Transition

Learning Center Students and Me :)

Not really sure where to start…the beginning, the end, the beginning of the end. It’s all a muddle of emotions, thoughts, and experiences. I will say leaving Samoa when push came to shove was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do-not necessarily the country because I will not miss the mosquitoes, flies, heat, etc. but the children, the people. Those kids hold a very big chunk of my heart and it felt like it was being ripped out or at least in half when I left.

Saying goodbye :(

How about a few highlights? (I will start with the MOST amazing!)

• WE GOT CURRICULUM!!!! I woke up to an email from my mom saying, “if only you could get the curriculum for the school before you leave, then I think you will have accomplished everything that you needed to while you were there.” Immediately after reading this, I opened an email from the Ministry of Education saying that we were approved for curriculum! A week later we picked it up- over 100 books including teachers’ manuals, workbooks, novels, etc.!!! 

Books! Books! and more Books! We got curriculum finally!!!

• Miss Samoa came again to teach contemporary dance to the oldest girls. They of course loved it! 

  

  Miss Samoa/South Pacific, Latafale, teaching dance

  
  

  

  Dancing with the kids :)

  
  
  



 A thank you letter (in English) that one of my students wrote to Miss Samoa/South Pacific

• The team from Fiji came and went bringing much needed encouragement, help, prayer support, bodies, and so much more. We were sad to see them go, but excited that two of them are praying about coming back to staff in the Learning Center (and a bunch of others are coming back in September to run a School of Counseling). They also blessed me be picking picking me up from the airport and spending the day with me during my 10 hour layover in Fiji.

  

  Praying over and sending out Ben, one of the Fiji team

  
  

  

  Some of the Fiji team- picture taken at the airport in Fiji

  
  

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  The whole school including teachers and Fiji and Korea team. Farewell for the Fiji team- and in Fijian culture you smear baby powder or something similar all over the dancers faces and give them money which if not quickly put in your pocket can be "stolen" by other people.

• We also had a DTS team from South Korea helping in the Learning Center twice a week teaching music (as one is an opera singer/music teacher) and art (one is studying design) as well as joining us for P.E. and teaching about dental health (one is a dental hygienist).                           

Our Fearsome Superheroes :)

Teaching the kids how to brush their teeth.

• Trained Hallie, or new Texan teacher, to take my place and eased her into teaching my class.



All of the Learning Center teachers- John, my co-principal, is the back middle

My classroom

My class (minus 1)

• Farewell Barbecue and gift giving with the Learning Center students and staff. They overwhelmed me with their love and gave whatever they could give. ( I am stocked on jewelry and lava lavas for the rest of my life). I am so blessed. And as they said thank you to me- every student said it in English!



Barbequing- One of the families came to help out.



Dishing up the barbeque



"Attention!" Just having a little fun. Handing over my responsibilities to the oldest class.

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  Two of my boys being themselves :)

  
  
• Farewell with the base. Dance, music, words of affirmation, prayer to send me out by the leaders of YWAM Pacific, and gifts.



Being "prayed-out"

Some of the boys and I right before they performed a fire dance

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  My final dance

• Registration almost completed with Samoa Qualifications Authority (SQA) in which I played a large part in the application and paperwork process. 

• I decided to take a few days for myself and enjoy the “other half” of Samoa by going away to a resort in Savai’i. It was a nice time with me and God, relaxing, getting refreshed for the weeks to come, and just enjoying Samoa- remembering all the things that I love about the country, the people, and why I was there.

A few fun stories:
We had one family who could not afford uniforms for their children. These two boys were the only ones in the school without uniforms and you could tell that it was starting to take a toll on them. The usually carefree and joyous countenances of these two boys was replaced by morose and withdrawn looks. It was rare to see a smile from Ray who usually is only smiles. I finally decided enough was enough and whether I was being slightly culturally insensitive or not, I wasn’t going to let those boys suffer anymore. I decided to buy those boys uniforms (of course I would have found a good way to do it and had John give it to them or something…) But I didn't have to worry about any of that because when I walked into the shop that sells all of the uniforms, I started talking to Ann who is the head manager and whom I have done all of our ordering and dealings. She immediately said that the store would “gift” the uniforms to the two boys as “prizes” from last year that were just late in being delivered. They could come in anytime in the next few days to be fitted for uniforms!
 


























So currently I am in England. I had a few fun days in Detroit with my sister, Megan, and her family in which I froze! Coming in on the plane I realized I had no long pants or a jacket-oops. And now I am enjoying the slightly warmer weather in London with my other sister, Katie, and her family. At this moment I am sitting on a train heading up to the YWAM base in Harpenden in which I spent the two years previous to heading to Samoa to see friends, mentors, roommates, and return full circle. We have had a wonderful time exploring northwestern France, southwest England-Devon and exploring the surrounding area with the blessing of absolutely gorgeous weather.

Spending time with my niece and nephew

Siblings!

Seeing my niece and nephew in Detroit right after getting off the plane.

Visiting my good friends in Cambridge.

As for the future, I am still not certain. I am hoping to use this time in England to get some time to pray and seek the Lord as to my next steps. I spent all of my energies focusing on Samoa and finishing my time there well and completing everything that I needed to and investing time in people, that I didn't think or pray much beyond that. My plan is to be home until around September- have some downtime and time to see people- and then head on to the next adventure. I am still really leaning towards heading to Kona and working with the teacher training programs there called Educating for Life. (The trainers go into other countries and train the local teachers how to teach. It’s a year long program in which the teachers receive a certificate upon completion. I would help initialize the program, train and mentor a core group of teachers, and let them run the program  on their own with my assistance and supervision- I would be there for the first month and then return as needed, but regularly keeping tabs on them.)

So as I am currently not directly on the field, please feel free to withhold your monthly support during this time. If you do want to continue supporting me through this season of rest and redirection, all of the monies will go into my missions account to be used when God tells me when and where to go. However, regardless, please continue to keep me in your prayers as it is big transition and lots of unknowns.

Big Changes Ahead!

Big changes ahead for me…
I told you all that I have been praying about my next steps and whether I am to stay here in Samoa or whether it is time to head out to somewhere new. After much prayer and seeking wisdom from Scripture and wise people in my life,  

Coming home to Michigan!

I have decided that it is time to leave Samoa.


There are many reasons for this decision and I will not get into all of them now. If you are really wanting to know specifics, you are welcome to email me and I can share more of this journey and process with you (wendt.jen@gmail.com). Suffice it to say that I feel peace that this is where God is leading me at this time and that He has the Learning Center under control and can run it and take care of it much better than I can. I really had to wrestle with feeling like if I left it was a failure or that I was failing the kids or what if the LC does not continue after I leave, but I realized that none of those things are true. I have been faithful to the things that God has asked of me and there has been so much growth and change both within me, the kids, and the base. That was and is my biggest concern- what will happen to the LC and the kids when I leave. But God  has assured me that He has these kids in the palm of His hand and He will take care of them-that is not my job.

Our School- teachers and students- with a few absent

Do you like our new uniforms?

John, my co-principal, has already decided to stay here through the end of the school year before heading to Brazil to work with street kids, our two teachers from last year are back again. A girl from Texas just arrived to work in the LC for the next year and we are supposed to have another Samoan guy coming to help us in the next few weeks. We have also been blessed to have a short term volunteer and a team of Fijians here helping out at the school. They have been a godsend especially as one of them is a preschool teacher!

Some of the Fiji team

Hallie, our Texan

Jeff, our mission builder volunteer

 

                                                        New School Year:
As you have probably already guessed, school has started up for the year. We have 73 students ages 5-16! They are keeping us very busy. Around 25 of those are new students. It is amazing to see how far ahead our students from last year are compared to the new students, and many of the new students have been to school before! You don’t realize how much you have taught them until you have someone to compare it to. This is a blessing and a curse. Now we have to catch up the new kids without boring the “old” kids- we now have kids at every possible level including a 14 year old who does not know his English alphabet and can barely add and subtract.
             

I am teaching the oldest class of 14 students predominantly boys. I teach English, Science, Math and English to the class below as well. They cheer for spelling tests which still weirds me out a bit. Their English has improved SO much and I am able to teach most everything in English with little difficulty. We are currently studying the Solar System and Earth by popular demand. I am also doing a lot of reading with them- small novels like the Magic Tree House and The Magic School Bus. They are also loving having the iPads. We also are not having the behavioral problems that we were last year which is a huge blessing and sign or growth.





                                          Some fun things at school:
We had the incredible privilege of having Miss Samoa/ Miss Pacific Islands come to our school this week to visit the kids, give her testimony, sing and dance for them, and just get to know them. The kids will probably be talking about it for the next few years of their lives as who knows when else they would have ever had the opportunity to do something like this. She has volunteered to come in several times over the next few weeks to teach the girls to dance.

Teaching them a song

The Palagis and Miss Samoa

Singing for us

I also bumped into a lady a few weeks ago who weaves coconut leaves into hats, baskets,  mats, etc. She has offered to come and teach the students for free- she then sells their crafts in her stall at the cultural center and besides her cut for the materials, gives the profits back to the kids. God is just providing ways- divine encounters.

The boys performing a traditional Ava Ceremony

Ray and his brother could not afford a uniform. I went and talked to the company that sells them and they gave both boys free uniforms!

                                    Curriculum and Buses:
John and I have continued to meet with the Ministry of Education trying to get curriculum and an endorsement for the school. We were able to meet with the CEO of the department of curriculum who is a strong Christian woman and wants to do everything she can to help us. We are currently waiting to see what will happen and if we can get curriculum for all of our students as at this point we have none.

We are also still working towards getting a bus. We were so hopeful to get one of the ones that they were giving away after the big conferences this past year, but unfortunately, they decided to use them for other things. I am working on a few leads and hoping that with persistence and God’s favor and miracles we can get one as we are SO desperate- especially as we have so many more kids this year.

We are over capacity!

                                           How Am I Doing?

Nicks and I

The DTS boys at their graduation and I

My friend Randall and I

I am doing well. Have been feeling a bit sick the last week or two. Strangely it is really the first time since I have been here. I think the grace for being here is lifting. I have two new girls who have moved into my fale, Dori and Norrie, besides Ema and myself. Really enjoying their company. The majority of my community have all moved off base or away from Samoa in the last 2 months so that has been different and challenging.

                                                        
 Really glad to have this decision made and not be wrestling through it anymore. I feel very peaceful and like a weight is lifted. I still have moments of questioning if my decision is right especially when I look into the faces of the kids or when we have an amazing day and they make me laugh, but I know that I need to walk in obedience and go where I feel is right. Follow the peace.


My current plan is to leave here at the end of March and head towards England (via Detroit) where I will stay with my sister, Katie, and her family for a few weeks with a visit to the YWAM base in Harpenden to see all of my friends there. I will be home in Michigan sometime mid-May to see my brothers, Caleb and Gye Ha, graduate high school. I will most likely be home through the summer having a much needed rest and time to visit family and friends. Currently thinking that September will be the launch of something new. I have a few thoughts but nothing set in stone. Will keep you updated as I know more.

My friend Pila and I :)

“It is not just about now, but more importantly it is about what you are becoming…God is preparing you for something greater. There will be a divine convergence between your preparation today and a big need or opportunity tomorrow.”  Victorious Mindsets by Steve Backlund

Before coming to Samoa I mentioned to a friend that I thought I would only be going to Samoa for a season and that it would be a time of growing and preparation for the future. This has been so true. The things I have learned here are things that I could never have learned from a book or even in church (at least not in the same time frame). The experiences that I have had have been invaluable. This has definitely been the hardest year of my life, but it has also come with a lot of joy and growth and victories.

This is what the water looks like after it rains...won't be missing this...

A few things God has taught me in the last year…
How to start and run a school and all the things that come with that including working with the government, non-westerners, training teachers, writing a curriculum, schedules, etc.
Broadened my knowledge and experience- thinking out of the box- really thinking through my priorities, values, beliefs, etc. -Are they Biblical or cultural and can I defend them? Will I fight for them and are they worth fighting for?
To rely on God in everything and for everything (I have no crutches here-it’s just me and God)
Seeing that God cares about the infinitesimally small things in life- even my chocolate cravings :)
To increase my faith and expectation in who God is and what He can do
To value people- the individual
To see beauty in the ashes- to find joy and peace in hard times
Strengthened my desire to have and understanding of the importance of community
Making decisions
Refining of my vision and purpose
The importance of spiritual warfare
And so, so many other things….

I never imagined myself in Samoa starting a school and running it. But here I am. Looking at it, it is quite successful. Our retention rate is incredibly high. We have huge growth. All of our students accepted Jesus into their lives. Each child has grown hugely in their academics (way beyond the public school student), behavior, and relationship with God. We even have a student at a public high school. I never imagined so much could be accomplished in such a short time or that I would be a large part of all of those things. I think that this quote from St. Frances of Assisi  is really true. I have only to do what I can do and walk in obedience and God does the rest.

“Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly, you are doing the impossible.” -St. Frances of Assisi

Thank you so much for all of your prayers, support, and encouragement. I could not have done this without you all.