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School ended on Friday! The last two weeks have gone by at such break-neck speed that I have barely caught my breath…and we haven’t stopped yet! On Thursday a team of nine joins us from California…and next week is our annual youth camp! But before too much time goes by, I thought I’d give a glimpse of some of the big events of the last couple of weeks.

Gil and I have had the idea for a couple years now to start an annual Bible verse contest, in order to encourage the kids to get their verses into their long-term memory. Finally, this year we got it going and it was a great success! Five finalists from each class competed against each other in a spelling-bee-like style of competition, but using Bible verses instead of spelling words. The kids were fantastic, God was glorified, and I was seriously afraid I wasn’t going to be able to eliminate the last few kids…and that they would go on saying verses all morning! But we finally ended up with three winners:

First place: Josh, 3rd grade

Second place: Juen, 1st grade

Third place: Walker, 5th grade

10th Grade Celebration Assembly: As I mentioned in an earlier post, finishing 10th grade here is something to be celebrated.

And presenting….Haven of Peace Academy’s very first graduating 12th grade class!!!! Very exciting day, obviously. This year, 7 seniors. Next year–a full class of over 20! How God is blessing our school!

But perhaps the best part of all…Grace’s Bibi and Babu are visiting! And TODAY is their 35th wedding anniversary! I praise God for you, Mom and Dad!

Tuesday night was the annual Staff Appreciation Dinner. Departing teachers and staff are honored and we celebrate all God has done during the year.

This is always a very difficult time of year for us. Each year we lose at least half of our staff. This year 17 teachers (out of 30) are leaving permanently. Most teachers come for just a year or two….3 years is considered a long time. We’ve been at HOPAC 5 years, and next year we will basically be the “senior” staff on campus–those who have been here the longest. (We just got the very sad news that our very loved Biology teacher and his wife, who have been at HOPAC 11 years, had their work permit renewal denied by the government).

It’s emotionally exhausting to say good bye to so many people every year. Probably what’s even harder is thinking of the 19 new staff who will be arriving in August and will need “seasoned” missionaries like us to invest in them. But it’s part of life. There just aren’t as many people any more who commit to missions as a career. We are SO thankful for each teacher who comes here–they fill great needs and really impact the kids. And we’ve made some incredible friendships over the years.

Emily, Steve, Denae, Richard, Nicola, Marie, Melissa, Brandon, Rachel, April, Julie….and more….we will miss you so much! (and Janelle…you’ll get your own post!)

But on a happier note, Carley, Brandon, and Amanda (who I know are reading this!)–we are SO THRILLED that you are actually RETURNING to HOPAC long term and we can’t wait for your arrival!