OCTOBER, 2019

MISSIONARY REFLECTIONS

Written by Jodie Shell. Jodie and her husband, Scott, spent a week in August with Pastor Nazir at his home in Lahore, Pakistan. Scott is the Outreach Director at Christ Community Church. Jodie is a Professional Learning Specialist and former classroom teacher. She works for a company that trains teachers across the globe how to teach English as a second language.

This year, my husband was presented with, and humbly accepted, the opportunity to serve the Lord as Outreach Director at Christ Community Church in Roseville, MI. There are so many amazing responsibilities that accompany this role, one of them being foreign missions, which he is so passionate about! Over the years, we’ve known about Pakistan Schools of Hope and the Gethsemane Christian School. As a couple & with our C3 family, we prayed as we watched the vision of Pastor Nazir Iqbal & others for this Christian school, in a colony where hundreds of children had previously been denied an education because of their faith, begin to unfold. What started as a vison from the Lord in Pastor Nazir is now, through much prayer, hard work and many bumps in the road, an actual school with 315 children enrolled. Praise Jesus! You can imagine the joy in our hearts when we were asked to visit and spend time in Lahore, Pakistan and at the school ourselves, thanks to God calling my husband into this new position. So humbling! Once we arrived at Gethsemane, we hit the ground running! Each day from 8 until 1, we taught fun lessons in every classroom, played at recess, and even presented at a Parent Meeting. We provided Professional Development for the teachers and were asked by Pastor Nazir to share our insights, ideas and even suggestions with him, which he welcomed. As we loved on the children & teachers (our favorite part, of course) and attempted to build individual relationships with them in the short time that we were there, we found ourselves marveling at many things. First, the boys & girls begin each day with an assembly of sorts, where they pray together, sing together, and are reminded of school & classroom expectations and the importance of an education. From there, they are dismissed with their teachers & classmates for a morning filled with class work. After a quick outdoor recess, it’s back to class for the children, where they’re working hard and doing their personal best to learn , to please their teachers and Pastor Nazir! Do these children have the benefit of cutting

edge technology, state-of-the-art curriculums, aesthetically pleasing furniture complete with “Pinteresting” classroom décor? Is their recess time complete with lots of green space that includes classroom flowerbeds and playground equipment that promotes large and small motor development? Respectfully, the answer to these questions is no. Not yet.  However, what struck me most—so hard that on our last day with the children I lost control of my emotions and had to hide my tears behind my cumbersome scarf—is this: Do these children begin every school day praising and thanking Jesus in prayer and in song? Do these children have administrators and teachers who show up day in & day out, urgently passionate about providing the best education that they can because they know the opportunities that it will allow them? Do these girls & boys now know, through this new opportunity of this education, that they are extremely loved by God and their Christian family, that they have value, that they are capable, intelligent and so very worthy of a bright future? Is all of this going to have an eternal impact on them and on future generations? Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Jesus! And thanks to all reading this…please continue pray for the Pakistani Christians, Pakistan Schools of Hope, Pastor Nazir & his family, the teachers and these amazing children.

STUDENTS & TEACHERS

God is blessing Gethsemane Christian School immeasurably more than we can imagine! The school opened its doors in April, 2016 with 42 students. Today there are 315 students enrolled along with 10 teachers.  Here are some stories from Pastor Nazir about new students.

Rebecca, age 14, was in the third grade when her father died 4 years ago. The family’s 6 children were no longer able to attend school and Rebecca had to work to help support her family. Today, her Mother is working as a maid in the house of a wealthy Muslin family. The children have been able to return to school and Rebecca is continuing her education in grade three.

  Mehak, age 13, comes from a large family of 10 children.  Mehak was also studying in the third grade when her father died 6 years  ago. Her mother is also a      maid working in the house of a wealthy Muslin family. Mehak has

joined Rebecca in the third grade at the school. In the USA, we would not even consider placing a 13 or 14 year old in third grade. But in Pakistan they do not have this separation of ages, the students are placed in the appropriate class regardless of age and no one seems to think that it should be done any other way.

SUPPORT

Through the generous hearts of supporters who have come alongside the children, money has been donated to purchase computers for the students to learn computer skills in grades 8, 9, and 10. These skills will be very important for the students as they either enter the work force or continue their education.

Pastor Nazir is working with a team of teachers and IT professionals to choose the appropriate computers, put in the needed electrical connections, and build computer desks. Pastor Nazir is actively working on beginning an evening school for adults. Their immediate need is to learn reading and writing of Urdu, the basic language of Pakistan. Learning to read and write Urdu will enable the adults and parents to complete employment applications and get better jobs. The parents will also be able to help their children with their schoolwork. Gethsemane Christian School

SCHOLARSHIPS

Support Scholarships of $5 per child per month at: www.IFCAWorldInpact.com

Look for Online Giving, click on choose a fund and then scroll down to Pakistan Schools of Hope.

There are updates on our website: www.pakistanschoolsofhope.com

Donations can be made directly to:

International Schools of Hope Foundation a 501(c)(3) by using PayPal or a credit card

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=45KS96FK449RG

Make checks out to and mail to:

International Schools of Hope Foundation, 37711 Devoe, Clinton Township, MI 48036-2902