Teachers?

This seems to be the month for sharing things that are on my heart, so I thought I might as well continue the trend. This week I want to tell you about our need for teachers and even give you some specifics in case the Lord might lead you in our direction.

We have a small Christian school called Joy Christian School (JCS). There are several purposes for the school but the main one is to provide a place where the young people of our church can get a Christian education that will equip them to be the pastors, deacons, and Sunday school teachers of the future church of PNG. Education is not mandatory here, so many children do not have an opportunity to attend school and even those that do often get a quite poor education.

At present, JCS has 1^{st, 2nd, and 4th grades, but since students start school at any age our students range from 9 to 18 years old, with a mixture of ages in each grade. English is the national language of PNG so all education is conducted in that language. This enables us to use Bob Jones University Press materials for most of the school subjects. As you may recall, we are awaiting the arrival of Elizabeth Ellinghausen, a short term teacher for the school. She will teach during the remainder of this school year and 1-2 more years. Tiffany Parks, our present head teacher, will return to the US at the end of this school year to make plans for her future ministry in the Philippines. That will leave us once again with one full-time teacher and my part-time assistance to teach 3 grades of students. We would love to start a prep (or kindergarten) class for the many interested young people of our church, but that is impossible without another full-time teacher.}

So what exactly is the need, you may ask. We need folks who are willing to give 1-2 years to come to a rather remote location and participate in this ministry. An education degree would be nice but not essential. However, an adaptable spirit and servant's heart are absolutely necessary. Our school year attempts to follow a PNG schedule, so each new year starts sometime in January. As you may have deduced from Elizabeth's long wait, sometimes paperwork approval can take a lengthy time so that would be good to keep in mind. If you have an interest in this ministry, please feel free to communicate with us directly or with our mission agency (Gospel Fellowship Association).