Jason & Sara VanHeukelum
Highlands International School
Update: 2/20/08
Since July 2006, Sara and Jason Van Heukelum have been serving at Highlands International School in La Paz, Bolivia. After going on three Lake Forest mission trips to Cochabamba, Sara and Jason felt God calling them to the country of Bolivia – but didn’t know in what capacity. Today, Jason is the Director of Highlands International School through the Network of International Christian Schools. The school is a Christian school that has a stated objective of training up Servant Leaders who demonstrate Christ-like Compassion and have a Heart for Justice. This is exactly what Highlands is doing!
During the last two years Highlands International School has grown from 76 students to 128 students and because of this growth is now looking for a new campus to facilitate the growth and continue creating more and better disciples of Jesus! Today, Highlands is actively negotiating with developers in La Paz over three pieces of property and is anticipating making a decision by March 2008. This is an exciting time for Highlands and Jason and Sara want to express their sincere thanks to the LFC community for their support in this project. Once the new campus is built, it is projected that Highlands will quickly grow to 350 students.
Bolivia is a broken country. And, until the leaders of this country experience true heart-change, Bolivia will continue to be a place of injustice in the world. Through Highlands International School, LFC is supporting sustainable change for this country.
Ministry Description
Jason is the Director of Highlands International School (www.highlandsinternational.org). Highlands is a Christian school that is seeking to train up servant-leaders in Bolivia. Many of the students that attend HIS come from influential / powerful families in Bolivia. Our hope is that these students will be changed by the love of Jesus and use their influence to change Bolivia. Highlands is a member of NICS (Network of International Christian Schools - http://www.nics.org). Sara works with two organizations in La Paz - Para los Ninos (orphanage) and Casa de Esperanza (House of Hope for prostitutes). Sara attends to the medical needs at both facilities and is actively involved in advocacy for these marginalized populations in Bolivia.
Jason & Sara’s Story
Bolivia became a part of our lives in the summer of 2003, when we decided to go on “short-term” mission trip to Cochabamba, Bolivia to work with street kids and orphans. Three years later, we were selling most of our belongings and preparing to move to La Paz, Bolivia to work at Highlands International School through NICS (Network of International Christian Schools). During those three years, God continued to shape us and form us after the image of His son and prepare us for this journey. God showed us through this time how He wanted to use our gifts and professions in this country in order to bring glory to His name. So, now we’re here! We live in La Paz and Jason is the Director of Highlands International School and Sara is actively involved using her nursing skills with a ministry in El Alto (a slum city just above La Paz).
Special Needs
Library books (in English) - email Jason for a list of books that are needed Scholarships - one of the primary goals of the school is to give Amarya Indians a “world-class” education. Most Amayra families make up the extreme poor of Bolivia. Our hope is to give them a free, English-speaking education alongside some of the most wealthy families in La Paz. Currently, we have three Amarya families that attend the school on complete 100% scholarship. We are looking for families to commit to support scholarships on a monthly basis at $50, $100, or $150 / month.
Prayer Requests
David Quijarro is the business manager at Highlands. He has been in the Intensive Care Unit for the past 2 weeks. David recently came out of the coma, but is still using a ventalator and in critical condition. We are praying for a full recovery. Growth of the school - we started with 79 students in August of 2006 and we now have 115 as of April 2007. We need to purchase land and build a new building.
Website
Jason VanHeukelum: jasonvanheukelum@nics.org
www.vanheukelum.com