School Day

Today Jenny and I were privileged to visit the Friday chapel service at LCMI school. It is just a short walk from Emmanuel’s home to the school and Jonathan Denis, the principal, asked us to arrive at 10:00 a.m. When we walked down we could see the children lining the entrance as they sang a welcome song to us when we walked in. They then went to their seats for the chapel to begin.

LCMI is a K-9 school with hopes of expanding through 12th grade in the future. After everyone was quiet one of the older students led the service, introducing each group of students for their presentation. We heard singing and Bible verses quoted from memory from many classes. One of the teachers then presented the challenge from the parable of the 99 sheep and the one that was lost. They then had me speak about Mother Jenny and I on why we travel to Liberia and about our family as well as how Country Bible Church continues to pray for them as teachers and students. The students then asked us questions about America and our lives there as well as what we like the most about Liberia. That one was easy. We love the people the most.

After I spoke a few people gave thanks to Country Bible Church for their support from the Christmas offerings and they asked us to join them in praying for ongoing support of the teachers. There are 15 staff that care for around 92 students. This amount fluctuates as we found out later in the day. One of the students, Blessing Warlo, is in 9th grade and will move on after this year. He seems to be one of the smartest children in his grade, but he has trouble paying much tuition. They try to enforce tuitions, but many parents struggle to feed their families, let alone paying for a Christian school. There are public schools, but many can’t afford transportation costs for the children so they look to local small schools to help or they want the Christian education offered. Many parents pay what they can.

Back to Blessing Warlo, the 9th grade boy. His parents live in the interior as subsistence living. Blessing skipped September and October so he could work with his parents and earn some money for school and living expenses. As I said he’s very smart, even representing the school for scholastic honors. He came in November and will still be graduating from 9th grade with his class. He lives with a friend in a room and I’m not even sure how they provide for themselves. That’s tough for an adult, but to do this as a ninth grader, around 14 or so makes it even more difficult. He seems as if he has a dedication to succeed. I pray he will find a means to complete his high school in the following years. He is just one of the successes of LCMI school. It was so good to see them in action.

If anyone is interested in helping to support the teachers, please reach out to me. I can let you know ways to help. Helping a teacher or a student direct it to the same goals.

Here are a couple of pictures of us with the students and staff.