Meet our 2020 graduates and help with their next step
We are so proud of our graduates this year. Get to know each of them and if you’d like to help them with their next stage of life, you can give a graduation gift!
Chris (New Mexico)
"At age two, my dad passed away from a drug overdose my mom was already out of the house for domestic violence. My older brother and sister and I went to live with our grandparents. In 2004 they did not want us anymore so they put us up for adoption. We got adopted later that year. We were adopted into a Christian family, and at age eight, I accepted the Lord as my personal savior. In 2015, my attitude got the better of me which forced my parents to place me in Hope Children's Home in Tampa, Florida.
I've been at Hope for 5 years now and have honestly enjoyed every minute of it! Though the thought of not really having parents is sometimes heartbreaking, the people at Hope have taken very good care of me. In late 2018 Mr. Matt Higgins, the DIrector of Operations in Tampa, asked if I would like to move out to our home in Clovis New Mexico. I have now been in New Mexico for a year-and-a-half and love it! Hope has taught me so much about how to live my life for the Lord. I plan to attend the community college out here in Clovis New Mexico to work towards a bachelor of science in Business Administration. Please pray for me for guidance in what the Lord would have me to do after college."
Elvin (Honduras)
"I came to Hope when I was 9 years old. I grew up in a Christian family and attended church before I came to Hope. I got save in a Sunday school class in our local church, a few months before I came to Hope. Hope is helping me walk through my Christian life, but also gives me love, a family, and opportunities that I wouldn’t had if I never came to Hope. I love music, and because of Hope, I’ve learn how to play the piano and violin. Hope has taught me how to serve the Lord and use my life for Him. I serve at church in different ministries and love to hangout out with our church’s youth group.
One of my struggles before I came to Hope was school. I couldn’t read or write. Hope helped me to not only read and write in Spanish but also in English! Now I can do much more being bilingual. One of the ways I help is translating for our Medicals brigades that comes to our church.
After graduation, I plan to go to Pensacola Christian College to study Pre-med. I want to attend medical school and become a doctor to help alongside Medical Missions Outreach. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Hope, and I’m forever grateful. I not only call Hope home, but my family."
Junior (Honduras)
"Before I came to Hope, my life was so different. I used to work when I was 8-11 years old to help provide for my siblings. Because of that, I didn’t go to school, and that’s why I’m almost 20 years old and just now graduating high school. Now, I’m grateful that God gave me the opportunity to come to this home. I received Christ as my savior when I came here and have had the opportunity to learn a new language and go to school. After I finish with school, which will be soon, I would like to go to University and be a paramedic."
Jacob (Florida)
"When I was three, my biological mother abandoned my brother, sister, and me. It left my biological father to take care of us; however, he wasn’t ready to provide this type of care. We jumped around to a few places before finally landing at my grandparent’s house. We lived there for three years before the government found out about my grandmother’s drug addiction and other illegal activities going on within the house. Child Protective Service took us away from my grandparents and brought us to my Aunt Tiffany and my Uncle David’s house. I was six when I moved in with them.
After living with them for a few years, things started to fall apart. I was angry about things that happened and grew bitter towards them. I started doing things that I shouldn't have to get the attention that I desired. I would constantly get in trouble for the same thing over and over again, yet I showed no remorse. When asked about my salvation, I would lie and just give people the answer they wanted to hear. Eventually, people stopped asking.
In 2016, my aunt and uncle found out about Hope and decided to send me hoping that I would get my life back on track. I came to Hope on October 18, 2016. Since being at Hope, I can truly say that I have been saved, and my life has been changed! Of course, as a teenage boy, I still make my fair share of mistakes; however, I have learned that God only disciplines out of love. Continue to pray for me as I finish high school and work to figure out what God would have for me. I plan to attend college to study elementary education."
Carolina (Honduras)
"I come from a family that was non-christian. My mom and my dad struggled to be so-called “perfect parents.” My mom was a woman who worked each day to provide everything necessary for my siblings and me. On the other hand, my dad struggled a lot with alcohol, and he would come home everyday drunk which was not helpful at all. I remember that I was scared of him because of how he acted towards my siblings and mom. I just wanted to have a normal life, but then I remembered that this was a normal life for me. My siblings and I heard that our life could be changed if we attended church, and that is exactly what we did!
As we continued attending church, we heard that there was a children’s Home close to our home and our parents felt like that would be the best place for us. It was the best thing ever for us to move to Hope! I personally thought my dad would never stop drinking and that he would never see us again. Instead, he started attending church, and two months later, God changed his life completely. Now my dad has not drank alcohol in eight years! The Lord has used Hope to not only change my life, but also the lives of my parents and siblings! Now, I am about to graduate hight school, and my plan is to attend Pensacola Christian College to study pre-med. After that, I would love to continue my education to specialize as a brain surgeon."