The Sahelian

What do you get when you combine approximately 80 kids, aged 5 – 18, smiling faces, proud parents, lots of sun, (and incidentally lots of suncsreen), a running track, a shot put, a high jump, a long jump and various other sports equipment? You get Sahel Academy’s Annual Track and Field Day. In tribute to the 2008 Olympics, this year’s event was called Sahel Academy Games.

This eventful day took place on Friday, November 21^st at the National Stadium in Niamey, Niger. All of the students had been divided into teams and selected a leader. The teams worked together to create a ‘country’ name, a song/cheer, a banner and a flag. All of these were judged and scores added to their total points.

The day’s activities began with each team performing their cheer and all in attendance saw and heard enthusiastic performances from Team Tanjawak, Team Sparta, Team Pantheropolis and Team Kaspia.

The entire student body was divided into teams, each of the 4 teams consisting of kids from kindergarten to grade 12. Each team member competed against his/her own grade level, gaining points for their respective teams. They received points for winning and points for participating.

Compete comes from Latin and means ‘to come together, to agree, to be suitable; to strive consciously or unconsciously for an objective’. If one were to observe the dynamics of Sahel students on their track and field day, this is exactly what one would have seen. In fact, I think this particular dictionary definition for ‘competition’ could be replaced with the following words: ‘Sahel Academy students’.

One of the missions of Sahel Academy is to ‘demonstrate Christ-like character’. What better way for this to be tested than through good old competition? I am happy to report that even a casual observer could see that these students passed the test with flying colors. They definitely ‘came-together’, most of them consciously striving for victory as their objective - but not at the expense of a fellow ‘Sahel-ite’. No matter what their age or what team they were on, everyone was cheered for in a big way. If someone was struggling, you could be sure you would see someone in the same race stop and inquire if help was needed. I saw this with my own eyes!

During one of the races I observed the following: One of the older students (who shall remain nameless) had gathered together the younger students on her team to cheer for a particular race in which someone not on her team was running. For the sake of anonymity, I’ll call the runner ‘Bob’. The kiddos were on the sidelines shouting, “Go Bob, Go!” They were jumping up and down wildly, encouraging ‘Bob’ with all of their hearts. I was enjoying watching them so much that I’m not even sure who won. When the race was over, one of the cheering tykes stopped jumping up and down and turned innocently to ‘Nameless’ and said in a very matter of fact way, “Who was Bob?” It was classic. They were all about encouraging whoever they could. It didn’t even matter who it was.

Sahel Academy is a Christian School, founded on Christian principles so with that in mind I’m going to take the liberty to make a biblical correlation. Track and Field Day is about competing for a prize – working together as a team to gather the most points to win. The Apostle Paul compares our Christian walk to a race too – reaching for the goal of the upward call. The Message translation says it like this. “So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—You’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.” Phil 3:14

So…running races and striving to win should be a great reminder to us to run for the prize that really matters. Let’s ‘stay on the right track’! ~Danette Childs

NUTS (Niamey Universal Tournament of Softball) is a Softball tournament that is held in Niamey, Niger, every year during the second weekend of October. There are 2 divisions during the tournament, the Social division and the Competitive division. Sahel Academy had 3 teams this year, 2 of them in the Social division and the other one in the Competitive division. The tournament is held on 2 softball fields in Niamey. The Main field is the American Rec Center, and the other is at Sahel Academy. This article follows the competitive Sahel Academy Suns through the NUTS Tournament.

Sahel Academy field: It was 7:00 am, Saturday October 9, 2008, as the Sahel Academy Suns warmed up for their first competitive game of the day against the Nomads. The average age of the Suns was 23 years with the three oldest members being Uncle Tim (Tim Phillips), Uncle Brian (Brian Bliss), and Mr. Brinkley; all three are staff at Sahel Academy. The rest of the team was made up of students aged from 16-18. The Nomads started the game off as the visitors while the Suns were out in the field as the home team. The Nomads started the scorning as they managed to bring in one run in the top of the first inning. The Suns, at bat, produced 5 runs as they closed out the first inning with a 4-run lead. The Suns played well on both sides of the ball while they held the Nomads the rest of the game to no runs and scoring 11 more runs to bring the score to 16-1 in the Suns’ favor.

American Rec Center: The Suns’ next game was at 11:00 am against the Burkina Angels. The Suns were the visitors for this game and started off getting 1 run in the first inning while the Angels managed to get 4, putting the Suns down by three. The Suns went scoreless in the second inning while the angels got 2 more in the bottom of the second. Both teams shut each other out in the third inning, putting the Suns down by five going in to the top of the fourth inning. The field of play was dominated by the Suns from that point on. The Suns put up 11 points over the next 4 innings as they held the Angels to 3 runs the rest of the game. One of the highlight throws for the Suns was a laser throw to home by the center fielder to get the runner out just before he got to the base. Sahel Suns won the game 12-9.

Sahel Academy field: 3:00 pm was the last game for the Suns on Saturday. As they had a Semi-Final spot wrapped up for Sunday, this game would determine if the Suns where first or second in the Competitive division. The visitor for the game was the US Embassy Team USA, EMB for short. EMB dominated the game as the Suns struggled to produce the same results as in their first two games of the day. The Suns lost putting them in second place of the division.

American Rec Center Competitive Semi-Finals: Sunday was the Semi-Final game between the second place Sahel Suns and the third place Burkina Angels. The game started off with neither team scoring runs in the first two innings. Burkina scored first in the third inning, bringing in 2 runs. Sahel managed to bring1 runner home. In the fourth inning, both teams scored 2 each, but Sahel was still down by 1 going into the fifth. The Angels got a run in the fifth and held Sahel to no runs. The sixth inning was a repeat of the third as Burkina extended their lead and the Suns only got 1. Bottom of the seventh was the last chance for the Suns to win. Burkina had scored two, giving them a 5 run lead; Sahel needed 6 to win; neither team had scored more than 2 points per inning. The Suns either had a to pull off a tie to play another inning or they had to score at least 7 to win the game. Sahel slowly started to bring in the runs as they brought in 3 runners. Still trailing by 2, the Sun’s first base man came up to the plate with the bases loaded. He had been hitting well throughout the tournament and was leading the team in RBI’s. He let the first pitch go then got ready for the next one. It was put right where he liked it and he drilled it out along the third base line deep into left field out of reach of the fielder. The Sahel fans and team went wild as the runners started to come in. As the batter came in to third, he had just brought in the winning runs and put Sahel into the finals!!!

American Rec Center Competitive Finals: This was it! The Sahel Academy Suns had made it to the Finals to play the first place EMB. The Suns were the away team; EMB took the field first as the home team. The Suns and EMB had played each other in several pre-tournament games with going to each of them. Both teams shut out the other as neither team scored in the first inning. The first inning was the first indication that the game was going to be hard fought. Sahel put two points up in the top of the second, holding EMB to zero with great fielding from the outfield. The third inning was another scoreless inning as both teams stayed in the game and kept the fans in the game. Sahel scored the only point in the fourth inning as Uncle Brian hit the only over-the-wall home run of the whole tournament. Sahel continued with great defense holding EMB to no runs again. The fifth inning was a scoreless one for Sahel, but EMB got 2 runs in off of a missed grounder in the outfield; as the Suns’ lead was cut to 1.  Sahel responded in the top of the sixth as they drove in another run, yet again holding EMB to no runs with several amazing running catches in the outfield by the center fielder. The seventh inning was the last chance for Sahel Suns to hold the lead or for EMB to come from behind and win. Sahel put up 3 runs, wishing for more to give them a larger lead. They didn’t need it though, as they caught everything that came near them, with the short fielder caching the last out of the game. The Sahel Academy Suns and their fans gathered on the field hugging each other and celebrating the youngest team to ever win the NUTS Tournament as well as the first time a school team composed 81% of students has played and won competitively. ~Chris Potratz

Ever want to escape to the jungle to be wild or relax? The latest Student Council event gave everyone the opportunity to do just that. Jungle Juice was a WILD evening with the Dining Hall decorated like a jungle, full of plants and wild creatures. The specialty of the evening was WILD juice drinks prepared by Uncle Brian. He came up with many interesting concoctions including the “Miss Carriger” which of course was a purple drink, the “Niger River” which was kind of brownish but delicious, and the “Cry Baby” which was a little heavy on the lime juice. There were a huge variety of fruits, juices, and concentrates which when added with some ice and water in the blender created some delicious and interesting tastes! There was plenty of food including a zebra decorated cake and some salty snacks to offset the sweet.  The evening’s events consisted of door prizes, a “Chubby Monkey” game, and the big competition for who would be the “King and Queen of the Jungle.” The competition was fierce and animated. The guys had an arm wrestling competition with Rufus Dewanou taking the crown! The girls they had to come up with a good jungle call and Bethany Sim was crowned Jungle Queen for her unique noises. There was time to play some games, do a jungle jig and just enjoy being together. A WILD time was had by all! ~Cathy Bliss

Sahel has a WONDERFUL new addition to its campus, a beautiful building called the Media Center. This building project went on for over a year, and it was with much joy that it was dedicated on the first day of school this year.

After many delays of building materials being out of stock and a change over of building supervisors, the end result is very worth the wait! In looking back over our progression of photos, we are especially amazed at all the finishing touches that happened during the summer months. At the end of school in June, the roof was on but the inside still had a lot of work left to do. We were extremely blessed to have Seku and Lasso, carpenter friends of ours from Cote d’Ivoire, willing to come to Niamey for three months during which they worked solidly doing all the carpentry. They did an amazing job and built all the book shelves, computer desks, librarian’s office furniture, circulation desk, table tops, magazine display shelves, desks and cupboards in the computer lab, and many other smaller projects. They set up shop right in the building so things could be made to fit perfectly. At the end of July we had a celebration dinner with all the African workers who had a part in the construction. It was wonderful to have Jonathan Moore back since he started the construction, and also Chad Winsor who took the project on to completion. It was a fun time of celebration of work well done and also praise to God for the safety He gave with no injuries during all the hours of work!

Many of you remember the old library tucked away (“So far away!”) on the other side of campus. This new library is four times the size of the old one, so there is a feeling of spaciousness and freshness. There is a large sitting area where the students can relax with a good book and many tables to sit at to do studying or research. The kids section has a nice rug with pillows to plop on for a fun story time. The shelves are full of books and there is room for more! On one wall we have three computers available for research or accessing the library card catalog. On one end of the building is our new computer lab, complete with its isolated server room, work tables full of computers, and an improved internet connection. Both elementary and secondary classes sign up to use the computer lab, and at any time of the day, the lab may be full of students.

The other side of the building has a teachers’ resource room where the teachers’ helps are kept. There is also a conference room with a long table which is used for special meetings or small classes. Out in front of the Media Center is a paved area which is great for pulling up a chair in the shade to study or visit with friends. We have one beautiful iron table and chairs set which was a gift from the Class of ’08 and we hope to add some more as funds are collected. All in all, it has been a wonderful new addition to our campus and student life. ~Cathy Bliss

Dateline: June 5, 2008 - For the first time, Sahel’s graduation ceremony was held on the “green”, a beautiful patch of grass in the center of the campus which stands out from all the sand around it as a cool green oasis.  Especially unique this year: instead of ceremoniously marching down the aisle, the graduates arrived from across the campus on camels. This year’s graduating class consisted of three boys, all of whom have grown up in Africa since they were infants. Each one in some way commented that he was not at all saddened at what he had missed by not growing up in North America, but felt that he has been blessed by all that he has gained by growing up in Africa. Pray for these three graduates who are now saying good-bye to their home of the last 18 years.

The following 2008 Staff Commendation was written and delivered by secondary Science teacher Ray White.

“The seniors three are very unique individuals in that they have spent most of their lives in Africa. Matt was born in Sierra Leone, Adam was born in Tennessee and came to Africa at a very young age. Jonathan was born in Montreal, Quebec and came to Benin at age 3 months. Adam entered Sahel Academy in the 1^st grade, Matt in the 5^th, and Jonathan in the 12^th. I have had the privilege of teaching all 3; Matt and Adam chemistry and all 3 physics. I have seen them mature quite a bit during that time…

“All made significant contributions to class; most were good, but some were not so good. Matt and Adam had the most accidents during lab but were very good at helping others with math problems, even me. Adam added tremendously to the class atmosphere with his constant sarcasm and dry wit.

“At the end of the 2^nd semester of chemistry, I told the students that the exam would be open book and open note. That didn’t help Matt and Adam that much because they didn’t have any notes. When Jonathan joined the physics class, I gave him the option of choosing lab partners. He made a questionable choice when he selected Matt and Adam. When they turned in their lab reports, Matt and Adam’s met minimum requirements but Jonathan would submit a book. I don’t think that Matt and Adam ever allowed Jonathan to become a yak brother.

“All three contributed significantly to their softball team’s taking first place in the NUTS tournament. Adam was the leader of the Gray Goats who won the overall competition for field day. All three are interested in going into a math or physics related field.

“Now for some information about each one:

“Matt went through 3 evacuations, two of which were serious. The family lost everything. When Matt and his family were getting settled in Michigan when he was 5 years old, he asked his mother if they were going to stay until the rebels arrived. Matt likes most anything that deals with numbers. He likes computer strategy games. He is quickly becoming a fan of the Detroit Pistons and Red Wings. He looks forward to spending time with his older brother and sister back in Michigan. He has enjoyed going to the bush with his parents while here in Africa. He is a University of Michigan fan as is evidenced by the hat he wears most of the time. He despises red clothing. Last year when he was placed on the red intramural team, he had to go searching for a red shirt. Matt plans to go to a community college in Michigan and eventually end up at the University of Michigan where he plans to go into the math/physics field. I think he will end up being a statistician for the University of Michigan and also an entrepreneur for “M go Blue paraphernalia.

“Matt, I would like for you to take these verses with you. Be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophesies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. 1 Thes 5: 16-22.

“Jonathan likes tennis and softball, working on the computer as well as reading. He is very friendly. Normally, every morning he and I would arrive at school at about the same time and he would always greet me. He likes to organize events for people. He is very considerate of others. He worked with a church PA system in Montreal as well as the one here at school. He has worked on a yearbook committee and done public service to raise funds for an orphanage in Cotoneau. At times he has suffered with asthma and allergies.His favorite foods are pate rouge (a corn dish), spicy foods and pizza. He hates rawvegetables, onions, agouti (a field rat delicacy) and gombo.Jonathan plans to do a gap year in Montreal, get involved with a church youth group and then pursue a co-op program at either McGill or Concordia University. He would like to also attend Bible school for a year. He hopes to end up as a mechanical engineer. I think, because of his eloquence and language ability in both English and French, that he should become a speech writer for the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

“Jonathan, these verses are for you: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Col 3: 16-17.

“Adam has been at Sahel the longest. His first time to live in the dorm was in 1991. He likes cheese and meat but hates vegetables. He likes softball and football, most computer and video games, math, Tennessee Titans, cars, wrestling, dry humor, the color black, hooded sweat shirts, Harry Potter and Ted Dekker, and quips on T-shirts. He dislikes soccer, people who are oblivious, waking up (alarm clocks), the color yellow, manual labor, Idrissa’s fried rice, and Chantelle’s tea. Adam plans to go to technical school in Iowa to become a radiologist. If you want to glow in the dark, look up Adam in 3 to 4 years. I’ve encouraged him to become a physics teacher but he doesn’t think that he has the patience.

“Adam, take heed of these verses: But you, man of God, flee from all this (the love of money and possessions), and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I Timothy 6: 11-12.

“May the Lord richly bless all of you and keep you close to Him all the days of your life.”

The 9-10th graders are swamped with IGCSE exams. The Yearbook team is desperately trying to have the Yearbook printed before the year is over. The Drama class is getting ready for a last-minute mini-production at final assembly. In a word- it’s chaos!

In the midst of all the pressure from teachers, the tests, the final projects and the goodbyes, it’s nice to have a break. The “Water Extravaganza” youth activity and “Mission Impossible” were two events that gave the students a chance to relax and just have some fun. Organized by Pastor Dave, the youth activity included some fun water games like relays, water balloon volleyball and “basket bash”.

Mission Impossible took place on Friday the 16th of May. The winning team was the “blue” team, composed of the field day teams “Blue Wolves” and “Killer Bees” However; it was a very close game, decided by the turning in of one agent bracelet at the end of the game. Despite a few minor injuries, the evening was a success, enjoyed by all.

On the 26th of May, the Sahel Secondary students had their Swimming Carnival. The first events on the agenda were the races. The students were separated by gender and class level for races in the four competitive strokes. A number of the races were very close, such as the 7-8 girls breaststroke, which Jacqui Bunn won, when Melinda Morgan was penalized for using an overhand stroke to touch the edge before her friend did. Special mention goes to Esther Eiger for blitzing the 9-10 girls’ races! Her time for the backstroke was two seconds faster than the winning 9-10 guy. 

After the races, there was a relay between the four water polo teams, which was won by team C and a water polo competition. The water polo games, though tiring, were great fun. Everyone was glad to crawl out of the pool and enjoy a snack provided by Mrs. Wright when it was all over. Thank you very much to Mrs. Wright and all the other teachers and parents who helped with swimming in P.E. or with rides to the pool!

For those students, teachers (and parents) who are feeling that it’s time for the year to be over, be encouraged in the knowledge that it will be soon! And don’t give up; God has promised to be with you until the end. ~Rianna Bunn

I. Introduction

“Are we accomplishing our mission?” That is the question that the Sahel Academy board has been asking for the past several months. The role of the school board is to discern what direction the school needs to be moving in and then evaluate if we are actually going in that direction. We just completed a series of surveys and interviews with parents, students and staff to help with this work. What we found was most interesting.

II. Mission of the school

The Mission of Sahel Academy is to:

1. develop students through a holistic education
2. of the highest quality
3. while nurturing a Christ-like character
4. and a heart of service.

This guiding statement is very important. When we think of a school, we think first of academic excellence and we are striving for that at Sahel Academy. But we see our students as more than just “test passers” and “grade getters.” They are sons and daughters. They are brothers and sisters, friends and citizens. And most of all we desire to see our students become faithful disciples of Christ.

The education at Sahel Academy is designed to put all these pieces together. We want Sahel Academy to be a place where character and a servant attitude matter and are fostered.

III. Strengths of Sahel Academy

The following are the strengths of the school that were identified through the surveys and interviews.

1. Staff/Student Relations

“It is so friendly and family-like. Kids connect with teachers on a more personal level.” Comments like this were repeated over and over. This is a major strength of the school. Students feel cared for by the teachers and are at ease in approaching them in and out of the classroom.

We are so encouraged to discover this strength. We would have little chance of accomplishing our mission if this rapport with students were not in place.

2. Outreach Trips/ community service

We found that the students love getting out in the community and traveling to other parts of Niger in order to serve through the community service program and on outreach trips. This is the kind of thing that we were hoping to find as we looked for evidence that students were developing a heart of service. The community service requirement was seen as a positive aspect of school life and the outreach trips were a privilege.

3. Quality Education

Students at Sahel are above average compared with students in schools in the home countries. This was the conclusion of both students and parents. One parent said that her son found his first year at college to be no more challenging than his senior year at Sahel. Students are well prepared to go on to higher education. The IGCSE program is pushing students to realize their potential.

4. Assembly, Youth Group, Bible classes

“Through assemblies and simply fellowship, I have learned a lot spiritually from Sahel. Having other Christians around you, encourages you to explore the different aspects of God’s Word. Bible classes and youth events are good as well. The outreach program is a great way to live out who we are in Christ. Bible study is good too!”

Comments like these from students and their parents show that Sahel Academy is actively developing students spiritually as well as academically.

IV. Growth Areas

While the board was very pleased with the results of the board assessment, the study identified areas where the school still needed to grow. Mentioned was staff continuity and development, alternative educational choices, and more involvement with Niger. It is good to note that even while these areas for growth are being noted, administration has been working on possible solutions to these felt needs.

Conclusion

We give Sahel Academy high marks for making strides toward the mission of the school. We have also passed to the staff the challenge of addressing the areas where the school must still grow. Some of these issues will be addressed in the next school year. Some issues will be addressed through a longer range plan for the school.

We want to thank all who participated in the board evaluation. Your input was invaluable. We also want to thank our exceptional staff at Sahel Academy. It is their devotion to students and commitment to excellence that has made Sahel Academy the preferred educational option for many mission and non-mission families in West Africa. Well done!  ~Steve Schmidt, Chairman

Thank you to those of you who prayed for a Math teacher for the rest of the school year.  God once again has supplied beyond our expectations.  Sahel Academy has seen God do another miracle in bringing Mr. Ben Stam to us.  Mr. Stam has been teaching Math here at Sahel for one quarter now and has one quarter to go.  He has enjoyed his time here greatly and as I share about him and his impressions of life in Niger, I ask you again to be in prayer for the next Math teacher who is still unknown. God has us in the “waiting” mode as we wait again for who He has planned for next school year. 

Mr. Stam comes from Enid, Oklahoma, a town north of Oklahoma City, where he spent all of his growing-up years. He comes from a family with two sisters and one brother.  His dad is a Minister of Missions at his church Emanuel Baptist and headmaster at Emmanuel Christian School, and his mom is a nurse.  Growing up in a Christian home, it wasn’t until after 6^th grade at the Story Book Lodge, a camp in Minnesota, when he accepted Jesus as his Savior and made his faith his own. He was baptized by his dad later at a summer camp in Colorado.  All of his schooling was at Christian schools; after high school he headed off to Wheaton College in Wheaton Illinois.  Mr. Stam’s major is Math. He’s actually taking a break in his education to come help us out, but ultimately his desire is to go on to medical school to become a doctor.  His first choice would be to go into Intensive Neonatology. 

So, the question is: “How did Mr. Stam end up here?”  His dad came to Niger with a well drilling/medical team and came to visit Sahel Academy.  He heard about our need for a Math teacher and thought about his son Ben.  He suggested the idea which opened up the thoughts and wondering if it could possibly work.  Mr. Stam already was planning on a trip to Niger in January to help with a medical team from his church.  His tickets were bought and his shots taken care of; those were two of the things necessary on the long list of things to fall into place.  Amazingly, God worked out the details and sped up the whole application process, even supplying someone to take his place on the medical team.  It was only about 2 months between hearing about the job and arriving here in Niger!  We are SO thankful for his openness and that he was willing to listen to God’s call in spite of many unknowns. 

When asked about his impressions of life in Niger and work at Sahel, Mr. Stam gave some very flattering answers.  “The best thing about coming here is definitely the students”, he says.  “They have made it so easy to transition in here.” “They are encouraging, willing, open, not resistant at all, and take initiative for their learning”.  I asked him why someone should come take a job like this and his response was, “The whole experience has been life-changing as far as my worldview, and Christian perspective.”  He explained that all his life has been kind of like being stuck in a bubble and that it is hard to experience other things unless you go outside the bubble.  Here, he doesn’t understand the language, is far away from home, and in a completely different culture.  He’s had to figure a lot of things out for himself, has learned a lot and has gained some maturity.  The thing he misses the most are fully paved roads through the city.  It’s difficult dodging potholes and driving in sand on a motorcycle!  One thing that surprised him about living here is that you can buy good chocolate in the grocery store and the internet is much better than he expected.  One thing he’s enjoyed the most is the sense of “community” he’s felt since being here. People here seem to spend more time doing things together and are more open with each other.  It’s normal to drop in on people for a visit and it doesn’t feel uncomfortable.  There is more of a sense of “realness” among the people here. 

Mr. Stam is not just a math teacher, he has a variety of interests.  He enjoys music, backpacking, rock climbing, Frisbee, and going to the Opera.  We have all enjoyed getting to know him. We hate to say goodbye at the end of the year, but we are excited to see who the next answer to our prayers will be!  Thank you for praying for Mr. Stam and for the next Math teacher who is still unknown! ~Cathy Bliss

…where the grass is green, the beach is sandy and the climate is hot! The air is crisp, the weather cool and the whole community is going Hawaiian style!!  It is a beautiful day indeed as we are gathering just a couple of feet near the riverside to be a part of this great luau that Sahel Academy Student Council is hosting today.

It is 5:30 and we are all gathered here to feel - or imagine - a cool blue Hawaiian tropical breeze. Folks from all kinds of nationalities gather here today, all dressed in their own Hawaii style of clothes!! From Hawaiian shorts to complete outfits - you name it, this is one big stylish Luau!!! Even the staff are here being a part of this fun occasion to show us their good old Hawaiian grooves!!!

After chatting and conversing among ourselves, it is time to start the event!! Did you ever think aerobics and Pilates weren’t helpful - think again!! This time we are doing the LIMBO… Hawaiian style!! We all are going under a stick, flexing our backs and not bending our knees until we make contact fully with the ground! Its so great to see students and staff-young and OLD alike-test their back flexibility skills!! You can’t believe the different styles that people would even come up with to do this limbo! We are talking snake style, dance style and hip style-you name it!! Even tall people were smokin’ as they proved that they can do the limbo too!! What a great way to move your body!!

Next up, we all gather together in prayer before we feast on Hawaiian delicacies: pineapple, Hawaiian chicken, Hawaiian rice and Hawaiian salad. So much to choose from-even coffee and sodas on this cool/hot Hawaiian day!!

Later on, after  chowin’ down food and relaxing Hawaiian style- we are treated royally to a first hand experience of Hawaiian culture!! Mr. Sauers, the all mighty hula dancer, who went to college in Hawaii, is showing us the real way of doing the hula and is explaining some Hawaiian culture at the same time!! We all gather round to see the master at work in showing us how to position our feet, hands and hips. Boy, is Mr. Sauers awesome! ~Jonathan

It was a cool night, the crowd was growing, kids were laughing - this was going to be great! As the band started playing their music, I was swept into a world filled with the words, beat and meaning of the songs. I think we all have been in a state like that before: when your favorite song comes on, or you hear a song that has memories attached to it, or when you hear a song(s) that tell you about Jesus or move you closer to Him. You become so pulled into the song. It’s like the world isn’t how it is at that moment without that song playing in the background. Then suddenly when the music stops and the song is over…it feels awkward. You may still have a sense of joy or happiness, but without the music, it doesn’t mean as much. Somehow, it seems the words have changed.

I think at the concert, we were there to have a good time and enjoy that type of music, but I think God also used the band to get the real message of what “worship music” really is. Am I singing for the person beside me? Am I singing to feel good about myself? Am I singing for God? What do I really mean when I sing “When you lead me , Lord, I will follow; where you lead me, Lord, I will go?” When I sing that, I am saying that tomorrow, I would be willing to go to Afghanistan to do missions if God honestly called me there, right?

We need to worship Jesus, and we need to feel good about it, too. But we need to be aware of what’s coming out of our mouths and what we honestly want to accomplish by worshipping. ~Jessica