Both graduates of Indiana Wesleyan University, Michael and Amanda left college with a passion for world missions and a desire to live out the Gospel in a tangible way.  They were called to the mission field in 2006 and began their journey working alongside both Dominicans and Haitians living in the Dominican Republic.

Amanda, with her degree in Photography, had the opportunity to see the island of Hispaniola through a unique perspective.  She spent most of her time in the field in the poorest of communities and her heart began to break for the children subjected to the most horrendous conditions.  Many children, as young as 18 months old, wandered the streets of their communities with little to no supervision. She began spending time with the teenage mothers in these communities discussing their lives as children and quickly realized the undeniable cycles linked between neglected, abused children and a life spent in poverty.

Michael, having spent time in his youth on the mission field in Costa Rica and Peru, already had a passion for Latino culture and a fluency in Spanish.  Once he arrived in the Dominican Republic his eyes were opened to the damaging effects of generational cycles of absent or abusive male figures in the lives of their children.  His passion for becoming a trustworthy role model to kids who had nowhere to turn, became the cornerstone to the vision of Hope House.