Dear Friends,
We recently celebrated another graduation at Sparrow Academy, and again I watched (online from Thailand) these students, future college freshmen, professionals, leaders, and world-changers graduate with hope written all over their faces. At Sparrow Missions, we work to see the cycles of poverty broken and with these graduates, you could see it happening in real time. It was beautiful. It was holy. And honestly, it made me pause and think, “How in the world did we get here?”
Because, let me be clear, this did not start with a master plan to build a school. There was no 10-year blueprint and no vision statement about a campus with 200+ students, counseling departments, science labs, or soccer fields. It started much smaller, much humbler, much funnier, actually. It started with a women’s Bible study.
Back in 2011, my wife, Ashley, was leading a small group of women in the community that is now Rancho Bonito. One day, as any good Bible study leader would, she asked if anyone had prayer requests. Then, she pulled out note cards and pencils so they could write them down. Simple enough, right? Except the women didn’t write anything.
Instead, they formed a slow, quiet line. One by one, they walked up and handed Ashley their blank note cards so that she could write down their prayer requests for them. It hit her hard: they couldn’t write. Then, another reality followed quickly behind it. Most of them didn’t take a Bible when offered—not because they didn’t want one, but because they couldn’t read it.
That was the spark. No strategic meeting, no whiteboard, no “launching an educational initiative for under-resourced communities.” Just women who wanted to read the Bible but couldn’t. So we brought in teachers and those teachers started teaching the women to read using the Bible as their very first textbook. Slowly, beautifully, they learned.
Once they could read, something awakened: a hunger, a longing, a vision. “If we can learn to read,” they said, “maybe our children can too.” At that time, many of the children in the community weren’t in school. Some were rejected by public schools due to family situations; some were seen as threats. Some faced socioeconomic barriers while others were simply forgotten. So, the moms came to us with a request that felt enormous at the time: “Could you help get a couple of our sons and daughters into the local public school?”
They weren’t asking us to educate the whole community. Rather, they were asking about five, maybe six kids, but back then, it felt like we were trying to enroll them into Harvard. We met with principals, pieced together paperwork, bought school supplies, paid the small daily fees… and somehow, they got in. The next year, the number doubled. Then it doubled again. Then again. Soon we were supporting nearly 100 kids in the local public school.
But there were problems. The kids weren’t welcomed, they were treated differently, and they were falling behind—not for lack of ability, but for lack of care. They needed something made for them.
I remember it like it was yesterday…I was sitting at a table with Elena Faulkner and Cristian López. We were talking about the problems we were seeing with the public school system when the room fell silent. It was the kind of quiet that only happens when everyone is thinking the same impossible thought, but nobody wants to say it out loud. We all stared at each other, waiting for someone to be brave or foolish enough to speak first.
Finally, I said it: “We have to start a school.” Elena immediately broke into the biggest smile. Christian nodded and said, “We have to.” And that was it; that was the moment Sparrow Academy was born. Just a few months later, in February 2016, classes began.
Those first years were… cozy. By “cozy,” I mean 100 kids in a house built for maybe a family of five, recess happening in hallways, teachers doing the Lord’s work with heroic patience. Then, we got kicked out of that community. We moved to another house and then outgrew that one.
Today, Sparrow Academy is a full campus with over 200 students, Biblical training, a counseling department, and a growing science and math program. Currently, a new soccer field is being built. This is only possible because of an army of faithful partners who have fueled this movement with their investment in each sponsored child.
But, most importantly, a community is visibly, undeniably transformed. Children who once had no options can now see futures ripe with possibility. Kids who once faced the pull of gangs or the streets now walk with Jesus. And, moms who once couldn’t read now sit in the front row at graduation with tears in their eyes, cheering on the life-changing legacy they helped spark.
It has been a joy to be a part of this story. And, it has been a joy to share it with you! Thank you for your investment, your love, and your prayers!
Not one is forgotten by God!
Justin Ross