In 2011 the non-profit organization Asociación el Faro was founded and the process for receiving authorization for a school was started including renting a house in May. In Association with Christian Education Ministries International in Canada and the help of Immanuel Fellowship Baptist church, Cedar Valley Mennonite Church and Foothills Community Church in Molalla Oregon Light of the World Christian School began in January 2012 with 26 students, grades Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten and 2 teachers. We began in a small house in the village of Santa Catarina, Bobadilla.
At the end of 2012 we found a larger house to rent and moved our little school. We prepared to receive more students in January 2013 as we added grade one and hired two more teachers as our head teacher was required to only work in administration. In 2014 we added 2nd grade and during the year built 2 new classrooms.
In 2015 we added 3rd grade and hired another teacher and a secretary. We also started renting a large room attached to the house. By 2016 we had a staff of 8 and had added 4th grade. We also began the nutrition program, built a small kitchen and hired a part-time cook to make a nutritious breakfast for the students every morning.
In 2017 we had 114 students from grades pre-K to 5. We had the opportunity to rent a new piece of land from our landlord’s brother. We built 3 classrooms and bathrooms by the end of March and our Pre-K to grade one classes moved in to their new larger classrooms. We also began a church in April and met in a large classroom with 16 people.
In 2018 we had the opportunity to rent another adjoining property with 2 rooms and a small playground area. We renovated the larger room to house the church. We added grade 6 and started the application process for junior high. By the end of the year we had received authorization to begin junior high the following year but only with afternoon classrooms because of the limited space.
Now, in 2019 we have 148 students and a staff of 22. We have recently begun the process of purchasing a piece of land in the town of San Gaspar Vivar (only 3 blocks from our current location). After building a new classroom and making some other changes we have also reapplied for authorization to have junior high classes in the morning and have been approved. The church now has approximately 70 members and there have been 22 baptisms over the past three years. Praise the Lord!
