End of School

School, both College and Academy, has been extra crazy over the past month. From banquets to graduations and everything in between, I did not have much time to relax and update on everything going on. Here is a blog about the last month of school.

For the College there were many things that happened since mid May. The senior baccalaureate service was the last Sunday of May. It is a worship service to honor the graduates and praise God for an amazing four years. The college students in the music department put on an end of the year concert that was truly amazing. There are a few videos on our Youtube page (http://www.youtube.com/user/jeffandcarson) of songs from the concert. They are simply amazing and the music is beautiful! The night after the concert we had the senior banquet. It is put on at the Capital Hotel and is a very nice dinner and time of sharing about the four years. About half of the seniors shared about God’s faithfulness to them throughout their experience of ABC. We really enjoyed hearing the Christ-centeredness of many of the students. College graduation was June 4 and was one of the best experiences of the year. Our gym was packed with family and friends of the 43 graduates. A representative from the US Embassy spoke as well as 2 representatives from the Malawi Ministry of Education. It was nice to have distinguished guests at such a special occasion. A pastor from a Presbyterian Church in Mississippi was our keynote speaker and did a phenomenal job of charging the students to stay Christ-centered in everything they do because education without Christ does not change the world! As the students received their diplomas the atmosphere was electric! Cheering and shouting and just a great time! Graduation was a picture of why I do what I do. God has sent me to be a professor and teacher to disciple and teach students to have a biblical worldview and to leave and change the world! Many of the students are going to do just that and it spurs me on to continue doing what God has called me to do.

A boat trip during the Senior Trip to Lake Malawi National Park

Seniors 2011!!! Lake Malawi National Park 

4 Senior Men - (L to R)Titu, Blessings, me, Ben, Leonard

Cosmas in the middle with his mom and uncle. Cos is a 2011 graduate and will be a Sports Intern for ABC.

Me in my graduation garb. That (crazy) lady behind me is Michelle Halemeier, the volleyball coach.

Shonduri on the right was the 2011 valedictorian!

Charles one of the 2011 graduates. This is right after the grad ceremony.

The Academy just came to a close on June 15. It was a great year of learning how to teach and relying on the Lord to really work through me. I learned a lot through teaching middle school students and am thankful for the experience. One of the highest honors was being asked by the administration to be the keynote speaker at the Academy graduation. We had 5 graduation seniors (largest graduation class so far from ABCCA). The valedictorian gave a phenomenal speech about keeping Christ first and not straying off that path and I spoke about the very same thing! I used Philippians 3:1-11 with 1:21 as a conclusion about keeping the heart that everything is for the Lord. God wove our 2 speeches together beautifully to make graduation more of worship to God than anything else!

The group from Faith Baptist arrives 2 weeks from today and we are super excited about showing them around Malawi and the various things that are happening here. We thank God for everyone who supports us in various ways and are grateful that God has woven everything together for His glory and our joy! Praise God for His faithfulness to those who love Him and call on His name!

Because of Jesus,

Jeff