Julie Martinez

For more than twenty-five years, I have served on the mission field across five countries, working among the poor, the vulnerable, and the overlooked. My calling has always centered on education—teaching, mentoring, strengthening, and opening doors for those who would otherwise have few. Over the years, I have planted churches, overseen orphanages, pioneered new ministries, and founded schools for children who needed stability, opportunity, and hope. My life has been shaped as much by the places I’ve served as by the people who opened their lives to me.

Although I now live in the United States, my work continues to be global. I regularly travel overseas to teach in international Bible colleges and ministry training schools. I also work closely with orphanages in several countries and partner with Serving Orphans Worldwide. Education, discipleship, and holistic care remain the consistent threads that have marked my ministry from the very beginning.

In recent years, the Lord led me to establish a new initiative in Zambia: the DoubleTree Foundation. DoubleTree was born out of long-term relationships, and a deep burden for children growing up in environments of scarcity—scarcity of food, educational support, and stable community. While my earlier work often involved caring for orphans and vulnerable children within institutional settings, DoubleTree marks a shift toward community-based, locally led, daily care.  Today, DoubleTree serves thirty children every day, providing:

• A nutritious daily meal in the midst of a severe national drought
• Educational strengthening through English and math lessons
• Bible classes and discipleship
• Resilience training that equips children and youth to navigate adversity
• Health education rooted in biblical foundations
• A supportive space for belonging, creativity, and growth

Our work also extends to young adults through high school health and resilience programs, ensuring that future leaders are grounded, informed, and spiritually anchored.  DoubleTree’s model is simple, relational, and powerfully backed by research. Studies reveal that the a key fact for childrn at risk–across cultures, income levels, and trauma histories–is the presence of stable, caring adults who show up consistently.  When a child knows they matter, when an adult believes in them and invests in them day after day, the trajectory of that child’s life can change. This is what DoubleTree provides: dependable, long-term presence that builds trust, shapes character, introduces faith, and sustains hope.

DoubleTree is not charity-as-handout; it is relationship-as-transformation. Our Zambian leadership team guides the daily work, conducts home visits, mentors students, and ensures that everything we do is culturally rooted and community-owned. DoubleTree exists because I have seen what happens when children are nourished, taught, discipled, and surrounded by consistent love. It is slow work. It is faithful work. And it is work worth doing.