Big Changes Ahead!

Big changes ahead for me…
I told you all that I have been praying about my next steps and whether I am to stay here in Samoa or whether it is time to head out to somewhere new. After much prayer and seeking wisdom from Scripture and wise people in my life,  

Coming home to Michigan!

I have decided that it is time to leave Samoa.


There are many reasons for this decision and I will not get into all of them now. If you are really wanting to know specifics, you are welcome to email me and I can share more of this journey and process with you (wendt.jen@gmail.com). Suffice it to say that I feel peace that this is where God is leading me at this time and that He has the Learning Center under control and can run it and take care of it much better than I can. I really had to wrestle with feeling like if I left it was a failure or that I was failing the kids or what if the LC does not continue after I leave, but I realized that none of those things are true. I have been faithful to the things that God has asked of me and there has been so much growth and change both within me, the kids, and the base. That was and is my biggest concern- what will happen to the LC and the kids when I leave. But God  has assured me that He has these kids in the palm of His hand and He will take care of them-that is not my job.

Our School- teachers and students- with a few absent

Do you like our new uniforms?

John, my co-principal, has already decided to stay here through the end of the school year before heading to Brazil to work with street kids, our two teachers from last year are back again. A girl from Texas just arrived to work in the LC for the next year and we are supposed to have another Samoan guy coming to help us in the next few weeks. We have also been blessed to have a short term volunteer and a team of Fijians here helping out at the school. They have been a godsend especially as one of them is a preschool teacher!

Some of the Fiji team

Hallie, our Texan

Jeff, our mission builder volunteer

 

                                                        New School Year:
As you have probably already guessed, school has started up for the year. We have 73 students ages 5-16! They are keeping us very busy. Around 25 of those are new students. It is amazing to see how far ahead our students from last year are compared to the new students, and many of the new students have been to school before! You don’t realize how much you have taught them until you have someone to compare it to. This is a blessing and a curse. Now we have to catch up the new kids without boring the “old” kids- we now have kids at every possible level including a 14 year old who does not know his English alphabet and can barely add and subtract.
             

I am teaching the oldest class of 14 students predominantly boys. I teach English, Science, Math and English to the class below as well. They cheer for spelling tests which still weirds me out a bit. Their English has improved SO much and I am able to teach most everything in English with little difficulty. We are currently studying the Solar System and Earth by popular demand. I am also doing a lot of reading with them- small novels like the Magic Tree House and The Magic School Bus. They are also loving having the iPads. We also are not having the behavioral problems that we were last year which is a huge blessing and sign or growth.





                                          Some fun things at school:
We had the incredible privilege of having Miss Samoa/ Miss Pacific Islands come to our school this week to visit the kids, give her testimony, sing and dance for them, and just get to know them. The kids will probably be talking about it for the next few years of their lives as who knows when else they would have ever had the opportunity to do something like this. She has volunteered to come in several times over the next few weeks to teach the girls to dance.

Teaching them a song

The Palagis and Miss Samoa

Singing for us

I also bumped into a lady a few weeks ago who weaves coconut leaves into hats, baskets,  mats, etc. She has offered to come and teach the students for free- she then sells their crafts in her stall at the cultural center and besides her cut for the materials, gives the profits back to the kids. God is just providing ways- divine encounters.

The boys performing a traditional Ava Ceremony

Ray and his brother could not afford a uniform. I went and talked to the company that sells them and they gave both boys free uniforms!

                                    Curriculum and Buses:
John and I have continued to meet with the Ministry of Education trying to get curriculum and an endorsement for the school. We were able to meet with the CEO of the department of curriculum who is a strong Christian woman and wants to do everything she can to help us. We are currently waiting to see what will happen and if we can get curriculum for all of our students as at this point we have none.

We are also still working towards getting a bus. We were so hopeful to get one of the ones that they were giving away after the big conferences this past year, but unfortunately, they decided to use them for other things. I am working on a few leads and hoping that with persistence and God’s favor and miracles we can get one as we are SO desperate- especially as we have so many more kids this year.

We are over capacity!

                                           How Am I Doing?

Nicks and I

The DTS boys at their graduation and I

My friend Randall and I

I am doing well. Have been feeling a bit sick the last week or two. Strangely it is really the first time since I have been here. I think the grace for being here is lifting. I have two new girls who have moved into my fale, Dori and Norrie, besides Ema and myself. Really enjoying their company. The majority of my community have all moved off base or away from Samoa in the last 2 months so that has been different and challenging.

                                                        
 Really glad to have this decision made and not be wrestling through it anymore. I feel very peaceful and like a weight is lifted. I still have moments of questioning if my decision is right especially when I look into the faces of the kids or when we have an amazing day and they make me laugh, but I know that I need to walk in obedience and go where I feel is right. Follow the peace.


My current plan is to leave here at the end of March and head towards England (via Detroit) where I will stay with my sister, Katie, and her family for a few weeks with a visit to the YWAM base in Harpenden to see all of my friends there. I will be home in Michigan sometime mid-May to see my brothers, Caleb and Gye Ha, graduate high school. I will most likely be home through the summer having a much needed rest and time to visit family and friends. Currently thinking that September will be the launch of something new. I have a few thoughts but nothing set in stone. Will keep you updated as I know more.

My friend Pila and I :)

“It is not just about now, but more importantly it is about what you are becoming…God is preparing you for something greater. There will be a divine convergence between your preparation today and a big need or opportunity tomorrow.”  Victorious Mindsets by Steve Backlund

Before coming to Samoa I mentioned to a friend that I thought I would only be going to Samoa for a season and that it would be a time of growing and preparation for the future. This has been so true. The things I have learned here are things that I could never have learned from a book or even in church (at least not in the same time frame). The experiences that I have had have been invaluable. This has definitely been the hardest year of my life, but it has also come with a lot of joy and growth and victories.

This is what the water looks like after it rains...won't be missing this...

A few things God has taught me in the last year…
How to start and run a school and all the things that come with that including working with the government, non-westerners, training teachers, writing a curriculum, schedules, etc.
Broadened my knowledge and experience- thinking out of the box- really thinking through my priorities, values, beliefs, etc. -Are they Biblical or cultural and can I defend them? Will I fight for them and are they worth fighting for?
To rely on God in everything and for everything (I have no crutches here-it’s just me and God)
Seeing that God cares about the infinitesimally small things in life- even my chocolate cravings :)
To increase my faith and expectation in who God is and what He can do
To value people- the individual
To see beauty in the ashes- to find joy and peace in hard times
Strengthened my desire to have and understanding of the importance of community
Making decisions
Refining of my vision and purpose
The importance of spiritual warfare
And so, so many other things….

I never imagined myself in Samoa starting a school and running it. But here I am. Looking at it, it is quite successful. Our retention rate is incredibly high. We have huge growth. All of our students accepted Jesus into their lives. Each child has grown hugely in their academics (way beyond the public school student), behavior, and relationship with God. We even have a student at a public high school. I never imagined so much could be accomplished in such a short time or that I would be a large part of all of those things. I think that this quote from St. Frances of Assisi  is really true. I have only to do what I can do and walk in obedience and God does the rest.

“Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly, you are doing the impossible.” -St. Frances of Assisi

Thank you so much for all of your prayers, support, and encouragement. I could not have done this without you all.

Manuia le Kirisimasi ma Manuia Tausaga Fou!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Manuia le Kirisimasi ma Manuia Tausaga Fou!

Learning Center:

We wrapped up the Learning Center in style with a prize giving ceremony/ Christmas program. The kids did an amazing job singing Christmas carols, performing dramas, and displaying what they have learned this year. It was an awesome celebration and so many parents, grandparents, siblings, and aunties showed up to celebrate with us. We awarded the top students and those who showed the most godly character. We also handed out prizes to all the students including their new Bibles and toothbrushes.

Brothers

Vavega- overall Godly character award

Our lion

All dressed up for our play

We had a parent meeting afterwards in which the parents all decided that they wanted to have school uniforms for their children (which we now have ordered), as well as discussing next year, transportation issues, etc. Very productive.

Singing Christmas carols

The most exciting thing, however, is that I felt God telling me to clearly spell out the Gospel message to the kids. We have been building up to it the whole year and laying the foundation, but never quite plainly stated it. Well as I was praying one morning on the last week of school I felt God say that it was the right day and He gave me a plan of action on how to present it. Long story short, every student accepted Jesus into their hearts!!! God is so good!

Our bird who looks more like an angel (she had a beak too)

Painting the dragon

African safari truck

My level 5 girls

Feed the Hungry:

The weekend before Christmas we were able to partner with a local church to hand out a free Christmas barbecue, presents, and clothing to the local villagers who are in need. Most of the families from the LC where there which was fun to see and interact with them outside of school.

Christmas presents

 

Serving barbeque

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VBS:

We had another team from Kona, Hawaii volunteering here for two weeks. While they were here we ran a week long quasi-Vacation Bible School. For a few hours a day, kids from the village came to do crafts, hear Bible stories, play sports, sing songs, and just have fun. The kids had so much fun! It was a nice break for me as the team planned and ran the VBS and I just helped where they needed me, took pictures, gave suggestions, and did crowd control. The exciting thing was that half of the kids that came were not from the LC but other kids from the village- we are expanding our reach and impact! Several of those families have asked if the can bring their children to the LC as a result.

Picking up all the kids for VBS- 70 kids!

 

Christmas: 

An island Christmas tree :)

Base Christmas Party- Gift Exchange

One of my jobs during Christmas was to organize the outreach for the Kona team which put me in close contact with them and enabled me to build relationship with them. As a result, they not only invited me to join them when they went away to a hotel on the other side of the island for Christmas, but they also paid for my room! It was such a huge blessing. We had a great time swimming through underwater caves, exploring the To Sua Trench, kayaking along the reef, and just relaxing.

One of the other huge blessings was that a family (originally from Australia but who are living and working here) that I met here was going home for Christmas and asked if I could house sit for them. I not only was able to stay in their house- a real house with air-conditioning, hot showers, real beds, a huge kitchen, etc,- but I was also able to use their car! I was able to spend a lot of my free time exploring, going to the beach, and doing things that I haven’t been able to do living on base. I was even able to have a few girls come over for Christmas and New Year.

This was caused by the waves pushing the air through the tube

Kona, Hawaii:  

Shortly after Christmas I was able to meet my family halfway between Samoa and Michigan in Kona, Hawaii! My mom even decided to be spontaneous and changed her ticket to stay a few extra days with me. It was such a wonderful time with my family- catching up, having fun, laughing, going on crazy adventures, resting, eating good food, etc. We were able to see the volcano bubbling, go spelunking, jump off waterfalls, snorkel in the reefs and with the dolphins and manta rays, and so much more. While paddle boarding, a humpback whale swam so close to us and breached!

Ready to swim out into the middle of the ocean at night to see manta rays- aren't we gorgeous?

Jumping off waterfalls!

The girls :)

I was also able to meet with several influential people within the YWAM University of the Nations School of Education in which they not only offered support and suggestions but opportunities for the future. We were even given some iPads for the Learning Center students! These are the people who helped inspire the LC in the first place and create the vision as well as the lady who runs the teacher certification programs.

Mommy-Jenny time :D

Tiffany, Liaina, and I in Kona- reunited friends :)

Back in Samoa:

I arrived back to Samoa only to be smacked in the face with a wall of heat. It is the hottest that it has been since 1958! And the humidity is at least in the 90% or more at all times. Needless to say, it is pretty miserable. Add to that the mosquitoes, it’s not been a very nice welcome. Oh and the country has somehow run out of chicken and is not getting a shipment of supplies until the end of the month, so we are eating tin fish and pork for every meal. God has a lot of grace on me right now. It is also going to be a big transition as my dear friends, Sio and Vicky, who have really helped me process and listened to me, and supported me as well as let me use their kitchen have moved off base. It is very exciting for them, but a bummer for me as I don’t have my go-to person easily available (they will be in during the weekdays) nor will I necessarily have access to a kitchen or refrigerator…So be praying for me and for grace :)

Next Year…: 

As I stated last month, in two weeks I will have been here for a year! I have been praying about the future and what this next year is going to bring- whether I should stay or if it is time to leave. I still do not have a definite plan of action. I am still waiting on the Lord. I have had to wrestle with many things including feeling like a failure or that I am letting the kids down if I leave, but also not feeling that I am in the best and most healthy environment for me to grow and thrive and utilize my gifts. It has been a long and hard road bringing up lots of questions, insecurities, doubts, confusion, etc. But through it all God has been a constant and continues to impart His wisdom, grace, and peace. I am at peace with whichever way He leads me and know that the time I have been here has been far from wasted and that if I am supposed to leave, God will hold these precious children in His hands. And if I am supposed to stay, I know that God will provide a way to help me grow and thrive and to maintain my joy and peace.

If you have any words, encouragement, or thoughts, email me :) wendt.jen@gmail.com

COMING UP:
February 2: School starts up again
Beginning of February: A girl is coming to help staff at the LC as well a short term mission builder.
May (or slightly earlier)?: Home for Caleb and Gye Ha’s Graduation


PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. Wisdom for me about the future
2. That the thinking and priorities about children and education would continue to be altered and transformed.
3. Support from the Ministry of Education
4. Continued growth in relationships with the staff, students, and families
5. LC- Teachers and vision and wisdom on how the school should proceed and what exactly it should look like