Mexico Staff

Ismaschias

Mexico Team

Jesús Gómez Castro

Jesús is the Director of Eli House in Mexico. He is also the pastor at the local church (Ismaschias) Eli House partners with in San Luis RC for the before/after school program. He lives on the church grounds with his family. A fun-loving person with a heart for kids, he can often be found playing soccer with them! He has worked with Eli House since its founding and has been an essential part of our growth.

Lucy Silva

Lucy is the Executive Director of Eli House Mission as of Fall 2024! She has numerous duties, including overseeing the school, communication between the USA and Mexico team, helping plan mission trips, working with sponsorship, and much more. We are so thrilled to have Lucy in this position!

Jovita López López

Jovita is the school principal, as well as the Art teacher for Eli House. She has worked with Eli House since its founding and is instrumental in keeping the day-to-day happenings of the school running smooth. Oftentimes she can be found helping in the kitchen, playing hide and seek with the students at recess, or working in her office. She loves to work with kids, and she impacts their lives daily.

Myrna Solano

Myrna is our English teacher at Eli House. She also assists the children with homework, she helps cook, and she helps drive the children to and from Eli House. She is the wife to Pastor Jesús who also works at the school, and she is a mother of three. In August 2019 she started working for Eli House.

Julietta Reynosa

Julietta handles a variety of tasks on a daily basis for Eli House. A few of the tasks she does are: takes pictures and videos for social media, sends and receives mail and gifts for the children. In addition, she also helps out with cooking, homework, driving students to and from their houses, and any other need that arises at the school. When she was younger, she was in our high school program! Since September 2019, she has been employed by Eli House.

Leticia Pérez

Leticia or "Lety" is the cook for Eli House! She has been with us since the start of the 2022-2023 school year. The food she makes is delicious and also nutritious for the children. She has a sweet personality and has played games like uno with the children during free time. All four of her children are in the elementary/junior high program.

Emma Lerma Fuentes

Emma is a very valuable asset for Eli House! She crosses the border every week and goes to the post office, picking up packages and letters that sponsors have sent and then mails outgoing thank you cards. Before teams come to stay at our dorms, she cleans them and helps make the beds as well. In addition, whenever we have a medical or dental clinic, she serves as an interpreter.

Jesús Gómez Solano

Jesús (also known as Chuchuy) started working for Eli House in fall of 2023 after graduating with a degree in teaching. He was sponsored by a USA family through Eli House to go to high school and college in Mexico, and in turn was a helper at the before/after school program at Ismaschias. Chuchuy currently is the music teacher for our afternoon students, helps tutor the students, and loves playing with the kids.

Betina Ramírez

Betina is the cook for all of our mission teams! Before mission teams arrive in Mexico, she also helps clean the dormitories. Betina is known for making incredible food and aguas frescas, such as chimichangas, tostadas, and horchata. Her hard-working attitude and desire to do things with excellence is something Eli House Mission is grateful for!

Leticia López López

Lety is the Bible teacher for our students! She started as an employee with Eli House in fall of 2024. Lety is a mom of two little girls and is very active in the local church Ismaschias, singing in the worship team on Sundays. We are excited to have Lety join our team!

Pedro Castañeda

Pedro is the music teacher for our morning students! He is currently in high school and is working with Eli House to fulfill an internship requirement for his high school. We are grateful to have Pedro working with us this semester!

USA Staff

USA Team

Tara Tufford

Child Sponsorship Director

Tara resides in Bolivar Ohio with her husband Jay. As the Child Sponsorship Director, she is the link of communication between the children at Eli House Mission in San Luis and their sponsors. She assists in facilitating the sponsor/child relationship by keeping the sponsor updated on the child’s progress and accomplishments. Her role also includes corresponding with sponsors about upcoming birthdays, special events and insuring that sponsors' questions are answered. In her free time, she likes to read, bird watch, and spend time with family.

John Hershberger

Construction Manager

John is a lifelong resident of Hartville, Ohio where he lives with his wife, Jody. They have three married children and nine grandchildren. They have been active members of Evermore Community Church for over 25 years. Now retired, John has been in construction all of his life, with experience ranging from being a framing contractor to general contracting to drawing plans. As he has always had a heart for missions, he enjoys being involved with Eli House and overseeing construction of the casitas. In his free time, John enjoys motorcycling, watching sports, tinkering in his garage, and spending time with family.

Jody Hershberger

Bookkeeper

Jody is a lifelong resident of Hartville, Ohio where she lives with her husband, John, and is an active member of Evermore Community Church. They are blessed with three married children and nine grandchildren. Jody is a recently retired RN who has led several teams to Eli House to do medical clinics for the community. In addition to her nursing experience, Jody served as church treasurer for 15 years and was involved with managing the financial aspects of her husband's general contracting business. Now that she is retired, she is happy to become more involved with Eli House as bookkeeper. In her free time, Jody enjoys reading, bicycling, camping, motorcycling, and spending time with family and friends.

Melodie Sommers

Trip Coordinator & Administrative Assistant

Melodie is from Hartville, Ohio. She has been involved with facilitating short-term teams to Eli House for over ten years and also helps with administrative duties. She enjoys reading, cooking and being outdoors.

Brianna Sommers

Administrative & Sponsorship Assistant

Brianna is from Hartville, Ohio and a 2018 graduate from Lake Center Christian School. She helps with communication, translation, and child sponsorship. She also helps facilitate short-term mission teams, among various other duties. Brianna enjoys reading, playing sports, and baking.