Empowering a Generation

2014-06-09 09.52.58

Last January I sat in a simple room, with bare walls. Outside the door was a line of students, all hoping to join TransformNation, our teacher training program. It’s a competitive program, and we were doing interviews of each candidate, looking for students with a heart to be leaders and empower the next generation. Shana, a quiet, but strong girl walked in. Her eyes were smiling from the moment she looked at us.  I could tell she was nervous. As we began the interview she was calm but confident in her answers. “Why do you want to be a teacher?” I asked. Tears filled her eyes. She immediately began to weep. She began to tell me about her village, high up in the mountains. When she was in elementary school, many days she would show up to school but her teachers would not. For several years of elementary school, war broke out amongst the tribes in her village, and she couldn’t attend school at all. “When I was a little girl, and my teachers didn’t show up, I promised myself I would grow up and become a teacher so I could give better than what I had,” she told us as the tears streamed down her face.

DSC_3637 (Large) (Medium)Just a few weeks ago this young girl, along with 9 others, arrived in our city as new students in TransformNation, our teacher training program. For the next four years they will train, be discipled, grow, and develop into leaders that can go back into villages just like hers, up in remote areas, where school is a privilege, and teacher attendance is a rarity.

Over this past month we also graduated our first graduates from TransformNation. These four will pioneer going out into villages all over Indonesia to be leaders, teachers and bring His love to under resourced areas. God is moving in such incredible ways through His believers here in Indonesia, I am so privileged to be a part of it.

DSC_3297 (Large) (Medium)Just last week I was in an extremely remote village. 2 hour plane ride, 5 hour car ride, and 7 hour boat ride, we arrived to this tiny place with an elementary school. The school was no bigger than a trailer, two rooms, two teachers, and 250 students. Almost the entirety of that village practices the majority religion here. As I saw the passion of the teacher, who is a follower of Him, I was so inspired. I thought back to Shana, and the 29 other teachers we have preparing to come to a place exactly like this. I can’t WAIT to see what God has prepared for them.

Be a Part of TransformNation

photoWould you like to be a part of TransformNation, and all that God is doing through teachers and schools throughout Indonesia? Join my support team, or click here to sponsor a teacher.

Would you commit to praying for us? Please pray….

  • for the adaptation of new students in TransformNation
  •  for schools and villages throughout Indonesia which don’t yet have the opportunity for quality education
  • for our four recent graduates of TransformNation as they go out to serve and lead in under-resourced areas throughout Indonesia
  • for Indonesia as it transitions to a historic new president

Did you know??

IMG_0820Did you know….

….on the island of Papua there are many schools, but more than 33% of teachers are absent every day?1

….only 46% of high school aged students in Indonesia attend school (98% in the US)?2

….only 37% of teachers in Indonesia hold proper qualifications (undergraduate degree)?3

Every single day, in villages all over this beautiful country, children eagerly run to the gates of their schools, hoping that today their teacher will come, hoping that today they will learn something. These classrooms are not just spaces for learning; these classrooms are laboratories where discipleship can take place, where future leaders can be nurtured, and where the next generation of Christian influencers are being raised up and prepared every single day.

IMG_1067If one teacher teaches 20 students, disciples them, really digs into their lives and invests in those 20 souls, and does that for 20 years, that one teacher is worth 400 souls. Every day we are training teachers to go out into villages and disciple the next generation of Christian leaders. Last week we gathered all of our students in our teacher training program and asked them two simple questions: Why are you here? What are your dreams for the future? One of my students gave this response:

“Teachers who are smart are in large supply. But teachers who are smart and who also teach with their heart are hard to find. Here, we are learning to become teachers like that: teachers who’s work hours are as long as they live, not just from 7am to 3pm.”

I can’t wait to see this group of teachers rise up to be teachers who teach with their heart: teachers who invest their entire lives into loving their students.

1 http://www.partneraid.org/blog/2012/09/06/indonesia-bringing-health-to-schools/
2 http://dds.bps.go.id/eng/aboutus.php?tabel=1&id_subyek=28
3 http://edisicetak.joglosemar.co/berita/60-persen-guru-belum-sarjana-1457.html

Volcanos, Rappelling, and Tribal Villages

  • IMG_1447On February 13, 2014 Mt. Kelud, a volcano located less than 40km away from our city, erupted. Due to favorable winds, our city did not experience any effects. Shortly after the eruption we brought several of our teachers in training into the effected area to deliver food, water, and dust masks. View the photo album here. Please continue to pray for the people of Kelud as they rebuild.

teambuilding

  • One of my highlights of the past months was a day of team building we did with our students. The day started with a series of problem solving group exercises, and ended with rappelling off of a 100ft bridge. I watched as many students learned to face and overcome their fears, grow in leadership, and depend on one another for help. Click here to view the photo album.
  • papuaThis fall we will graduate three students from our teacher training program, and they will go out to villages in Indonesia and become teachers who teach with heart. Over this past month I had the privilege of taking these three teachers in training to a remote village to see what their life is going to look like next year. It was a joy for me to walk alongside them as we grew and learned together. Check out the photo album here, and watch this amazing video of our experience of a new school being opened in the middle of a very remote village.