Bethany Fuller

I have been the secretary at Sakeji Mission School since 2004.  Sakeji is a boarding school so we have the children with us for three months at a time, providing constant care and support.  While we seek to provide a good education to the students so they can continue with a good foundation we also focus on God’s word in many areas each day.

We accept new students in grades 1-5 but the school continues to grade 9 with a core group.  Some children remain with us for the nine years, some leave after grade seven (when they write a national exam), others leave partway through for a variety of reasons.  We are grateful to the Lord for whatever opportunities we have to impact the children and their families for Christ.

There are many opportunities in the area as well to do outreaches – Sunday school, Bible studies, and reading classes to name a few.

Currently we would like to have more qualified teachers to take on classroom responsibilities as those of us not qualified are filling in as needed.

I am also involved with helping to distribute literature in Lunda, the local language.  Sadly I am not able to give this the focus that is required to increase/improve as I am busy with other duties at the school.

Help Needed

Posted on October 26, 2019

Please pray for more workers to come to Sakeji Mission School.  Our specific needs are listed below:

2020 (and beyond)

• school nurse – providing care for 80 or so children plus 20 staff. This also involves caring for employees of the school and their families – an interpreter is provided! *note – we have heard from someone who is able and willing to come for the first six months of 2020, but we still need someone to fill this role for the rest of the year.

• caterer – supervising employees that prepare three meals a day for 12 weeks at a time. This involves making menu choices, ordering food supplies and purchasing veggies each week from the local community

• grade 2 or 3 teacher – we aim to have 12 students in each grade so if there's a double class the maximum number would be 24. There are three school terms a year: January-March; May-July; September-November.

• grade 4 or 5 teacher – as above

• grade 6 or 7 teacher – again, as above

• IT – someone who is able to make the network their focus. Keeping the computer systems running, checking for viruses, maintaining the different electronic devices (projectors, etc). Most of the staff fill two or three different roles, so finding the time to keep everything running and deciding what is most important at any given time can be difficult!

All of these positions allow for ample time to interact with the children – on the playground, in the dining hall, etc. We are thankful for the privilege of being able to open God's word in every circumstance and share it with the children.

• We are also very grateful for help from 'short-termers' – individuals who maybe don't have a specific skill set or certification but are just available to help out. They are a benefit to us in taking over playground supervisions, helping out with marking school work or providing one-on-one help to those children who need it.

October 2019

Posted on October 26, 2019

October 11, 2019

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We are fast approaching the half-way point of the term. As this marks the end of the school year as well, the teachers are taking a close look at the students' performance and considering who would benefit from an extra year in their current grade. Most of the children will move on of course, but there are one or two who struggle with reading or haven't understood the math concepts and just need some extra experience before being expected to use the knowledge they don't have.

We are also interviewing new applicants for 2020. It is good to meet different families and see some parents who clearly invest time into their children's lives and want the best for them. Sadly, there are some parents who can't be bothered to spend the time teaching their children proper behaviour when they are young, which leaves the child to struggle for much of their life. It's interesting to note that secular educators agree that the first three years of a child's life are vital for parents to pour time into them; reading, singing, conversing, etc.

We are thankful for the opportunities we have here to reach into the lives of children and families and share God's word. As government regulations change however, in an attempt to be inline with most of the rest of the world, we wonder how long this privilege will continue. So far, thankfully the country as a whole remains God conscious, and there is a respect for the work of missionaries.

The students have a busy seven weeks ahead of them. Next week is Birthday Party with an 'Israel' theme. Then comes Independence Day (Oct. 24). After that the grade nine and seven exams take place which adds some extra duties for the staff. When those exams are complete then the focus shifts to end of term with our tests and preparing for the programme presented to the parents. This year the programme is titled 'Peace Child'. Many of the seniors enjoy an acting role or a solo. We hope that the message of God's Peace Child will be clear to the parents and that there would be some (adult or child) who trust the Lord.

We are thankful to have the rains starting early this year. The past couple of years the rains haven't been as abundant as usual so the river and other water sources have been rather low. Usually the rains don't begin until the end of October but we've already enjoyed several showers. Hopefully the next several months will see enough moisture to bring the water tables back up.

There continues to be an interest in Bibles, both in Lunda, the local language, and English. We are glad to currently have Lunda Bibles in stock, but expect that within a few short months we'll have to arrange another order from Lusaka.

Thank you for your prayers!

Bethany Fuller