I thought I'd give you a slight glimpse into 4th quarter of this year. This is the end of my 3rd school year at Faith. Check out the captions for info but also ways to pray for the ministry and the people in those photos. Thanks for reading!
Meet Joy. She graduated this year. This photo was from our trip to the beach with all the boarding students. I don't have a lot of photos from that trip, but I loved this photo of us on the boat over to the island. She is one of my closest students as you'll see in the graduation pictures. I'll explain more on her later.
With Palm Sunday comes the palm branches. Filipinos weave the coolest looking branches. Easter is not a celebratory event in the Philippines though. It is a dark time where it is evident that the people don't know that Christ's death was more about His resurrection than anything else. Pray for the country's spiritual health. Pray for people to hear the good news that Jesus is enough and they don't have to work for their salvation.
If a staff member works at Faith Academy for 25 years, they get a day in honor of them. Our drama teacher hit her 25 years and so we had Lori French day. They do a ceremony in the morning, the kids are given a theme for dress up, and then they have a banquet type celebration after school for the staff and students that she knows well. They had a photo booth with all the props from plays she's directed. So much fun! We are so grateful for her faithful service!
Faith Academy is in a conference of Christian schools for sports called Asia Christian Schools Conference. There are 7 international Christian schools in 6 different countries that compete in various sports once a year. The tournaments get hosted by a different school every year. We got to host the girls soccer tournament and what a blast it was to watch so much soccer and watch our girls come in second at home.
We had a little down time in a homeroom and the boys were watching the Cars 3 trailer. They were so excited. I was 15 when the first Cars movie came out, so I watched it but these guys were about 5 or 6, so it means something entirely different to them. It's funny watching 16 and 17 year old boys get excited for a kids movie.
All but 1 of the graduating seniors from the all girls dorm. I feel as though it's bad for the soul to say so many hard goodbyes at once. These kids are so special to me and will be dearly missed. This was my last dorm sitting night with them and so we went to get milk tea. Pray for these girls as they transition into new countries and new universities. Some are still unsure of what that looks like. Pray for their Faith to continue growing as they move on.
This is my Bible study that I have attended for three years on Monday nights. Our fearless leader is leaving the Philippines and so I'm not quite sure what that will look like in the future. They have been a constant in my life in the midst of constant transition and change. Pray for decisions about a Bible study in the future as I decide what that looks like. This depth of fellowship has been so important for my ability to feel a little more connected with people.
My roommate of three years is leaving the field to pursue a degree in educational testing with the hopes of coming back to Faith Academy with that specialty. Pray for Kelly as she transitions back to the US after 3.5 years of living in the Philippines. Pray that she will be able to come back as planned as well.
These are the photos everyone had been dreading for months. I am not gonna post all of the ones I took but just three kids that I am closest to. This is Karis. She was my TA this year. What a great person she is. We've had such great discussions (and dance parties) this year. I cannot wait to see what God has for her. Pray for her as she heads to John Brown University in Arkansas. Pray for direction as she does not know what she wants to do for a degree. Pray for transition. Thankfully her family is doing a 6 month furlough and will be around for the beginning of her time.
This is Jackie and Joy. I have had these two in a Bible study for dormies for at least two years now. We have talked about all things scripture and life. They have a deep thirst for the word and to know the Lord deeply. They are both very much Third Culture Kids and transition will be interesting. Jackie is Papau New Guinea and Filipino and will be attending university at Taylor University. Joy is Korean but grew up in China as a missionary kid. She is going to Korea for University to study art. Her Korean is not as good because she hasn't really lived in Korea very much. Pray for the transition for both of these two to very different cultures and away from their community here. I will sorely miss these two faces around school and in Bible study.
This year Faith Academy celebrated 60 years of God's faithfulness. We took this photo on the celebration day. I'm on the far right though I don't think you can find me. Thank you for your support of the ministry here. Please be in prayer for the staffing needs for next year. We have a ton of open spots that will definitely make next year difficult if they aren't filled. Now we are off for about 6 weeks total!