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It was in 2009 that Ruth Ku took on the assignment of Principal of New Life Christian School along with her husband Mario (Presbyterian Pastor-in-training). Through their faith in Jesus Christ they overcame many obstacles that worked against the positive growth and development of New Life School. The first obstacle they faced was an equipment obstacle since they literally inherited an empty school that had 76 registered students. Before 2009, the school expereinced problems with their leadership.
During this time Ruth was only one of the teachers at the school, and it was while she and Mario were away at a pastor's conference that they received a call from some parents stating that there were trucks at the school and all of the desks and chalk boards were being taken out. After this incident Ruth was asked to take over as Principal of the school. Ruth was very reluctant to assume this role due to the negative reputation the school had acquired, but eventually Ruth did take on the responsibility and started work without a salary. Her only prayer was, "God, I'll do this, but you must provide for the needs of the school."
Through the mighty work of Jesus, the equipment obstacle was overcome through a miracle. An individual in the U.S. found out about the situation at the school and donated all the chairs and desks the school needed. The timing was perfect because the school was not in session when all the tables and chairs were removed, and the free tables and chairs were received from the U.S. before the students started school again. This miracle enabled the school to open with 76 students who were ready to learn.
Another obstacle faced by Ruth and Mario was a security obstacle, since there was no fence around the school. Before 2009 the school had asked for money three or four times from the community to build a fence, but nothing was ever done. However, once Ruth became Principal the school asked for materials rather than money, and as the people in the community saw that the fence was going up there were more donations. In addition, a large gate was donated by someone in the community. Jesus once again took care of the needs of New Life School.
Another obstacle Ruth and Mario faced was a financial obstacle, as the previous leadership left New Life with a $5000.00 internet bill. With much persistent prayer Jesus did another miracle and took care of the internet bill. An individual who had been out of work for 6 months was given a large sum of money by someone else, and once this individual found a job they wanted to pass on the favor. Therefore, once they found out about this problem they paid the schools internet bill.
Now fast forward to the present (April 2012)- The school now has approximately 247 registered students and 11 teachers, 9 of which are paid by the government and 2 of which are paid by New Life School. Due to the rapid growth of New Life School over the past 4 years since 2009, Ruth and Mario faced a material and capacity obstacle. These were significant obstacles to overcome in April of 2012, as a government educational auditor was coming to New Life to assess: (a) whether it had the capacity to handle 247 students, (b) whether it could supply students with necessary writing instruments to learn, and (c) whether New Life could be approved to receive government funding for one additional teacher as student registration had increased. Once again Jesus Christ worked another miracle and did more than what we could imagine or ask. Ephesians: 3: 20- “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or imagine.”The material obstacle was specifically overcome by two of our team members – our Children’s Pastor Bev and her friend Michelle. Jesus put into their heart the desire to gather pencil cases, pencils and markers for the children at New Life School. So they asked their Sunday school students to bring/ donate these materials, which they generously and we brought an extra suitcase full of these supplies with us. Once Ruth was shown these items she was so happy, as she said her prayer had been answered. Though every student was not able to receive a pencil case, every student did receive many pencils and markers. Ruth had been praying for these supplies as they were needed to prove to the government auditor, that New Life had what was necessary to support the 247 students at the school. Once again Jesus Christ worked a miracle for His children.
The government auditor was very impressed by the donated materials and shocked at this unexpected blessing that New Life School had recevied. The capacity obstacle was overcome through our team’s hands-on work as well as the work done by previous mission teams. The government auditor was really impressed by the physical improvements to the school since Ruth and Mario took over, as the auditor knew of the previous fate of the school and its bad reputation. Through missionary teams such as ours, Jesus blessed New Life School, and expanded the structural capacity of the school so that it could handle the growth and prosperity He was blessing it with.The government administrator was tremendously impressed and surprised by how the school had prospered over the past 4 years. The work of Jesus Christ is incomprehensible. After the government administrator had finished assessing the school she said that she would not only recommend that the government fund one other teacher, but that the government fund two teachers. (God gets all the glory: Psalm 115).
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