A Mission to Remember

After three years of Covid and being separated from students, teachers at Jubilee Centers International (JCI) were now making a considerable leap, interacting personally with students who lived through the deaths of family members and had only virtual contact with classmates. Life and learning had been challenging. Under stress themselves, teachers persevered through it all, providing love and support for each student. In July 2022, a Mission Team from TPH traveled to JCI to pray for the teachers. Emily Romero, co-founder of JCI (with her husband David) attended TPH through 8th grade.

Kathy DeJong teaches at TPH and is Jubilee’s school board president.

"God made it clear that our main goal that week was to pray with the teachers. We listened to their prayer petitions and praises. In pairs, we prayed for everyone: construction workers, office staff, teachers, Emily and David, the cleaning ladies, the watchmen, and others.

We brought tangible gifts of love, which included 60 Bibles. Bibles are rare and expensive in Honduras.

Students hugged it as though they were hugging a teddy bear. Their faces glowed as they thumbed through the pages. I was reminded that God's Word is a treasure. The Holy Spirit prompted me to ask myself, ‘Am I valuing the Bible as a great gift?’

Evan Post, the Discipleship Coordinator for middle school at TPH, saw this trip as a great opportunity.

“I was excited to hear that Kathy and Sarah were going on this trip. I asked if I could go. Getting to know other PH folks was a blessing. We got along well, laughed, and saw beautiful moments with the Lord. Praying with Jubilee's teachers was memorable. We saw Jesus speak into some people’s hearts.

I shared with the after-school music program students about worship and the heart of a worshiper. I demonstrated how to sing from the Psalms spontaneously. A few students tried it. Afterward, a timid girl shared, ‘I struggle to understand the Bible when I read it, but when we began to sing the words, my heart was touched. I understood what we were singing.’ The experience encouraged me in my calling.”

While in college Sarah Veenstra studied abroad in Honduras and has since visited family and friends there occasionally. She is the elementary/middle school Spanish teacher at TPH. For her, this trip was unforgettable because she introduced two of her children to Jubilee.

“The opportunity to travel back to Honduras and build relationships with students and staff at our sister school was too exciting to miss. It was a precious gift to share the Bibles and feel the Lord's presence as we prayed together.

My girls were blessed to interact with the students: my nine-year-old said, ‘The students at Jubilee were welcoming and eager to do crafts and games with us.’ A highlight for my eleven-year-old, was spending time with the students, teachers, and learning the language. She taught origami and said of the trip, ‘It was an incredible experience that I will never forget!’"

Phil Cole has been teaching Bible and Spanish at TPH for 24 years. He and his daughter Esther (TPH alumna) were part of the July team.

“In 2016, while on a Two Fish Foundations mission trip in Honduras, I visited Emily and David for a few days. This time I went with my eyes wide open on a scouting trip for The Potter’s House high school’s May/June (MJ) Term. [MJ term is a two-week course for 9th-11th graders giving them opportunities to be challenged as leaders]. It became clear that Jubilee is an excellent destination for TPH’s May/June term–a place to dig in our roots.

We want to serve in a country where students can be challenged educationally. David and Emily have been in the trenches working hard for twelve years. Their leadership is stellar. I was stunned by how much the teachers struggle to get to school daily, operating under arduous conditions to develop their craft, to never quit, and to persevere. I asked myself, ‘Do I have that level of commitment?’

I was also overwhelmed by Kathy’s leadership. She placed us where we needed to be. I taught a Leadership class in Spanish with 9th graders. My daughter Esther helped with Bible class. They were able to do some dramatizations.

JCI is a school that we want to bless, and it offers TPH an opportunity to stretch ourselves. Laying some foundational pieces for the future with Jubilee excites me. It’s not about us but what God is doing.”

Co-founder of TPH, Mark VanZanten, also serves on Jubilee’s board. He went on this mission trip to encourage the staff. In addition to the powerful prayer time and giving the students Bibles, he summarized the overall sentiment of the team in a recent Jubilee newsletter.

“The image that will remain for all of us is the sheer joy on so many students’ faces as we greeted them in the morning. We were reminded again, that despite the crime, poverty, and despair often felt in their neighborhood of La Era, Jubilee is a sanctuary where their hopes and dreams can be nurtured as they grow into well-rounded, mature followers of Jesus.”

The mission team with the cofounder, David and staff member, Gaby