salon in our neighborhood. “Mamá, please, can you call them? I want to go to this school and learn about God!”

At home, my mother saw the change too. “You are a new person, my child,” she whispered, her voice filled with happiness.

But not everything became easy. After my baptism, all kinds of challenges and trials tested my faith. Sometimes I felt tired, but then I would remember the verse that Pastor Mauricio often repeated to us: “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). My teachers told me to hold onto God’s promises, and I did.

I am one of many. There are nearly 200 kids who come to Hope Foundation’s two support schools in La Revancha and Jaramijó, each with their own story. By teaching the gospel to students like myself, Hope Foundation has had over 60 baptisms between the two schools! But more than numbers, we see lives transformed—hearts touched by God’s love.

Please remember us in your prayers. I know that God has called me to tell others about Him, and I’m excited to keep growing with Jesus. Pray that I, and all the children here, will continue to shine brightly for Him.