Parent-Teacher Conferences. . .the good parts

“How is his English coming compared to the other kids? He never speaks English at home.” “Is she always so mandona (a Nica term for  bossy)?” “Why is he still crying when we drop him off?” “We saw his report card. Should we hire a private tutor?” These are a few questions I received from the moms and dads of my students.

Parent-Teacher Conferences. Three words that can leave a bad taste in the mouth of parents, students, and teachers alike—widely-believed to be the time for a teacher to give the parents the “bad news” about their kid. A few weeks ago, Nicaragua Christian Academy teachers spent two evenings meeting with the parents of their students. While I wasn’t looking forward to the long evenings tacked on to long days, I left the meetings feeling both affirmed and as one who affirmed.

Together, we prayed. Each meeting with parents begins with prayer, a prayer of thanksgiving for the child, for the family, and for the way we’re both already seeing God work in the life of the student. As a public school teacher for 9 years before coming to NCA, the gift to pray with parents is truly amazing.

Together, we were amazed at how the students are already growing. I love pulling out student work from August and putting it side-by-side work from October. Students who could barely hold a pencil are forming their names. Students unable to cut on a line with a scissors without help are now independent. While “paper-pencil” tasks aren’t the focus of our program, it is still exciting to see the rapid development of these little learners!

Together, we affirmed one another. I let parents know that YES—your child IS on track and developing. NO—you don’t need a private tutor for a 4-year old.  YES—you are a good parent and it is normal for your child to do this or that. Parents let me know that YES—they hear their kid running around their home singing songs from school and naming objects in English. YES—their child loves coming to school (despite the occasional tears!) and Mr. Ippel is a regular household name. YES—they are already so excited about the long-term NCA journey of their preschool child.

I love teaching at a school where I can look forward to parent meetings . . . where we share the common belief that each child is created in God’s image, and that God is in ultimate control of their child’s life and development. We’re on this journey together. Nicaragua Christian Academy’s mission is to equip students with the tools . . . to impact society. . .and through this process, I believe we’re equipping parents to do the same.

Tesoros Board Visits Nicaragua

This past week four members of the board of Tesoros de Dios (registered as "God's Treasures" in the US) flew down to witness first-hand the work of this incredible organization that they support stateside. All had been to Nicaragua previously as individuals, but this was the first time an official board meeting took place in Nicaragua. (Two members were unable to make the trip). As I joined the board this summer as a "Nicaraguan," I was able to enjoy fellowship, dinner, and meetings with these dedicated individuals over a four-day period, taking a day off of school to increase time together. Some highlights:

We were treated to dinner by a mother of a special education student at NCA, who happens to own a fantastic restaurant in town! She wanted to say "thank you" in a tangible way, and we were the lucky recipients of carne asada, gallo pinto, platano maduro. . .yum!  This child is part of a program coordinated by a member of the board of Tesoros de Dios (through Elim in Chicago) and the mom has been so impressed by his progress this year.

We had a three hour meeting to discuss some of the "big stuff" going on a Tesoros. . . including hiring a volunteer coordinator (interested?), raising money for a covered horse arena and a new bus, collaboration with local schools and churches, and coming up with money to keep on doing everything this awesome organization needs to do! This was my first Board meeting in person (as opposed to speaker phone) and the time went so fast. . .I'm proud to represent this organization.

I was able to meet with the male staff members of Tesoros de Dios for an hour "charla" or "chat" led by Board member Vinny on the theme of leadership. It was awesome to hear how each of the men present felt like God had called them to work at Tesoros, whether as a bus driver or therapist--it was more than a job for each person present; they were there to minister and serve. One man in particular was very open with his struggles in finding God's direction in life; I'm so happy these men have this community in which to be vulnerable and in which to find support.

I had a lot of opportunities to pick the brains of my fellow board members as I begin to craft a proposal for inclusion for Nicaragua Christian Academy International! I'm excited to see the conversation continuing to move in a forward direction in terms of how we can best serve kids with disabilities within our school. I have no inclusion experience, so it was wonderful to collaborate with these professionals this week. Send any advice my way as I hope to begin working on the proposal soon.

5 reasons why we LOVE being "CRWM Partner Missionaries!"

Yesterday, our family had the privilege to host 50+ individuals in our home for a time of fellowship and food. . .all people living and serving in Nicaragua with the Christian Reformed Church (our denomination)--either through World Renew (relief and development) or World Missions (teaching, preaching, education). While the potluck lacked the ham on buns and the endless variety of jello salads present at a typical CRC potluck, we ate well (roasted kale, anyone?) and fellowshipped well (always fun to play "Dutch Bingo"--our term for discovering mutual friends without the help of Facebook--with a Korean-born Malaysian-raised Calvin grad serving in Nicaragua!). The weather was crazy--it was sunny. ..then rainy. . .then sunny. . .then rainy. . .forcing us to move in and out and in and out and leaving our red tile floors a dark shade of mud, but that didn't stop us from having a good time together.

We are so thankful to have this community of people here in Nicaragua--for our kids to have so many "Christian Reformed Cousins" to run around with, to have people walking alongside of us as we serve in another country. We are not isolated or alone, and we are thankful for this. Besides these gatherings that occur 3-4 times each school year, there are many other reasons we are grateful to be serving Jesus supported by the CRC.

1) Money Stuff. All support of our family's ministry is channeled through the CRC. They collect all donations, distribute funds to us once a month based on our budget, keep track of our donations, send supports receipts for tax-deductible donations. . .and the best part--they don't keep a penny of donations for "The Ippels in Nicaragua" for overhead costs. Every penny supports our ministry. Didn't know that cool fact? Click here to donate! :)

2) Donor Stuff. Last spring, my mother-in-law, who lived in the middle of the woods out in Cannonsburg, had a knock on her door. It was a man from CRWM, thanking her for her support of the Ippels in Nicaragua (he had no idea going into it that she was related to us). We were completely oblivious to the fact that people from our mission agency would seek out and thank (in PERSON, too!) people for whom we are so thankful! There are many other ways in which the denomination keeps our donors in the loop and connected to not only what is happening in Nicaragua but around the world.

3) The Banner. Each month, we can count on getting at least one piece of mail in Nicaragua. It comes in a large manila envelope, and it is the Banner (the magazine of our denomination)!!! I read it cover to cover. . .which many of you might laugh at. But honestly, I'm thankful that the CRC is willing to pay the shipping cost for this small, concrete way of keeping us connected to our denomination.

4) Retreat! Once a year, all of the Central American CRC missionaries gather for a seaside spiritual retreat. We enjoyed our first one last year over Semana Santa (Holy Week)--4 days of worship, prayer, fellowship, relaxation, beach time, community. . .so thankful for this time and already looking forward to this year! While this isn't free for our family, it is offered at a fairly minimal cost so that all might attend. This year, Ruth is in charge of finding childcare for our group's 30-some children--interested? Let us know!

5) Churches. We are grateful for the network of churches that support us--Neland, Creston, First of Grand Rapids, and Rehoboth, and for the ways in which our denomination keeps us connected together. From the mailing of prayer cards and pictures and the handling of funds, to the encouragement that we remain rooted in these congregations as we serve. . .we are so grateful to serve as an extension of these four churches and their respective vision for transformation and change in Jesus throughout the world!